Homophobia and intolerance cause group to boycott Ford

Sometimes it's hard to believe it's the 21st century. Yet another right wing conservative group has put up a website and is warning the non-thinking public of conspiracies in Corporate America, to promote the evil Liberal-Homosexual Agenda by advertising directed at the gay community and a few donations to organizations like GLADD and the Human Rights commission. Why they fear Gays getting married is beyond me, isn't the old moral argument that Gays are too promiscuous? So when they want to commit to a long standing relationship, that's bad too?

I don't know what they're afraid of, and in this day and age, I'm disgusted with this type of Nazi bullshit. But they tried to boycott Disney, Coors and countless others, so why not Ford. Reasonable people always look beyond this type of rhetoric and buy what they want.

A company like Ford that tries to do good in the community should not be boycotted. The ones that should be boycotted are the right wing nuts.

I don't put up this link for you to sign their petition, just so you can see how organized these yahoos are and technically proficient. Don't fall for the bull.

Drive there, race, drive home.

My Mustang at the end of a day of racing at Englishtown. I may not have had many trophies, but good times were had, and the car was so dependable that I would drive down, race and then drive home and averaged 25 mpg on the highway.

Stang and T-Bird in pits

These are both mine, the 91 Mustang and the 78 Thunderbird in the pits, between runs at Englishtown Raceway Park, in Old Bridge New Jersey. Obviously I couldn't drive two cars down, my brother Bob used to race the T-Bird. I Loved that hood scoop :)

Both cars are basically stock, the Mustang even had the silencer cone and ran down the quarter with the stereo blaring. I would have put on the A/C, but didn't want to push it. The T-Bird has a stock 302 with two barrel carb and stock exhaust. We had planned on swapping out the intake for an Edelbrock Performer intake and Holley 650 CFM 4 barrell and intalling a dual exhaust, but with 5 cars at the time, this one was forgotten and eventually went bye bye.

See ya

The view most people got of my 91 Mustang LX 5.0 notchback.

I just liked this photo

Just a cool shot from AmericanCarFans.com of the New GT and Fiesta ST. Read their article on the Ford GT going to Europe.

Take time to remember

Remember those who gave all so we could have the freedoms we enjoy. While this is a big party weekend and a time to take advantage of sales, it's really about all of those brave souls that sacraficed for us.

taking today off, Happy Memorial Day weekend, God Bless the USA

OK I'm taking the day off from my blog, and like many of you going to a party, so no new posts today, and doubtfull for the rest of the weekend.

As a follow up to the video hosting test, I was not happy with the quality of the video upon playback from the website. I know the quality of the VHS tape is good and when I transfer the footage to my computer it seems fine, not much degradation of picture quality. But it must be the compresion when it's downloaded, because everything looks washed out and too bright.

It was a learning experience, like much of this blog is. My goals with this blog are to learn how to do more with my computer and improve my typing skills, while doing all of this for free. That means finding a site to host the blog for free (thank you Blogger/Google) and a service to upload and host the pictures (Picasa/Hello) and to host video if needed (FreeVideoBlog.com.)

I've also found resources for assistance with math (math.com) and translation of foreign language websites(AltaVista/Babelfish.) So I'm reaching my goals without any investment of cash and having a lot of fun learning more about Ford and it's partners.

An unexpected bonus was the responses (mostly posative) of people who stumbled onto my blog and the itneraction with other bloggers who have been very kind and helpful.

If anyone who reads this thinks they want to, but don't know how, think again. If a 40 year old Boiler Operator with no background in computers and little experience with the Internet can do it, so can you.

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday weekend and remember out Military personell past present and future that make this all possible. Also take some time to remember our Fire and Police officers here at home. May God bless America and keep us all safe and sound.

Joe
aka BigFordFan

Jalopnik discusses Ford's plan to export GT to Europe

Jalopnik gets the scoop on Ford's plan to import Ford GT supercars to Europe.

Is Ford getting back into the game?

Is Ford getting back into the game of building serious cars? The Ford 427 concept and Lincoln Continental Concpet could be compettion for Chrysler 300/Charger twins. Found link to AutoSpies on AutoBlog. I don't know about the V-10, but maybe a supercharged 5.4 V-8
I hadn't realized that the Continental and 427 were so close in architecture, but I want the Lincoln with suicide doors and later a drop top version would be nice.

