By Bryan Redeker

Mission 1 is now complete, so be sure to check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyhGElpgok0 and rate it! Our first mission was to take 3 friends and the Fiesta on a road trip, and spend at least an hour at the destination. Instead of planning a special trip just for the mission, we decided to use our already planned annual trip. Each year for the past 27-some years, my family loads up in a number of cars and heads to Nashville Indiana. The Indiana region SAAC hosts the first major car event of the year, known simply as the Spring Fling. A small town in southern Indiana welcomes the massive number of high performance Fords, ranging from vintage Shelby’s, AC Cobra’s, Ford GT’s, and Mustangs ranging from 1964 to 2010. As a kid, I would ride in the back of my dad’s Mustang on the way to the show. In 1996, that changed when I was old enough to drive my own Mustang to the show. The following year, I competed in the car show again with my Mustang and picked up a very coveted 1^st place win. Winning at a 5-state regional car show with over a hundred cars is a big deal. Most cars arrive on covered trailers, and are just show pieces. Mine was built by my friends and I at night while in high school using money saved from washing cars in the summer. This year my Mustang would stay home in the garage as poor weather and a loose suspension part would keep her from going. This worked out just fine, as I have a new Ford Fiesta to take.

Taking the Fiesta on a road trip was a lot of fun. It amazes me how easy and comfortable the car is to drive long distances. The only thing it needed was a 6^th gear to drop the engine rpm’s to something less than 3800 for highway use. Once we made into the Brown County State Park, the Fiesta’s suspension really had a chance to shine. The road leading into the park is full of turns and elevation changes. It is the perfect type of road to drive a Fiesta on! The road is slow, but it was very apparent that the Fiesta is very sure footed and has plenty of mechanical grip to work with. Steering feedback was also wonderful as we navigated the tight twisty roads of the park. Once at the lodge parking lot, people began to swarm around the car and ask questions about it. This is most shocking since parked in front of me is a Ford GT, next to me is a 68 GT500KR, and an AC Cobra next to the Shelby. All of this expensive hardware, and people wanted to know more about the Fiesta.

Friday morning Brandon and I started to clean the Fiesta and get ready to take Sara and Jen downtown for a day of shopping in Nashville. After a full day of shopping, we headed back to the park, but decided to take a different route than normal thru the park. We found even more twisty roads, and a number of scenic spots to stop and take pictures. (Be sure to check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/brgt350/sets/72157618926875933/ for pictures from the road trip.)  The bright sunshine of the day was starting to be replaced with dark storm clouds, so we decided to head back. We ended up getting lost in the park as the storm clouds rolled in, causing us to be a little frantic. The Fiesta continued to shine under these conditions as the storm clouds opened up and a downpour began. Rain-sensing wipers activated, headlamps automatically sensed the darkness and turned on to light our way. Traction-control engaged on the slippery tight switchbacks and turns. These roads look like something out of a tarmac rallye stage or where you would find the guys from Top Gear testing out some exotics. Smooth blacktop, sudden drops, hill climbs, tight hairpins, and now rain made for the perfect setting for the Fiesta. I knew the car was amazing in the dry, but was even more shocked at how well it does in the wet. No hint of understeer, no dulled steering response, and no hesitation upon coming up on a blind corner. The technology came together to take care of the wipers and headlights, which allowed me to concentrate on what a driver is supposed to do. Drive. Sara, my wife, wasn’t enjoying the conditions as much as I was. Heel-n-toe downshifting, left-foot braking into corners, squeezing the power on as I apexed the corners, quick upshifts, followed by another set of corners. I felt like the late Colin McRae on a special stage at Rallye de Catalunya. I just needed Nicky Grist calling out the pace notes. Eventually my fun was over when we found our way back to the lodge. Heart was still racing from the joy of running the Fiesta thru twisty roads in the wet and darkness of a severe thunderstorm.

Once back at the lodge, we attended the welcoming bash and picked up our packet of information for the car show. I had to stop by registration and make a change to the car I entered, as my paperwork said I was there with my 1984 Mustang. Preregistration for the show was in early March, so I did not know that I would be bringing a Fiesta instead of my Mustang. After a little explaining, I was able to register the Fiesta for the car show.