BOSS 429 & BOSS 302 Mustangs

Straight line verses road racer performers.

@bob-jackman +1  Yessir!

As a Fanatic Ford Fan, I love these Mustangs.  I have the Boss 302 but not the 429 in my 1:18 scale collection.  

I worked at Ford during the Bunkie Knudsen era.  I'm fairly certain that Hank the Deuce fired Bunkie, and the impetus was due to the power struggles between Knudsen and existing Ford management.  It was said that his "GM" approach didn't sit well with traditional Ford styles.  Additionally, a rumor was circulating within the company that management disliked the Ford designs for taking on a "GM" look.  Note the '70 Thunderbird had grown a Grand Prix proboscis.  I'm not sure if that rumor was fair because designs were usually decided years in advance and would have occurred before Bunkie came on board.  However, Bunkie brought over Larry Shinoda, who had time to design the Boss Mustangs.  Prior to joining Ford, while at GM, Shinoda was the chief designer of the 1963 Corvette Stingray.  

Thanks Marty, now please tell us more about the Pantera you passed up. 👍

@100ford2003 -  Do you mean that rare display of wisdom and maturity from me in 1973?  Nah, that tale has been told too many times.  But, I would have photographed nicely in that car!  

I still can't decide my favorite color, red or yellow.

Henry Ford II ultimately did have to let Bunkie Knudsen go, but he also fought for Knudsen, Henry Ford's wife not to be confused with Henry Ford II, was against Knudsen and had her backers to force Knudsen out, I believe it is in Smokey Yunick's book how this all went down. If you really want to learn things that went on in the automotive world back then Smokey Yunick's book is were you will find it, it is in three volumes and it is unedited per Smokey's orders. 

Smokey Yunick came over to Ford at the request of Burke Knudsen, after Knudsen was let go Ford for some reason decided not to use Smokey's talent but Smokey had a multi year contract worth big monty but due to the contract not allowing Smokey to work elsewhere he went to Ford and explained to them just how much they were paying him to do nothing and how much they would save if they just released him from the contract, Ford decided to release Smokey Yunick from the contract. 

Detroit suffered and still does from the not invented here virus, Smokey Yunick goes over that in the book as well. All the manufactures suffer from this. 

@john3976 - Detroit suffering?  I don't think so!  Unfortunately, that's the common refrain from people who haven't recently visited and think of Detroit during its worst days a few decades ago.  And who could blame them?  If one saw Detroit in the '80s, they would have seen a dead city.  However, those who live there know that the then well-deserved characterization of it as a dead city no longer applies.   

The Renaissance Detroit is just astounding!  Without a doubt, Detroit was a dying city.  However, over the past 20 years, it has been making a breathtaking comeback!  Detroit has built a new football stadium, baseball park, and basketball/hockey arena for the four major sports teams.  The riverfront was once lined with decayed, rotting factories, and they have been replaced by marinas, parks, luxury living, shopping, and restaurants.  Old commercial and residential structures, considered architectural marvels featuring ornate and unique architecture, have been saved and restored.  The vibrancy that anyone visiting would see permeates throughout much of the city, beginning with the downtown and riverfront areas, is truly astounding!  Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to name any city in the country that can make the claim of the depth and breadth of the restoration of what was once one of the wealthiest cities in the country!  Not only is the City of Detroit making a comeback, but the renaissance has also spread to neighboring cities as well.  Every time I return to Detroit, I'm awestruck and stunned by what the city has accomplished.  It's mesmerizing.  

...yes, Marlowe's correct.  By all accounts, and nearly every measure, Detroit - today - represents one of America's greatest "city come back"  stories of all time.   That being said, and despite new world headquarter buildings for both GM (next year ) and Ford (2 months from now ) respectable profits, global innovation, etc...   "The Big Three"  continue to lose market share; it's not clear any of them has learned much since being "de-throwned"  by foreign competitors.   And all this tariff-lunacy will help no one, especially them.

However, as I've noted before.... trying to change 60+ years of OEM culture is akin to steering a cruise ship with chop sticks. They really have no one to blame for their downfall but themselves.    But alas, that's a different story for a different post. 

Posted by: @chris

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...yes, Marlowe's correct.  By all accounts, and nearly every measure, Detroit - today - represents one of America's greatest "city come back"  stories of all time.   That being said, and despite new world headquarter buildings for both GM (next year ) and Ford (2 months from now ) respectable profits, global innovation, etc...   "The Big Three"  continue to lose market share; it's not clear any of them has learned much since being "de-throwned"  by foreign competitors.   And all this tariff-lunacy will help no one, especially them.

