McQueen rides again for Mustang
 

McQueen rides again for Mustang


ERIC MAYNE
The Detroit News


DETROIT - If you build it, they will come. But will they buy?


Ford Motor Co. expects to get the answer next month when a new Mustang television commercial begins airing. The ad is an homage to the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," in which Kevin Costner portrays a dreamer who conjures the spirits of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other baseball players when he builds a ballfield on his farm.


In Ford's commercial, a farmer builds a winding racetrack on which he drives his 2005 Mustang, due in showrooms next month.


Out of the cornfield comes Steve McQueen, the late screen star famous for driving a Mustang in the 1968 action flick "Bullitt."


The farmer tosses his keys to McQueen, whose likeness is created by a body double and digital editing wizardry. The spot ends with "McQueen" driving off in the new Mustang.


Marketing experts say the ad pushes the right buttons because the McQueen legend and the Mustang evoke fond memories for moviegoers and car buffs.


"It's a very positive association," said Wes Brown, a partner in the California consulting firm NexTrend.


The Mustang commercial is part of a comprehensive marketing effort Ford has begun to generate excitement.


The automaker is counting on a strong start for new models to bolster sales and put an end to a long market share slump.


The Ford brand is on track to drop to 16.6 percent of the U.S. market in 2004, its ninth consecutive year of decline. Through September, Ford's total car sales were down 13.5 percent compared with last year.


The brand increased its fourth-quarter advertising budget to $170 million, about 50 percent more than was spent during the final three months of 2003.


Using computer trickery to transcend the passage of time isn't new to commercials. Ten years after his death in 1987, Fred Astaire's image was featured in an acclaimed TV ad that showed him dancing with a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner.


"If it's executed properly and well, it can be a very effective tool," Brown said.


Marrying McQueen's image to the commercial's live-action content took more than six weeks of preparation and post-production computer work, said Katie Matson, an Ann Arbor native and creative coordinator of Believe Media, an international production company whose clients have included Coca-Cola, Nike and McDonald's.


"It is as if Steve McQueen is back to life," Matson said. "It is very real. This is a very seamless edit."


McQueen died of lung cancer in 1980. Ford secured the rights to his likeness from the actor's estate for an undisclosed sum.


Ford also was required to obtain the rights to use images from "Bullitt" and "Field of Dreams."


The commercial was shot in British Columbia about 60 miles east of Vancouver over two weeks in midsummer.


Cut from a 75-acre cornfield, the track is on a 360-acre farm owned by David and Fran Vander Kooi.


It was modeled after Willow Springs International Raceway near Santa Clarita, Calif.


So meticulous was the film crew that some ears of corn were hand-placed.


David Vander Kooi, 42, didn't drive the Mustang, but saw enough of the redesigned car to comment: "It's a cool car. We loved it."

That is awesome. I can't wait to see the next mustang. I also can't wait to see the Saleen at SEMA. Oh, and the next Cobra will be a year or two away... good times!

Road trip to Vancouver!!

Glad to see Ford's doing something finally. They'd better get moving or they will be hopelessly lost. I'm not a huge fan of the new design, but I commend Ford for not giving up on coolness for sales. Everyone else is building cars everyone will like, only a few designers have the guts to build cars the way they should be built.

The Cobra is a long way away. The list of problems is endless at this point. My bet is they get tired of spending production money that they don't have, and just drop a 5.4 in the GT and call it a Cobra. Hey it's working now.

The problem with the new rustang is they seem liked they stopped 2 weeks short in the design phase. It still has a boat anchor rear axel. When pusehed by the press, the ford rep said it was because so many of them will be modified into drag cars. C&D said it was for cost. I'm sure the dealers will put a "Have to have it" surcharge on it the first few months it is out, like with the Mini Cooper. But for $30k I'd rather have a AWD STi sedan with a rear seat then a ford.

they dont rust in Az
Ill take the Mustang over any of the cars you mentioned :)

I think the new Mustang looks almost as good as the '68 I drove for many years; to my eye, the most attractive model to wear the pony badge. That's not to say I'd buy one.

dcb

I agree with DCB, It's the best looking 'stang since the '68. I think it also fits nicely into the styling of the T-Bird and the new 500, which is supposed to have AWD if I remember correctly. The one thing I don't like about the new Mustang is the rear quarter window. Seems a bit out of place. I think louvers (or vents a la GT500) would have looked a lot nicer.


Oh yea, and McQueen is the man...:D

The "boat anchor" rear axle - which is cheaper, stronger, and lighter than an IRS. The new GTO has IRS and get's little praise. In these cars it's all about power, and the IRS just eats power. My T/A was 345hp at the crank (in stock form) and pulled 320hp at the wheels. The GTO is 350hp at the crank and barely pulls 300hp at the wheels. With the extra weight of the IRS, a car that could have been a panther, is instead a pig. Sounds like Ford has the brains for once. No one gives a rip about ride quality in these cars...and even the live axle rear can be made to outhandle an IRS for next to nothing. A mere $800 put into my suspension will get me over 1g on the skidpad. So again, what is the advantage of an IRS on a car like this?

Yeah, those sell-out car companies trying to build cars that will appeal to as many people as possible instead of making obscure stuff only you'll like. What a bunch of maroons.

:D

Cool. HEre's an interesting read on the original movie:

http://www.people.freenet.de/pony/bullitf.htm

It's kinda funny because the Mustang is basically a ford falcon with a different body, and the falcon was the cheapest crappiest car ford made. When the ford is landing on some of hte jumps, you can see hte mirrors fly off it, stuff like that. It had to be reinforced all over the place, shot peened everything, headers, full exhaust, intake manifold, carb, etc.... the charger was basically stock, and 'ran circles' around the mustang.

Heh. Ford...blah.

- Jim

GT500 vents.... power....

Check this out: http://www.allfordmustangs.com/artma...icle_346.shtml

This is the GTR-40 Mustang built by Saleen. The car was built for promotion but it uses parts that are available to anyone, even the massive motor. Something like $16k. Anyway, its a hot car.

Sounds like sarcasm. Strange words coming from an SVX enthusiast. Lest I remind you that your car...

eh...

nevermind.



I'm glad to see that Ford is really trying to get on the truck in the performance game now. WIth a 500hp engine available for the Stang, and a 500hp GTO on the horizon...we will finally see some fireworks again.

It was. I was joking, man. Lighten up.

My car, as you put it, was a fiasco for Subaru. They built a beautiful car nobody wanted. I may love the car, but since not many people agreed when it was on the showroom floor for $35k, it didn't sell. That's how it works.

I'm not saying car manufacturers shouldn't take a risk once in awhile or make something off the wall. I'm saying don't chastise them for doing exactly what they exist for - making as much money as possible.

'Everyone else is making cars everyone will like.' So??? Good for them. That means they're doing their jobs. Are they supposed to make something nobody likes instead?

Performance is more than horsepower. I'm not arguing with you, just reminding you. 500hp, great. But the ability to use that power for more than going in a straight line would really be something.

Burnouts. :)

- Jim