My daughter was carried to her matric farewell in a Ford Mustang. Picture: Seelan Pillay
The matric dances of the ’90s, when I matriculated, consisted of 18 matriculants in a taxi going to the venue with decibels from the music creating the hype.
Booking taxis with the best sound was key and made your matric dance a success.
These days matric dances are pretty much like a wedding event.
Besides the dress being at the centre of the event, the car for the individual matriculant is like a scene out of Snow White: it needs to be bling, loud and catch attention.
Enter the Ford Mustang California Special.
Oh, what a carriage it was for the Cinderella of our family.
The hype and buzz in today’s day and age of kids juggling stressful matric pressure, writing prelims and getting ready for finals is quite taxing on any family.
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Throwing a matric dance in the mix is just on another level, but when it all comes together, it makes it worth it for these young, impressionable adults as they begin to take the next step in their adult lives with university fast approaching.
First impressions of the car were “***k yeah”.
As the chaperone, I couldn’t hold my joy and thrill of driving it and it sure had a better effect than being delivered by delivery bike or hearse.
Believe it or not, these are trends now as my colleague Brendan has noted.
My daughter’s first choice was a Ferrari. Typical, but that didn’t materialise. Did she have any regrets? No, she said she couldn’t have asked for better.
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The Mustang had everything you needed to make it a spectacle, loud (in a good way) and the legendary status that the Mustang comes with.
The impressions created on these young minds could eventually lead to loyalty and cult-like followings on the vehicles used at the dances and none so other than the Mustang.
Its butch masculinity, as well as sex appeal being a GT, also stood above the rest from a pull factor compared to the “common” defaults by the German manufacturers (rather not mention them by name).
On the day when you join the procession to enter the venue, the atmosphere is filled with excitement and the eyes that adore you and the vehicle.
People old and young are trying to spot who has arrived with which car. The constant revving and ride to be noticed as everyone tries to outdo the rest.
But my thoroughbred stood quiet and proud, waiting to be let into the final parade ring before I could let go of this V8 monster to give off its undeniable grunt to the masses.
They erupt in excitement and whistles fill the air as our princess disembarks.
In moments the planning and expense of running the matric dance gauntlet is over, but the Mustang will remain etched in people’s minds, as well as my daughter’s, who will forever remember the red carriage that took her to her ball.
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With the close of the 2024 matric dance season, we have seen many social media trends and the future of where and how far these events of the future go will be left to be seen.
Maybe we could be seeing an Army tank or helicopter by next year, who knows?
But the iconic Mustang GT/CS will be a tough one to beat and hopefully create the memory to last my daughter a lifetime.
PS: My parents wedding over 50 years ago was with a Ford Mustang Mach 1.
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