Paul Mailloux thought it would be just another morning at his retirement home in Belle River, Ont.
Then, he heard the engines.
One by one, Ford Mustangs — both vintage and brand new — rolled into the parking lot of Seasons Retirement Community, with engines revving and chrome gleaming.
The car show Tuesday was arranged in honour of the Mustang’s 61st birthday — and as a surprise for Mailloux, who has owned at least 10 of them since the 1960s.
His first was a 1966, but his favourite was a 1968 Shelby with a 428 Super Cobra Jet engine. The most recent Mustang he owned was a 2013 model.
“They were beautiful cars,” he said.
“I never had any trouble with them.”
These days, Mailloux drives an SUV that has more interior space and is easier for the 83-year-old to climb in and out.
But the bond he shares with the Mustang remains strong and it’s one that sparked an unlikely friendship.
Tony Ilievski, a care worker at Seasons, owns a Mustang himself.
When Mailloux spotted it in the parking lot, he started asking around to find out who it belonged to.
When he learned it was Tony’s, the two quickly connected.
That connection reached Tony’s mother, Sandy Ilievski — a longtime Ford employee and current plant manager at the company’s Rawsonville Components Plant in Michigan.
She formerly served as launch manager at Ford of Canada’s Windsor Site Operations and Flat Rock Assembly Plant.
“My son told him, ‘My mom is a plant manager at Flat Rock, where they make this,’ and it just sparked the idea,” she said.
“We needed to do something special for Paul.”
With a few calls to the right people, the idea came to life.
On Tuesday morning, Seasons hosted a private Mustang showcase in its parking lot.
Alongside the vintage models was the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse — a track-ready, street-legal version of the iconic car, powered by an engine built in Windsor-Essex.
Mailloux didn’t just watch from the sidelines. In fact, he got to ride in the Dark Horse.
“He told me he never drove his Mustang in the rain. He washed it by hand,” Sandy said, adding that’s a common practice for Mustang owners.
“That’s the kind of passion Mustang brings out in people. It’s more than a car.”
As for Mailloux, he said the Mustang isn’t just a vehicle. It’s a link to years of road trips, hunting excursions, and late-night drives with his brother.
“This all brings me back to when I had one,” said Mailloux.
“I wish I had another one.”
