For Monica Velarde, there are two paths in motherhood: the typical “soccer mom” path and the “I love horsepower” path. Hers has been the latter of the two, and it’s been a bittersweet run. Why? Because car seats are a “killer” to get out of Mustangs, and she would never settle for a minivan.
The only option when she had her daughter, Veronica, was a ’97 Thunderbird LX that churned out 205 horsepower. She would have loved to grab a Mustang, but the Thunderbird was the largest option with a V8 under the hood. “It’s funny how most people with a family go ‘bigger’ with SUVs while my interpretation of ‘bigger’ was a T-Bird,” says Velarde. “I never want to get confused for a soccer mom.”
For better or worse, the Thunderbird was “jinxed.” Velarde claims it was always in the shop and was broken into three times. Unlike the stereotypical female vehicle owner, she is emphatic about keeping her cars “clean and sharp.” To keep it safe, she moved it into her garage. “The final straw was when my garage was broken into,” says Velarde. “The amateurs wrecked my interior just to steal my sound system.” But her continued misfortune was a blessing in disguise—the S197 Mustang had just hit the dealerships.
Velarde promptly gave the plagued Thunderbird to her father and began searching online for a new Mustang. Her desire to pay sticker price was met with constant resistance from stubborn dealers, who actually made fun of her optimistic ambition. Eventually, she found the perfect sales person who offered the perfect price for the perfect ride: a 2005 Premium GT with upgraded interior for less than sticker price. Of course, she took it, signed the papers, and laughed at the skeptical dealers on her way out.
The dramatic shift in power was overwhelming for Velarde, who was so nervous that it took two weeks to work up the courage to drive the new Mustang. But as soon as she flipped over the ignition, she was hooked. “It was true love,” she says, adding that “the only experience that is more memorable is the birth of my child. My family tells me I should have another child. My response is, ‘No way, I’m not putting a child seat in my car!’”
Velarde is also a teacher, and financed her GT through a program that caters to teachers’ pay schedule. The folks in her credit union now call her “Teacher in a Stang.” She’s also a regular at the local tuner, where her service advisor calls her Mustang “The Christmas Tree” because it’s bright and shiny. “He understands my addiction,” says Velarde. “I have to admit almost every time I’m able to show him something new.”
Her most amusing encounters come with men whose egos outweigh their knowledge of Mustangs. “There was this one guy at a Best Buy install center that just didn’t believe [that I had a V8] and I had to actually pop the hood.” On another occasion, a parts accessory installer assumed that pretty women with pretty cars must have the V6. When she asked about tip covers, he didn’t ask about the model. “He just said, ‘I have to order the V6 exhaust tip.’ I replied with, ‘I have the V8.’ His response with a funny look was, ‘You have two exhaust pipes coming out of the back of your car?’ ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I have a GT.’” He apologized.
Once she finally convinced herself that she deserved the mods for working so hard, they came easily. After all, we was named 06-07 Teacher of the Year, an feat that furnishes an extra-wide parking spot. “Part of the fun was the astonishment on students’ faces,” says Velarde. “The most common thing I would hear nearly every morning was, ‘Ms. Velarde, that’s your car?!”
Add to that a friendly rivalry with a co-worker who owns a Nissan Z. “We talk of a day when we will meet in the parking lot after school and lay down some rubber,” says Velarde. “No worries, parents! It’s all in fun. But I still claim I have the fastest car on campus.”
One of the most recent decisions she’s had to make for the 2005 GT has been what to name it. That came easily when she entered StangPlanet’s Ultimate Stang Challenge II. “Everyone had a name for their car, so I joined in: “Silver Sleeper.” I love silver cars—they have that metal look to them. And “Sleeper” because I have always had the fantasy of having someone pull up next to me expecting to smoke my car but get more than they bargain for.”
That dream may come true should she, by chance, take home first in the Ultimate Stang Challenge and land enough cash to score a supercharger. “I wouldn’t be able to add a supercharger any other way. I am a teacher after all and on a strict budget. I’m still trying to pay for all the mods I’ve made so far.”
In addition to the possible supercharger, Velarde forward to beefing up the handling with subframe connectors, lower control arms and a panhard bar. She’d also like to add ghost stripes, a C&L Cold-Air Intake and SCT X3 with a custom tune.
Check out the full list of Velarde’s current modifications. For more photos of Monica Velarde’s Silver Sleeper, check out the
StangPlanet Featured Rides Gallery.
Monica Velarde's 2005 Premium GT Ford Mustang
Linear Mode
