On April 17, 1964, the Ford Mustang, with its long hood, short rear deck and sporty features, caused a sensation when it was introduced to the public at the New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

“When the Mustang was unveiled, the reaction was so positive that there was no doubt it was going to be a success,” recalls Joe Oros, chief designer of Ford’s original pony car – dubbed the 1964½ because it was launched at an unusual halfway point in the year.

Don Frey, product planning manager for the original Ford Mustang, says he knew the car was going to be a hit months earlier when the design team gave Ford employees a sneak peek at one of the prototypes.

“We built the first prototype in an experimental garage, and employees flooded the place to see it,” he said. “Their reaction was spectacular, and it was very revealing to us. We knew the car was going to be roaring success from the start.”

And what a success it was.

The 1964½ Mustang debuted at a price of $2,368 – a bargain even in 1964. Ford 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 the car’s first 12 months on the market. Within two years, Mustang sales reached one million.

Frey says he believes the car had such dramatic appeal because the styling was very unusual for its day.

“The design was very European, particularly the front end,” he said. “There was no other car like it in North America at that time.”

Another facet of Mustang’s appeal was that it could be any vehicle the customer wanted it to be. The original Mustangs were available in three body styles – convertible, hardtop or fastback – with the most extensive list of options Detroit had ever offered. The Ford Mustang could be an economical “base” car, a macho high-performance car or a luxury car.

“Mustang was designed to be designed by you,” one of the original print ads declared. And it was true. Everyone who owned a Mustang believed no one else had a vehicle like theirs, and the vehicle had broad appeal.

“We were told to design a car that the ladies would love that the men would love just as much, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Oros.

Marketing studies conducted at the time showed that women bought as many Mustangs as men.

“They loved the styling, and the car was very affordable,” said Frey. “Women bought it by the thousands.”

Frey, now 86, is the proud owner of one of the original Mustangs – built in June of 1964. It’s a red hard top with a white interior, and he keeps it parked in his home garage.

“I have a driver who comes by, and we take it out,” he said. “To this day, people stop us and ask if it’s an original Mustang.”

At age 92, Oros says he’s still as passionate about the Mustang as he was 45 years ago.

“He wants me to stop in the middle of the freeway whenever he sees a Mustang, and I tell him that we can’t do that,” said Oros’ driver and caregiver Violeta Orlanda. “When we do stop somewhere, he searches the parking lot to find the Mustangs, and he insists on checking them all out in detail from front to back.”

Oros says his fascination and fondness for the pony car he helped create will never end.

“It makes me feel proud every time I see one,” explained Oros. “After all of these years, Mustang has never lost its luster.”

Frey is equally as proud.

“We created an icon,” he said. “And I had a hand in it.”

Information courtesy of Ford.

The Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider earned celebrity for its role in the iconic 1960s black comedy The Graduate.  With that, demand for the Italian roadster soared and the Alfa marque became a hot commodity in America once again.  The Spider’s movie gig retained enough prominence so as to become an entry trim level in later years.

This Duetto, from eBay seller flowernyc, is a pristine 1969.  The American-spec fuel-injection system was replaced by a traditional European twin-carb setup.  We’re not sure the engine: the early Duettos had either a 1.8 I-4 or a “Junior” 1.3, and both were linked to a 5-spd. manual.  Total output for the 1.8 was pegged at 118 hp; not bad considering the Duetto weighed under 2,200 lbs.

The current high bid is at $5,100–still under the reserve.  This is nicest Duetto we’ve seen in a long time, and makes for a more enjoyable ride than the later Spiders.  Should this be a 1.3, we’d put a reasonable price at around $9,000.  If it’s the preferred 1.8, set the number at $12,000.

See the car for yourself:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-Alfa-Romeo-Duetto-Spider-Great-Condition_W0QQitemZ200365462698QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item2ea6b654aa&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A-1|39%3A1

Many fancy themselves as speed freaks, but no can deny the ultimate form of speed lies not on the ground–but in the air.

