If you’ve had any experience in the Mustang club world and have been following the collector car hobby of late, then you’ve likely already heard that traditional, dues-paying Mustang clubs have been suffering substantial losses in membership over the past decade. Some say it’s just natural attrition based on an aging club member population, while others think it’s due to an irreversible downward spiral in the number of young people who are interested in cars. As the hobby is seeing a shift toward social-media based clubs and Cars & Coffee events, is this just a temporary trend or is it indicating a tragic end to the Mustang club universe? We ask two experienced former presidents of large, established Midwest clubs – Mark Bedel of the Greater Pittsburgh Mustang Club and our own co-host, Mike Rey of the Mustang Owner’s Club of SouthEastern Michigan – for some real-world insight on the future facing Mustang clus and young people in

the hobby. Listen right to the end to hear their surprising predictions!

When Ford put out the word that it was planning a huge open-to-the-public gala for the

grand opening of the all-new Ford World Headquarters on the Ford engineering campus

in Dearborn last November, Blue Oval fans were excited. While some seemed more

concerned about the impending demolition of The Glass House, others were interested

in bringing their collectible Fords to a hastily assembled “Community Car Show” on the

site. While John toured the show lot on that brisk and blustery day and talked to owners,

Mike got to go inside and check out the futuristic state-of-the-art facility. Both share their

experiences and photos from the event in this episode – with some celebrity surprises

included!

Ford insiders know Mike Berardi from his years serving as the Director of Ford’s Field Service Engineering operations. But enthusiasts from across the Midwest may know him more from his personal collection of 70-plus Mustangs (along with some interesting Fords). Thanks to the work of former FordPerformance.com photographer Joe Deladvitch, John and Mike take you on a picture tour of Berardi’s cars, with some cool backstories adding to the eclectic mix. Find out about Mike & Sue Berardi’s involvement with Good Humor Ice Cream, distributed at select events via their fleet of restored classic Ford Good Humor trucks – it’ll make you instantly understand why Berardi is a well-respected and beloved enthusiast collector who just recently took the helm of MOCSEM, replacing Mike Rey as president of Detroit’s mega-Mustang club.