Skip to main content

Ford closes out ‘The Year of the Horse’ with a Mongolian Mustang adventure

Ford Mustang Celebrates the Year of the Horse in Ordos, Inner Mongolia
Last year, Ford debuted the latest generation of its famous muscle car, the enduring Ford Mustang. Fittingly, this was also the year of the horse, the corresponding zodiac of year as marked by the Chinese Calendar. It came to an end recently (February 18th for you Gregorian calendar types), prompting Ford to give it a thoroughly horsey send-off by sending the Mustang to China to gallop in celebration.

We’ve all fantasized about it: taking our car of choice, thrashing around the city, wishing that it could, for a day, be bereft of people, traffic, and police. Ford went ahead and brought this fantasy to life, taking the Mustang to Ordos, a city located in Inner Mongolia, resplendent in huge buildings, spacious plazas, and imposing statues celebrating the Mongolian heritage of the region. It’s a city that has the capacity to house hundreds of thousands of people, yet the Mustang has it all to itself. The city of Ordos is empty.

Screen Shot 2015-03-06 at 3.02.53 PM
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The reason for this massive ghost town is a small part of larger story concerning the Chinese housing boom, as nearby coal mines prompted farmers to sell land to developers, on which buildings and large municipal projects were built. Today, it’s the playground of the Ford Mustang GT, having freedom to utilize all of the 435 horsepower available from its 5.0-liter V8 engine.

It’s interesting to see the Detroit-born Mustang trotting around a city in the heart of the Steppe region, given that it’s only this year that it becomes a globally marketed car. It takes some getting used to, we suppose. In the mean time, we’re off to find ghost towns within driving distance.

Editors' Recommendations

Alexander Kalogianni
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…
Ford recalls more than half a million SUVs over fire risk
2021 ford bronco sport review hero image

Ford has recalled more than half a million Escape and Bronco Sport SUVs in the U.S. due to a fire risk. Around 114,000 of the vehicles in other countries are also affected.

The issue centers on a faulty fuel injector and affects 2020 through 2023 Escapes (333,342 U.S. vehicles in all), and 2021 through 2023 Bronco Sports (188,436 U.S. vehicles in all) that come with a 3-cylinder, 1.5-liter engine.

Read more
Ford and VW close down Argo AI autonomous car unit
An Argo AI autonomous car on the road.

Autonomous-car specialist Argo AI is closing down after Ford and Volkswagen, Argo's main backers, ended support for the Pittsburgh-based company.

First reported by TechCrunch and later confirmed by the two auto giants, some of the 2,000 workers at Argo will transfer to Ford and Volkswagen, while others without an offer will receive a severance package. Argo’s technology is also set to end up in the possession of the two companies, though at this stage it’s not clear how it might be shared.

Read more
Ford recalls 100,000 hybrid cars over fire risk
2020 ford escape review se sport hybrid

Ford has recalled around 100,000 hybrid vehicles over a fire risk.

The affected automobiles include some Corsair and Escape SUVs of model years 2020 to 2022, and a number of Maverick compact pickups from the same period. All have 2.5-liter hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric engines.

Read more