Ford Motor Company celebrates 110 years of automotive excellence in 2013 and what an exciting year it has been so far. If you live in the far western USA and you love Fords, the annual Knott’s Berry Farm Fabulous Fords Forever is a one day celebration of genuine Ford blue blood that you should definitely check out. This event is the show season’s opening kickoff every year in Southern California. Everyone who is anyone with a passion for Ford power comes to Knott’s in April.  If you attended Fabulous Fords Forever this year, you know it was the largest turnout in the event’s history. There was a special kind of energy in the air this year with a line-up of Fords, Lincolns, and Mercury’s from throughout Ford history. The air was rich with the sounds, sights, and smells of Fords from more than a century of corporate history. The soft chatter of mechanical tappets in vintage Y-blocks, FE-Series big-blocks, BOSS Mustangs, and Hi-Po GTs echoed off buildings drawing the attention of thousands. Fabulous Fords Forever is the largest one day Ford show in the nation.

Nearly every generation of Ford and Mustang imaginable was represented at this year’s record show.

What makes Knott’s an extraordinary event is the way it honors Ford’s heritage as an integral part of Americana. Ford Motor Company has easily touched more lives and hearts than any other car company in American history because the company isn’t just about automobiles. It is about the Ford family legacy, people who have built the company through the years, and how Ford has suffered hardships on a few occasions, but has always come back stronger than ever.  Thanks to the leadership of Alan Mulally, Bill Ford, and other forward thinkers who have instituted Ford’s positive turnaround, we are witnessing a new exciting chapter in Ford history.

Attended By Thousands

The twenty-eighth annual Fabulous Fords Forever show attracted more than 20,000 people eager to experience Ford’s great legacy with 2,100 vehicles on display. People lined the streets around Knott’s for a chance to see the popular Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles they remember most. Ford owners roared into the complex, barked tires, and goosed throttles with attention getting hydrocarbon emissions those of us old enough to remember fondly recall from our childhoods. Model T and A horseless carriages puttered through the gates and sputtered into parking spaces. Although popular folklore has always been “any color as long as its black” that was quickly forgotten considering the bright colors from a century ago. Of all the many and varied Ford products on site for this event, these old Tin Lizzies attracted the greatest attention. However, there was plenty more in store.

Ford’s greatest legacy may be its classic post-war automobiles from the fifties and sixties. The Thunderbirds and F-Series trucks. Mustangs. Powerful big-block Galaxies and rare Thunderbolt Fairlanes. The roar of a 429 cammer. The cars that won Le Mans – the Ford GTs. Carroll Shelby’s legendary Cobras. Luxury Lincolns and upscale Mercurys like Cougar and Marauder. Even the Edsel. Did you know Ford’s Canadian F-Series trucks were sold under the Mercury name? How about a ’60 Lincoln – one of the longest, heaviest American luxury cars ever produced for the open road. And perhaps the more mundane neighborhood rides like Pinto wagons, Falcons, Rancheros, Fairlanes, Mavericks, Granadas, Fairmonts, LTDs, Capris, and even Aussie Falcons. All were represented at the event.

John Clinard of Ford tells us there were participants from 13 states, Canada, and Mexico at Knott’s this year. What this meant for those in attendance was 1,100 Mustangs, 154 Broncos, and 85 Thunderbirds, just to name the largest displays. But make no mistake, virtually every type of Ford product imaginable lined up for the crowds. Every location was a textbook rundown of Ford product from more than a century of great successes. Ford, Ford Racing, Shelby, ROUSH, Saleen, and a host of others were there to show their wares.

Ford People In The Spotlight 

Ford’s proud legacy also includes the people who have helped make the name famous. There are the more traditional names – Linda Vaughn, Steve Saleen, Carroll Shelby, Jack Roush, Butch Leal, Ed Terry, Larry Knapp, and John Calvert and many others.

Linda Vaughn, Miss Hurst, the first lady of drag racing for generations of enthusiasts, was on hand to chat with the enormous crowd and talk about surviving a horrific automobile accident and even heart surgery. She spoke with a twist of nostalgia, reflecting on great times with memorable people in the racing industry. Vaughn emphasized the importance of Hurst’s great reputation in the performance business and what it has brought us over time. She will tell you life didn’t begin this way for her. Her plan was to be a dental technician back home in Georgia. She entered a couple of beauty contests and became Miss Atlanta Raceway 50 years ago and her world changed forever. She was discovered and immediately became popular with race crowds. She has been wowing race fans ever since. In the years since, she has made the rounds of car shows and racing events across the planet.