For a fraction of the asking price for a Mecum auction Daytona, you can be the owner of America’s most praised fighter jet.  The North American F-86 Sabre drove the US Air Force to obtain air superiority over the skies of Korea in the 1950s.  The Sabre’s sleek design offered cutting-edge subsonic qualities, such as low-drag swept wings that provided superb maneuverability and speed.

GE turbojet engines, though different among the Sabre variants, could be expected to push this beauty up to 570 to 680 mph, depending on the exact model, while the ceiling hovers just below 50,000 ft.  Working Sabres range in price from $700,000 to $2,000,000, and hundreds of retired planes are waiting around for much less from Amazonia to the Balkans. chevy s10 for sale

Phoenix-based Rizk Auto has brought us a forgotten item in the Aston Martin catalog: the short-lived DBR2.  The DBR2 was a Le Mans-class race car released in 1957.  But due to various regulations over engine capacity, the DBR2 was cast out of major competition.  Its chance at glory came with the ’57 Le Mans, but the car couldn’t muster the full twenty-four hours.  It puttered along until 1960, when it was retired and sold to private collectors.

Rizk has resolved those old problems by making its version the perfect balance of Space Age design with ’50s cool.  The featherweight aluminum chassis is linked to a composite body, both lined with heat-resistant shuttle-craft coating.  The curb weight for the car is just 2,100 lbs.  Buyers can opt for old-school equipment, with a carbureted Jaguar inline-six or V-12 mated to a 5-spd. manual, or go modern with a fuel-injected Chevrolet 6.2 L V-8 with a 6-spd. auto or manual.

Keeping with our week-long series, today’s better alternative to an $11,000,000 Shelby Daytona is an entire Ferrari collection of old and new Maranello gems.  The Ferrari marque has produced hundreds of different specials over its many decades, but here’s are some that standout in our mind for value and style:

250 GT ($500,000): The venerable 250 series established Ferrari as the highest Italian pedigree, and the GT line brought the make’s V-12 glory to the social elite.  The “Lusso” trim was a limited edition featuring a more elegant bodystyle.  The most famous example belonged to Steve McQueen–though that one did sell for a ridiculous sum because of the celeb assocation.  Others typically range around a half-mil.   A lot, but you are paying for art as much as you are road pleasure.

Dino 246 GT ($120,000): The Dino line was a joint venture between Fiat and Ferrari.  Fiat had its own Dino, while Ferrari’s is the one that garnered all the praise.  The car, named after Enzo Ferrari’s fallen child, was never a real Ferrari, but a separate make sold alongside.  The 246 was the second road Dino and blended a light body with a mid-mounted six-cylinder engine.  It wasn’t much in speed, but neither was its target: the Porsche 911.  Driving a Dino requires discipline, as its road manners are fickle–but its ride carries genuine character.  It’s a beauty, and affordable by Ferrari standards.

365 GTB ($250,00): The last of the truly classic Ferraris, the 365 GTB was nicknamed the “Daytona.”  The name made sense, for the V-12 coupe made an everlasting mark in racing during the 1970s.  The Daytona’s most famous spot was in Miami Vice, though the topless car seen in the show was a mere replica.  Many spyders were built as conversions, with various degrees of quality.  The truth behind the Daytona is that it’s a terrible car for the road, driving with the road feel of a Dodge pickup.  But get into fourth gear and engine springs to life.  The 365 GTB runs about $250,000 in fair condition–not quite a bargain, but a good deal cheaper than other berlinettas that preceded it.

288 GTO ($200,000): The first true modern supercar, the 288 GTO defined the requirements: extremely fast, extremely powerful, extremely exotic, and extremely expensive.  Hitting six figures in the 1980s was unbelievable, but the 288 found hungry buyers.  While the GTO was meant to support a factory racing effort, the project was shelved.  The GTO is a bit of an oddity, abandoning the V-12 in favor of a twin-turbo 2.8 L V-8 that put out 400 hp.  That was an amazing figure for the notoriously emissions-strangled early ’80s.  While most things from the ’80s are woefully out of style, the 288 managed to keep its looks alive and well.

