Classic Mustang Analyzer News
Volume 7, Issue No. 8, August 2004

• Ford Motor Company is transforming downtown Birmingham into "Ford Cruisin' Legends" for the Woodward Dream Cruise - with displays from Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Ford Racing, SVT, Saleen, Roush, Mobility Motoring, Hard Rock Cafe's "50 Years of Rock" Mobile Tour, Harley Davidson, and a first-time Ford Cruisin' Concours.
• Ford Cruisin' Legends Park celebrates fast cars and great music - marking the 40th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, the 50th anniversary of the Ford Thunderbird and the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll music.
• Ford announces the schedule of events, celebrations and appearances planned for Cruisin' Legends - including classic rock 'n' roll bands provided by the Hard Rock Cafe.

DEABORN, MI, July 23, 2004 - Ford Motor Company is transforming Birmingham's Shain Park into Ford Cruisin' Legends Park for the Woodward Dream Cruise, including a dance card full of some first-time events celebrating two touchstones of American culture: fast cars and great music.

People who want to paint the town during the Dream Cruise can visit Cruisin' Legends to steep themselves in the glory days when muscle cars were on the road, and rock was on the radio.

"We're celebrating the 40th anniversary of America's quintessential muscle car, the Ford Mustang, the 50th anniversary of America's prototypical "cruisin'" car, the Ford Thunderbird,' said Jim O'Connor, group vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service. "Add to that the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll music, and our partnership with Hard Rock Cafe, and we've got the best ticket in town for enthusiasts of classic cars and great music."

Ford World Headquarters Dream Cruise Kick-off - Employees and Ford car club enthusiasts are invited to display their classic cruisers in the front parking lot of the Ford World Headquarters building on the morning of Friday, August 20. Employees from the Dearborn-area will be welcomed to enjoy the car show as Ford Motor Company kicks-off the Dream Cruise in its hometown. Around noon, employees can watch a parade of classics leave the World Headquarters parking lot to cruise up Woodward, celebrating Ford's history of cruisin' legends.

Ford's Charity Celebration - Ford will bring music legends Wilson Pickett, Bad Company's Paul Rogers and Morris Day & The Time for an exclusive charity celebration in downtown Birmingham from 6-11 p.m. Ticket purchasers will be able to enjoy Ford's great classic cars, concept cars, Ford Cruisin' Legends Park, the "History of Rock" from Hard Rock Cafe and live entertainment while supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. For the Charity Celebration reservation information or to purchase reservations, please call 248-827-3015. Tickets are $175, and Ford will donate the net proceeds from the Friday celebration to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

