Car of the Month
June 2005

This Mustang is the seventh pony that I’ve owned in the twelve years since I decided to join the herd. Some of those ponies have been nothing more than failed projects. The others have been a series of vehicles to suit my needs.

Like any rider I had to start my training with a horse more suited to my inexperience. My first daily driver was a 1965 red coupe with an inline 200 cu in six cylinder and three speed. In the year 2000 I parted with that car in order to get a 3.8L V-6 automatic pony. This served me well until the year 2002 when I decided another two cylinders were necessary. The 02 GT was supposed to be the car I would keep for many years to come. Ford found a way to throw a monkey wrench into that idea however. With the re-introduction of the Mach1 I was hooked all over again.

I was visiting the local Ford dealer in town during October of 2003. It was a day off from work for us at Griggs Racing with our team driving their Mustangs at Thunder Hill Raceway that weekend. I’d seen a Mach1 in our shop before and knew exactly what I was looking for. Given the fact it was late in the sales year, I figured the dealers would be trying to cut some deals on the Mach1’s. I asked them what they could do for me and it didn’t take long before they were asking me what color I wanted!

The only major hiccup in the contract was when they told me the car was an automatic. I literally tore the contract in half and told them to find one with a manual transmission or there wasn’t going to be any deal. The dealership they were trading with just happened to have two Torch Red Mach1’s. One with auto and the other with manual. With that minor detail taken care of, I have since customized the exterior; modified the suspension; and taken this pony out for a lot of rides.

As dear to me as any pony in my stable is, I have no regrets in upgrading to the Mach1. This little pony has enough thunder in it to run with any herd. There’s nothing better than seeing the frustration on a Corvette owner’s face as you pass them on a twisty mountain road. I still get a kick out of it when people ask me about the shaker scoop and want to see it shake. I tell them just get the car mad and you’ll really see it shake.