2003 Fabulous Fords Forever Show - Knott's Berry Farm - Berry Cherry

Now the phrase "Berry Cherry" may sound like a cereal you could eat during Saturday morning Looney Tunes, but like a good non-nutritional breakfast, the 18th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever car show at the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Park, California, had a flavor that was hard to resist and the prizes inside was over 1,800 cars.

Change the spelling and the definition to "serial," and you have another interesting connection to the show, especially with Mustang fans. In the latter spelling, "serial" is defined as an indefinite continuing series or belonging to a series maturing periodically over time. The Mustang has certainly matured through the years and the story continues when all other opponents have disappeared.

While the Knott's Berry event covered all Ford products, including the Lincoln/Mercury side of Ford life, the late-model Mustangs were out in force taking over one whole parking lot on their own. What was nice about the event was that it was extremely organized with years and even models parked together so no one group was scattered about. The 4.6 guys could talk about overhead cams or multiple valves, Cobra owners could spit venom, Bullitt owners could eat bullets, and Mach 1 owners could mock each other. Saleen owners talked about Steve and Roush owners all told each other they didn't know Jack!

One could observe a wide variety of color combinations, engine goodies, wheels and which car had the coolest stance. After looking at the car next to you, one could easily come to the realization there is still one or two more do-dads left to polish. It's also pretty cool to look down a row of a dozen "shaker" hood scoops.

In the parking lot next to the late models were the parents (so to speak), all nicely grouped together allowing one to observe the Mustang's adolescence. Again the names Boss and Mach 1 filled the parking lot. Even "I don't get no Respect" Mustang IIs were there--two of them! Various other parking lots were designated for all the Ford nameplates other than the Mustang and all areas were filled with spectators.

There were special areas for folks to join a multitude of clubs that pay homage to their favorite ride and a number of displays from Ford's Special Vehicle Team, Saleen, Roush, Shelby American and BFGoodrich. There were also autograph sessions with Steve Saleen, Carroll Shelby, racing legends Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and Parnelli Jones, CART driver Roberto Moreno, and My Classic Car's Dennis Gage. Ford execs spotted in line waiting for autographs included Nick Scheele, Dave Szczupak, and John Coletti. Designer Chip Foose also showed off his radical custom T-Bird.

The current breed of Mustangs draws a wide age range when it comes to the passion of ownership. For the younger generation, The Knott's Berry Fabulous Fords Forever event was a great way to understand the passion for the Mustang by seeing the whole show--especially the way it was laid out. One should start from the beginning of the serial and view the process of maturation.

Just look at the current Mustangs named after their ancestors. The GT, Cobra and Mach 1 are names that have carried on. Without the passion for the early generations, would today's offspring even exist? What would the world be like if Mustang enthusiasts were forced to settle for "Civic" minded econo boxes with fart mufflers?