(Well, if they actually were making them).

She didn’t get her car stolen. She received a car as a gift from her father. The father unknowingly bought a stolen car from a used car dealer. She then proceeded to keep the car in running condition for 38 years, but then willingly gave it up to the original owner when she found out it was stolen nearly four decades ago. I think that’s a unique situation, and a chance for an automaker to reward both a good deed and customer loyalty. Not to mention getting a bit of good press while doing it.

I doubt she couldn’t find some lawyer willing to fight it in court for at least some period, even if she would lose in the end. The article makes it sound like she accepts the car was stolen all those years ago and is freely giving it up to the original owner- without consulting what the law has to say about it. Who rightfully owns the car doesn’t seem to be any issue for her- I think she would give it back even if the law was on her side. In my book, that is a stand-up move.

You don’t make money by giving away $50k cars. If Ford would have done that I would imagine that move would have been more heavily criticized.

Ford and other car makers give away a lot of cars to people on that “Extreme Home Makeover” show and other charity-type events all over the country, so it isn’t unheard of. Also, the positive press Ford could pick up by giving a free car to a loyal Mustang fan that needed to give up her car of 38 years would be better than what any lame “0% APR financing” radio ad could do.

Personally, if I knew this lady, and Ford gave her a free Mustang as a friendly token, I’d have a Fusion in my driveway the next day.

It is very nice of her to give it back and be such a good sport about it.

I think Ford should give her a free GT500 or any other Mustang variant she wants.

You don’t make money by giving away $50k cars. If Ford would have done that I would imagine that move would have been more heavily criticized.

I don’t know if this is fact, but if the insurance company owns it, I would presume that the original owner should have first right of refusal to buy the vehicle back from the insurer.

I read about a case a couple years ago where a Corvette had been sold and was being exported overseas. It turned out it had been stolen in similar circumstances to this Mustang. The original owner had not had enough money for theft insurance, only liability, so he had never been reimbursed for the loss of the car. There was no question as to who the rightful owner of the car was.

At my hometown in New Jersey (where else?), ‘hot cars’ were more common than you would imagine. I knew of a fellow who arranged to have all the VIN’s changed on a 1991 Toyota Celica All-Trac that he used as his daily driver. He also had a drop dead gorgeous Pontiac Lemans in this deep hue of blue that most paint shops used to paint wore out Detroit metal.

Even today that paint job would be over a grand. My hometown was also home to Ferrari North America and the base for much of the mob, but that’s a story for another day.

Merry Christmas, one of your grand-children just received part of their college tuition (assuming he keeps it in good shape).

But now that it has made the papers, someone at Ford PR would be smart to step up and make arrangements with the local dealer to give her a Mustang of her choice. The good press would help to sell enough cars to more than pay for it.

(I’d suggest that someone email the Ford PR with a link to this story. Ms. Smogensky would probably appreciate it.)

Not to mention what this lady did is a lot more of a “Bold Move” (Not Ford’s slogan anymore, but whatever) than transporting your car to Germany for autobahn cruising, or hitting on a guy behind you in a dry cleaning line.

I think Ford should give her a free GT500 or any other Mustang variant she wants.

My thoughts EXACTLY. Ford spends tens of millions on the auto shows and misses this obvious chance to engender good will and huge media coverage for basically nothing.

I think Ford should give her a free GT500 or any other Mustang variant she wants.