Lincoln Continental Concept from a few years ago. Maybe this and the 427 will get a green light and Ford will have serious competition for Chrysler's 300/Charger/Magnum and Cadilac's new rear drives.

The suicide doors would be cool, but I don't know about the trunk. Let's hope that Ford takes the chance and produces these.

Ford rotary study in early 70's

I received an interesting e-mail response from Ford to my inquiry about the Wankel powered Mustang. The gentleman from Ford Motor Company had no information on the earlier Mustang prototype built by Curtis Wright, but said that in1972 Ford studied the idea of putting a rotary engine in the Mustang for the 1975 model. That would have been the Mustang II.

He said that they studdied, but decided against it because it was too expensive and performance was no better than the V-6. Also interesting is that he mentioned that they were studying this to compete with a planned rotary powered Vega from Chevy.

Now, they performed studies, but never built a prototype, so there is no Unicorn or Holy Grail to search for here, just a little sliver of Ford history.

Land Rover and Range Rover, the UK's answer to Jeep

Introduced in 1948 Land Rover was the UK's answer to the Jeep and with it's aluminum body being rust resistant and easily fixed. This light weight off roader became a staple of third world countries and severe service industries. Click the link to see more and learn about Land Rover Hover craft, military and industrial applications.

The Land Rover was a very flexible platform with suburban style wagons, small jeep like vehicles and pickups sharing a tough chassis.

Used by Military and Police forces around the world. Even the US Marines use Land Rovers for special duties.

Evolution was slow for Land Rover. But they were internationally recognized as a reliable versitle vehicle.

in the 70's Land Rover got a sibling Range Rover, a more civilized vehicle. Even the queen drove one.

a crew cab Defender 110 pickup

Range Rover updated for 90's

Defender 90, no longer available here in the US this was the short wheelbase Land Rover, as opposed to the 110. Styling much like the original 1948 model 80 that started it all.

The first model Discovery, was priced well to compete and very tough. This one really helped Range Rover stay afloat.

Freelander mini SUV, not doing too well right now. They can't get the gas engines for the current model, because they were built by Rover group and they went belly up. So they're still building Diesel models, but if you want a gas engine you have to wait for the next gen powered by a Ford engine.

The latest version of the Range Rover, now with Jaguar V-8

LR3, the replacement for the Discovery

Ford powered Crosslander, having troubles getting here.

Troubles bringing this Romanian 4x4 to the US, click the link to see AutoBlog's article . This tough military looking vehicle is powered by a Ford 4.0 V-6

Where is it now?

Wankel Mustang in 1991, anyone know where it is now?

Why would anyone do this to a perfectly good Mustang?

For the boy that can't make up his mind, Mustang or Bronco.

Video test

OK, so it's a poor quality video, but I'm working on it. Click the link above to see short clip that I talked about below. Be patient, it's a learning experience for me.

Video hosting, maybe

OK, I found a site that hosts video clips for free so I may be able to post the video I mentioned in an earlier post showing my 91 Mustang at Englishtown Raceway park. I guess I should also get off my lazy but and hook up my flatbed scanner so I can post some pictures of my cars. This green Mustang is not the right shade, but it is essentially the same car I had. A 5.0 notchback from 91. Actually this picture looks like a 92 or 93, because the rub strip down the side is body colored and my 91 still had the black rubber. This was an awsome car and I was very upset when I had to part with it. Note to self, don't loose job and have to sell Mustang, sell the dog first and then if need be sell blood, but don't sell the Mustang.

Anyway, the link above is for Freevideoblog.com and if I was more patient I could wait for Google's new service offering free video hosting and more http://upload.video.google.com/video_faq.html I'll probably transfer to that service when it's up and running, since Google owns Blogger and that's where my page is. One of the best things about this blog has been how it's forced me to learn more about my computer and what I can do with it. No more surfing for porn, but really using this machine to be productive. The nuns would be so proud :)

Ford and Home Depot to share promotion

In an effort to boost truck sales, Ford is running a promotion with Home Depot.Too late for my home improvement project, but if you are in the market for a new truck and have some projects around the house, it could work out. Similar to their promotin with Dell and the Focus.

