The Journal Times from Racine, Wisconsin • 31

juiota Vbdlusat wwwJounialtimos.combusines8 page editor Heather Gascotgne SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2004 THE JOURNAL TIMES SECTION MICHAEL BURKE Journal Times 1 1 Fans celebrate muscle car's 40th anniversary BY SCOTT REEVES Associated Press 'a 5S. nJLm9jf 4 -feXs'-af 7 --AX'' r-m (k Business Matters Walgreens a spring tonic for Douglas Avenue Normally, I'd say the prospect of getting another Walgreens store would be exciting mainly for the Walgreens CEO, and mildly interesting to his mother. After all, it's not as though we have to look hard to find the nearest pharmacy. But this time, having Walgreens come to 1920 Douglas Ave. looks like a step forward in the ongoing effort to invigorate the Douglas Avenue corridor.

In particular, the new Walgreens will replace perhaps the entire corridor's biggest eyesore: the vacant Kohl's Food Store on the corner of Douglas and Yout Street. Even a can of dog food left behind on a shelf there would have expired since that store went dark. The departure seemingly sometime around the Dust Bowl years left behind an impossible-to-fill building and a sea of cracked asphalt on a highly visible corner. The activity a Walgreens will bring to that corner will help push aside the air of listlessness that hangs around where civic life does not. Earlier, Walgreens had been drooling over Gibson's Charhouse and the corner it occupied at Douglas and Goold Street.

But the interest was diverted to the Kohl's site. The Douglas Avenue revitalization will be much further ahead for having kept Gibson's and lost the grave of Kohl's. 1 No breaks, lady! You may remember our story about Beatrice Eggert and her request to resign from the Racine Country Club. To briefly recap: Eggert is 96 years old, ailing and now living in a nursing home. Even though she resigned her RCC membership, the club is billing her for three more months.

William Eggert, her son, had asked RCC to forgive the last three months, but the club had rebuffed the request. By-laws are by-laws, it said. After our March 1 1 story, I thought perhaps RCC would consider shining up its reputation by writing off the bill which now stands at $1,322.97. Nope. No movement, no letter, no phone calls returned when I tried to contact RCC General Manager Lance Cotton for one last comment.

William Eggert, who handles his mother's affairs, says it's not the money it's the principle. He has promised to write a check for $1,322.97 to a charity if RCC wipes away the debt. It appears this is the end of the story. RCC by-laws evidently are as sacred as the tablets Moses brought down the mountain. So, a three-stroke-per-hole penalty on the RCC board members' heads.

They must be filled with rocks or golf balls to ride out this public embarrassment with those heads in a sand trap. Miscellany from our box of business bits and bolts: I'd previously mentioned Jojo's Toys as a possible new Downtown business; now if a certainty. Co-owners Paul Fiegel and Therese Fellner, who are husband and wife, just signed a lease at 306 Main St. Not only will they bring a selection of toys and games that no one else in the area will have, but they will also fill what was a vacant storefront. They're shooting for a May 29 opening.

Academy of Dance has a new home, and ifs still Downtown. We previously mentioned here that the studio was going to lose its longtime spot upstairs at 530 Monument Square. The Academy will be waltzing over to 416 Main above the future Dimple's Fine Imports. Owners Dimple and Denis Navratil are still working to prepare their new store, which will be three times larger than their present one at 334 Main St. If you're ever in the new Dimple's and hear rhythmic thumping overhead, you'll know why.

Mainstream Records, 422 Main will move across the street, next to West Marine, More on BURKE, Page 4C GLADEVILLE, Tennessee Craig Hutain has spent $17,000 and put in about 1,500 hours over the past four years restoring the original look of his 1965 Mustang right down to the "springtime yellow" paint and tachometer mounted on the steering column. Hutain, who bought the Mustang while in high school, is one of thousands of Mustang owners gathering this weekend near Nashville to celebrate the car's 40th anniversary. The Mustang made its debut April 17, 1964, at the World's Fair in New York. Since then, about 8 million people have bought one. Hutain, 44, a commercial pilot from Montgomery, Texas, considers his work a "tasteful restoration." His long-suffering wife, Lori, would say only, "It takes a lot of patience." The Mustang was devised by Lee Iacocca, then Ford division chief, and product manager Donald Frey.

The early models were little more than Ford's family sedan, the Falcon, with a new body. But the car's image appealed to performance enthusiasts, and the Mustang became an American icon. Frey, now 81, attended the Nashville event and signed autographs like a rock star. One man proclaimed him a "true genius" an accolade that drew a snort from Frey. "The original team didn't have a lot of people or money," he said.

"We did everything on the cheap. The first car had only one light that flashed when the turn indictor was on." Frey said the first Mustang rolled out only 18 months after getting the go-ahead from top management. "I remember that we hoped to sell 86,000 units because we made a little money at that level," he said. "We sold over 400,000 in the first year and more than a million in the second." Frey now teaches engineering at Northwestern University, and his students frequently ask how he launched the Mustang. "I tell them to understand their market," Frey said.

"It's important to know what people want." But Ford launched the Mustang with little market research. Names considered for the new car included Cheetah, Puma, Cougar, Colt and Special Falcon. Joseph Oros, now 87, set the design standards for the Mustang. "I told the team that I wanted the car to appeal to women, but I wanted men to desire it, too," he said. "I wanted a Ferrarilike front end, the motif centered on the front something heavy-looking like a Maseratti, but, please, not a trident and I wanted air intakes on the side to cool the rear brakes.

I said it should be as sporty as possible and look like it was related to European design." A 1965 ad for the Mustang called it "a car to make weak men strong, strong men invincible." Paul J. Russell, the current marketing manager for the Mustang, said a new V-6 lists at less than $20,000 and a loaded GT Coupe sells for slightly more than $30,000. It sells well among baby boomers, but also among people younger than 30, Russell said. And about half its buyers are women. "The car is more about 'psychographics' than demographics," Russell said.

Hutain's 1965 Mustang had about 126,000 miles (202,700 kilometers) on it when he started the restoration. He's added just a few because he rarely drives it on city streets. He and his wife towed it on a trailer from Texas to the Nashville Superspeedway. "When I wash the tires, I take the wheels off," he said. "My car has never had a hose on it." 1 Pnotos Dy MARK huMPhRE Associated Press Mustangs are lined up for admirers' inspections Thursday at the Mustang 40th anniversary celebration in Gladeville, The Mustang made its debut in April 1964 at the World's Fair in New York.

Since then, about 8 million people have bought one. Below: A children's version of a 1968 Mustang is on display next to the full-sized model at the Mustang 40th anniversary celebration. On The Net www.fordvehices.comcarsmustang IVPftlfv crnncin 111? VI kll X.J M. At7 WFAAiJA-ft- IDE hr 1 I UL Southeastern Wisconsin 's University of Opportunity 1 ijy 18LI (262) 595-2046 www.uwp.edu Keyword: A1BA "When I began looking at MBA programs, I wan'. quality and convenience.

I found both at UW-Parkside. Evening classes fit my schedule. AACSB accreditation assured me of quality..