Mick Dainer never owned a Mustang until last September but the retired former highway patrolman and long-serving Australian Federal Police officer may have booked a few over the years.
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Now the proud owner of a lightly modified 2016 Mustang GT Fastback, the Jerrabomberra resident said he was "living the dream" since taking delivery of his car.
He will be joining other Canberra district Mustang Club of Australia members, including Dominic and Sue Vilardi, and Mustang owners from at least three states, at this Sunday's Mustang Car Show on the West Lawns at Old Parliament House.
The Melba residents are the proud owners of a cherry red 1967 Mustang convertible.
"We've always loved the older style Mustangs from 1964 to 1968," Mr Vilardi, 54, said. "They were the first "pony car". I wanted a fastback but Sue wanted a convertible and what she wants she gets."
Because buying a 50-year-old classic is a slightly chancier proposition than buying new, the Vilardis spent almost two years searching.
An American import, their dream car had been in the country for almost two decades and had undergone a professional conversion from left-hand to right-hand drive.
The current Mustang, already a hit on the Australian market as it is now Ford's "hero car" following the demise of the Falcon, is the first ever to be offered in right-hand drive as well as left-hand drive from new.
"We looked at a few cars where people told us they never drove them," Mr Vilardi said. "They had special trailers and towed them to events where they would hope to win another trophy to put on the shelf.
"We didn't want a car to put on a pedestal; our intention was always to buy a car we could enjoy."
An older restoration, the Vilardi's car is slated for a major overhaul, which may involve a change of colour scheme, once it returns from the next Mustang nationals.
While the two cars featured in this article are separated by half a century, they share a design philosophy that has hardly changed. The apple has not fallen far from the tree.
