Cars can be a means of transportation not only to get from place to place, but also a means of transport to happiness, accumulating smiles not less than kilometers. This is exactly what the 2020 Ford Mustang did for teenager Joseph Tegardin from Utah, after it was his dream car since he was six years old, when he sat on the toy car shaped like a Mustang and drove in the driveway.
In this sense, Joseph is no different from hundreds of thousands of teens, he was not different from many of them who work hard to save enough money to buy one and turn this dream into reality. But since he was diagnosed with bone cancer in the pelvic area and more intensively in the last five years, he has undergone a series of complex treatments and surgeries.
For those wondering why I’d buy my 18yr old son a 330hp Mustang, well, he’s been given months to live and can’t work long enough to buy one himself. His comment on the way home, “ Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.” #cancersucks pic.twitter.com/SWNq6bJ4nd
— Joe Tegerdine (@JoeTegerdine) March 3, 2024
Only Joe, Joseph's father, was clear that from his job at the soft drinks stand, and given the many treatments he had to undergo, his chances of reaching this desired destination are very low and he decided to fulfill his dream himself.
This is what he wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter): "For those wondering why I bought my 18-year-old son a 330 horsepower Mustang, well, he only has a few months to live, not enough to work and buy the car himself. When we were on our way home one day he said to me, "Dad, I'm going to stay alive for a few more months just so I can drive it". The tweet posted reached 13.7 million views, 177 thousand likes, and 3,200 comments by March 2nd.
"While all this was happening, we discovered additional health issues with him, and we decided to buy the car", added the father. "Life just moves in a certain direction, and it's hard to explain how quickly things changed for the whole family".
A day after his tweet was published, among the thousands of responses was one from Jim Farley, CEO of Ford. "Hey Joe, I'm sorry to hear what your family is going through. Get in touch with us if you're interested in coming to our driving school to experience the "Ford Mustang Dark Horse" on the track. Send me a message and we'll make it happen".
Joe the father replied and from there everything rolled quickly as Ford's people took care of all the necessary arrangements to bring and host the father and his son in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the manufacturer's performance division and its racing circuit are located.
For Joseph, the required achievement from there is clear: "I don't know how to do drift. I always feared trying it just like that in a parking lot because I was sure I would hit a light pole or something, so it's better to have a guide with me. Besides, having the opportunity to drive one of the most powerful versions of the Mustang, it's going to be awesome".
The "Dark Horse" is the high-performance version of the Mustang, utilizing the manufacturer's 5-liter V8 engine with 500 horsepower. Its R version, designed for racing in the GT4 category, further boosts the output beyond that according to the specific tuning of each car, in addition to upgrading all components.
In a personal family tragedy, Jim Farley lost twins in premature birth in the past, and despite his very senior position in the industry, he is described as a person with very close relationships with his family and one who places great importance on the connection between them. This includes people who recount how even during public events such as car shows, he steps aside to remotely assist with homework or just say "goodnight" to the children.
In another tweet of his, after Ford's invitation, the father wrote: "Over the years, I have known many parents who lost their children suddenly, who never had the opportunity to say goodbye. When my son was diagnosed, I had to decide - whether to curse God or do everything I could to make the best out of this terrible situation. I decided to be a prisoner of gratitude, a prisoner of thanks for the 18 years we had to build memories and enjoy his company. Even now, when treatments are only to reduce his pain and prolong his life, I am thankful that he is still with us".