My first fun ride in a Mustang was in my uncles 1966 Ford Mustang GT with a four speed manual transmission.  It was an awesome ride. I have always liked the Mustang and I did not really get I had to have one until 2005. The reasons were I needed to pay my rent, feed and clothe my daughter and three sons. The timing was never quite right. Finally with my kids grown and a little more stable on finances, in February of 2008…. I took a black Mustang GT out for a test drive and I really enjoyed it …. Called my wife and after some discussion, we all know those “I want to buy this car” discussions, but before I knew it I was signing on that line. I really enjoyed the way it handled and the power of the engine. In September of 2008 it was laid to rest when an inexperienced driver turned into my path. No one was hurt.

While I was waiting for the tow truck I was on the phone with my salesperson ordering another 2008 black Mustang GT. Why of course by then I wanted to upgrade so this time I ordered leather seats and a five speed manual transmission. Due to the number of years not owning a Mustang, I purchased a 2004 40^th anniversary red Mustang GT convertible in May of 2012 as my daily driver. In mid September of 2012 I ran into my dream car. My wife wanted to drive a smart car so we went to a dealer to test drive one and as soon as we pulled into the lot there it was a black 2009 Shelby GT500 with gray stripes. I have been hinting to my wife for the last 2 years that a Shelby was my new choice. I test drove the Shelby and fell in love with the power and performance. It usually goes to work once or twice a week if it is going to be nice weather and dearly enjoy a cruise on the weekends. It has had a couple of upgrades and a tune so it can definitely give you a thrill on the track with over 500 horsepower under the hood.

My name is Nilla 2.0 – I’m told that the “nilla” part is short for Vanilla Freak Pony Car, and that I’m the Second.Sadie Bella Thunderkitty told me that.Anyway, I am a white, 2010 Mustang Convertible, with tan top and tan/charcoal interior.  In my former life, I had been a rental/fleet vehicle in San Antonio.At a 4.0L engine, 2WD, automatic V-6, with 210 hpr at 5300 rpm, I had 34,000 miles on me. (Chuckle, chuckle!)

I was adopted June 28, 2012 by Dawne Thompson. A MOCA member since July 2005, she lost the first Nilla (former Car of the Month, June 2006) in an accident – a woman ran a red light at the intersection of Parmer Lane and Metric Boulevard on June 15th, 2012. It sheared off the entire front end of the car, killing the first Nilla, leaving Dawne battered and bruised, but not too much that she couldn’t walk away from the incident. As a precaution, she allowed the EMTs to take her to the hospital to check her out for sure. She wore an ankle brace for 4 days and visited a chiropractor for three and-a-half months until her neck and shoulder stiffness were lessened to nothing.In the meantime, she had a rental car to get around, and she missed her Mustang.

The cat told me that, too. A few days after the accident, she went on-line to begin shopping for another car. She wanted another Mustang, and spoiled for convertibles, that was the first thing on her list. CarGuru.com coughed up several candidates, and Dawne chose a black 2010 that was located at Riata Ford in Manor. However, that one and two alternatives (both silver) proved to have rust damage. The cars had been shipped from Hawaii. Not good. Plan B.

Dawne checked CarMax. She found three cars in her original color scheme –before she had settled for the black – white car, tan top and interior. Wow!Three found in San Antonio! She compared them on-line. CarMax allows for free transport between dealerships and Dawne chose the north CarMax as drop-off point, but they wouldn’t allow all three. She had to choose one. All three had roughly the same amenities, actually, we were exact triplets:only one was listed at a higher price due to lesser mileage on it. The remaining two were the same price and Dawne went the Old Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe route. Who won? Me, of course. I was shipped from San Antonio to Austin and we met after work on the 28th. We went out for a test drive, Dawne using her own music CD as a test on the sound system. That, and me, passed our audition with flying colors. She left the rental car at CarMax and took me home.

Being that she had planned for the black car, she had ordered black headrest covers, embroidered with the University of Texas Longhorn and the word “TEXAS”. Okay. Cool. It still went with me, as did the tan carpet mats Dawne had bought for her murdered pony car.I was honored to inherit those mats and the trunk net, ‘cause she had loved that car. I was certain that she would grow to love me, too. She had also ordered her Sorority badge, which I now wear on my butt along with an orange-rhinestone Longhorn. One question – do they make my cute butt look fat? NEVERMIND!!

She refinanced me not too soon afterward because her credit union could give her a better rate. She also chose Riata Ford as her main dealership because the salesman there had been so very helpful throughout the car search in spite of the rust incident on the first choice. He didn’t have to tell her about the rust, but he did. His loss was my gain! His, too. Win/win situation! The service guys also proved to be very competent when I had to be repaired after a minor sideswipe by a motorist on 183 in October, which put me out of the Car Show that month. RATS!!!! I had had my heart set on winning my class! They have also replaced the air in my tires with nitrogen, as Dawne had done with her first Mustang. Well, I’m smiling so hard, my grille hurts. Car of the Month for November!! Wow! I thank everybody for the honor and look forward to meeting more of you since most of you were more familiar with the first Nilla. Dawne loves ME now and I hope to win you guys over, too.

VROOOOOM!!  MOTOR ON!!!

Since the time I was in college, I’ve always simultaneously owned at least one “Early” and one “Late” model Mustang. The funny thing is, many of the cars I once called my late-model Mustangs are now “Classics” (i.e. my 1982 Mustang GT I sold to make room for my “new” 1989 Mustang GT would now be 30 years old!).

Available garage space being the arch-enemy of automotive thriftiness, I purchased a 1970 Boss 302 in 1993 and then replaced that Boss with another, largely unrestored 1970 Boss 302 in 1997. Fast-forward to 2010 and tales of a “new” Boss 302 interpretation began to fill internet sites and the pages of magazines.Reports of the new Boss’ capabilities were most impressive. Although my “replacement” 1970 Boss 302 is an absolute joy to own and a visceral experience each time I “go through the gears”, I was more than a little intrigued by the prospect of adding a 2012 Boss to the “stable.” After finding a dealer who committed to sell me a new Boss without additional mark-up, the deal was made and the big wait was on!

We ordered our 2012 Competition Orange Boss with _both_ available options: Recaro Seats / Torsen differential and the Floor Mats / Car Cover kit... no others were available. We also added the “dealer installed” TrackKey when that “accessory” was released.The car was among the first Bosses ordered by customers; the build date was Feb-21-2011 and we took delivery of the 2012 vehicle in March of 2011. With 444 horsepower, 380 lbs-feet of torque, a close-ratio 6 spd, and a flat torque curve all the way up to the 7500 redline, the car is more fun and rewarding to drive than I can accurately describe.I’ve had the pleasure to “track it” at Texas World Speedway and also was able to attend the Boss-Track-Attack at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. All I can say is “Wow!” So, you might ask whether I prefer early or late-model Mustangs ….Why decide?