Mustang ‘just looks good’

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This article was published 08/09/2023 (1117 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The cool factor is undeniable with the classic 2008 Ford Mustang two-door V6, as it is with the lady behind the wheel, Patsy Desjardins of Brandon.

Desjardins is the second owner of the Mustang, a car that’s still as sleek and sporty as the day it was made. It has been babied — and she says she intends to keep it that way.

“It was in pretty mint condition when I bought it, and how I feel about it hasn’t changed. I like everything about this Mustang. I like the dark grey colour, the style and the wild horse logos on each side of course. It just looks good,” Desjardins said.

It also drives great, Desjardins added, and has low mileage — 148,000 kilometres on a car that’s 15 years old — and she has had it for the last 10.

As she turned over the V6 engine, it started right away with a low rumble.

“I love this. Don’t you just love the noise? Somebody said to me once, ‘You know, you can tone that down if you want.’ ‘Heck no,’ I said. That’s the whole idea about having a sports car, the noise. It’s so cool. So, so nice,” Desjardins said.

Desjardins tried to remember exactly when she fell in love with sports cars and everything that goes fast, and she listed a few of her favourites, including motorcycles, snowmobiles and quads.

But it’s her brother whom she credited with giving her an appreciation for vehicles while growing up in the small community of Laurier, about 100 kilometres northeast of Brandon.

“My brother absolutely loved cars and he was always fixing and painting them. Sometimes when he was in the middle of a job, he would bring them home. I was a kid, maybe 11 or 12,and he’d say to me, ‘Look at this one, don’t you think this is cool?’ and, ‘What do you think of this colour?’ So I started falling in love with cars because I was around them and we talked about them all the time,” Desjardins said.

Her brother passed away at an early age, but Desjardins said she believed he would be proud of her respect for cars.

Before the 2008 Mustang roared into her life, she had a Ford Fairlane, an Oldsmobile Alero and a Ford purchased from Canadian Motors in Brandon — a dealership that sat on Victoria Avenue between 26th Street and McDiarmid Drive.

Desjardins had always wanted a Mustang, she said. In fact, it was part of her “future plan,” but it was supposed to happen after retirement.

She says it was an October day in 2013 when she was leafing through either “the local newspaper or the Auto Trader magazine.”

“I happened to see one for sale, so I went to have a look. And of course, that was the wrong thing to do,” Desjardins said as she laughed.

“Because what do I do? I buy it. I remember thinking, sure it’s a little soon, but I couldn’t pass up the deal, I just fell in love with it.,” Desjardins said.

Even though she has had the Mustang for 10 years, it’s a summer-only car. It has never been driven in the winter — not by the previous owner, and not by her.

But spring road conditions have wreaked havoc with a cherished part of her car — the after-market rims. Her first set was the brand Velocity, but while driving on a country road, one broke because of a chunk of clay, which meant replacing them all.

The second set of rims came from Dip Wheels, and then she, “hit two potholes in Brandon, one right after the other. The first one cracked a rim, and the other caused a flat on one of my 20-inch tires,” Desjardins said.

The newest and third set of rims is from the brand Petrol. Rims are an investment, Desjardins admitted, but she can’t imagine her car without them. “They complete the look, and they make the car look even cooler, sportier.”

Desjardins has two children who are both adults now, and she laughed as she remembered when she first bought the car, she wouldn’t let anybody drive it. That has changed a bit, she said, but she’ll continue to “baby it” to keep it in great condition.

“Right before I store it for the winter, I always wash it and pop all the liquids through, and gas it up, so that when I take it out in spring, it’s ready to go,” Desjardins said.

But there a still a few Road Rebels car club show and shines and events left this season where people might see Desjardins and her 2008 Mustang.

The last of the Cruise Nights was held in downtown Brandon last night, but one of the biggest events of the year for car club enthusiasts is this Sunday afternoon, according to Road Rebels president Dave Burba.

“It’s our annual Fall Car Show and fundraiser for the Elspeth Reid Family Resource Centre,” Burba said, “We’ll have hotdogs and hamburgers, a pie and produce auction, and classic, vintage and antique vehicles as far as the eye can see.”

New this year is the “Engine blow-up contest.” A vehicle donated by Wesman Salvage has the oil and coolant removed, but they’ll start it up. People can buy guesses as to when they think the engine will go “boom.”

The car show is free to attend and runs this Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at Dinsdale Park.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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