Roush Steve Saleen Retires

[BobV]

I guess it's really true: http://www.saleen.com/Steve-Saleen-Retires.pdf

Rumor has it that Billy Tally is gone as well...

 

[SVT Saleen]

Yep, this officially confirms what us old-timer Saleen owners have long suspected; e.g. the company that bears his name is no longer controlled by Steve & hasn't been so for the past several years. Steve's involvement has continuously been diminished to the point that he was just a public relations figurehead.
Now it's in writing on corporate letterhead.

All I can say, it was a hell of a ride while it lasted...

 

[marcus95]

Yea,

I know he has been selling his shares for a while. I hope he cashed in enough paper for dough so he can take it easy. I still think they probably let them go. Otherwise why would Bill resign/retire at the same time. For crying out loud Bill was just given a new title a month ago. I don't think there has been so much drama ever in such a short amount of time. I just have a bad feeling Saleen may become a bit like a brand that has gone "Target". Grass roots no more.

I guess the good news is I will now be able to drop in the Mercedes dealership and write a check for that new E63 Extreme I always wanted.

 

[spikestas]

Just a quick comment - where does Saleen go without Him - are they now going to product Saleen Camaro's, Saleen Vettes, Saleen Vipers - were does it end???
I hope not but a company must survive??
Best of Luck to Steve - So glad now that I had Steve sign my Saleen while he was here in Rochester, Minnesota.

 

[HazeGray]

Best of Luck to Steve - So glad now that I had Steve sign my Saleen while he was here in Rochester, Minnesota.

Yep, my car is signed. The dealership had it done before I even purchased it. I guess he stopped by and signed all the Saleens on the lot (Capital Ford, Raleigh, NC). I also have one of the limited edition Saleen books with his signature.

I'm also curious about the future/direction of the Saleen Company.

 

[SimiSaleen]

With Steve retiring will the annual Saleen Show still go on?

 

[Red_Devil]

Steve's just taking a step back and let other people do the hard work for him. He is still part of the company and wants to focus more on promoting the brand. Autoblog has a pretty good explanation of it all available, but I wouldn't expect any negative changes to the Saleen brand. Everything should be business as usual and we should have some exciting new products for 08!

Heres the autoblog link: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/15/steve-saleen-retires-from-saleen-inc

 

[Jim D.]

Steve's just taking a step back and let other people do the hard work for him. He is still part of the company and wants to focus more on promoting the brand. Autoblog has a pretty good explanation of it all available, but I wouldn't expect any negative changes to the Saleen brand. Everything should be business as usual and we should have some exciting new products for 08!

Heres the autoblog link: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/15/steve-saleen-retires-from-saleen-inc

So you believe everything you read, eh?


Certainly Steve is very proud of his accomplishments and proud to have been associated with many talented and dedicated employees all these years.

And even though the company has recently taken some turns that he doesn't agree with (not putting the 302 in what has become the new Heritage Mustang is certainly one of those turns), he will likely be honored to be a spokesman for the brand as it relates to his involvement in specific projects or the company's history.

It might be interesting to note that Steve and Billy's joint departure was certainly orchestrated. If you read words from other than what the spin doctors turn out, Steve is in no frame of mind or nowhere ready to retire -- you're talking about a guy who carries two cell phones and is often talking on both at any given morment and whose mind is thinking of "what next" at all hours of the day and night.

Hancock Park, who owns a big chunk of Saleen, and who brought in their own executive team, coincidentally just bought a failing arm of ASC -- American Specialty Cars -- yes, that's the sunroof and convertible top people. That said, I see "OEM supplier" in the future for Saleen, and I'm sure that's not really a future in which Steve wanted to be a part.

It might also be interesting to note that Steve and Billy are reportedly already working on a new project together. Recall, if you will, that Billy did a lot of work on the S7 and has been working tirelessly with Steve ever since. For those of you who aren't familiar with Billy, he's got some race team experience under his belt and brought talents that helped put together the S7 and E-car powerplants. More recently he was integral in getting the Parnelli Jones cars into production.

But of late, it seems that much of both Steve's and Billy's talents sat idle.

What the future holds for everyone, who knows... but it looks like Steve is far from settling down and Billy will not be far from his side.

 

[elburrito99]

Yea,
I guess the good news is I will now be able to drop in the Mercedes dealership and write a check for that new E63 Extreme I always wanted.

E63 Extreme? Is that different than the AMG E63, or was the inclusion of "Extreme" just a joke that Steve might start doing tuner versions of AMGs (which could be cool, by the way...)?

A buddy of mine has an '06 E55 (less horsepower, more torque than the '07 E63), which he got within weeks of me taking delivery of my S281SC. We just met up last month at the crack of dawn one morning on some very empty, and fairly straight, roads around LAX airport. We opened the cars up against each other for about 20 minutes, launching from start, from rolls, etc. We were pretty much neck and neck at any speed or launch.

