A Mustang fan first, and now, an electric Mustang girl.
I met Ashlea Wooten-Chapple on the top floor of a parking garage, surrounded by electric Mustang Mach-Es and the women who own them, as we ate crepes cooked on grills powered by an electric Ford F-150 Lightning. With huge smiles, we all clustered together for photos and chatted away like old friends, unified by one thing: Our love for our Mustang Mach-Es. And we were brought together by one person: Ashlea Wooten-Chapple.
Back in 2021, Ashlea was in the market for a new car. She was scoping out what was available when she first saw the Ford Mustang Mach-E. She describes that moment as love at first sight. “I felt like my heart stopped when I first laid eyes on the car,” she recalls fondly. At the time, the only electric cars she knew of were Tesla and she wasn’t a fan of how they looked. So when she learned that this beautiful car was all electric, that was “the icing on the cake! When she saw the Mustang badge, the deal was sealed and she knew she had to have it. Ashlea and her family already have one beloved pony car, a 1969 Mustang with a rich history woven into the tapestry of their lives.
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Her Dad Loved His Mustang so Much That He Had His Initials Embroidered on the Seats
The 1969 classic was her dad’s pride and joy, and Ashlea remembers him and her Uncle John spending weekends restoring it, brightening its finish from green to a dark blue with a silver stripe, then a light blue, and finally, the teal that it still wears to this day – her favorite color. When her dad passed away 7 years ago from leukemia, this treasured classic became all the more special to their family. When she saw the pony badge on her potential new car, it immediately connected her with the love and excitement that she witnessed in her dad over his Mustang. Now her Space White Mustang Mach-E, called Luna Sky for its moon-like white/grey sheen, sits in the family garage next to her dad’s Mustang that forever carries his initials embroidered on the seats.
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Women From Around the World Have Been Joining the Mustang Mach-E Girls Club
Clearly, Ashlea has good reason to be excited about her car, and when it finally arrived, after 8 months of waiting, she joined a Mustang women’s group on Facebook and proudly showed off her new car. Unfortunately, the gas Mustang lovers in the group were less than happy about the electric version and Ashlea was chased away by the criticism. She had seen other women be talked down to in the general Mustang Mach-E Facebook groups and it made her feel like she couldn’t share her excitement freely. So she took the matter into her own hands and made her own group – the Mustang Mach-E Girls Club. And she could not have expected what happened next.
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Ashlea Knows That Her Dad Would Be So Proud of the Community She Has Created
Almost overnight, the group took off! Every day more and more women joined, many of whom shared consistent feedback: that they had similar experiences to Ashlea and they were so relieved to find a group just for women. In less than 10 months, the group has over 1,300 members and its growth hasn’t slowed down for a second. You can tell that this group is special. The vibe is different. Each post is met with support and encouragement. There are no unwanted comments, there’s no “mansplaining”, just positivity and enthusiasm for our beautiful cars. When I asked her how it feels to have this group, Ashlea beamed, “It really feels incredible and seems like this space was needed. Now, I get to share this experience with my daughters. I know my Dad would have been so proud and he would have loved the Mustang Mach-E too!”.
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Many People Like to Give Out Trinkets to Other Mach-E Owners. Ashlea Gave Out Unicorns!
Back when Ashlea took delivery of her Mach-E, she says it felt like “all of the other car brands started coming out with EVs.” and it’s true. Electrification has swept the nation in the past few years and pretty much all major automakers are fully on board. Ford is proving themselves to be one of the leaders of this wave and, for the first time, they participated in Electrify Expo, an electric-mobility focused event. The Expo is touring North America, starting with Long Beach, which is how we came to find ourselves on a rooftop, surrounded by Mustang Mach-E’s. Ford noticed the community that Ashlea is building and they invited her out to Electrify Expo and gave her the chance to gather some other Girl’s Club members, our Sisterhood, to celebrate our love for our Mustangs. And celebrate we did! Ashlea greeted each of us with a huge smile, a hug, and a little black gift bag packed with sparkles, a Mustang-themed cookie, and a tiny, glittery unicorn, the symbol of our Ponies. Car culture has deep roots and it’s so wonderful to see it grow with the times and evolve into something new that still celebrates its origins, the classics.
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Ashlea wanted to “provide a positive safe space for women to celebrate and share experiences.” And she certainly has. If you’re a woman and a Mustang Mach-E owner, you have a community ready and waiting for you. If you’re like Ashlea and you can’t find a community that fits you, don’t hesitate to create it. You might be surprised by all the people who wished for it to exist too.
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