Mustang Ready For the Pony Car War

DEARBORN October 25, 2006 - It's the 1960s all over again - Ford scores a hit with the redesigned Mustang and the next thing you know the competitors are launching an all out Pony Car war. Looming in the Mustang's shadow are a revived versions of the competition's classic muscle cars.

Is Ford worried?

"We embrace the Pony wars," said James Owens, Mustang marketing manager. "Mustang is the authentic American muscle car. In fact, Mustang is the only one of the original pony cars from the 1960s to live on into the 21st century with no interruption in production."

GT500 to Pace NASCAR Ford 400 at Daytona

THREE ALL-NEW 2007 FORD VEHICLES TO PACE FORD CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Three "championship-level" 2007 Ford vehicles - the Ford Shelby GT500, Ford Edge and Ford F-150 FX2 Sport - have been selected to pace the three Ford Championship Weekend races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of NASCAR's season-ending events.

Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology; Curtis Gray, president of Homestead-Miami Speedway; and Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion and a contender for this year's title, were all on hand at the race track today to help unveil the three pace vehicles in a ceremony before open NASCAR testing at the track.

"We wanted to select championship level production vehicles to pace the Ford Championship Weekend, and we picked three of the best," said Davis, in making the announcement. "When you talk about vehicles that combine bold design and the kind of performance needed to lead the NASCAR field on track, these three vehicles are the place to start."

ROUSH Reactor Mustang to Debut at SEMA

LIVONIA, Mich. (October 11, 2006) - ROUSH Performance, a leader in Ford Mustang upgrades, will showcase a very unique Mustang in their booth during the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Dubbed "Reactor," this 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback took more than 2000 hours to build.

The gorgeous deep metallic green vehicle is owned by Doug Hoppe of Sioux Center, Iowa who commissioned the Ringbrothers to rebuild the car with one simple objective - to contend for the 2007 Good Guys Street Machine of the Year award.

Bullitt Mustang Coming Back in 2008

In a webcast speech about Ford's again-revised Way Forward plan, Mark Fields, Executive Vice President and President of The Americas, confirmed last week that a special edition Bullitt Mustang is forthcoming.

"We added additional Mustang derivatives to our near-term product plans - to ensure we have at least one new Mustang every year. One of those will be the return of the Bullitt, and it's coming in 2008."

Newly appointed Ford President and CEO, Alan Mulally, also noted that special edition Mustangs are an integral part of the company's product plans. New Mustang derivatives are to appear each year.

BOLD MOVES Street racing video game - behind the wheel of Ford's fastest rides

Are you dying to get behind the wheel of the outrageous 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang but can't scrape together the down payment? Rev up your PC, PlayStation 2 or Xbox this month to experience the next best thing, courtesy of Ford Motor Company and video game giant Eidos.

Ford Bold Moves Street Racing will put you in the driver's seat of 18 new or classic Ford-licensed street machines: the 1968 Mustang GT, 1969 Mustang Boss 302, 1970 Capri Mk I RS2600, 1970 Mustang Boss 429, 1973 Escort RS2000, 1975 Torino Sport, 1985 RS200, 1987 Sierra RS500, 1992 Escort RS Cosworth, 1995 GT90 Concept, 2000 Ford SVT Cobra R, 2002 Focus RS, 2004 Fiesta ST, 2004 Mustang GT-R Concept, 2004 SVT F-150 Lightning, 2006 Ford GT, 2006 Mustang GT and the outrageous 2007 Shelby GT500.

The game structure includes challenges, competitions and leagues for one or two players racing on 24 highly detailed tracks based on the streets of Los Angeles. Players win cash to repair cars and purchase higher-performance cars and options.

A unique patented feature, Maximum Team Control Racing, allows competitors to command a team of up to three cars at once, switching from car to car on the fly to increase the racing excitement. As an added touch of realism, the cars show progressive damage from side-by-side racing, affecting the car's appearance, performance and drivability.

Developed by Razorworks, the game is slated for release this month and is rated "E" so everyone can enjoy the excitement.