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The quintessential American muscle car, the Ford Mustang, is about to turn 50! The Mustang's official birthday won't be until  2014 but preparations for the big even are already well underway. A new, commemorative logo has been designed and will be found on jackets, watches, and other limited edition memorabilia. There will even be a Ford Mustang video game! The Ford Mustang was first unveiled on April 17, 1964 and then made its public debut a few days later at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Although the 1964 Mustang was an instant hit, it was not nearly as powerful as some of the later models. The '64 Mustang had a 2.8L,170 cubic-inch straight 6-cylinder engine which produced 105 horsepower. In an effort to add some muscle to its Mustang's engines, Ford teamed up with race car driver and automotive designer Carroll Shelby, who helped design increasingly power Mustangs up until his death in 2012, including the current 662-horsepower Shelby GT500. With a 50-year legacy to live up to, the release of the 2014 Mustang will cause quite a stir in the automotive world.

Ford is counting on plenty of people answering "yes" to that question. In 2015, the Ford Mustang will be available with a turbo-charged, 2.3L 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine! Of course, the Mustang will still have a V6 as its standard engine, and a 400+ horsepower V8 option, but for those looking for a lighter, nimbler Mustang, the 4-cylinder EcoBoost might be the engine for you. Early estimates indicate that the smaller, turbocharged engine will generate slightly more than the 305 horsepower produced by the current 3.7L V6. Some of the die-hard Mustang fans out there may remember that the Mustang (briefly!) had a 2.3L 4-cylinder engine from 1984-86 in its SVO iteration.

Have you ever wondered, "what is the difference between original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and those provided by aftermarket vendors? And why is there such a difference in price?" These are two of the oldest questions ever asked of a parts person. First, the difference is the original equipment replacement parts are built and designed to meet the requirements set out by the factories. Although aftermarket parts can be of similar quality they often do not meet the specific standards that were originally required by the manufacturer. Also, aftermarket parts may be designed to fit a larger group of applications thus being less specific to the original equipment. Also the companies providing the parts for the manufacturer are held to these higher standards which increases their cost of production, which is then transferred to the auto franchise and then passed down to the dealer who in turn passes it along to the consumer. This does not mean that the OEM parts are always higher in price; the Parts Department at Irwin Ford can provide several instances where the original equipment is in fact less money. Another issue that can effect pricing is the level of warranty and after-purchase service on the part. The manufacturer stands behind their OEM parts, offering not only a warranty for the part but in most cases the labor to replace and also towing to the dealership. The warranties an aftermarket parts are rarely as comprehensive as those provided by the OEM. This means that even though the sticker price on OEM parts is sometimes higher, the total cost of ownership can actually be lower, due to better warranties.