FORDS TAKE OVER CARLISLE

CARLISLE, Pa. – Whether they came to see the anniversary of The Deuce, Edsel, Ranchero or Cougar or to chat with Huggy Bear of Starsky & Hutch renown or to check out the first-time Ford Motor Company Test Drives, Blue Oval fans were not disappointed this past weekend at the Carlisle Fairgrounds.

Rick Markko, the Ford Event Manager, was pleased with the way the show unfolded and commented “Carlisle Events would like to hear your input about the 2007 All-Ford Nationals. Please take this brief survey and let us know what you liked and what you didn’t. This is your show and we would like to have your input.” The survey can be found at http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/ford/survey.asp

Ford Motor Company brought two concept cars this weekend. The Interceptor and the Reflex. Under the hood, the Interceptor touts a Ford Racing 5.0-liter Cammer engine that runs on E-85 ethanol and produces 400 horsepower. Recently, an automotive critic described the concept this way, “The Interceptor concept is much like a Marine in dress uniform. He looks smart and elegant, but you can see the raw power that lies beneath.” The Reflex is a technological showcase with its advanced diesel-electric hybrid engine – delivering up to 65 miles per gallon.

This year Ford added a Ride and Drive demonstration that allowed attendees to actually test drive new Ford vehicles during the show. The Fusion, Edge, Escape and F150 were all available for test drives. This proved to be a very popular addition to the show.

2007 was the 40th anniversary of the legendary Mercury Cougar. Fans saw some of the nicest cars to ever come out of Detroit. Cougar fans saw some fine examples of the Cougar in Building Y plus lots more on the show field.
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Also featured was a fine display of all years of the Mustang Mach I. These invitational cars demonstrated why the Mach I was such a powerful and popular Mustang legend.
Starsky & Hutch fans were thrilled with the turnout of red and white Torinos. Ford only made 1,000 of these Limited Edition “Starsky & Hutch” Gran Torinos in the spring of 1976 recognizing the popularity of both the show and the car during the ‘70s. Additionally, Antonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear on the show spent the entire weekend greeting fans and signing autographs.
David Pearson and Bud Moore, two legendary NASCAR icons were on-hand to sign autographs and chat with fans. Bud Moore Engineering brought a 1967 Cougar prototype race car. Al Joniec of drag racing fame joined in the fun with two of his race cars.
As always there were lots of fun activities like burnouts, a beauty contest, dyno testing, wing-eating contest, a huge show field, swap meet, rock crawl and car corral, and plenty of great food. There was something for the entire family including a Kids at Carlisle activities center.
A list of award winners will be posted on the Ford web page http://carsatcarlisle.com/ford/index.asp later in the week.

Brian Compa of Morgantown, WV was our 2007 Wing Eating Champion. Compa managed to get 25 wings in his stomach in less than 10 minutes.

A bevy of beauties was on-hand for the annual Miss Carlisle All-Ford Nationals Beauty Contest. The winner was Ashley Gertz of Gordonville, Pennsylvania. Following in second place was Carlisle’s own Amanda Lawson, and in third, Kim Bergens from York, Pennsylvania.

Shane Hiney took the honors in the Burnout Contest in his ’78 T-Bird. Hiney managed to spin ‘em ‘til they popped. He blew both rear tires to win the contest.

This year’s lucky Giveaway winner was Mary Ann Baysinger of Connellsville, PA. Baysinger had the choice of a beautiful, all-original ’71 Mercury Cougar or $5,000 in cash. She elected to take the cash.

Check our web site regularly for updates and information on all of our events. www.carlisleevents.com

Carlisle Events, host of 10 collector car, truck and motorcycle events each year, attracts more than half a million people to its 82-acre fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania each year. Included in the annual schedule are two huge automotive swap meets – in the spring and fall – and individual specialty shows featuring Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, motorcycles, sport compacts and imports. Founded in 1974 by friends Bill Miller and Chip Miller, the “Cars at Carlisle” shows attract automotive enthusiasts from around the world.

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