Volvo, latin for I Roll and in the P1800 you roll in style

The Volvo P1800, from 1965-1973 with styling by Frua this was Volvo's first Sports Car. Very classy styling and respectable performance for it's time. Click the link for a history of the Sweedish automaker.

a Volvo in it's natural setting SNOW.

Volvo's sporty car grows

Volvo P1800E , the E is for Estate or station wagon as we say in the states.

For a station wagon, it's very cool

Simon Templar's ride

The most famous Volvo driver, Simon Templar aka The Saint. Roger Moore who later took over for Sean Connery as 007 James Bond drove a Volvo P1800 in the classic spy series.
These days it's not surprising to find that almost any TV show has a fan club and that they have a website. But click the link above to see the saint.org's commentary on Simon Templar's ride and how Jaguar missed the boat.

Simon Templar still drives a Volvo all these years later

Evolution of Volvo convertibles on Saint.org

C70 convertible, one sexy swede. Click the link above to learn more about Volvo's convertibles throughout the years. And I thought this was the first Volvo drop top, boy was I mistaken.

NextGenAuto seeks response to Scion, here's what Ford could do

Ford EcoSport mini SUV

On his page, NextGenAuto comments on what some automakers can do in response to Scion and address the Youth/Entry market better. He focuses on Nissan and Honda, but as you know I am concerned with Ford. I think Ford could do two things here, counter Scion and the possible flood of new cars for overseas and save Mercury at the same time. Ford makes some great cars for overseas markets including this Ford EcoSport from the Latin American market and the Ka and Fiesta in Europe. I also like the Courier/Bantam mini ute, but for my point these three cars will do. Mercury could benefit from new unique models and with their new image of youth in their marketing, this could be a good prospect. I'm not saying they should reintroduce the Merkur name for imported Fords, just badge them Mercury and don't hype the import thing at all.

Ford Fiesta ST

European Ford Ka, a prospect for the youth/entry market?

A video stroll down memory lane

I was going through my home office today and found a bunch of VHS tapes that were unmarked. So, I brought them over to the VCR and started to play them one at a time. I was taken by surprise by one of them, a tape I had forgotten about. Several years ago, not long after I got my 1991 Mustang LX 5.0 notchback, one of my best friends and I took our stangs to Englishtown Raceway Park to make a couple of runs. I had forgotten about the tape, which has some very good footage of me and my buddy Joe Z lined up and facing off in our 5.0 Mustangs. His was an 86 Red GT convertilble and mine was a 91 Deep Emerald Green notchback. Both stock running pump gas. Neither was a record setter, but both were reliable fast cars that we drove down and back.

I had never run the quarter mile before and from all the wheelspin and poor ET's it's obvious. But the other thing that's obvious now all these years later, is how much fun we had then and how fortunate I am to have such good friends. Gene F was the guy behind the lens and had a very steady hand while filming. I have to make a copy of this tape for Joe Z before we go to Carlisle. And if I can figure out a way, I'd love to upload a short portion of this onto the web and link to it here. That would be very cool.

If anyone knows, how I could do that, please email me at myforddreams@aol.com

Thanks to Jim and Evan of Muscle Mustangs for responding

I was pleased that out of all the magazines I contacted with questions at least one magazine responded to my inquiry. Evan Smith and Jim Campisano of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords both took time out of their busy day to respond to my questions about the mystery Wankel Powered Mustang.

I had also contacted AutoWeek and Car and Driver, but no response at all.

I have to say also that Ford did respond as well as several Bloggers, so I am impressed that anyone would take the time to respond at all. After all, who I am but some crackpot seeking answers to questions nobody cares about.

So thanks to Bob Hendricks for finding the article and to Bob at CarsCarsCars, and the Auto Prophet and Evan and Jim of MMFF for taking the time. If there is ever anyway I can return the favor, just let me know.

Summary of Wankel powered Mustang story

To summarize the story from Mustang Ilustrated Feb 1991; Curtiss Wright Aircraft was actually the company that built this Mustang prototype in hopes of garnering interest from the "Big Three" in their new Wankel Rotary twin rotor engines. Curtiss Wright was lagging in the Aircraft business and wanted to diversify so in the early 60's they bought the US patent rights to the Wankel Rotary Internal Combustion Engine from the German automaker NSU, which up until that time was the only company using rotary engines in passenger cars, predating Mazda.

