Moving Pictures
Ford GT applications are closed, but we picked some of our favorite video submissions
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Anyone that’s been paying attention knows that Ford closed its one-month window for accepting Ford GT applications. That’s correct, you can’t just walk in and buy one of the 500 Ford GTs built in the first two years of production. You must prove your worthiness, and some 6,506 people submitted completed applications before the May 12, 2016 deadline.
When Ford announced the application count, the company also shared that many of the applicants submitted videos to accompany their online submissions. After seeing one posted in response to our story, we got curious. We wanted to see what some of the other videos looked like.
After some looking around on YouTube, we suddenly felt like a human resources director weeding through job applications. We know Ford is looking for true enthusiasts, but for us things like showing off your Ferraris or driving around in your Dodge were immediate disqualifiers. We wanted to see real Ford enthusiasts getting a crack at this next-gen supercar.
Soon it was clear that there were a lot of businesses looking to score the car—museums, dealerships and web sites. That wasn’t an immediate disqualifier for us, but if it seemed like the car would spend more time in storage than it would on the street, we quickly clicked over to the next video.
Moreover, we were less excited about your social media prowess. We wanted to know why you loved the car and what you might do with it.
Finally, there was the matter of production value. While a simple phone video can capture someone’s enthusiasm, some of these entrants really put a lot of effort into creating a professional-looking video. Several of these not only looked great, but helped deliver the message.
We have no idea exactly what criteria Ford will use to judge the applications. The potential owners should be informed in the couple of months, but in the meantime, here are five of your scribe’s favorite Ford GT application videos…
5. You could tell that many of the people posting Ford GT videos weren’t that comfortable appearing on camera. Frank Horton took a unique approach in his video. He appears, but he hired an actor to plead his case for him…
[video=youtube;FqOx6Rz4Xaw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqOx6Rz4Xaw[/video]
4. As far as true passion for the vehicle, it’s hard to argue with Michael Murray’s submission videos. An old-school Ford fan, Michael clearly enjoy sharing his current Ford GT with car enthusiasts as often as he can, and we bet he would keep doing that with a new GT…
[video=youtube;2x0VI4LXoUk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x0VI4LXoUk[/video]
[video=youtube;IIJRaLr56vA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIJRaLr56vA[/video]
3. Lots of people pulled their kids into Ford GT videos. After all, people love kids and pets, but Vincent Hott took that theme to a new level. We aren’t sure if he’ll get a Ford GT out of the deal, but he might just score a deal for a network sitcom as a result of the second of installment this two-part video entry…
[video=youtube;53AjyDOjcj8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53AjyDOjcj8[/video]
[video=youtube;_lTQ5Ww6Pvc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lTQ5Ww6Pvc[/video]
2. While he owns a Ford GT or two, Dan Wachtel definitely comes across as a true-blue Ford enthusiast. Better yet, it’s hard to argue with his message. After explaining how he we worked his way through college as a mechanic and eventually was able to buy a small Ford dealership, he wraps up his video with a message that we can definitely support…
[video=youtube;5BosmNjFqjs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BosmNjFqjs[/video]
1. If you are fed up with political correctness, Andy Frisella is your guy. He definitely drives his current GTs the way they were meant to be driven. That’s right, he happens to own two of the last-gen GTs, but it’s the colorful language he uses that makes his video oh so memorable at a time when people are so careful about what they say. If you aren’t easily offended, you can watch Andy’s NSFW submission right here…
[video=youtube;XTrFnEhqCv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTrFnEhqCv4[/video]
We didn’t have days to spend trolling YouTube to find every GT application video, so if you find any worthy videos you’d like to share, please post them below.
Over 6,500 people submitted applications for the chance to purchase a new Ford GT. Only 500 will get a chance, but many people thought a video might help their odds. We picked our five favorite video entries.
