A 2007 Ford Mustang GT roars to life in the parking lot of the North Campus residence as 22-year-old exercise science major Daniel Crandall, a freshman, demonstrates the sound he enjoys hearing from his beloved Mustang.
Crandall’s connection to muscle cars is tied to his former military service. He and his Army buddies decided to buy these cars once they got back from deployment. It is a way to keep the friendship alive, he says.
“You miss the comradery, a lot of buddies you left behind, and, overall, it’s just a lot of good vibes with the people you serve with,” he says about life after the military.
After he graduated from high school, he joined the Army and spent three years there until February 2019. During his deployment in Iraq, he said, he and his buddies always talked about what muscle cars they would buy when they returned home. With nothing to spend his money on in Iraq, his Army pay accumulated, and the end sum was enough to buy the Mustang straight from the lot.
Crandall says the specs of the car are still the original stock it came with since it left the manufacturing plant.
The Ford Mustang GT is a two-door,
hardtop coupe with a 4.6L engine manufactured by Auto Alliance International, USA. The Mustang averages around 210 to 300 horsepower. Over 53,526 units were sold, according to Late Model Restoration’s website, which it claimed is the No. 1 source for Mustang parts.
“It’s got 8 cylinders, 4.6-liter engine, it’s got a custom, 23-inch, MagnaFlow Exhaust on the back,” he says.
Ever since he was a child, Crandall has always yearned for a black Mustang.
“My neighbor had a Mustang, it wasn’t a GT, it was convertible, and it was black. I always thought black Mustangs were one of the coolest cars anyone could own,” he says.
Crandall says that it doesn’t take a lot to make a Mustang look nice.
“Mustangs always caught my eye. I just like the way they looked and the way they sit, especially if you throw some nice wheels on them,” he says.
Crandall says that he vividly remembers the first time saw his car in the lot.
“I went to a couple of used car lots and I saw [the Mustang] sitting there,” he says.
“[I] saw it was a GT and made it a thousand times better.”
He says he was set on getting his Mustang, but still wanted to talk the buyer down from the original price.
When he and his Army buddies got back from deployment, he says all started buying nice cars.
“All my buddies got these [nice] cars, and I was like, ‘Man, I got to do something.’ ”
Crandall says the ride home from the used car lot was glorious.
“I remember when I pulled it off from the lot. I got up on the highway, and I was like ‘Damn, I really got this thing!;’ floored it all the way home,” he says.
As much as he says he loves his Mustang, he says the gas mileage leans more on the expensive side and that the car is more for show than for functionality. He says he would like a mode of transportation that is more functional.
Crandall’s Mustang has room for four people inside, if any does not mind the sense of feeling cramped in the backseat.
“I’m dreading the day, but it [has] got to come soon,” Crandall said. “I wouldn’t mind selling it to a good person, someone who would take care of it.”
He keeps in touch with his Army buddies via talking on Xbox live chat or Snapchat. They still talk about their cars. He says he used to get ridiculed by his Army buddies for buying the Mustang, but a few recently admitted it is a good car.
“I think it is one of the best looking of the most recent Mustangs,” he says.
