Meet Boaz, my 2007 Ford Mustang.

Hello all!

I hesitated to mention this, here in the land of the Prius, (I still have my 2005, BTW)...but I had a chance to finally get my dream car, and well, I took it.

What made me hesitate to mention it here, is because it's a gas consuming car. And not a hybrid. And to make it even harder to mention here, is I traded my paid off Hybrid Highlander for it.

I did get an even swap, and Ford even paid me extra to (over two grand extra!) for me to get the Mustang.

I was driving home, when I saw out of the corner of my eye, a orange Mustang. It was for sale right next to a Prius, in this used FORD COUNTRY lot, which is a authorized Ford dealer.

Well, I walk in, and was greeted by DAVE who asked me if he could help me. I said, ‘Here’s the deal; I have paid off my Hybrid Highlander; it’s got 26,000 miles on it, and it’s a ‘07. What I want to do, is just swap out even, no money from me, for that Ford Mustang.’

He blinked. And said, ‘Um, you got the title?’ and I said, ‘No, but it’s being mailed to me on the 25th of this month.’ He looked at me and said he had to ask his manager. He came right back, (I mean, right back) and said not only could they do that, but they could give me money as well. (They can check, and they did, to see if there is a loan out on the truck. There is not.)

Well, less then two hours later, the deal was done. I finally had got, one of the cars I have always wanted, but never got (it’s my 37th car, BTW). A Ford Mustang. This is a 2007 Ford Mustang. Here are the specs:


* FUEL ECONOMY EPA HIGHWAY (MPG): 28 AND EPA CITY (MPG): 19
* REMOTE POWER LOCKS INCLUDES POWER WINDOWS
* FRONT POWER WINDOWS WITH TWO ONE-TOUCH
* CRUISE CONTROL
* FOUR DISC BRAKES INCLUDING FOUR VENTILATED DISCS
* DRIVER FRONT AIRBAG WITH MULTI-STAGE DEPLOYMENT, PASSENGER FRONT AIRBAG WITH OCCUPANT SENSORS AND MULTI-STAGE DEPLOYMENT
* TINTED GLASS ON CABIN
* COMPLEX SURFACE LENS HALOGEN BULB HEADLIGHTS
* TACHOMETER
* PERFORMANCE: MAXIMUM SPEED (MPH): 118
* DRIVER AND PASSENGER POWER BLACK DOOR MIRRORS
* FIXED REAR WINDOW WITH DEFOGGER
* REMOTE CONTROL REMOTE TRUNK/HATCH RELEASE
* FRONT READING LIGHTS

* UPGRADED CLOTH/VELOUR SEAT UPHOLSTERY WITH ADDITIONAL UPGRADED CLOTH/VELOUR
* TWO SYMMETRICAL BENCH/SPORTS FRONT FACING REAR SEATS WITH ZERO ADJUSTMENTS
* PLASTIC MULTI-FUNCTION STEERING WHEEL WITH TILT ADJUSTMENT
* POWER STEERING
* AIR CONDITIONING
* LOW TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR
* DELAYED/FADE COURTESY LIGHTS
* ILLUMINATED ENTRY SYSTEM
* CARGO AREA LIGHT
* CARGO CAPACITY: ALL SEATS IN PLACE (CU FT): 13.1
* EMISSION CONTROL LEVEL FED
* UNLEADED FUEL 87
* 16.1 GALLON MAIN UNLEADED FUEL TANK

* DASHBOARD
* OIL PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT
* CLOCK
* TWO HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE HEAD RESTRAINTS ON FRONT SEATS
* FRONT SEAT CENTER ARMREST
* STRUT FRONT SUSPENSION INDEPENDENT WITH STABILIZER BAR AND COIL SPRINGS, BEAM REAR SUSPENSION RIGID WITH COIL SPRINGS
* VENTILATION SYSTEM
* WINDSHIELD WIPERS WITH VARIABLE INTERMITTENT WIPE
* SPACESAVER STEEL RIM INTERNAL SPARE WHEEL
* FULL DASHBOARD CONSOLE, FULL FLOOR CONSOLE WITH COVERED STORAGE BOX
* DOOR AJAR WARNING
* WEIGHTS: CURB WEIGHT (LBS) 3,351
* EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS: OVERALL LENGTH (INCHES): 187.6, OVERALL WIDTH (INCHES): 73.9, OVERALL HEIGHT (INCHES): 55.4, WHEELBASE (INCHES): 107.1, FRONT TRACK (INCHES): 62.8, REAR TRACK (INCHES): 63 AND CURB TO CURB TURNING CIRCLE (FEET): 33.4

It’s Pre-Owned, but only because it was the dealers car. I also get, a 6 year/100,000 mile Powertrain Warranty...which is cool.