The folks who laid rubber and set records racing Fords were on hand for autographs and handshakes. Ed Terry, was an integral part of the magic back in the day when Ford was promoting motorsports from coast to coast. It was Ed Terry and Dick Wood who teamed up in the West with Cobra Jet Mustangs and Torinos. Butch Leal, who grew up in the birthplace of American drag racing, Southern California, credits his enthusiasm for having been around it all of his life. Leal was at Knott’s to sign autographs and meet his fans. He fondly remembers all of the Southern California tracks in the golden age of drag racing; Pomona, Palmdale, Lion’s, Orange County, Irwindale, San Fernando. In those days, he raced among the greatest drag racers ever;  Sox & Martin, Grumpy Jenkins, the Motown Missile, Glidden, and a host of others. There was also Larry Knapp – veteran A/FX Mustang drag racer also proud to race in a great era of drag racing. John Calvert understands perfectly what it feels like to be bolted to speed in a new Thunderbolt Fairlane factory racecar, which is exactly what he did nearly 50 years ago on the 1320 with a 427 strapped to his backside.

No Fabulous Fords Forever would be complete without Steve Saleen who has been shaking hands and rubbing elbows with crowds since this event began 28 years ago. Although Saleen’s history is well documented, did you know he was born in Southern California in the suburban Los Angeles community of Inglewood, and his passion for racing began with Porsches, not Mustangs? When Saleen began participating in SCCA competition in 1982, he did it in a Mustang. It didn’t take long for him to become passionate about Ford’s pony car.  He launched Saleen Autosport in 1983 and began producing specialty vehicles in 1984. A lot has happened in the world of Steve Saleen since 1982. Suffice it to say this man has never lost his strong following, which at Knotts was a long line of well wishers ready to say hello and request his autograph.

Of course the greatest celebrity to make a showing at Knott’s was Ford Motor Company and an exciting lineup of new models for 2013-14 including the Fiesta, C-Max, F-Series, and naturally Mustang where fans lined up wanting to know more about the redesigned pony coming in a year just in time for the 50th Anniversary. Ford is keeping a tight lid on the new Mustang, and although we tried our best, we weren’t able to get them to divulge any new details to us.

The Ford display was a popular stop for show-goers all weekend long

Listen Up!

Celebrities each took their turn with the Horsepower For An Hour guys, getting interviewed for the syndicated radio show, and show participants.

Keeping everyone charged up at Knott’s this year were radio personalities Donny Caccamise and Tom Spence of Horsepower For An Hour. Everyone knows these guys for their entertaining banter and informative news from the world of high-performance automobiles and the aftermarket. Donny and Tom interviewed each of the celebrities who attended Knott’s including Linda Vaughn, Steve Saleen, and Vaughn Gittin, Jr.  Gittin is one of the most iconic figures in drifting today. He takes the Monster Energy Drink Ford Racing RTR Mustang and puts on quite a show for the masses all over the country with his pedal to the metal style laying down rubber and smacking the rev limiter time and time again. The two time Formual D champ was on hand to interview and sign autographs at this year’s event.

Donny and Tom invited Henry Ford III to the stage for a chat to get his take on what it means to love Ford in 2013. Ford, the great-great grandson of the company’s founder, Henry Ford, has the same warm and personable style of his father, Edsel Ford II. When you strike up a conversation with the most junior Mr. Ford, it’s like chatting with an old friend because he’s very passionate about the very subject that brought thousands to Buena Park, California. Mr. Ford is a young Ford executive learning the ropes of the car business at the Lincoln Division. He arrived in a Lincoln MKX and mingled with the crowds. When it was time to wrap up for the day, HFIII paused for a moment to chat with us in the parking lot. Like other Fords before him, HFIII is a dyed in the wool car enthusiasts who loves the business, which means Ford Motor Company remains in great hands.

Over 110 years of Ford history and performance were on display in all their various forms.

To put an event like this together was no small feat. More than 200 volunteers from the Ford Car Club Council  comprised of 44 clubs rallied to help put on what’s easily the most successful Fabulous Fords Forever show in this event’s history. Next year when the Mustang turns 50, expect a gala Ford event like never before. Meanwhile, keep your eye on www.fabulousfordsforever.org for updates and important announcements.