F430 Spider ($200,000): There’s little to argue with on this pick.  The styling is up for debate, but the F430 is still probably the best sports car in its class.  Its V-8 runs briskly, the interior is finely worked, the seats relaxed, and the transmission operates with no stress.  Agile, quick, yet somehow restrained, the 430 is the most refined exotic car we can think of.

599 GTB ($250,000): The 599 has brought back the Ferrari berlinetta tradition.  Beautiful, sleek, and powerful, the 599 is everything an Italian grand touring coupe should be.  Think of it as the proper heir to the 275 GTB of the 1960s, perhaps Ferrari’s “perfect” berlinetta.  There really isn’t any flaw we can think of with this car.

Let’s accept a hard fact: $11,000,000 is a lot of money for anything–especially an automobile that’s barely ever going to see the road.  Just imagine the cost and what you could use that money for instead.  Here’s one alternative that’s about a hundredth to a fiftieth of the cost, depending on what variant and the condition: Lamborghini’s revered Miura.

The Miura is the car that put Ferruccio Lamborghini’s name on the automotive map.  The Miura was designed by a young stylist named Marcello Gandini in the middle of the 1960s, debuting in Turin in 1965.  There was simply nothing like it–its curvaceous body, mid-mounted 3.9 L V-12, and, well, that curvaceous body were stunning.  If there’s one car to knock off the Brits claim the E-type is the most beautiful car ever built, the Miura’s it.

There are a few downsides to the Miura.  Early models, the P400 notably, were prone to engine fires.  The cabin is terribly uncomfortable with an awkward seating position.  Lastly, let’s not forget there’s lots of heat emanating from behind the passenger compartment.

But all of that is really unimportant.  Think of the Miura as a gorgeous, buxom Italian brunette.  She can be a bitch and likes high-living, but all that is little to pay when you slip inside and ride her all night–and she’s a screamer, to top it off.

With prices ranging from $90,000 to $200,000, the Miura is a godsend.

We reported a couple months back about a rare 1965 Shelby Daytona up for auction at Mecum.  The seller had hoped to have his car become a record-holder with a final bid between $10,000,000 and $11,000,000.  The final bid was nowhere near those figures.  The seller and Mecum group claim there was a post-auction offer of as much as $7,500,000, but the seller was still unsatisfied.

Here we go again.  The seller is pushing the Shelby coupe on the block once again, hoping this season’s Monterey auction will bring in a willing buyer up to the seller’s financial standards.

That’s going to be a hard sell.  With a shaky economy, classic American car values in the dumps, and an astonishingly high sales expectation, we find it very unlikely this car will hit the eight-figure mark.  The only cars we can count hitting eleven million have been Ferrari’s revered 250 Testa Rossas and GTOs.  Still, this Daytona is in marvelous condition, is extremely rare, and has real history behind it.

During the 1960s, the Ford Mustang stood as the most iconic car on American roads.  It crossed demographics, looked unlike anything else on the road, and attached itself to a generation.  Part of the Mustang’s appeal was its wide array of options, trim, and bodystyles.  This was furthered by Carroll Shelby, who was signed on to modify a limited number of Mustangs.  His works, the GT350 and 500, became the most desired of Ford’s steel stallions, and that desire spread to America’s southern neighbor.

Eduardo Velazquez was a lawyer-turned-businessman who entered into the auto trade in the mid-Sixties.  It was through this that he formed a partnership with Shelby American to distribute the company’s works.  The problem was that Mexican law required a large part of manufactured works be produced within the country.  Importation barriers prevented the traditional line of Shelby GTs to be sold on Mexican dealerships as typical Fords, so Velazquez was forced to innovate.

His entry into the Mustang trade came just as the ‘67s were arriving in showrooms.  The year was Shelby’s last as the builder for the GT line, but the name still carried on till 1970.  The standard Shelby GT was a fastback, but was unavailable for Velazquez.  Instead, he chose to modify common notchbacks along the lines of Ford’s California and High Country specials.

