AKRON, OH – The Ford Performance Club Connect program reached a milestone this summer as it surpassed 600 Ford enthusiast clubs, forums and Facebook groups to have registered on the www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com website, bringing hundreds of thousands Ford fans together on a single platform. But registering with Club Connect does more than bring exposure and promotional support from Ford – it also means that from time to time, Club Connect can even support clubs on-site at their own events and car shows. More often than not, that involves the Club Connect Transit van coming to your town to set up our 10x10 Ford Performance Meet & Greet display tent on your show field where we can hand out free Mustang posters and Ford Performance wristbands and talk about Mustangs and collectible Fords all day with show attendees.

As you might expect, we get invited to far more club shows and events each year than we can possibly attend, so we review all requests emailed to us at ClubHub@Ford.com and try to mix it up a bit to get the chance to meet enthusiasts from all over the country. Sometimes it’s to show the world what your group’s event is all about via our weekly Quick Look photo essays. Other times we come to hear your owner stories and to share your ownership experiences in our Ford Fan Spotlight. No matter how we’re able to celebrate Mustang and Ford clubs through the FordPerformance.com Enthusiasts Section, when we get the chance to get out on the road to a car show big or small, we do our best to be there.

That’s just how we were able to the attend the Northeastern Ohio Mustang Club’s 13^th Annual Car Show at Montrose Ford in Akron last month. Turns out one of their club members came up to our tent when we were set up at the Mustang Club of Ohio’s big annual 50^th Anniversary car show at Krieger Ford in Columbus earlier in the year, and simply asked us if we could come to the NEO club’s show at Montrose Ford in September. We checked to make sure that the Northeastern Ohio Mustang Club was indeed on the FordPerformanceClubConnect.com map (they are), and lo-and-behold, it turns out that we were scheduled to be in the area the day before the show, so we said Yes! Ford Performance Club Connect will be at the show . . . and are we glad we were!

The club gave us a prime location to set up our display right out in front of the Montrose Ford showroom, where we were able to meet and talk with hundreds of owners and attendees, give away our exclusive “Mustang 60 Years” mini posters as well as Ford Performance wristbands and stickers. Better still, we were able to take a break from tent duty for a while and walk the show field that was spread across the entire Montrose Ford dealership’s front lot. There we found dozens upon dozens of cool Mustangs of all types and vintages -- some of them in original condition, many of them upgraded, modded or customized, and all of them simply beautiful.

Meeting great people and seeing great cars is what the Mustang hobby is all about. Ford Performance Club Connect doesn’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk! For proof, look no further than at the gallery below of some of the superb Mustangs we found during the Northeastern Ohio Mustang Club’s show. And the next time you’re at a Mustang or Ford show and see the Club Connect van there, come on up to the Ford Performance Meet & Greet tent and say Hi. You never know what you can make happen when you get to meet and talk with Ford face-to-face. All you need to get connected is to get registered at www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com.

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / JOHN M. CLOR