It
is a scrappy underdog story, whose hero is the world’s oldest automotive
company. Granted, old Henry Ford was a hard cuss to love, but at a time when we
lucky taxpayers were underwriting all of its competitors’ bad decisions and Detroit,
the seat of the nation’s auto industry, was declaring bankruptcy, it was hard
to root against the Ford Motor Company. Not only did they refuse government
bailout money, they announced an ambitious redesign of their signature vehicle,
the Mustang, to be released in time for its fiftieth anniversary. It will be
Chief Program Engineer Dave Pericak’s task to ensure the new Mustang is both
innovative but also true to the beloved car’s tradition. David Gelb follows the
process from drawing board to dealer lot in A
Faster Horse (clip
here),
which screens during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
Yes,
Steve McQueen drove a Mustang in the eternally cool Bullitt chase scene. Yet, the Mustang was conceived as a high
performance car that was affordable for middle class consumers—a classically
American concept if ever there was one. However, it was not so easy convincing
Henry Ford II, who was still smarting from the Edsel. Horse gives full credit to then Ford exec Lee Iacocca for his role
in championing the Mustang. Gelb also nicely captures the love and esteem many
Mustang enthusiasts and motor clubs have for their car of choice.
Nonetheless,
most of film follows the design, testing, and manufacturing process. Frankly, it
is refreshing to see a film that values commerce and industry. Gelb is also
fortunate that most of the Ford team are enthusiastic and rather eloquent.
After all, they are all delighted to be working on the pride of the company’s
fleet. Whether you are in engineering or marketing, everyone at Ford wants to
work on the Mustang—and if you work at General Motors, you want to be at Ford.
Clearly,
there are real stakes at play in Horse.
However, Gelb does not merely bury his lede, he covers it in cement and drops
it in the East River. The GM and Fiat Chrysler bailouts and Detroit’s economic
woes are briefly mentioned at the start of the doc, only to be neatly swept
under the rug. Given the situation, the guts and vision of the Mustang
redevelopment project were rather remarkable.
