We met Ford fan Jonathan Woodward from Rutland, Massachusetts, while he was touring Ford’s famed Mustang Alley at the Woodward Dream Cruise a while back. After hearing about his Ford-owner journey, it became clear to us that this guy named Woodward just had to experience the annual cruise along Woodward Avenue because both have such a cool backstory. And when we found out that his first Ford love – a Thunderbird – is today in the personal collection of one of Ford’s top enthusiast engineers, we knew we had to ask Jonathan to share his story in our Fan Spotlight. Except it’s now a Mustang story . . . and even more – but we’ll let Jonathan himself explain:

“They say ‘Everyone Has A Mustang Story.’ Well, I have TWO Mustang stories . . . but it all started with a Thunderbird. Greetings, Ford Performance! My name is Jonathan Woodward, and I live in the smallish town of Rutland in central Massachusetts. I hope you consider my story for your Ford Fan Spotlight:

“In the mid-1980’s, I was a few years out of college and working steady in construction and it was time to replace my money-pit ’76 Trans Am. I test-drove a couple of new performance-oriented vehicles and really liked the ’85 Mustang GT but didn’t pull the trigger because Fox Body Mustangs were absolutely everywhere and I was looking for something different. A friend turned me on to her Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, and I was hooked!

“Luckily, my local Ford dealer had one on the showroom floor so we worked out a deal and I bought it. I had that ‘Bird for nine years and loved it! Super comfy Recaro seats, good on gas, great performance and beautiful lines. I had a company truck, so it wasn’t a daily driver which kept the mileage down. Work got slow in ’93 and I lost the truck so the T-Bird had to go. I was crushed! Luckily, my Thunderbird found a very good home with a young man in Michigan (whose whole family worked for Ford) and who would go on to have amazing career as an engineer at Ford (and he still has the Thunderbird)!

“It would be just over 20 years before I got back into Ford Performance. In 2014 my father-in-law in Indiana lost his battle with cancer. His bucket-list item was a Laser Red 1999 Mustang GT Convertible that had several owners and about 80k well-maintained miles on the clock. Oddly enough, the GT had actually been a Canadian export car, complete with an engine block heater and daytime running lights (since disconnected). I didn’t think there were enough warm, sunny days in a Canadian summer to warrant a convertible but apparently somebody did! (No complaints.) Under my ownership I’ve added a cold-air intake, sequential taillights, grill delete kit, chin spoiler, new carpeting and floor mats, new headlights, new fog lights, and most recently new wheels and tires. My wife and I love cruising in the summer with the top down.

“About 15 months after inheriting the GT, I came across a one-owner, low-mileage 2003 Azure Blue Mustang Mach 1 that needed a good home. It took a month to convince my wife that it was a good ‘investment’ and that we really ‘needed’ a second Mustang, but she finally gave in. It needed some TLC and some body work. I restored it to as close as original as I could by respringing it (lowered springs aren’t great on most New England roads), replacing the aftermarket stereo with a salvage-yard Mach 460 in-dash AM/FM 6-disc unit (and subsequently discovering that it needed 4 new speakers), had the wheels refinished and replaced all four tires which were full of fine cracks in the sidewalls.

“When doing a CarFax on the Mach 1, I discovered that even though it had New England roots, the car had spent 9 years in Dubai!! With the original title, I wrote the first owner for any info or history that he could provide, but I never heard back.  I’ve had the Mach 1 for just over eight years now and added just over 20k miles to the odometer. I’ve taken trips to multiple car shows and cruise-ins, several runs to the Ford Nationals in Carlisle, PA., and one trip (so far) to Mustang Alley at the Woodward Dream Cruise -- and have enjoyed every mile. I even got the chance to have my picture taken with three Ford Mustang legends – retired engineering director Mike Berardi, SVT and Mustang engineer Nick Terzes (who owns my T-Bird), and former Mustang Chief Engineer Art Hyde – while at the Bullitt/Mach 1 reunion at the Gale Halderman Barn Museum last May in Tipp City, Ohio! It was an epic trip!

“Now, even my wife thinks I made a good decision. You could say that we are living proof that two Mustangs are better than one!”

Here’s How YOU Can Get In The Spotlight: For more than 15 years now, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our weekly Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company and its vehicles. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.

All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably around 1 mb in size) with the owner’s full name and hometown, please. Just tell us about the vehicle(s) and why you think Ford Performance should feature it (them) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News as well as for posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com with your contact info. Your submission allows us the rights to use your words and images (along with any edits) for editorial purposes; we’ll choose one submission in random order to post online. We hope to see YOU and your Ford in our Spotlight soon!