USS Angeles encounters wild Mustangs

By Commodore Dave Mason

LOS ANGELES — Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) loved her Mustangs and treated them better than James Bond did.

Mary drove them responsibly on the streets of Minneapolis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-77 on CBS). But in his interactions with villains, British Secret Service agent 007 (Sean Connery/stunt driver Buzz Bundy) drove his Mustang vertically on two of its passenger-side wheels through a narrow Las Vegas alley in “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971). You could see the sparks fly off the car!

Well, no offense to Mary, but Mustangs were built for adventure. 

Movie star Steve McQueen knew that when his character drove a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback in a car chase, with speeds up to 110 mph, in San Francisco in the movie “Bullitt” (1968). 

On screen and in real life, Mustangs are wild and fast, like the horses that inspired the car’s name.

Jeremy Kranz and I learned about the popular Ford model during the USS Angeles away mission Feb. 1 to “American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience.”

The Los Angeles exhibit started with a quick look at the timeline for Mustangs, which premiered during the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Ford toyed around with calling the car the “Cougar” before settling on “Mustang” in advance of the fair.

After a look at the history, Jeremy and I sat in several rooms that had a single Mustang in the center. Around it played a 360-degree projection that covered the walls, floor and ceiling, placing that car in America’s history, landscapes and cityscapes.

After that, we saw a variety of Mustangs up close, including some that appeared in movies and TV. We saw the red and black Mustang from the 2010 movie “Kick-ass,” the gray and black Mustang from the 2000 movie “Gone in 60 Seconds” and the less sporty but still iconic blue and white Mustang that Mary drove on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

During the opening credits, Mary is seen driving into Minneapolis in a white Mustang as the single career woman proves, as the theme song in the groundbreaking sitcom says, she’s “going to make it after all.” In other exterior scenes for various episodes, Mary drives down streets in the blue Mustang. 

After looking at Hollywood’s Mustangs, Jeremy and I saw a giant Mustang racing car and displays explaining how the car was designed for the track. Ford used Mustang’s image as a fast car to promote sales.

The finale was a virtual ride in a Mustang. Jeremy and I sat in a small theater and saw a projection from the driver’s point of view. Our seats twisted and turned, and air and water were sprayed on us as we became Mustang drivers racing against the clock to make an important delivery in the war against the evil artificial intelligence overlords.

Yes, Mustangs were built for adventure.

This Mustang appeared in the 2010 movie “Kick-ass.” (Photos by Dave Mason / USS Angeles / Angels Flight)

A classic Mustang stands in the middle of a 360-degree projection room at the recent Mustangs exhibit in Los Angeles. The background of the room started as a simple blue, but soon transformed into cityscapes and landscapes, with streets and highways appearing below this car.

Jeremy Kranz beams down to the Mustangs exhibit in Los Angeles.

These are the Mustangs (on display and on the screen) that Mary Tyler Moore’s character Mary Richards drove on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Dave Mason steps onto a race track, at least figuratively, at the Mustangs exhibit. (Photo by Jeremy Kranz / USS Angeles / Angels Flight)

A Mustang stands in the middle of a room devoted to the Ford model’s racing achievements.

The Mustang from the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds” graces a room devoted to Hollywood’s cars.

A 1966 Mustang stands outside the exhibit building in Los Angeles.