With 38 glorious years and counting under the belt of the Ford Mustang, we are now embarking on a new generation of Mustang enthusiasts. There are young people all around the world who are learning the layout of a 289 or how to rebuild the transmission they thrashed at the drag strip the weekend before. In short, the Mustang lives!
Teenagers everywhere are living their dream: driving their cars to school. Can you imagine (or remember) the feeling of pulling up for the first time to the local high school in a convertible and seeing the look of envy on the faces of your friends? The power and prestige of owning your first car-be it a Ford Mustang or a Honda Civic (we won't name names)-is a freeing feeling.
Today is the day of the Ponycar family. It's not just the husband getting out of the house on the weekends to go to the drag strip or banging around the garage with his buddies. Today, there are whole families enjoying the Mustang in the garage, working together and showing their cars, and yes, racing their cars as a family. Allyson Bruhn of Lafayette, Colorado, knows a thing or two about growing up in a Mustang family.
Allyson's father, a Mustang fan through and through, involved his family in his passion. "Ever since I was a little girl," says Allyson, "if there was something wrong with one of the cars I wanted to be there helping." Quickly, Allyson became an enthusiast and an owner of this '96 Deep Forest Green convertible GT. Taking pointers from her family, she was an old hand at the shows and races. Last year at the Rocky Mountain Round Up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Allyson walked away with Fourth Place from the road races. This is quite an undertaking because Allyson's convertible is straight from the factory.
That's right, no modifications have been done to the '96 GT. From the 4.6L SOHC engine through the five-speed manual transmission to the P225/55ZR16 tires wrapped around 16-inch cast aluminum GT wheels, this car is stocked full of class. "I love my car," she says. "It's so fun to drive." This '96 convertible is packed full with GT style, with its Mach 1 CD stereo system, power locks and windows, power seats, antilock brakes, and two-tone saddle tan cloth interior.
Allyson recently graduated from Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colorado. Her plans are to go to college at Virginia Tech. Although far away from Colorado, Allyson still plans on staying close to the Mustang hobby. Her affiliations with the Early Mustang Club and the Shelby Club of Colorado will keep her hand in the mix. Good luck at college Allyson. We hope Virginia is prepared for the next generation of Mustang enthusiasts.