Shelby SR

[Joe G]

Originally Posted by 68fastback

Dunno if you caught in that Gary Paterson video interview (not sure what thread or the exact words but) ...he talks about when they (SAI) developed the GT500 with the help of their partner, Ford. Ummmm.... ok.

I guess it's one of those "if you tell the lie long enough, people will start to believe it" type things.


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[The Natural]

When I saw the Shelby SR in Tulsa, I really thought someone had just put together their own home made "Shelby." I was not impressed. Give us a GT350. Quit redoing the Shelby GT and the Terlingua. In this economy people would have to be stupid to put more money into a Mustang GT that is hardly worth anything now.

[68fastback]

Originally Posted by Joe G

I guess it's one of those "if you tell the lie long enough, people will start to believe it" type things.


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Works for Obama!

Originally Posted by The Natural

When I saw the Shelby SR in Tulsa, I really thought someone had just put together their own home made "Shelby." I was not impressed. Give us a GT350. Quit redoing the Shelby GT and the Terlingua. In this economy people would have to be stupid to put more money into a Mustang GT that is hardly worth anything now.

+1 ...do it right or not at all.

[VaporDude]

My wifes 05 Mustang GT is paid off now. I wonder how the Shelby SR would look like in mineral grey? Maybe I should send her car out there over the winter and get it done. I think I will.......


















































NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[65SC]

Originally Posted by 68fastback

...it's hard to figure out where to start on that quote

Dunno if you caught in that Gary Paterson video interview (not sure what thread or the exact words but) ...he talks about when they (SAI) developed the GT500 with the help of their partner, Ford. Ummmm.... ok.

[Darkside]

Just say "NO"

[sportscars]

Well, I hate to be the dissenting voice here, but looking at this from a businees perspective I see why they did it. With the KR program gone and the 40th and SS packages having been out there for a while now and declining in numbers, Shelby had to do something or close shop. On the TS site people have been cryin' like babies for new packages and this is what Shelby sees. The price alone is going to exclude 90% of the owners, so they had to have enough packages to ensure business continues. You can call it watering down the brand, but I dont think they are going to sell enough to water down anything. How many GT owners can drop that kind of $? Less than 100 probably. If each package generates 100-150 cars then that is 600-900 cars for Shelby. Enough to keep the doors open for a while and let them work on whatever is down the road (Mustang, Focus, SHO, F-series, etc...).

I don't really want to see Shelby go belly up no matter who is running it. That would hurt lots of good people who work there and drive Shelby prices to unreachable levels for 99% of the population.

[rown4au]

Originally Posted by sportscars

Well, I hate to be the dissenting voice here, but looking at this from a businees perspective I see why they did it. With the KR program gone and the 40th and SS packages having been out there for a while now and declining in numbers, Shelby had to do something or close shop. On the TS site people have been cryin' like babies for new packages and this is what Shelby sees. The price alone is going to exclude 90% of the owners, so they had to have enough packages to ensure business continues. You can call it watering down the brand, but I dont think they are going to sell enough to water down anything. How many GT owners can drop that kind of $? Less than 100 probably. If each package generates 100-150 cars then that is 600-900 cars for Shelby. Enough to keep the doors open for a while and let them work on whatever is down the road (Mustang, Focus, SHO, F-series, etc...).

I don't really want to see Shelby go belly up no matter who is running it. That would hurt lots of good people who work there and drive Shelby prices to unreachable levels for 99% of the population.

For what its worth I would have to respectfully disagree. Shelby is only able to command the premium they have because of the racing heritage behind Carroll's name, scarcity (or perception thereof), and producing models that people actually like.

This may seem odd for me to say given my own vehicle but I think Shelby is really dropping the ball. If they want to build/reinforce the brand why aren't they trying to campaign some race cars? I am willing to bet I am in the youngest 5% of GT500 Owners (I am mid 30's) because to a lot of people in my generation the name doesn't mean all that much to. If they were investing in racing and working to make the Shelby name associated with racing today then this could introduce them to a whole new generation of customers. They could also use this to test and improve their products as well, something they don't seem to be spending much time on currently.

On the dilution issue, part of the reason they have been able to charge more for their products is scarcity/exclusivity or the perception thereof. They are destroying this and alienating their existing customers who are dismayed to see that they are effectively producing cars with the same mechanical mods in slightly different wrappers.

They are probably making pretty high margins on their packages right now but I can't see how that will last. They currently lack a clear brand message and are flooding their market with a lineup that lacks focus in a tough economy. They also have a dwindling customer base, growing quality concerns, and are building a reputation for being less than accommodating to their customers so I think they will really struggle.

[65SC]

I understand they want to manufacture Mustang models like Saleen/Racecraft,SMS and Roush. I just don't see this happening, they have a long way to go to get close to any of them. Maybe Ford will let them come out with the GT350 once the Coyote 5.0 is released?

[The Natural]

They need to have a GT350 out and racing before the Coyote is released. This car needs to be all business, little frills, white with blue stripes, Griggs like suspension and light weight. Get back to where it all started. Quit with all these half assed projects. I mean the SR is great in theory, but I could build a car far better for the extra $31k.