Los Angeles Exhibit Chronicles the Timeless Appeal of the Mustang

Earlier this year, an exhibit dedicated to one iconic automotive model opened its doors in Los Angeles. That would be American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience, which kicked off its run on November 8 with a combination of experiences that evoke traveling down the highway in a Mustang and numerous examples of Mustangs over the years.

“That blur of Highland Green carving up the hills of San Francisco wasn’t just a prop; it was McQueen’s coiled, silent co-star,” Ford Motor Company’s chief communications officer, Mark Truby, wrote to explain the exhibition. “That impossibly white convertible in Goldfinger wasn’t just product placement; it was a signal to the world that something new and uniquely American had arrived.”

Writing at the Los Angeles Times, Todd Martens called the show “[p]art advertisement, part history lesson and part playground.” At Hagerty, Alex Sobran wrote that “the overall package is worth checking out if you’re a fan of Mustangs, motorsport, and the idea of seeing the evolution of American car culture told through the windshield of its beloved pony car.”

It isn’t surprising to see Ford opting for an expansive take on an immersive space. There’s certainly an audience for spaces dedicated to the design and history of automobiles — the Petersen Automotive Museum (one of the parties involved with American Icon) has a long history of notable shows, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art hosted Automania, an exploration of 20th century car culture, in 2021 and 2022.

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In his Los Angeles Times article, Martens explored this exhibit’s position as a way for Ford to appeal to Gen Z. And, interestingly enough, Hagerty‘s article on the show noted that attendees could show their ticket stubs to get a $500 discount on the price of a new Ford. At a time when buying a new car at all may be out of the reach of many would-be buyers, does the future of car sales involve a deep dive into a specific model’s history?

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…