When all was said and done, we pulled over to check out each other's cars. I said his car looked like the euro sedans/wagons in which half the MILF in my town take their kids to school. I'll admit the thing is put together like a tank, though (no peeling stickers). His take on the Saleen? He couldn't stop grinning at the car, saying lustfully that it was the ride he'd have if he could throw all practicality out the window.

 

[marcus95]

Yea Stu.


I was being faceous only because I read from one of the blogs or press releases that Saleen would now be working with Chrysler or something like that.

I actually drive an 00 E55. A friend of mine is the engineer at Mercedes who is in charge of emission certification for every model imported to the US drives a, you guessed it E63. He wants to give me one of the durability tested E55's from thier emission lab in Long Beach. The 02-06 E55 is a beast compared to the E63. I have flogged both of them and the E55 is definately more enjoyable all around in every way from the torque to the blower noise.

Pershing huh? Nice deserted straight aways. Also, they have good history as that's where Shelby ran cars back in the day.

No if only my wife wouldn't notice if I installed a blower on her 07 Escalade. The MILF truck for the Hill.



Sorry to hijack the thread boys.

Go Steve Saleen! Rah.

 

[Red_Devil]

So you believe everything you read, eh?

I don't have to believe anything I read on the subject, I work in the building it happens in.

 

[dotbomb]

If Billy was a shareholder/board member/key employee I wonder how long his non-compete is...

Resignations are a polite spin on getting the boot at the executive level. The new majority shareholders are taking a different direction.

 

[marcus95]

Right.

 

[saleenster]

If Billy was a shareholder/board member/key employee I wonder how long his non-compete is...

Resignations are a polite spin on getting the boot at the executive level. The new majority shareholders are taking a different direction.

Ditto

 

[Jim D.]

If Billy was a shareholder/board member/key employee I wonder how long his non-compete is...

Resignations are a polite spin on getting the boot at the executive level. The new majority shareholders are taking a different direction.

Seems this is a controversial topic

And I believe that a "retirement" is more of a spin than a "resignation." But knowing the turn of events, they indeed resigned. Whatever you want to call it, I guess it depends on your perspective, and it likely depends on other factors, but they're gone of their own free will and there's no denying that. Were they squeezed-out? Maybe one could percieve that.

Steve and Billy both are certainly quite proud of their accomplishments with the Saleen brand -- as they are proud of the team of talented and hard-working individuals that they built over the years, and those that are still there to continue ahead (never mind the three young Saleens still there). Everything in their resignation letters to their teams expresses these points, as well as a positive future and trust that the Saleen name will be well-represented; of course, I'm sure that depends on the direction management takes.

And while I don't know what Billy is driving these days, Steve departed but not before buying a S281 and a S331 for he and Liz, and they both will certainly drive them with tremendous pride.


For what it's worth, I have it on good authority that those resignation letters to the team at Saleen, Inc. that are floating around are authentic.


Who knows what future is ahead for Steve and Billy, but there's a lot of combined talent and incredible vision there. Neither one is going to let any dust collect underneath them any time soon, but I think it's safe to say that the Mustang as we know it won't be involved.

I don't think Steve's and Billy's departure is so much about turning their backs at the past, as looking forward and having a combined vision that is different from where the management and the company is currently headed.

How involved they will be in future projects will likely remain up to the Board and the management (which, by the way, seems to experience a turn-over regularly itself).

I am personally hopeful that Steve will come back at some point to be involved in a SA25 model at the very least, and I'm sure he'd take that opportunity to make it his own if management would invite him to do so. (I certainly think it would be a smart decision to do so.)

When the dust settles, a lot of this speculation may be moot, but for now it's certainly an intriguing turn of events.

I wish Steve and Billy all the best in their new endeavors... two incredible talents... and can't wait to see what they're working on!

 

[saleenster]

Very detailed info, and it would seem very possible they are looking to move ahead rather then maintain or take the route new management is requesting.

 

[elburrito99]

Pershing huh? Nice deserted straight aways. Also, they have good history as that's where Shelby ran cars back in the day.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[66GT305PS]

Retirements whether voluntary or not are never pleasant. Our club in Hawaii had Steve and Liz scheduled as our Grand Marshall for our May 20th Mustang Madness All Ford Show. Over the months press a series of announcements to print and TV media and public flyers had gone out, shirts printed, banners and special displays arranged. We received last minute surprise word of cancelation on May 15th from Saleen management and a personal call from Steve to the sponsoring delearship on the 16th. Obviously, it was all to late to make changes and press announcements. While the show went on and was a fantastic event, there was a bit of staleness to the last minute cancelation. A lot of fans and spectators were disappointed.

One would expect that an all expense paid trip to Hawaii for the continuing "ambassador and spokesperson for Saleen, Inc. (Saleen retirement press release) would have Steve attend. Disturbing and unfortunate. We would have thought that the company and Steve would pull this kind of unprofessional stunt.