The ‘Bullitt’ Mustang May Roar Back to Life in ’01
Bull’s-Eye: Ford Motor Co. sources say response to the “Bullitt” Mustang concept shown at the just-concluded Greater Los Angeles Auto Show was so good that the company is likely to develop it as a special model.
The car pays homage to the 1968 Mustang GT that co-starred with Steve McQueen in the movie “Bullitt” that same year. For those who don’t remember, the racing-green Mustang ripped up the streets of San Francisco in furious, often airborne and ultimately successful pursuit of the Dodge-driving bad guys.
Believing the film car might tug at a few heartstrings, Ford prepped a 2000 Mustang GT with a Bullitt-green paint job, special scoop-equipped hood and front fascia for a more muscular look, five-spoke polished “mag” style wheels and a polished aluminum racing-style flip-top fuel filler (a feature the original Bullitt car did not have), and plunked it down at the Ford display at the car show. A nearby video screen ran a continuous loop of the movie chase scene.
“There was a huge amount of response,” a company insider said. “That movie, and the car, have a tremendous recognition among all ages, not just old guys who were around in ’68.”
A 2001 Bullitt Mustang, sources said, would be a limited-edition car to top up the GT line of V-8 Mustangs. Price would be in the high $20,000s--slotted between the $24,000 Mustang GT and the $30,000 Mustang Cobra.
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Crowded Quarters: The preliminary count has the L.A. car show drawing the largest attendance in its 96-year history, with 1,004,275 visitors during a nine-day run that started Jan. 8. That’s a 17% increase over last year.
Organizers say there were 174,000 people at the first Sunday of the show. That one-day record and large crowds on the other weekend dates generated some complaints about overcrowding, lost children and related problems.
By comparison, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is expected to have drawn about 750,000 people when its 10-day run ends Sunday.
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GLAAS Ceiling: The Detroit car show is the hometown stand for Ford, General Motors Corp. and the American operations of DaimlerChrysler. As such, it draws more industry executives, more important announcements and far more news coverage than does the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.
Although all the Asian auto makers that market in the U.S.--save Subaru--have their North American headquarters in Los Angeles and Orange counties, the L.A. show as a newsmaker seems doomed to sit in the shadow of the Detroit extravaganza unless organizers figure out some way to separate the two events by more than a few days.
Executives at companies such as Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi say they can’t afford to miss the international news coverage the Detroit show draws and can’t get auto journalists to come to Los Angeles from overseas, or even from the East Coast, to cover a show that takes place just a week before Detroit.
The L.A. show also suffers because the Asian auto makers use the Tokyo Motor Show in October for many of their major previews, leaving little that’s new for Los Angeles.
Still, the L.A. show’s hefty crowd count clearly says it is a winner for consumers--who mainly want to see what’s available, or is going to be available shortly, at their local new-car dealerships.
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More to Come: Another Mustang isn’t the only new-car news from the two auto shows. Several vehicles were unveiled that will be in showrooms in the next year or so.
Among them were the new Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute cousins. The small sport-utility vehicles have different sheet metal but share the same Mazda 626 sedan platform and are aimed at the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V market.
Another standout was the Mercury Mountaineer concept, which insiders said is almost identical to the production version due out next year. In addition to cluing us in on what the new Mercury SUV will look like--slab-sided and brawny--the concept also revealed the bigger dimensions of the next-generation Ford Explorer, which shares the Merc’s independent rear-suspension platform.
Suzuki showed a concept SUV with three rows of seats and said it will introduce a production version this year. Mitsubishi unveiled a convertible Eclipse due out in a few weeks and a redesigned Montero SUV for March. Hyundai displayed its new Santa Fe SUV and confirmed that next year it will start selling a full-size, five-passenger, near-luxury sedan. Kia tossed a five-door hatchback into its product mix for the U.S. And BMW unveiled a pair of new 3-Series models--a convertible and a sport wagon designed especially for the U.S. market.
