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<\/p>\nFor seven TV seasons in the 1970s, Mary Tyler Moore, as Mary Richards, turned the world on with her smile.<\/p>\n
She also drove a Ford Mustang.<\/p>\n
When Karen Foshay spotted a blue 1973 Mustang convertible connected to the show at a special exhibit in Los Angeles in November, it took her back. Well, not all the way back.<\/p>\n
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After all, it had been reruns of \u201cThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,\u201d along with its daily pairing with \u201cThe Bob Newhart Show,\u201d when she was 10 or 11, that Foshay had watched religiously.<\/p>\n
But that show, along with her family\u2019s deep interest in the news when she was growing up, set Foshay on a path. She currently works as an executive producer at LA Times Studios, one of numerous news organizations she’s worked for in her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to be Mary Richards,\u201d Foshay said of the character who was an associate producer at a fictional Minneapolis TV newsroom. \u201cSure enough I ended up being a news producer.\u201d<\/p>\n
More: Owner hunts missing history of his rare 1934 Packard cabriolet<\/a><\/p>\n The blue Mustang was a later addition to the show, with brief appearances in the opening and closing credits. An episode in Season 3 includes a story line where Mary contemplates a new car while hers is being serviced, and she eventually does get a new car, although the color is yellow. A later clip shows her washing the blue Mustang.<\/p>\n But Mustang was part of the show\u2019s DNA from the beginning, appearing in the original opening in white.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember her in the opening scene. She\u2019s driving that Mustang. She’s starting in a new city,\u201d Foshay said. \u201cI just thought she was the coolest thing around.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford Motor Co. Heritage Brand Manager and Archivist Ted Ryan said he\u2019d like to locate that original white Mustang, said to be a 1970 coupe<\/a>, as well, but so far, that\u2019s proven to be an elusive goal.<\/p>\n More: LA Auto Show had echoes of Detroit’s Autorama<\/a><\/p>\n Instead, it\u2019s the blue 1973 Mustang convertible that Ryan used to help tell the story of Mustang\u2019s appeal to a younger female audience. It\u2019s currently part of American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience<\/a>, a special exhibit housed in a repurposed warehouse in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Using the Mustang, a vehicle that debuted in the 1960s, for \u201cThe Mary Tyler Moore Show\u201d would have been a purposeful choice, Ryan said.<\/p>\n More: Former Ford dealer, 102, tours automaker’s rare collection in Dearborn<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Mustang represented a youthful audience. I guarantee you they picked that because it\u2019s the new, hip car, and Mary Tyler Moore\u2019s got to be in the new, hip car,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n The blue Mustang hadn\u2019t been purchased for use on the show. Instead, Ford had loaned the vehicle out of its press fleet. When Ryan went looking for the car, he saw it had been sold in 2021 at Mecum Auctions. He eventually connected with the owners who were preparing to sell it again, and Ryan made it the first acquisition of the Ford Heritage Fleet<\/a>, which includes many other vehicles that had been in the company\u2019s possession.<\/p>\n The American Icon exhibit, which is scheduled to remain open at its current location into early February, also includes several other notable rides, such as the 1967 Ford Mustang \u201cEleanor,\u201d from the 2000 film, \u201cGone in 60 Seconds.” But that Mustang and others are on loan for the exhibit; \u201cThe Mary Tyler Moore\u201d Mustang is expected to stay with the exhibit at future locations.<\/p>\n The car is drivable but needs a new battery. Ryan said that particular model year, \u201c\u201973, was kind of the swan song for that first generation of Mustang, so it\u2019s a beautiful car.\u201d<\/p>\n More: Driving 1991 Acura NSX at Honda HQ felt like reconnection to driving<\/a><\/p>\n Its connection to a landmark TV show, highlighting a young, independent woman, also makes a relevant statement, even if Mary Tyler Moore isn\u2019t as well-known to younger generations, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it is a great way to tell the story that Mustang has enormous demographic appeal \u2212 all ages, all sexes. It is a great way to tell that story,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. If you’ve got a tip or suggestion or know the whereabouts of the white Mary Tyler Moore Mustang, contact him at elawrence@freepress.com<\/a>. Become a subscriber<\/a>. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com\/letters<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/87e4881d1add07d1666d98b5631f9408.jpeg\"\/)
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