Automotive News Canada - February 2018 - v2 - 9

* F E B R U A R Y 2018

A retro Bullitt to the souls of autonomous, EVs
drive for lucky - and financially viable -
fans when it goes on sale this summer.
Much of the buzz surrounding the reveal
of the Mustang Bullitt was about the movie
itself, illustrating the nostalgic grip of the
scant 10 minutes where a 1968 Mustang
dueled with a black Dodge Charger. The
fact Ford brought along the original and
unrestored Mustang used in the film certainly helped. The 2019 model will no
doubt be a good car, just like any other
Mustang GT, but the retro force is especially strong in this one.
Ford has consistently been able to tap
into car lovers' nostalgia (it also created
and sold tribute Mustang Bullitt models for

Autonomous and electrified vehicles
might be the future, but without raucous
engine noises and nostalgia, they'll
never have soul. The crowds around the
Mustang Bullitt tell the story.
( P H O TO : F O R D )

the 2001 and 2008 model years), but that
might matter most right now.
The industry is awash in discussions
about how autonomous and electric vehicles will revolutionize the industry and society itself. It's a fascinating time to be in
the auto industry, but for enthusiasts who
love the rumble of a V-8 engine, it can be
bittersweet.
The sounds of internal combustion will
grow fainter as the years roll on, but the
large crowd gathered around the old and
new Ford Mustang Bullitt cars shows that
autonomous and electric cars will likely
never have the most important force of all:
soul. - ANC

FROM TORONTO

JOHN IRWIN

COMMENT
NOSTALGIA IS A POWERFUL
force.
I was reminded of that after
seeing the latest Star Wars
film, The Last Jedi, in
December. I left the theatre
impressed with the movie,
especially because of how it
took so much of what fans of
the series take for granted and
flipped it on its head. It was
not your typical Star Wars
movie, and I couldn't help but
think it was exactly the shot in
the arm the 40-year-old franchise needed.
While critics generally love
the film, a vocal portion of the
Star Wars fanbase loathes it, in
large part because of just how
much it flips the series on its
head. That reaction was surprising at first, but familiarity is
comforting and the movie was
anything but.
It was no shock to me,
then, that the vehicle that
appeared to have the biggest
"force" at the Detroit auto
show in January was not some
trippy concept car or a hightech autonomous-electric vehicle. No, it was a Mustang.
Ford brought back yet
another special-edition green
Mustang Bullitt as an homage
to the car driven by Steve
McQueen in the 1968 film. It's
a slightly more powerful version
of the current Mustang GT - it
will get "at least" 475 horsepower and will top out at about
260 km/h. A host of retro styling cues, from the black grille
and the chrome trim, to the
cueball shift knob and fivespoke wheels, take the pony
car over the top. It's a beautiful
machine that will be fun to

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - February 2018 - v2