Velazquez’s custom coupes borrowed the long taillamps of their American counterparts (which could be deleted), GT350 labels and stripes, and a large hood scoop (also deletable).  Under the hood was a domestically built 302 V-8.  The suspension was rough and heavy in order to deal with the harsh terrain common in the country.  From Shelby came a superior air filtration and intake system, Cobra emblems, and authentic Shelby wheels.

It may not seem like much, but Velazquez’s GT350s performed, winning road rallies and drag races throughout the country.  There was enough of a clientele to warrant further production.  The ‘69 became a best-seller (which meant it was built by the hundreds, instead of tens), featuring fiberglass roof extensions to convey a fastback profile, and a revised interior.

Velazquez continued to sell modified Mustangs up to 1974.  In spite of this, few of his cars are still around.  Those that are sell for a just a fraction of what American Shelbys go for.  Only around a dozen have been accounted for.

i know who killed me online download

It’s not easy being beautiful.  Take it from someone who knows.  I frequently have to deal with women’s gasps and cries.  In fact, I’ve even been handed restraining orders because my looks are a cause of too much temptation.  (That’s not what the documents said, but that’s the truth behind ‘em.)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder–except in my case, since my beauty is unquestionable.  I am appreciative that in our present day, automotive design has come to a point of such creativity to appeal to anyone’s taste.

It wasn’t that long ago when we were inundated with bland, lifeless flat shapes that defined “style” for over two decades.  The results were tragic.  Just compare a Ferrari 275 GTB to a 1980s Testarossa, a Dino 246 GT to a 308 GTB, a ’68 C3 Corvette to an ’84 C4, or a Toyota 2000GT to a 1980s Celica.  Indeed, this was a dark age in design.

Like most things from the late ’70s and 1980s, this trend went out of style by the will of the Creator and the gods of fashion.  Not only have automotive engineering, performance, and luxury grown considerably since then, so have our options in design.  If you love angles, go no further than the Lambo Murcielago.  Want something rounded and sleek?  There’s the Infiniti G37.  Are you sexually insecure and want something convince the world your all

download nightmare before christmas the

download house bunny the dvd secret life of bees the dvdrip man?  Buy a Ford F-150 (apparently a lot troubled man have).  If want to stay retro, you can opt for a Mini or Mustang.

JWant some more examples?  How about a 1986 Ford Taurus to a 2010 Fusion, an Audi 5000 to an A5, or a Mercedes R107 SL to today’s facelifted R230.  Let’s face it: automotive design has evolved to a pointwhere it can provide character-driven designs for any type of automobile.  You even have to give the modest Civic some credit: it appears as something more than just an econobox, as do the Fit, Toyota Yaris, and Smart ForTwo.  You don’t have to like them to admit they’re distinct and different.

I’m thankful to see a cutting-edge Italian exotic like the Alfa 8C; its curvaceous shape evokes both graceful beauty and muscular prowess.  I shudder to think how Ferrari’s F40 and Lambo’s Countach, though significant cars in their own right, were the definition of halo-status and almost sex symbols to gearheads around the globe two decades past.

I’m not saying every car–or even most–today is a pleasure to look at; I’m just grateful that design studios are putting out a large volume of distinct creations for production.  I’d argue the Nissan 370Z and GT-R are failures in the field–the 370 looks like a 350 and 240 were mushed together, then given headlamps sculpted by Jack the Ripper; the GT-R looks like a bunch of panels from the Nissan parts been glued together.  The Pontiac Aztek and Porsche Panamera are undeniably hideous, and the Ferrari 360 and 612 look like something akin to aquatic lifeforms.

So, yes, there is a downside to today’s design trend; but I’m still pleased to see that kind of diverse thinking at work.  Every time I see a Mercedes CLS pass by, an 8C at a concourse event, or an Audi TT convertible driven by a forty-something Latin brunette named Lorena, I have to smile.  That’s coming a long way–especially if that brunette’s lamps are from the factory.  Screw the custom work.

That’s my rant for today.  Now I’m getting ready to head out to the Velvet Flamingo–it’s Island Night and there’s just something about a greased up bare-chested Filipino I can’t resist.

Take care and drive safely.