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Ford builds USAF Thunderbirds Edition Mustang for charity

Each year since 2008, Ford has created a one-off Mustang to celebrate military aviation, and the cars have been auctioned off at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Gathering of Eagles charity event to raise money to inspire the next generation of aviators. This year's charity car is the 2014 Ford Mustang GT US Air Force Thunderbirds Edition, which also helps celebrate 60 years of Thunderbirds air show excellence.
Of all the EAA charity cars, this Thunderbirds Edition is the most in depth. Painted to match the F-16 Tomcat fighter jets used by Thunderbirds, this Mustang also gets a widebody kit and 22-inch Forgiato wheels to go with the cockpit's Recaro bucket seats, rear-seat delete and modified navigation screen and gauge cluster. Even the Mustang's projector puddle lights have been changed to show an aircraft silhouette - rather than the Mustang's galloping horse logo - when the doors are open.
Themes for previous EAA charity cars include the Blue Angels, SR-71 Blackbird and the Red Tails as well as the F-22 Raptor-inspired AV8R and AV-X10 "Dearborn Doll" models. Scroll down for the press release for the 2014 Ford Mustang GT US Air Force Thunderbirds Edition, and be sure to check out our galleries for all six aviation-themed Mustangs.

First Ford Mustang prototype shots caught by legendary spy shooter Jim Dunne

You know how people refer to someone as having "been around the block" to mean they're very experienced? Well, when it comes to automotive spy photography, Jim Dunne actually laid down the concrete slabs of the block's sidewalk. The unforgettable Dunne more or less invented the car spy game - a fact he cemented by writing book called Car Spy - and has been delivering spy shots and reporting on the industry for some 45 years now. (He also once employed this writer as his impromptu personal chauffer on a Volkswagen trip in Germany, while he slept, but that's a story for a different time.)
In any event, Dunne must be on a mission to prove that "elder statesman" doesn't also mean "washed up" as it is his shots of the upcoming new 2014 Ford Mustang that we've been handed by our friends at KGP Photography.
Mr. Dunne has likely spent the last few years obtaining powerful telescopic lenses, as the Ford in question has clearly been photographed from some distance. Nevertheless, what you see here is visual evidence that the sixth-generation Mustang has moved beyond the mule stage, and is now testing in proper prototype form. Sources indicate that there are production-spec body panels under that baggy canvass dress; but the slightly less bulky silhouette of the new car can be just made out. While the car's bumpers have been removed to obfuscate things, we can tell by way of the camo's apertures that the car's taillights have moved upwards and towards the lip of the tail. A fender vent appears to be visible, too, just behind the front wheel.

Most American Cars | Honda Makes the Top 10 List

The car built with the most American/Canadian parts content is the 2021 Ford Mustang GT – with the manual transmission, specifically, no less – giving Ford a second consecutive year atop the American University Kogod Business School annual "Made in America Auto Index. We already knew that it doesn't get much more American than a V8 pony car, but now we've got the numbers to prove it.  Ford's iconic coupe takes the number one slot pretty convincingly this year, with 88.5% of its components coming from U.S. or Canadian sources. Appropriately, though perhaps confusingly, 21 models made the top 10 list in 2021. As you may have surmised, this is the result of multiple ties. Note also that many models appear more than once to account for variants built with parts from different sources. The top-ranked Mustang is a perfect example; The automatic drops into into a tie for 10th, right next to the EcoBoost model and Ram's 1500 Classic with the 3.6L V6.  The "America" theme runs pretty strongly through the top "10," with the Chevrolet Corvette sitting pretty in second place, followed by all three variants of Tesla's Model 3 electric car. Honda also makes several appearances thanks to its rather significant U.S. manufacturing footprint. Here are the 21 vehicles that make up the top 10 this year – don't worry, it feels just as weird to type as it does to read. Last year's winner, the midsize Ford Ranger pickup, cratered to 16th place, dropping from 70% American parts content to just 45%. Keep in mind, however, that the pandemic has forced automakers to source parts outside of their normal supply chains, and such drops should be taken with a grain of salt. Kogod noted that the overall proportions of content between manufacturers remained relatively unchanged despite what appear to be significant shake-ups such as this one.  "While the trend TDC for cars assembled in the US is consistent over time, both Daimler and Subaru saw significant drops in their average US content," the summary said. "This may be the result of US shortages of parts and components as the impacts of the covid pandemic created significant disruptions in automotive supply chains." Watch Ford Build a Bronco: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.