POST FALLS - Stay back. This pony kicks.

These are the words on the license plate frame of Jim Williams' 1965 Ford Mustang, a shiny emberglo two-door coupe.

The metallic beauty bears a unique orange-brown color exclusive to its era, a time in history when cool cars were king.

It also represents a long, colorful history for the Williams family, because it has belonged to them in one way or another since 1966, just one and a half years after the first-generation Mustang was introduced to the American public.

"It means quite a lot, really," Williams said. "We will never sell that car. It will probably actually go back to our son after we're gone."

"Or have to downsize," his wife, Patti, added.

Jim, 74, and Patti, 70, have been married 51 years next month and took a moment at their Post Falls home Thursday afternoon to describe the car's history and its special meaning to their family.

Jim said the Mustang was originally purchased from a car lot in the Spokane Valley in 1965 by a man from Kellogg. A year later, the same car was back on the lot and found by Patti's parents. Jim estimates they bought the brand-new car in 1966 for about $1,700, with only 15,000 miles on the engine.

"I thought it was neat my dad still had the paperwork from the original purchaser from Kellogg," Patti said. "I thought that was pretty cool."

The Mustang stayed with Patti's parents for a while. Patti's mom, a dainty woman, drove it to and from work at Sacred Heart in Spokane because it "fit her better" than the other family car, which Jim said was too big. When Jim and Patti's son, Steve, turned 16 in 1984, his grandparents gave him the Mustang for his birthday. It originally was Palomino gold, so Steve painted it the sparkly emberglo and drove it for several years.

Eventually, Jim and Patti purchased the car from their son for $3,500.

"When he got married, he was going to sell it, and I said that was a good idea," Jim said. "His mother said 'he can't just sell it to anybody, we'll buy it.'"

They switched out its V-6 engine with a V-8 once it was theirs, something they just wouldn't do for their teenager.

"At 16, he doesn't need a hot-rod. Is that mean?" Patti said with a laugh.

The Mustang has been kept in great condition, only accumulating 97,000 miles through the years. Jim said he has probably spent 2,500 hours restoring and tinkering with its mechanics. It has even won a few awards and been shown at several area car shows. And both Jim and Patti smiled as they discussed the many "thumbs-ups" they've received from kind strangers while driving on the open road.

"It's never left us any place," he said. "When we go to a show or something it always brings us back home."

Jim has been a member of the North Idaho Classic Car Club for six years and plans to display the Mustang on Saturday, during the Show and Shine segment of Car d'Lane. He will be directing traffic during the cruise while Patti helps with registration.

Patti said Car d'Lane and similar classic car events are fun because you get to see the shine of the cars as they drive and hear the sounds of their pipes. Jim said he likes to see younger generations interested in the vintage vehicles.

"One of the things I really enjoy about the cars anymore is when you see young people that have an interest in them," he said. "I know there's a lot of old people that have interest in that era because that's when we grew up, but to see young people interested, that's impressive to me."

Car d'Lane will be celebrating 50 years of the Ford Mustang this weekend. The Car d'Lane Cruise begins at 6 p.m. today.