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Motrolix

Meet Gail Wise, The First Ford Mustang Owner In The U.S. (With Video)

When Ford celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mustang by unveiling the 2015 Mustang to the world on December 5th of 2013, we’re certain that many wanted to drop whatever it was they were doing to buy the all-new pony right then and there. Unfortunately, the 2015 Stang won’t be available to buy for several months, but that wasn’t the case 50 years ago.

Back in 1964, Gail Wise — a 22-year-old college graduate and brand new Chicago school teacher, went into a Chicago-area Ford dealership looking for a convertible. The salesperson told her that he didn’t have any convertibles on the lot, but escorted her to a back room where a car was covered by a tarp. That car was a baby blue 1965 (1964.5) Mustang convertible. Gail ended up buying the drop-top Stang for $3,400, thereby becoming the first person in the U.S. to own a Mustang. And she did so a full two days before Ford debuted the Mustang to the world at the New York World’s Fair.

Gail and her husband drove the car until 1979, but a mechanical problem put it in their garage for the next 27 years. Since, the drop-top ‘Stang has been fully restored and now looks to be in a beautiful, original condition, with a current market value that’s between $100,000 and $250,000.

Granted, customers looking to buy the sixth-generation 2015 Mustang today shouldn’t rush to their local Ford dealership expecting to find the all-new pony in a back room somewhere… but Gail’s story is pretty awesome, nonetheless:

Motrolix Founder with a passion for global automotive business strategy.

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