Perfect In Pink: 1967 Dusk Rose Ford Mustang

By Marsha Allen, Photography By Marsha Allen

Bay County resident Gerri Duggins loves pink!  So much in fact, that she drives a pink car. She is the proud owner of a 1967 Ford Mustang painted in its original factory color of Dusk Rose. Dusk Rose was only offered for about six months and only on the 1967 Mustangs. The paint code used had only been produced once before, on the 1957 Ford Thunderbird. In 1967, the color was offered on a limited production of only 4,700 cars. This number equals just 1.1% of the 472,121 Mustangs produced for 1967. Many Ford dealerships ordered the car and used it as a marketing tool to get customers onto the showroom floor. Making her car even more rare, there were only 133 Mustangs produced in the combination Gerri owns, the Dusk Rose Sports Sprint 6-cylinder with parchment interior. The Sports Sprint options package included hood vents/louvers, white wall tires, full wheel covers, bright metal rocker panel moldings, chrome air cleaner, and a vinyl-covered shift handle (if ordered with an auto transmission).

Known as the “Pink Lady” or “Pink Pony,” the car has had just two owners before Gerri purchased it in 2008. It was well taken care of and presently has just 82,000 miles on the odometer. Gerri loves showing off her car at local car shows and cruise-ins where she has won numerous awards. She and her husband, Jeff, are members of three local car clubs: The American Muscle Car Club, Bay Mustang Club, and the Classic Cruisers of Panama City. Gerri and Jeff are Mustang collectors and, at this time, their stable includes six  Mustangs: two 1965 fastbacks, a 1966 coupe, Gerri’s 1967 coupe, a 1988 convertible, and a 2015 GT.

Gerri was born and raised in Shamokin, Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State in 1982 with a degree in Early Childhood Development. She met her husband, Jeff, in San Antonio, Texas while he was stationed there with the Air Force. They married in 1989. Throughout the years, they lived in Texas, California, and Florida and also spent three years in England. After being transferred to Tyndall Air Force Base in 1993, Jeff retired from the Air Force in 2003 and is currently a K-9 Officer with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Gerri has dedicated her life to working with children and is responsible for setting a positive course for countless numbers of children over the years.

Having her car often referred to as a “Mary Kay car,” Gerri is quick to point out that it’s not and remarks, “If I had a dollar for every time it is called a Mary Kay car, I could retire wealthy!”