Low miles on it. And no smoking in it. Really keen. The color is GRABBER ORANGE, which is in my view, different, and Ellen, my wife, she loves the color. Which was important.

Meet BOAZ ( Boaz - From the Bible. Since Boaz means ‘swiftness’ in Hebrew this may be the perfect name for a Mustang, a pony, that can run fast.)

Now, I know some of you may be/are scratching your heads, and wondering, ‘Has TJ lost his mind?’ Here is how I look at this:

* I have wanted a Mustang since I could walk.
*

The mileage, it is close to what the Highlander was getting, and frankly, I know how to PULSE AND GLIDE, and other HYPERMILER tricks, so I can keep the MPG up.
*

The insurance, oddly enough, is lower.
*

I’m 43 and I have to say, I have been patient about this Mustang thing.
*

I lost 30% or my right foot, I still have a house for sale in Florida (14 plus months now), and having survived cancer and still surviving diabetes, I could use the pick me up this year. So please don't hate on me too much.

 

Thanks! Thanks a lot. This car makes me smile. And I was not using the space in the HiHy as much as I once did; it's pretty much just myself in that car, with my wife.

I understand a family of six bought the car the next day; they traded a Lincoln Navigator in on it. So someone who needed the Hybrid Highlander now has one, and so I feel happy about that.

 

And so it begins.

I was talking about a person buying a huge SUV when there are Hybrid SUV's around. And I stand by my words. I was also talking to a person who was stating that his Lincoln was great on MPG, when it's not, and I won't try to kid you, that my carbon footprint is going to be a bit more with the Mustang, then in the Hybrid Highlander.

But it should be known, that the MPG I was getting in the Hybrid Highlander was at times, close to the same that I am getting in the Mustang. In fact, the other day, I got higher MPG (23) then I had got once last month in the HiHy, because of the warmer then usual tempertures here.

No need. I drive less here in Dallas then I did in Florida. Since I moved here last year, I have driven about 6000 miles. In one year in Florida, with the Highlander, I drove over 15,000 miles. My conscious is very clear.

I am enjoying the car. And I am sure the family of six that bought my Hybrid Highlander, at a price far less then a new one, is also enjoying it, and they are helping the planet along.
I know that some would disagree, but that is okay.

'Sucker' ? I got a straight up trade (no car payments at all), for a low mileage 2007 Mustang, with a longer warrantey then my Highlander had, and I got paid on top of that? I am the sucker?

We should all be suckers like that then.


The bottom line here, Wildkow, is I got my dream car, finally. I have wanted a Mustang since I can remember. I wish it was a Hybrid, and someday maybe there will be one. You can laugh all you want, you can think I am some sort of 'hypercrite' but I am not. I am not advocating a larger gas guzzling SUV when there are plenty of large Hybrid SUVS out there.

I am not talking about buying a new Mustang, this is recycling, since it's a pre-owned Mustang. I have not caused by my purchase here, any new resuources being extracted from the planet to build this car. It was here already.

I am not a lead foot, never have been, and all my training driving a Hybrid is already in place. I pulse, glide, ease to the stop light, don't jack rabbit off the light. I am not driving around a large SUV by myself most of the time, like most people who drive SUV'S do.

I do not feel one bit guilty about this, and I don't feel as if I have to eat my previous words either. Sorry to disapoint you.

 

It's called SNAPPER ORANGE, and no, I don't know why it's called that. I do know everyone who has seen it has loved the color, and kids really like it.

 

Funny. Hey, he can if he wishes. As I already explained, this is not the same thing as when he bought his behemoth.
Unlike him, I am not going to try and kid anyone about higher MPG, (on a regular basis), then the Hybrid Highlander got.
I did mention a higher MPG that I have got once, but I expect it to be not that high all the time. And when the temperatures here in Texas settle back down into the 70's, then the Hybrid Highlander will no doubt get better MPG. The EPA says the Mustang will get about 28 on the Highway, and once last week, I got 25 on the Highway. Not too far off then. My average around the city has been about 19.5 MPG. Not great, but not bad.

