An American motoring icon

Mustang was officially launched on April 17, 1964, but by then thousands of vehicles had already been shipped out to dealerships all over the continent. The first cars were sent to the farthest dealers, so after a nationwide tour of Ford dealer showrooms all across Canada, Mustang serial number one wound up 2,180 miles from Dearborn at George Parsons’ Ford dealership in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Tucker, who worked for Eastern Provincial Airlines, saw the Wimbledon White Mustang while passing Parsons’ showroom, on April 15, 1964 and returned the next day with a cheque. There was a problem though, the convertible Mustang wasn’t actually for sale, however, the persuasive captain somehow managed to cajole the dealer in to letting him drive away in it.

Once Ford realised that Mustang number one had been inadvertently sold, they tried to buy it back, but Tucker refused. He spent the next two years putting 10,000 miles on the car until early 1966, when, with Mustang production approaching the one million mark, they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. In exchange for returning Mustang Number One, he could have the one millionth Mustang free of charge, equipped to his specifications.

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