A Faster Horse: Celebration Of Ford Mustang

Ford Mustang
Marcy Fisher and the 50th anniversary Ford Mustang

Ford Mustang film honors the classic – and new – pony car.

Very few cars have a movie devoted to them.

But then, a Ford Mustang is not like any other car.

A Faster Horse is a new documentary showing the design process of the iconic Ford Mustang, from the building of a 3-D clay model to the shiny pony cars speeding down the highway.

A Faster Horse debuted at the recent Tribeca Film Festival and it offers an intimate look at the laborious design and engineering process that goes into the car. Mustang, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with a re-design, is described as “rolling art” by one of the engineers who works on the pony car.

Another engineer notes that if you were really logical you would never buy a Mustang; “it’s an emotional decision.”

2015 Mustang Gt
The newly redesigned 2015 Mustang GT 5.0:

And the car is compared to Detroit itself; it is the “salt of the earth.” That may be part of the Mustang’s enduing appeal; it was aspirational, yes, but not out of the realm of possibility for the middle class. The car’s redesign takes place during the failing economy, and extinct car brands like Oldsmobile, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac are called out.

The documentary is clearly aimed at Mustang enthusiasts – there are 250 international fan clubs for the car – but even the casual car person will feel her adrenaline pumping as vintage Mustangs are shown, with the song “Mustang Sally” playing on the soundtrack. This is the car your father may have dreamed of, along with his father (or your mother and her mother -the car has huge numbers of female fans as well).

And although most of the engineers and designers interviewed are men, Marcy Fisher, Vehicle Line Director of the Mustang, makes her presence felt.

The title of the film comes from Henry Ford’s famous quote that “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

From watching A Faster Horse it is clear that many drivers want a zippy car – and they get that in the Mustang.

Judy Antell
Judy Antell

Judy Antell, who is TravelingMom.com's Free in 50 States editor, lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband and three daughters. Between road trips to visit colleges, travel sports and seeing East Coast sights, she spends a lot of time on the road for a city girl.

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