Am I glad I moved to Tampa a few years back. :-) Any similar events elsewhere in the country?
----- FORD UNVEILS ALL-NEW EDITION OF ITS POP-ICON MUSTANG AT LEGENDS FIELD FESTIVAL
DEARBORN, Mich., July 5, 2004 ? With the fervor and excitement of a rock 'n' roll tour stop, Ford Motor Company will introduce the all-new
2005 Mustang to Tampa/St.Petersburg on July 16 and 17 at an event billed as "Mustang Mania" expected to draw hundreds of fans of the legendary pony car of all ages and vintages.The parking lot at Legends Field will be transformed into a gigantic festival site as Tampa/St. Petersburg Mustang enthusiasts celebrate their favorite car's 40th anniversary and welcome the 2005 model that goes on sale this fall. There will be hot dogs and soft drinks, tents, a disc jockey spinning classic Mustang memories (from "Hey Little Cobra" to "Mustang Sally") and trivia contests.
But the real stars will be the cars -- a 2005 Mustang GT and hundreds of classic Pony cars owned and displayed at Legends Field by their proud Tampa/St. Petersburg residents during the two days. The event, sponsored by the Tampa/St. Petersburg Ford dealers, is free and open to the public.
?The Beatles had their fan clubs, Britney Spears has hers and we have ours, except our star just happens to be made of sheet metal,? said Marty Collins, Ford Division general marketing manager, who will serve as the company spokesperson at the event. ?The enthusiasts here in Tampa and St. Pete, along with the 40,000 registered Mustang club owners around the world, make us proud, and they're a big reason why Mustang has outlived the other muscle cars."
As a testament to its pop-culture appeal, Mustang has been featured in more than 500 films, the subject of countless rock and roll songs, and it?s even graced a U.S. postage stamp. "NBA fans are always saying, 'I love this game'?well, we just love this car," said Dave Turnbull of Fort Lauderdale who recently led a troupe of 50 Mustangers on a cross- country tour at their own expense to celebrate the car's 40th birthday. Turnbull and some of the drivers from "The Great American Pony Drive II" will be special guests at the Legends Field event.
The 2005 Mustang retains the classic pony car styling cues of a long hood and short rear deck in a design that is modern, muscular and immediately recognizable as a Mustang. The Mustang GT version will have a 300-horsepower all-aluminum V-8 engine, while the V-6 edition will have 210 horsepower and performance that rivals Mustang GTs from the
1980s and 90s.The new Mustang is part of Ford's largest roll out of all-new products in its history. It will be joined in Tampa-St. Petersburg by the company's new flagship sedan, the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, and the 2005 Ford Freestyle, which bridges the gap between sedans and SUVs.
"Between last fall's launch of the 2004 F-150 pickup and this fall's launch of the all-new Mustang, more than 60 percent of the Ford showroom will be new designs, and that includes so many new cars that we're calling 2004 the 'year of the car,'" said Ford's Collins. "We want to show consumers in Tampa and St. Petersburg how we're trying to change the game in every segment of the car market by offering safety features, roominess, versatility, powertrain technology and great design in combinations you can't find from any other company."
The Mustang Mania festival will run from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, July
16, and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 17.Saturday will be the primary Rally day, local enthusiasts should arrive to the event at 8:00am
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