We have always sought for sponsors to provide us staff vehicles for our events, such as Ford Motor Company, Roush Performance, Saleen, and others to use as a pace car or other support functions. We believe that this provides an excellent opportunity for a company to get their cars out in front of the public in way that really makes it shine.
In that way, we have been blessed with some great cars and trucks over the years that we’d like to share with you here. One aspect to the use of these vehicles is that they leave us with a storied history. Some of the current owners of these cars know about it, others don’t………….yet.
2009 45th Anniversary Drive
Ford Motor Company and SVT partnered with us in 2009 and provided a brand new pre-production 2010 Shelby GT-500 in white with red stripes. We applied our custom graphics wrap to the car and made in eye-catching. It was a special car to have as it would not see production until later in the spring of 2009.
The car later went back to Ford engineering fleets after we drove it in the Mustangs Across America drive. In 2011 it turned up at a media event ride and drive at Virginia International Raceway. It was outfitted with a roll cage and racing harnesses, provided as a 2010 model to compare back to back with the new 2011 models with the aluminum block engine. We have no idea what became of this car after that, but it likely never saw a public sale.
2004 40th Anniversary Drive
Roush Performance and Mustangs Across America teamed up for the 40th Anniversary Drive in April of 2004. Roush Performance of Livonia, MI provided a specially built Roush Mustang convertible to pace the milestone event. Roush Performance has been building specially prepared Mustangs for years at its Michigan facility building popular Stage 1,2 and 3 Mustangs as well as special editions like the 380R and Roush Classic. The cars are known as one of the best engineered and fastest specialty Mustangs ever built.
The Roush lead the convoy with prominence and ease with 380 supercharged horsepower on tap for high speed bursts along Americas roadways and was a big star in the Discovery/Travel Channel documentary “Mustangs Across America”. Learn more about Roush Mustangs at www.roushperf.com
If you own a white 2004 Roush Stage 3 Convertible, this is your car. Roush sources and production numbers tell us that this is the single and only white Stage 3 Convertible built for 2004.
1996 Vegas to Atlanta Drive
1996 Saleen Speedster – Saleen/Team Budget
Sponsored in part by Saleen, Mustangs Monthly Magazine, and Budget Rent-A-Car, the 1996 MAA pace car was co-driven by Sam Haymart and Mary Jean Wesche, a writer with MM who covered the event. The car was an S-281 number 08B and equipped with an automatic transmission. Budget had a small fleet of the cars in their rental program. In the MAA event the car experienced major hail storms in both Arizona and Louisiana and raced an SS Camaro (for fun). After the event the car was then on display at the 1996 SEMA show. Prior to the 1996 MAA event the car also appeared in a movie. We saw it, but are researching the movie title – more on that later. Through a turn of events, the car was purchased by MM writer Mary Jean Wesche and to our best knowledge still belongs to her in Florida. At last news she has retained the MAA event logos on the car. Special thanks goes to Jerry Pitt and Steve Saleen for arranging our use of this awesome car.
1995 North to Seattle Drive
1995 Mustang GT Convertible – Ford Motor Company
For this event, Ford once again sponsored our pace car. The yellow GT drop top was immortalized by 250 die cast replicas that were sold to MAA enthusiasts with matching logos and graphics. The car paced the event from Ventura, CA to Seattle, WA with flair and presence. The car was auctioned by Ford soon after the event.
1995 Ford Windstar – Ford Motor Company
For a support vehicle to haul all of our stuff, Ford also provided a Windstar LX. New on the market at the time, the mini-van performed flawlessly and was loaded to the ceiling. Used truly as a baby wagon, it was driven by Sam’s wife, Llyra Haymart along with then five-month old son Sidney and their nanny.
1994 30th Anniversary Drive
Three vehicles were sponsored for the inaugural MAA event. Ford Motor Company supplied a laser red 1994 GT Coupe and a red F-250 truck for our chase team. Senator Ford in Sacramento also supplied a laser red 1994 GT convertible which paced the event as was used as a camera car for much of the on road footage shot for the MAA video.
1994 Mustang GT Coupe – Ford Motor Company
This car was one of the press cars that was in the Southern California fleet. It was used for magazine tests and a few aftermarket tuners in SoCal used it to test their products on. The car was fully loaded with black leather, 17″ wheels, and the new Mach 460 sound system. It appeared in magazine ads for one vendor with MOMO wheels and lowered suspension. Before MAA used it the car was nearly totaled in LA, getting T-boned. We were told by a good source that it was “f***ed up pretty bad”. When it was delivered to us for the event it smelled of fresh paint and we were told not to wash it for a day or two. It carried manufacturer plates number “14″. During the event it was driven by many people including enthusiasts from Canada and Australia. Brian Fenech who inspired the MAA event like the car so much that he ordered one exactly like later that year.After MAA the car was auctioned. We will have more research and photos soon. We thank Bob Bierman of Ford for his generosity.
1994 Mustang GT Convertible – Senator Ford
This car paced the event at the outset. Photos of the car breaking though the banner in Sacramento were paltered all over TV and newspapers nation wide. Helicopters filmed the car driving south, leading the convoy on Interstate 5 in California. As the event continued the car became a filming platform for many on the road video shoots and was the favorite car in our fleet. The car returned to Senator Ford’s rental fleet after the event and appeared in the Mustang 30th Anniversary Exhibit at the California State Fair retaining the MAA event logos. Our thanks to Jan Howell and Bob Credon at Senator Ford for providing us with this opportunity.
1994 F-250
The truck provided by Ford Motor Company was our workhorse that towed a 10,000 pound enclosed mobile garage that acted as our chase vehicle. It helped many stranded cars and towed some through several states. The matching trailer was donated by Five Star Trailer Sales in Loomis, CA. Special Thanks to Gary Bergeron of Sacramento for arranging the chase vehicle program.