• For the first time, Ford will host a Ford Cruisin' Legends Concours - affording Ford and Lincoln Mercury classic vehicle owners the rare opportunity for their vehicles to receive special recognition from a select panel of judges chaired by Peter Horbury, executive director, North American Design, Ford Motor Company. Award categories include: Chairman's Choice - Best of Show, Children's Choice, Best SVT Vehicle, Best Hot Rod, Best Custom, Best Classic, Best Ford Vehicle, Best Lincoln Mercury Vehicle. For additional information about the contest, send an email to: cruisin@ford.com. The concours will take place on Saturday, August 21 at 11 a.m.
• Visitors to the Ford Division Pavilion of Cruisin' Legends Park will be able to get up close and personal with Ford's famous "Trilogy" display - which includes the 2005 Ford GT super car, the 2005 Mustang GT and the 2005 Shelby Cobra.
• Entertainment at the Ford Division Pavilion will include the Randy Bachman Band, Twin Pigs, The Beat Club and a children's favorite, The Candyband.
• The Hard Rock Cafe's "50 Years of Rock" Mobile Tour - which marks the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll music - commemorated by the recording of Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee on July 5, 1954. The exhibit will take fans through a journey, combining a retrospective look at rock 'n' roll with the Hard Rock experience - complete with legendary pieces of memorabilia from the past several decades of rock.
• The Ford Mustang 40-city tour will make a stop at Cruisin' Legends, starring a 2005 Ford Mustang GT. Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and Ford Racing will also have displays.
• The Ford Experience Tour features Ford concepts and new vehicles, such as the Ford Five Hundred and the Ford Freestyle. Lucky winners at the Ford Trivia Challenge will receive prizes. All pedestrians and cruisers are welcome to visit, enjoy the music and receive a free Mustang poster.
• Lincoln Mercury classics and concepts will be on display throughout the weekend at the Lincoln Mercury Lounge, located in the Townsend Hotel Ballroom - with a backdrop of cool jazz from the Ellie Epstein quintet.
• Hog Heaven, located in front of Birmingham City Hall, will showcase Ford Motor Company concept trucks and incredible Harley Davidson motorcycles throughout the weekend.
• Ford's commitment to people with disabilities extends to the Cruisin' Legends festivities with the Ford Cruisin' Mobility display. Ford Mobility Motoring will have on hand a modified F-150, a Focus rally simulator and Cruisin with Kids Tent. The interactive Focus Simulator is equipped with hand control that provides the user an authentic driving experience for people with special transportation needs. The modified F-150 equipped with turn out seats, hand controls and All Terrain Vehicle will demonstrate the people with disabilities can go anywhere at anytime.
• The Metro Detroit Ford Dealers Family Fun Area will be located in Ford Cruisin' Legends Park where families can enjoy face painters, clowns and other children's activities.

Team Mustang & "Mustang Alley" - Mustang Alley, sponsored by Ford Motor Company's Team Mustang will include a display of more than 300 classic and current Mustangs and an aftermarket parts vendor area in Ferndale. Also on display will be the largest display of yellow Mustangs ever assembled. Mustang Alley is located on West 9 Mile Road and Woodward in Ferndale. It will be open from 12:00 - 4:30 p.m. on August 20 and from 5:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on August 21.

Mustang has become an icon of American culture, thanks to 40 years of innovative design and affordable performance:

• The very first Mustang - the 1962 Mustang I Concept - was a two-seat, mid-engine sports car whose name was a tribute to the legendary North American P51 Mustang fighter plane from World War II. It made its debut in October of that year at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, New York.
• The world debut of Mustang occurred at the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York on April 17, 1964. The price at launch: $2,368.
• The first regular production Mustang was a Wimbledon White convertible with a 260-cubic inch V-8 that rolled off the assembly line on March 9, 1964. The original car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.
• Mustang sales exceeded even Ford's most optimistic projections. At the car's launch, the company expected annual sales of about 100,000 units. But 22,000 Mustang orders were taken on the first day, and sales reached an astounding 417,000 in car's first 12 months.
• Mustang sales reached the one million-mark in 1966. To-date, more than eight million have been sold, and it has been the best-selling sports car for 17 years straight years.
• Mustangs have figured prominently in the movies, including the James Bond films "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds are Forever," "Bullitt," starring Steve McQueen and "Gone in 60 Seconds (both the original 1974 film and the 2000 remake starring Nicholas Cage).

• Since introduction, the flight of the Thunderbird has included classic two-seaters, cherished roadsters, convertibles and four-door models, as well as exciting hardtops and sedans - more than 1.2 million of them.
• First public appearance was Feb. 20, 1954, at Detroit's first post-war auto show.
• The first 1955 Thunderbird came off the line at Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Assembly Plant on Sept. 9, 1954.
• Thunderbird went on sale Oct. 22, 1954 - starting a legend that would grow with each generation of Thunderbird cars.
• 2002 Ford Thunderbird world debut, January 8, 2001, North American International Auto Show, Detroit, Michigan.
• 2002 - For the first time in more than 35 years, two American convertible icons - the Ford Thunderbird and Ford Mustang - are side-by-side in dealer showrooms across America.