Mustang Lovers Unite
By Christina Lee Knauss
Floridian George Stritz really, really, REALLY loves Ford Mustangs. How much? He estimates he's owned 85 of the iconic cars over the years.
On Saturday July 25, Stritz lovingly applied a coat of wax to his current Mustang, a 2006 black Rauch, which was parked in one corner of the parking lot at Myrtle Beach Mall. As he worked, people stopped to take pictures of the car and to ask Stritz about it.
He was one of hundreds of Mustang owners and enthusiasts who were at the Mall for an event billed as the Southeast's Largest Mustang and SVT (Special Vehicle Team) Cruise-In.
Mustang enthusiasts had spent the previous week zipping up and down the Grand Strand for a series of events dedicated to all things Mustang as part of the annual Mustang Week, which began in 2002 and has grown to draw hundreds of Mustang enthusiasts (some refer to themselves as Mustangers) from up and down the East Coast and other parts of the country as well. This year's event started on July 21 and included fun runs and a burn-out contest at Myrtle Beach Speedway on July 22, a July 23 drive to the Darlington Drag Strip for a Darlington Drag Night, and a car show at Myrtle Beach Mall on July 24. Along with the cars and their owners, the week's events altogether draw thousands of spectators who are either out for the Mustangs or just the spectacle of seeing hundreds of lovingly-restored and massively souped-up cars in one place.
"I'm the second owner for this car," Stritz said proudly. "The first owner only put 499 miles on it. Now it's got 3,100 miles on it and it's three years old." He didn't take any risks with his pride and joy for the trip to Myrtle Beach - he trailered it for the ride up from his home in Venice, Fla.
Stritz said he has always loved the Mustang, and at one point owned 10 at a time. His favorite of all the ones he's owned? A blue 1969 model.
There were Mustangs from that year on display, as well as examples of just about every model since Ford first produced the car in 1964.
Just about every incarnation of the Mustang was in the parking lot - from lovingly restored early models to brand new ones shining with custom paint jobs and chrome. There were also dozens of Mustang racecars as well, displayed at the very front of the lot near tractor-trailers from Ford Racing in Dearborn, Mich.
During mid-afternoon, people lined up three-deep along U.S. 17 in front of the mall to watch dozens of Mustangs speed south on the highway toward Kings Road. Car after car passed by at high speeds, until finally one driver burned rubber without realizing a police officer was stopped at a traffic light headed north. Blue lights flashed and the police officer took after the Mustang. This hasn't been an uncommon sight at the event in recent years, as drivers love to show off just what their Mustangs can do. Fortunately, no one was injured during the high-speed displays.
John M. Clor, a journalist and automotive editor from Michigan, is so fascinated by the Mustang phenomenon that he's produced a 160-page book, "The Mustang Dynasty," which he was selling under a tent near the racing trailers. Clor, who is now communications manager for the Ford Performance Group, said he decided to write the book because of the amazing staying power of the Mustang.
"You've got 45 years of one car that has lasted and lasted," he said. "Other cars like it have come and gone - the Camaro, the Barracuda - but the question I wanted to answer is, why is this one car so iconic?"
Mechanic Ray Lee, 34, of Raleigh, N.C., proudly displayed his bright, fire-engine-red 2002 Mustang, which he bought from a customer.
"I worked on this car for years and then I got the chance to buy it from the customer," he said. "I bought it in a heartbeat and got a real deal on it. I love it because it's so red and it stands out in a crowd."
Lee, like many people at the Cruise-In, said his love for Mustangs was part of a life-long allegiance to the Ford brand in general.
"I'm a diehard Ford fanatic - that's what my dad brought me up to be," he said. "Our whole family loves these cars. People love these cars because it's something that's inside of them."
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