SAVANNAH, GA – Anyone involved in the car show world knows full well that the weather plays a major role in determining if any particular event becomes a success or a disappointment. Rain is the worst culprit here, but wind, cold, snow and even dark clouds can also play the spoiler. In fact, most would-be car show attendees always check the weather reports before deciding to go or stay home – and that’s whether or not they’ve pre-registered or already made travel plans. While storms are one thing – hurricanes are quite another.

That’s exactly what was facing the “Mustangs In Historic Savanna” MCA National show this past October 11-12-13 as Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s Central Gulf Coast on Wednesday, October 9th, leaving widespread destruction across the region. The path of the storm looked as if it was heading directly into southern Georgia – and although it did just that, it had skirted Savannah and barreled out into the Atlantic Ocean on the Thursday before the show. In the storm’s wake, the Savannah Mustang Club quickly posted on its website that the show was still on, noting that there was “no damage to the convention center” which had served as the show’s venue.Certainly, those across the region who had planned on attending but were affected by the storm did not make it to the show, but a few hundred other registrants did arrive on a warm, sunny and somewhat breezy Friday to open the weekend event. This season-ending MCA Nationals had plenty of pre-show attractions suggested by the Savannah Mustang Club, which included touring the city and discovering the history of the South, and visiting the many great restaurants, stores, shops, unique buildings, homes and cobblestone streets, or taking in a variety of trolley tours and entertainment options. Although our Ford Performance Transit van wasn’t able to arrive in time for the Friday night welcome gathering, we were able to set up our Club Connect Meet & Greet display tent on the show field bright and early on show-day Saturday morning for a free Mustang 60 Years poster giveaway and to talk Mustangs with showgoers.Of the hundreds of regional Mustang car shows held all across the country each year, the Mustang Club of America selects only a handful to serve as "MCA National" shows. These are the big, memorable, officially judged shows that Mustang lovers will gladly travel long distances to attend – and even plan their family vacations around! That’s why so many owners were looking forward to Savannah. After dodging the hurricane, there was a happy vibe at this event just being out in the sunshine with so many beautiful Mustangs.

The host Savannah Mustang Club did a great job working around all the construction going on at the sprawling Savannah Convention Center complex on Hutchinson Island (which was supposed to have been completed before the show took place but is behind schedule). About a third of the cars were on display inside the riverfront convention center, with the remainder outside in the perimeter parking area, separated by the large parking lot adjacent to the center itself filled with equipment and still under construction. The club workaround was to set up two golf-cart shuttles on either end of the outdoor lot or take a long stroll along a barricaded walking path to see the cars inside, and vice-versa outside. No one seemed to complain, as it was a nice day for a walk anyway.

After enlisting some free poster handout help at the Club Connect tent from longtime Mustangers Bill and Anne Hamilton, we were able to sneak away and check out both parts of the show to talk to owners and take some photos. We must admit that “Bundle” Bill was able to take far more photos both inside and outside than we did, and he graciously offered them for us to share with you in our gallery below:

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY ‘BUNDLE’ BILL HAMILTON & JOHN M. CLOR