Birds have no respect for Ford’s iconic Mustang

THE bane of car owners everywhere – bird poo – has forced Ford Australia to rethink its new-car import preparation procedures after two new Mustangs were dive-bombed and damaged by feathered fiends at Melbourne’s Webb Dock after being unloaded from a ship bringing them from the United States.

The pony car paint was damaged by the droppings after protective plastics wrappings had been removed to comply with Australia’s quarantine laws.

The issue came to light when an anonymous person called a Melbourne radio station to say that dealers were having to repair the paintwork.

The incident was confirmed by Ford brand communications manager Neil McDonald who said only two cars had been damaged.

He explained that the protective “wrap guard” on the horizontal surfaces of the cars had been removed from the shipment of Mustangs as part of the bio-decontamination process to ensure no unwanted seeds or other nasties enter the country.

“Two cars then suffered bird dropping damage while they were on the docks after the wrapping came off,” he said. “As a result we’re looking at the process to better understand how this can be avoided.”Presumably, the droppings were not noticed until they were being prepped at dealerships, by which time the damage had been done.

Some manufacturers such as Land Rover have been forced to wrap their vehicles in top-to-bottom shrouds to avoid bird droppings, particularly while awaiting shipment on the docks where seagulls are notoriously negligent.

The new Ford Mustang will be officially launched in Australia next week with a media event in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, although stocks of the much anticipated two-door coupe and convertible have been arriving since late last year.

The first year’s allocation of 4000 vehicles have already been snapped up by buyers, with new customers facing a wait of more than a year for delivery.