Horse Sense: Ford has been active at SEMA for the last few years. This year, Ford went a step further and modified an F-150 on the show floor. The event was-naturally-dubbed "Built Ford Tough-Live!"
Every year we look forward to our pilgrimage to the desert for the Specialty Equipment Market Association. Fall is a nice time to head to Las Vegas, but the new parts are what draw us there like bugs to neon lights. The show was held October 29 through November 2, and it offered a glimpse at the present and future of the aftermarket's relationship with Fords. We could count the number of display Mustangs on two hands, but beneath that meager showing was a horde of quality Mustang parts. So the Mustang is a sure thing with the aftermarket, although significant 4.6 hard parts were still lacking.
Pushrod parts were plentiful, and the Ford truck support was as reliable as the rising sun. But what's coming over the horizon? If you hadn't guessed, it's the Ford Focus. We grabbed shots of at least 15 of the little guys, and there were easily another 15 we didn't shoot. So while the Focus might be an emerging player in today's market, the indicator that is the SEMA show predicts the Focus will be a major player in the Ford aftermarket in the coming years.
Fortunately for us, there are plenty of Mustang parts in the pipeline, and we did the digging for you. So sit back and read about what you'll be bolting on your Ford in the coming year.
It was a big year for this magazine. It was the first time we had a project car in our own company's booth. We even got it on Ford's Jumbotron display, courtesy of Steeda's Dario Orlando, who used our car as a backdrop for discussing the SEMA/ Ford tech transfer program. If you aren't familiar with this car, don't be offended. We received it only a few weeks before the show and did a lot of work to it to get it ready in time. The car's basic premise is all-around performance-acceleration, cornering, and braking-so we've dubbed it the 3g GT. You can start reading about it in an upcoming issue. As a preview, this is your first look at Cervini's Auto Designs new Cobra R body kit.
We spied this custom '01 "Titanium" GT with Vortech blower, JBA headers, Borla titanium exhaust, CDC lightbar, Baer brakes, a QA1 Motorsports tubular crossmember, and QA1 control arms, all rolling on Colorado Custom 18x10 wheels and Nitto tires near the Primedia booth. Built by Air Ride Technologies [(812) 482-2932; www.ridetech.com] to showcase the company's air suspension, the yellow convert also sported a fair number of custom parts, such as a titanium rear spoiler-ditto the exhaust tips, billet fuel rails, mesh headrests on the front seats, along with some titanium interior trim bits. Also inside were Bullitt pedal pads and shift knob, a B&M Pro Ripper shifter, and custom Indiglo gauge faces.
If you've ever had trouble getting your gauge faces to match your add-on Auto Meter [(815) 985-8141; www.autometer .com] gear, you'll appreciate the cool factor of this Auto Meter gauge face. It offers a plug-in installation in place of the factory face on '99-and-up Mustangs, and it matches perfectly with Auto Meter's Lunar series of glowing gauges. In addition to the gauge face, the company introduced a new Cobalt line of gauges, which not surprisingly glow blue when lit. Carbon-fiber gauge cups are available in 5-, 2 5/8-, and 2 1/16-inch sizes.
Things were cooking in the APC booth. Best known for its line of clear taillights for Mustangs and other models, APC [(800) 594-4272; www.4apc.net] has gone mainstream thanks to becoming the taillight supplier for Ford Racing Performance Parts. The company even has FRPP-labeled packaging for its line of Ford lights. To emphasize this arrangement, APC had a red-white-and-blue, flamed FR200 in its booth. But the news for Mustangers was the pictured '99-and-up taillight from APC's new Eurotec line. Featuring metal rings framing the light housings, the Eurotec would seem ideal for the similarly accented Bullitt.