Force Proves Ford and Castrol Are Stupid Idiots

NHRA Funny Car Champ John Force faces a dilemma.

His primary sponsors, Castrol and Ford, announced that they were pulling their sponsorships of his teams.  Ford is just plain leaving drag racing.  Castrol, who knows what those goobers are thinking?

Force has been the standard bearer for Ford in drag racing for many years.  No one else has had success in the sport while sporting the Blue Oval.  NHRA is ruled by Chevy in the sportsman ranks.  Ford hasn't had a winner in the pro ranks except Force - at least since Bob Glidden retired from Pro Stock two decades ago.

Castrol - a third rank oil company, wouldn't even be on the map if it weren't for Force carrying their colors for almost three decades now.  Very, very few Americans would have even heard the name if it wasn't for their sponsorship.

Force is fastly approaching retirement age. He's eligible to collect SS benefits.  He's the greatest drag racer in history.  His loud, bombastic personality inspires some, infuriates others, but is never boring, and you never forget him.  The best way for this to have ended would have been for Ford and Castrol to work with him to put on a 'farewell tour'.  Everyone would have benefitted, and the very long term relationships would have ended happily.

Instead, both companies bailed on him mid-season.  He's now looking for sponsorship for his car and his daughter's Top Fuel dragster team.  (His other daughter and son-in-law's funny cars have primary sponsorships already.)

So, Force, rather than feel sorry for himself, gets motivated and wins three National Events in a row.  His victory this past weekend in Las Vegas locked up this year's Funny Car Championship.  Never once, at least in public, has he said "screw you Ford, up yours, Castrol".

This is his SIXTEENTH championship.  Compare that to Petty, or Earnhart, who each won a measly 7 Championships and are both considered legends.

John Force, inspiration to us old folks everywhere.  64 years old, reaction times as good as 'the kids', pilots a 10,000 horsepower car down a 1000ft. track in 4 seconds, enduring 4-5Gs each time he hits the throttle - and still wins Championships!

Ford To Kill The Mustang - Again?

The next major makeover of Ford's Mustang is due in the 2014 model year. Many who have seen previews of the new design say it is almost a copy of Ford's Evos concept car:


Ford executives have been quoted as saying the redesign is needed to appeal to Gen Y youngsters, who supposedly are put off by the current body style's retro look. Apparently, making something that looks like a squashed Aston-Martin is what Ford feels will look cool.

The Mustang has suffered sales drops in recent years, 4.4% fewer being sold last year than the year before. It is currently behind both the Camaro and Challenger is sales figures for this year, supposedly. Does Ford really think that producing something that looks like the POS in the picture above is going to revive that? Does that car look like a muscle car, something to stand toe to toe with its Dodge and Chevy rivals?

(It's no wonder that Ford didn't allow the Mustang to be brought into NASCAR's Sprint Cup level of competition. Imagine their embarrassment at having to pull it back off the track after only one year!)

I predict there will be a run on 2013 Mustangs, so if you want to get one exactly the way you want it, you might want to not delay.

Anyone remember the last time Ford tried to redesign the Mustang to appeal to the younger crowd? Yeah, that was really successful, wasn't it:

I Gotta Have One of These ...

Went by my local Ford Dealer today, happened to be there just after they had unloaded 6 new 2010 Roush Mustangs. Two Roush Stage Ones, in black and red, and 4 427Rs, in white, black, red, and a black convertible. My goodness, what beautiful cars. I'd take one of these over a new Shelby Mustang in a heartbeat.

Sticker price was pretty decent, 51K for a fully loaded 427R. While the 427R doesn't have as high a horsepower rating as the Shelby (435hp vs. 500hp), magazines I have read state that it is quicker. It certainly looks better. Did I mention how good it looks? It's production numbers are much lower than Shelby, so it is a rarer beast to have. Did I mention how good looking it is?

A curious note - they have a sticker I had not seen before next to the normal window sticker - a 'global warming rating'. They didn't rate very high on this scale (meaning tree huggers don't like it), which makes me want one even more!

Not that it matters, there is no way I'll ever get one of these unless Obama sends me the keys as my stimulus package. Hell, I'd even vote for him if he did that!