Under mostly overcast skies, more than 15,000 Ford fans made the 27th Fabulous Fords Forever! show on 22 April 2012 an unqualified success. With 1,800 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, and Edsel cars and trucks on display, the event celebrated some important Ford Motor Company milestones.

Among the celebrations, Fabulous Fords Forever! paid tribute to the 80th birthday of the 1932 Ford V8, America's first muscle car, the 55th anniversary of the introduction of the ill-fated Edsel, the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Shelby Cobra, and the 45th birthday of the launch of the Mercury Cougar.

Henry Ford III presented the coveted Johna Pepper Trophy for the "best car" to Skip Humphrey for his original-owner 1972 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible. The award is in honor of the late Johna Pepper, the Ford executive who founded Fabulous Fords Forever! in 1985.

It was close to impossible to cover every row, many of which were packed with Mustangs of all vintages. Among those that caught my eye was a 1967 Mustang that had been converted into a station wagon and sported traditional white and blue Shelby GT350 colors.

Speaking of station wagons, Fabulous Fords Forever! clearly showed why Ford was once known as the Wagonmaster, back in the day when station wagons were a staple of suburbia. Everywhere you looked was one cool station wagon after another, from Ford, Mercury, and Edsel. Before the invention of the minivan in 1984, the station wagon was the best way to transport a complete Little League team--and no wagon more epitomized this than the Ford Country Squire. Several Ford woodies, real and vinyl, stood out from the crowd. Two from the Fifties included Jeff Truttman's 1951 model and Tom White's top-of-the-line 1958. Representing its entry-level counterpart was John Evasic's base-model two-door Ranch Wagon.

As a baby boomer, I was drawn to Butch Olivier's unrestored 1970 Country Squire, factory-equipped with a four-barrel 429 V8 and the extremely rare automatic load-leveling option. Ford expert Kevin Marti believes this could be the most highly optioned 1970 Country Squire built. It was one of several late Sixties and early Seventies full-size Fords on display. One notable full-size Ford was the 1971 white-on-red LTD convertible sold originally by Leon Ames Ford. Best known as a Hollywood actor, Ames once owned four Southern California Ford dealerships.

If there was anything to disappoint in this edition of Fabulous Fords Forever! it was the shortage of top-tier trucks. Yet I did spot three head-turning models: Richard Drake's 1967 F-250 Camper Special (profiled in Automotive Traveler's Orange Plaza Car Show feature), Ray Duran's 1967 F-250 Camper Special, and Mike McDonald's 1969 E-300 camper van.

First-generation Broncos made up the second biggest contingent, after early Mustangs. Of all the early Broncos on display, I thought Tony Parker's 1968 model was the class of the field. Event organizers thought otherwise and awarded the Bill Stroppe best-truck award to Terry Marvel for his 1967 Bronco restored to like-new condition.

In addition to the many Cougars, Mercury was well represented with such big muscle cars as Marvin Reeder's 1962 Colony Park with the installation of a 4.6-liter modular V8 and Gary Richard's like-new 1962 S-55 four-speed, two-door hardtop.

When it came to picking the car I most wanted to drive home, I was down to two: the 1958 Mercury Colony Park station wagon owned by Ron Root, and Jim Ayers' 1964 Lincoln Continental convertible. After much deliberation, the classic lines of the Lincoln won out over the practicality of the Colony Park.

My pick as the best story of the show? The father-and-son team of David B. and David C. Nathan (pictured on the first page of this article). In the sea of impressive early Mustangs, this pair stood above the crowd with their six-cylinder 1966 Mustang hardtop that has been in the family since it was delivered new.

Additional details on Fabulous Fords Forever!, and the 2013 dates when available, are on the Fabulous Fords Forever! Facebook page.