My 'Dark Horse'

The Ford Mustang (especially the 2007 version) is officially my very favourite car. I love the lean mean lines, and the shape of the chunky grill. I also love the wonderful noise the engine makes and it first purrs, then roars into life.

The new edition 2010 Ford Mustang is a creature of a car. It is, rightly so, absolutely uneconomical, and as such becomes a true gas-guzzling American Beauty, built on a long and illustrious heritage and company history. The powerdome hood leads from that aggressive and powerful front through to the low and far back sunken driving seats, where you and your very favourite passenger can survey the road. There is something in that ordered back exterior that makes the Ford Mustang seem both calm, and like something much more energetic is bubbling away beneath the surface.

That “energy” is probably the Mustang’s 4.6 litre SOHC V8 engine. With more horsepower than the previous models, the 2010 Mustang really enjoys its expansive engine capacity to the max, especially if you have a chance to enjoy roaring along a long straight American road with the pedal to the metal. This is when the styling really comes into play, providing the engine with a lovely aerodynamic piece of kit to force through the air and simply blow away any semblance of friction or resistance!

This combination of fearless good looks, simple going yet powerful engine capacity, and a certain hefty dose of the American dream make this automobile really favourite for a very specific kind of holiday. As well as importing these muscle automobiles into the UK for people who just can’t find anything equivalent on this side of the ocean, people seem to just love driving them. The holiday of a lifetime for these individuals might just be a road-trip down the coastline of America, in your own luxury soft top Ford Mustang.

These holidays are about more than driving a car, and more than having a break. The friends that I know who have been on such exciting bespoke trips have informed me, reasonably reliably, that taking a road trip in a Ford Mustang is more about feeling the automobile in its natural environment than it is about anything else. Whistling past the stunning USA scenery, pulling into remote lay-bys or staying a adorable hotels (motels?) – each single element is part of the overall package.

Casting images of old black and white horror movies aside, I have to admit that a trip in a Mustang would be worth doing. If only because the cost of importing and then running a Ford Mustang becomes astronomical very quickly, the intent of having your automobile purely to holiday is sounds incredibly tempting and more than a tiny bit decadent! Whilst I will still aspire passionately towards importing my own Mustang (preferably a 2007 model…), perhaps a trip in a real beauty will give me the reins and prepare me for the ownership that will one day be mine all mine.