Revved Up for Charity at Sayville Ford

was bustling with activity on Sunday as the dealer hosted its 15th annual Mustang Event.

Cliff Korade, vice president of Sayville Ford, noted that there were “more than 100 cars and more than 300 people who came to show their cars, a majority of which were purchased here.”

There were pony rides for the kids, a barbecue to raise money for the Sachem Cardinal Baseball League and a raffle fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Suffolk. (In 2008, the team raised money for March of Dimes.)

"This is the first year that Sayville Ford did a raffle to raise some money," said Melanie Spare-Oswalt, vice chairman at Sayville Ford. "It worked really well -- next year this is going to be a rule and we will really promote the charity. We have to set the bar higher for next year."

“We pull people from the whole tri-state area. This is the premier Mustang event on Long Island,” said Frank Disanti, general sales manager. “It is a non-judged show and people just come for the fun of it.”

Daniel McCarthy of Holbrook was proudly displaying his 1973 Mach 1 Mustang: “It’s my first time at the show. I can guarantee that most of the people here love their own car and everybody else’s. Everybody’s friendly. We all have one thing in common -- a long history – our grandfathers drove these cars.”

Spare-Oswalt added that this year was one of the best in terms of attendance, especially the Mustangs. Why does Sayville Ford choose the Mustang for this annual event?

"We're one of a few Roush Mustang dealers on Long Island," she said. "We've just been known as a Mustang giant. The Mustang is Ford's sport car -- it's iconic."