Well, my brother Tad was born the same year, 1964, that the Mustang made it’s debut. Today is the Mustang’s 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Ford put a 2015 Mustang GT convertible onto the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Ford pulled the same stunt with the original Mustang, but five decades of technological advancements haven’t made it any easier to pull off. The deck is 1,000 feet up, so using a crane is out of the question. And the building’s antennae rules out lowering the car from a helicopter, so that leaves the freight elevator. So, just like they did in 1964, Ford had the car chopped into six pieces for the ride to the 86th floor, where it was reassembled in the wee hours yesterday. The car that ultimately wound up on the roof was stripped to bare metal and meticulously prepped to ensure the paint–a shade Ford calls “triple yellow”–was mirror-smooth for publicity pics. The car is on display yesterday and today and then the crew will take it apart, load it into the elevator and take it out. 2064 anyone? Will we still have cars then? If so, just like the 2015 model here, it will likely not look as good as the 1964 model.

Mustang going up to the top of The Empire State Building, 1964 & 2014

2015 Mustang GT convertible with a view of Manhattan