The Red Ford Mustang That Started It All – #LexGoFurther – A Ford Escape

There were a lot of road trips and a lot of driving in my youth. I remember fondly the yellow Volkswagen Beetles, the blue Datsun, the burgundy Peugeot, but the car that stands out the most is the red Ford Mustang.

My grandmother’s car.  My grandmother was a sporty, speed freak and she really wanted a red Ford mustang. So she got a red Ford mustang.  Then she drove it and she drove it FAST!

In the red Ford Mustang, I experienced the thrill of speed and the terror of speed uncontrolled; developed a healthy fear of bad driving and a healthy respect for good driving.

At 16, I  learned how to drive in this car. I remember driving around Kingston in that red Ford Mustang through snowstorms and freezing rain. The instructor beside me and Hilary and Jane in the back seat talking about cute boys and devastating crushes, while I practiced parking on hills and driving down narrow, snow-packed streets.  I remember failing my first driving test in it for going a smidge fast, and failing my second driving test in it for getting too nervous to parallel parking in a tiny spot on a slope behind a van.

I realized in that car, now that I knew how to drive, just how wild my grandmother’s driving was.  And I remember my grandmother never, ever, letting me drive it again.

I loved that car and Ford has a special place in my  16-year heart.  A very special place.

When Ford asked if there were any special trips they could help with, I immediately thought of a cross-country trip in the winter to New Brunswick.

They said yes!  Now you may have already seen some of the photos, read some of the tweets, maybe even suggested where I should go,  but now I’m going to start telling the tales from Lex Go Further – A Ford Escape.

(This post might help explain some of my comments in this post)

Note: the red Ford Mustang in the photo above is not a photo of my grandmother’s car.  It was found on Hemmings.com.  Also, the car in the photo with my grandmother is likely a Ford Model “A” but I’m not 100% sure.  If you can identify it, please leave a comment below!

Note: this post part of my Lex Go Further – A Ford Escape series sponsored by Ford Canada and Tourism Quebec.  If you want to know more about what trouble I get into, you can read my disclosure statement here.