Born in 1920, Harold Baggott got his license in 1936. To say that Mr. Baggott has experience behind the wheel is to do him a disservice, so Ford thought they’d give him a go in a Mustang Mach-E.
Although the 101-year-old didn’t get his license until he was 16, he’s been driving since he was 10. In 1930, he took the wheel of the family’s Ford Model T and drove the milkman’s delivery float on his farm.
From there, he bought his first car in 1937, a Ford 8 Popular for £100 (the equivalent of just £6,966 [$9,548 USD] adjusting for inflation). The next year, he bought himself a Ford Anglia. In his 101 years on the planet, he has owned more than 20 Fords, in fact, while the family owns more than 140 of them for its coach business.
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Ford, therefore, decided to give Mr. Baggott a run in one of its most up-to-date vehicles—one that is set to define the future of the company—the all-electric Mustang Mach-E.
“Since the age of 10, I’ve retained my interest in motoring and today find myself interested in the switch to electrification following the government phasing out the traditional combustion engines I’m used to,” he said. “I have reminisced about my driving history with the Model T and seen what the future has in store. It was exciting to get behind the wheel of what I expect to see my great-grandchildren will be driving.”
Driving with his two great-grandchildren, Felix and Charlie, Mr. Baggott was reportedly struck by the quietude afforded by the all-electric SUV. The sensation of silence was no doubt improved by contrast to the 1915 Ford Model T that the company brought to the event as well, to give him a reminder of what his first experience of driving might have been like.