However, as I've noted before.... trying to change 60+ years of OEM culture is akin to steering a cruise ship with chop sticks. They really have no one to blame for their downfall but themselves.    But alas, that's a different story for a different post. 

And while the Big 3 (With being owned by Stellanta, does Chrysler still maintain the designation as one of the "Big 3?"), their loss of market share isn't due to the quality of their vehicles or the creativity of their products.  At least, not so with Ford and GM.  Their vehicles tend to rank in the middle to the top half of the various quality surveys routinely conducted by a wide array of quality assurance reporting companies. 

From my personal experience of owning three Corvettes, I've only had one major issue, and that was a broken cylinder head valve in my C7.  My C5 and my current C8 have never had any issues.  My C5 lasted 243,000 miles before it sucked a valve, breaking the engine. 

Indeed, I think the Big 3 is still suffering from an outdated perception problem of American-manufactured cars (mostly foreign parts) being poorly constructed.  Interestingly, as we all know, many foreign nameplates are assembled in the US, yet they escape the perception of being poorly made.  My 64-year-old wife is proof of that, as I recently purchased a new car for her (It was rear-ended the next day), and she wouldn't even consider Cadillac or Lincoln because her perception is that they're "old people's cars."   I have a friend who isn't a car guy who won't consider any American nameplate as his vehicle.   My conclusion regarding the ailments of the American Big 3 is that they struggle to shake the perception of poor quality, despite the data and reality suggesting otherwise.  

Posted by: @marty-johnson

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"Yes, I heard that GM is moving to Hudson's Detroit, the tower that replaced the old Hudson's Department Store.  Am I correct that GM will still maintain offices in RenCen?"

Posted by: @marty-johnson

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"She wouldn't even consider Cadillac or Lincoln because her perception is that they're "old people's cars." 

- GM owns the Ren-Cen, so I assume "someone"  from GM will be left behind, but I haven't heard anything about their ultimate plans for that complex.

- Your wife proves that the "Big 3"  haven't learned much in 60+ years.   The consumer perception that Cadillacs & Lincolns are for old people is something both makes, especially Cadillac, have tried to change for decades.   And guess what?    They're still fighting that same battle.      I rest my case!  😔 😔 😔 

@chris - Yes, the perception (not the reality) is the problem.  However, what can Lincoln and Cadillac do to eschew that perception of being cars for old people to the non-car people like my wife?  Certainly, they're aware of perception, and despite having great marketing minds staffed by hundreds of younger generations, they are unable to overcome it.  Remember the Oldsmobile slogan, "This isn't your father's Oldsmobile?"  Great slogan, but it didn't work for them either.  

I don't think Marty understood the "not invented here" comment, it was referring to how the manufactures resisted anything that was outside of their design labs so to speak, Smokey Yunick innovated a lot of engine development that he never got credit for due to the "not invented here" attitude. As for the city of Detroit I don't think I said anything about the city of Detroit so I don't know where that came from. 

When Smokey Yunick was still building engines in NASCAR before he walked away it was well known that Smokey Yunick engines had the most horse power, Smokey Yunick was also ahead of the curve when it came to aerodynamics as well, where Smokey Yunick fell short was chassis set ups, that was his weakness and he himself would say it. 

A lot of innovations happened at Smokey Yunick's shop in Daytona Beach, Florida and there were buildings on his property that very few people were ever allowed to go into them. In fact when Smokey Yunick was doing development work for GM/Chevy, GM paid to install security systems through out Smokey's facilities with guards, you had to have a card to access the buildings where the work was done and everything was logged. 

Here is a little tidbit I bet most people don't know, the famous Holly carburetor was designed and prototypes built at Smokey Yunick's facilities in Daytona Beach, Florida, I don't have the book in front of me so I don't recall the mans name that did it, but it was done in Smokey Yunick's shop. 

Posted by: @john3976

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I don't think Marty understood the "not invented here" comment, it was referring to how the manufactures resisted anything that was outside of their design labs.  As for the city of Detroit I don't think I said anything about the city of Detroit so I don't know where that came from. 

Agreed that Marty may have misunderstood, but it was your "Detroit suffered and still does....."   comment he was responding to even though you were referencing something else.    No city is perfect, but I can tell you - as someone who's been lucky enough to visit most major US cities, including Detroit - it's a remarkable comeback.