Riding in Bill Shulz’s Wimbledon White original 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang convertible, even an ordinary road attracts attention.
“When you are driving, do you notice people giving you looks?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked in the passenger seat.
“Oh, I love when people go by and honk their horn or give the thumbs up,” he said while driving.
“What’s the song you play in your Mustang driving in the open road?” Koltnow asked.
“Of course you got to play ‘Mustang Sally,'” he said.
Allentown native Lee Iacocca helped bring the Mustang to life. Ford debuted the car in April 1964.
“It represents freedom, freedom of driving. Driving is freedom, but the Mustang is just really fun,” said America on Wheels Manager Monica Ziobro.
She owns three Mustangs herself, and says the car made style and performance attainable.
More than a million sold in its first two years.
It spawned the “pony-car” category of compact, affordable, customizable sporty cars.
“This was the perfect car for the perfect time, and when it was introduced at the World’s Fair, the world saw it and fell in love with it,” Zioboro said.
The Lehigh County-based Shulz’s ’64 model has won numerous awards, and is a magazine centerfold.
“It’s just a classic car, all around it’s an All-American car,” he said.
But it may be overshadowed in its own garage.
“Is there any spousal rivalry between the 2018 and ’64?” Koltnow asked Bill and his wife Barb.
“Well, no, except when it comes to the air conditioning,” she said.
Barb drives a 2018 model.
“This gives you a sense of being able just to go out there and you’re kind of ruling the road and you’re just in your own zone,” she said.
” It’s something that you can just feel proud driving it, that you’re driving a piece of American history,” Bill added.
On the road of America’s 250th birthday.
The Mustang didn’t just move people. It put freedom, style and possibility within reach of everyday Americans.
What’s more American than that?