In 1965 bought a Poppy Red Mustang 2+2 (fastback VIN# 5R09C193052) with a 289 V-8 and Cruise-O-Matic from Dockery Ford in Morristown New Jersey. They brought it to their facility in Woodbridge New Jersey and performed the engine swap. The Wankel had 185 hp compared to the 289's 200 hp, but it had a weight advantage of 110 lbs. It was necessary to install a special transmision adapter to mate the drivetrain also. But according to the article the Wankel performed well, tests by an Engineer in the 60's show 0-30 and 0-80 times of 2.8 and 18.4 for the V-8 and 2.9 and 20.0 for the Wankel.

Curtiss Wright failed to convince the big three and the car, with similar prototypes from other makes was sold in the mid 80's to John Deere when they bought the company's assets. The prototypes were sold as a group to a company called Mazda Seventeen of NJ who sold them individually to private collectors. The first private owner was Derek Brown of Hanover PA who held onto the car for a short period before selling it to retired oil man Ray Harris of Shawnee Oklahoma. Ray an avid car collector new this stang was special and was nice enough to let Mustang Ilustrated drive the car for the article in their February 1991 issue.

OK, so now I know that Ford didn't actually build the car, that may explain why they couldn't give me any information on it. But a unique car like this should be in their museum.

So where is this car now? It's 14 years since this article, now that we know the car existed, can anyone find out where it is?

SVO , So Very Outrageous

This awsome SVO Mustang featured in Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords is done the right way.

0-60 in 5.0, 1/4 mile in 13.7, all with the top down and for under $35,000

I even like the spoiler, this car is every little boys (and big boys) dream. The 2005 Mustang GT Convertible tested by Car and Driver.

Now here's a racing series that Ford does well in

Focus in WRC Rally

Wankel Mustang, it realy does exist

Proof posative, thaks to Bob. You can check out Bob's webpage at the link below. It's amazing but he said he found it on Google and I go only guess that my mistake was searching for "rotary Mustang" and he searched for "Wankel Mustang"

Bob's site; http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/history.htm History of Mustangs

http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/autoperf.htm this is Bob's Automotive site, check it out.

Wankel Stang article, you may be able to enlarge each page, by clicking on it so it opens in a larger window. I will post the important info later so it is legible.

page 2

next page

Article text and photos, click on the picture and it should open up larger in a new window

The relief of knowing I'm not insane is only outdone by the happiness in knowing that if you have a question, there are people out there that will take the time to help. Thanks Bob

What do you know, it really is a community online

I am pleased to say that I've learned yet another lesson about the internet. Even though a great deal of it is anonymous and false, there are some genuine people out there who are actually interesting and helpful. I won't say who, but several people that I have linked to on the sidebar have responded to my request for information on the elusive rotary powered Mustang.

I'm very grateful for thier assistance and on to seveal leads that I need to check out.

I'm also glad to say, that some of the magazines that I subscribe to and linked to at the side, have responded also. But none of them have been able to supply leads or suggestions. Maybe when I get this information I will email it to them.

Ford Motor Company also responded to my email and suggested that I contact the Henry Ford Museum and the Benson Research people. So like Ahab, I'm off in search of my white whale, the rotary Mustang. OK, I know it's red, but humor me.

If for no other reason than to prove I'm not insane, I need to find something about this one off car and when I do I will post anything and everything I can here for anyone else that gets the bug.

You learn something new everyday

Rotary powered pickup from Mazda, check out the link above. I'm not sure if it's correct about the Courier, but will look into it after I find my unicorn rotary powered Mustang.

It wasn't always Zoom Zoom Zoom

Mazda today, makes some very cool cars, but it wasn't always so. Click the link for a History of Mazda and also these links for more;

http://www.rx7uknet.dircon.co.uk/binhist/start.html
http://www.triplezoom.com/news/publish/printer_56.shtml
http://www.triplezoom.com/news/publish/printer_149.shtml

All are interesting articles on the history of Mazda and worth a look.

From humble beginings, Early Mazda sedan

Mazda three wheeler truck