And if the haters want to be hating, nothing I can do about that, knowwhatimsayin' ?

 

My first car was a 1968 White Beetle. I loved that car, and have had many VW's since. But in 1972, I saw a White Stock 1965 Mustang and fell in love. I was young but I knew what I liked. And I said then, if I could only get one someday, it would be stock. Not tricked out.
Time and the years flew by, and I had one other chance for a Mustang, a 1976 Mustang II Cobra II. And I missed that chance. This time I would not miss it.

Thanks. The wife drives much more then I do, what with going to her job and all, so it makes perfect sense for her to drive the Prius. We just crossed over 36,000 miles on it, and I had to replace the tires. Not too bad for maintenance.

Thanks. As for Doc, he still got a huge SUV when there were Hybrid versions of his SUV he could have got. Now, unless I am wrong, there are no Hybrid Mustangs that I know of (and that I could swap even for). And unless I am really wrong, the Doc had not wanted a Lincoln Navigator all his life, like I wanted the Mustang.

He also claimed MPG that I won't be doing. And as I said, I'm recycling.

Indeed. Life is not only short, but full of surprises. I would not have believed that when 2008 started I would lose part of my right foot. I would not have guessed that my house in Florida would still be for sale 14 months after it went on the market, and not only that, being on the market for $199k when I paid $315k! This was one of those times when the heart spoke louder then the brain.

Oh, that is also my basic philosophy. I have met one person from this site, Patrick (PatrickInDallas), and the chances of running into Doc or Wildkow are pretty slim.

But I would not change any of the words that I have said, since a) you can't go back and change them, and b), I meant them at the time.

The thing I learned long ago about the internets, is that anyone can be anyone and say anything with a certain degree of impuidity on these boards. Wildkow could be a young boy living at home, with anger issues, for instance. And I would not know any different until such time as we (if ever) met.

So I don't let his/her typed words bother me. I do find it amusing, though, that Wildkow took the time to qoute words at me, from a closed thread; he really must have it out for me. Not sure what he gains from it, but that is not for me to understand.

I appreciate people might not like the idea of trading a Hybrid Highlander (even if it was a equal + money swap), for a Ford Mustang, (and here especially), but also figured there had to be some people that still understand dreams coming true.

I may get hit by the bus tomorrow, and all of these words won't matter at all. So as many say, enjoy life today.

 

Not really. But thanks for playing.

You are correct in a sense, that if one has a need for a SUV, and has driven a Hybrid, that one needs to seek out a Hybrid SUV before buying a larger gas guzzling SUV. Then you should not go backwards, indeed. You are correct there.

Well, 'vilified' is a strong word, but nevertheless, indeed, I did say I would 'try', 'try' being the operative word there. But, in a sense, I am still driving a car that saves the planet. How? I am saving the planet from this car being driven by a young person with a lead foot and using more gas then I will. I am am also recycling.
A Hybrid will do more good, and I won't deny that.

I see that reading is not your strong suit. I don't think I described anywhere that this car is a V8. It's a V6. It's EPA is about the same as I was getting, MPG wise, as the Hybrid Highlander. So it's about a even trade off there, MPG wise. Again, (but I suspect this falls on blind eyes), a family of six (therefore with more of a need for a SUV then I), bought my Hybrid Highlander. It's getting more use then I would have used it for. Most of the time, I was hauling just myself and my wife in the HyHi.

Indeed you are. The context being, that Doc was saying his Lincoln had very good MPG for a vehicle of that size, and I also was saying that if he needed to have a SUV (which he said he did), that there are Hybrid SUVS out there, and that would be the preferred route to go.

If the Doc had bought a Mustang, as I did, and explained it like I did, then I would not have had any problem with it. There have been plenty of people on this board who have talked about their gas consuming cars, Camry's, Jeeps, Trucks of various kinds, that I have never once spoken against. Consider that.

Now, since I know that nothing you can say on this screen can really change the facts as they are, I will wish you a great day. Have a nice life, if possible. Enjoy what you have, your health, things like that.