Two Years with a Mustang in California

Two years ago, after much begging, I jammily managed to convince my boss in Hong Kong to transfer me to work in our San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices.

Being a Brit and a car nut, a heavy part of the allure of the Bay Area was of course the promise of Mustang road trips up the coast... I was going to become Steve McQueen! Find me one lad who's seen 'Bullitt' that doesn't share this dream and I'll eat my baseball cap.

Sure enough, much to the amusement of all my new American colleagues, by week 3 I was the proud owner of a burgundy red 2005 Mustang GT convertible. Yes!

'It's a stick shift?.. Are you kidding man?! Dude that is freakin hilarious' said my new Tesla-driving coworker. Apparently a Brit driving V8 muscle is a relative novelty among the sea of tree-hugging Priuses and Teslas on these techy highways. Maybe I should have moved to Texas...

But no, being the odd one out is far more fun anyway and I'm fine with making people smile. As far as I'm concerned, anyone that doesn't take advantage of all the Vitamin D on tap in the Sunshine State is missing the point. And yes, as a pasty Scotsman the market cap of Nivea has increased significantly since my arrival.

25,000 miles and who knows how many cracking trips later, Monty Mustang is still firing strong on all 8 cylinders. Favourite trips? Yosemite, Big Sur and Tahoe are all staggeringly beautiful. Any distance north on Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and you’ll find endless rugged landscapes, almost reminiscent of the West Coast of Scotland (guilty of shedding the odd teary sob for my wonderful home country...). I even put chains on the Stang for my last Tahoe ski trip, which was fun but admittedly slightly hairy...

The very first time I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge with the roof down and belting out The Eagles' 'Take it Easy' I've got to admit I felt pretty bloody smug. Amazingly, the novelty has barely worn off.

Who says you can't put snow chains on a convertible muscle car?

Who says you can't put snow chains on a convertible muscle car?

However if I'm being totally honest, while the V8 roar never ceases to put a smile on my face, the heavy clutch, agricultural gear shift and wobbly steering are making me rather miss the precision of German engineering. Particularly in commuter traffic... Hill starts up San Francisco's Nob Hill, while great fun, can be properly heart-stopping (30+% incline!) with my weedy handbrake.

So what next?.. Do I trade Monty in for an early 2000s 911 cabriolet?... Certainly tempting. Or just swallow the imperfections and run it into the ground on a full tour of the US..? Budget: $20k for a fast convertible I can commute in. Open to ideas!

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