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Car Of The Month - March 09

Randy and Cyndi Drake's
2007 Mustang GT Coupe and California Special

Bringing Home "MID-LFE" and "THKUJIM"

We have 3 mustangs in our stable at this time, and the 1997 Cobra has been a car of the month already, so I felt that it was time that I should share about our other cars as well. I have a 2007 Mustang GT coupe-"MID-LFE" as the plates read. It is painted Tungsten Grey metallic, with painted stripes in Satin Silver. The car was ordered as a 2006 in November of 2005, but at the time, Mustangs were back-ordered for months, and I was set on a 5-speed, which at the time was even harder to get. The wait was long, and in April 2006, I was told that the car would not be built in time to be a 2006 unless I would take an automatic. That was when I decided to wait

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for a 2007, and I started to look at any changes Ford would make for 2007. There were some new options that I decided to add to my order for the now 2007 Mustang. I added an appearance package, which was new, and it gave the car rolled tip exhaust and an engine cover installed at the factory. I also added the front-heated seats with power adjustments, which for the passenger side, was new. I also added the compass in the rear view mirror with auto-dimming for headlights at night.

I tracked this car from its buck date, which is when it gets scheduled to be built, until it arrived in Kent, WA on a rail car. The car was built on 7-19-06 and arrived in Tacoma on 8-3-06. I told the dealership not to remove anything from the car, and not to drill for the front plate, as I had other plans for the plate location. When I got the much-anticipated call that the car had come in, I went to pick it up, and when I arrived, I saw that all the paperwork was still on the car, so I got to keep the window sticker and all the build documents that were on and in the car. My wife left the morning the car came in for Rochester Michigan for some medical tests, so she was not there to be the first to go for a ride in the new pony. However, I did e-mail her pictures of the car when I got her home. My wife returned about 3 weeks later from Rochester, and we started to do some changes to the car. I wanted to have it striped but if I could have them painted on no vinyl for my car. I looked Auto FX in Tacoma, and after looking at about five other cars that they had painted, I let them take my car for a week. I took pictures of the car as it was being worked on, and it looked like it had been in a bad wreck. The whole front end was off, and the hood, rear bumper and deck lid plus the spoiler was removed. However, when it was all through, they did a great job and even kept the car an extra week when it snowed and I really did not want to drive it in the snow with fresh paint and bad roads.

I was asked if I was going though a mid-life crisis buying a second sporty Mustang. I replied that I just liked Mustangs, but it did give my wife an idea. She looked at the department of licensing and found that MIDLFE was not taken, and so we applied for it and that plate is still on the car today. I have had the windows tinted, and put on 18" factory wheels with spinner center caps and new rubber. We drive the car on nice days, and have taken it to several shows the last couple of years.

That brings me to Mustang number three-a 2007 Mustang California Special in Redfire Metallic. This car is an automatic that I purchased used in Tacoma from a dealer who had just taken it in. I had been driving a Kia spectra as my daily driver, but when I got transferred to Tacoma at work and my drive went from 60 miles a day to 15, I decided to upgrade to a better daily driver. This car was pretty clean, as there were no dents or wear to the car. However, it did need some TLC. It had dirt everywhere, and after I got it home, I spent 8 hours cleaning out the dirt and toothpicks under the seats. Soon after though, I was ready to drive "Jim". The car has personal plates on it that say "THKUJIM" I had an uncle named Jim who lost his battle with cancer 8-18-07, and Cyndi and I took care of him and will always miss him. I got an inheritance from him that helped to purchase this car and it only seemed right to give him the credit for having gotten the third pony. I drive it daily and the plates have given me a chance to share about my uncle and what he has meant in our lives. Some people ask why we have 3 Mustangs and we reply because we haven't found the fourth.......Yet.

Randy and Cyndi Drake