Shelby GT good move by Ford or bad

Shelby GT Impressions

  • Its hot and will sell!! 325hp STOCK ROCK ON!!

    Votes: 6 19.4%
  • I am not going to shell out extra $$$ for a mere 25hp over the gt model

    Votes: 17 54.8%
  • I dont give a damn about the car or this poll

    Votes: 8 25.8%

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
Anyone that thinks that Carrol Shelby is greedy and is only in it for the money is sadly mistaken. He has all the money he needs...something tells me he just likes cars. Do you seriously think, at his age, that all he wants is money...I seriously doubt it.

You can't deny the fact that he ruined his own rep. when he sued Ford over the 84 anniversary cars, and then Factory Five over the Cobra kits.
 
I think it's great that ford has decided to use every tool in their power to exploit the world population if they're willing to be exploited.

hell, why not come out with a boss, a cobra...

no no wait!

The NEW 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT Cobra Boss Edition!

with special limited Mach 1 seats...

which comes in notch, or hatchback...

THE FIRST 200,034 ORDERS WILL RECEIVE LIMITED EDITION TRIBAR RIMS!!
 
I think it's great that ford has decided to use every tool in their power to exploit the world population if they're willing to be exploited.

hell, why not come out with a boss, a cobra...

no no wait!

The NEW 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT Cobra Boss Edition!

with special limited Mach 1 seats...

which comes in notch, or hatchback...

THE FIRST 200,034 ORDERS WILL RECEIVE LIMITED EDITION TRIBAR RIMS!!

marketing :nice:

Ford has had a problem with it lately
 
I am just glad we still have the choice, no matter what I would buy or not buy I am glad they are selling and selling well enough to someday get another.

I love the new 05+, and hope ford does not go with the "concept" 2010 :barf:

I think 2000$ is not too bad, the base gt and a prem. gt is about that in price diff. if not more. For 2000$ you get something alittle more sporty and the fact its going to be a REAL shelby model...not bad IMHO.
 
You can't deny the fact that he ruined his own rep. when he sued Ford over the 84 anniversary cars, and then Factory Five over the Cobra kits.

you sorda can't blame the guy for being an ass. he got screwed out of the cobra name and badge from ford which he thought up. He just doesn't want to get screwed out of his own name and trademarks that he has left.
 
you sorda can't blame the guy for being an ass. he got screwed out of the cobra name and badge from ford which he thought up. He just doesn't want to get screwed out of his own name and trademarks that he has left.

But it wasn't like he was building Cobra kit cars, and Factory Five was giving him competition. The entire reason they got into the kit building business is because people love the Cobra, but Shelby never built enough to go around. He just sued them for money and made it harder for the common enthusiast to enjoy a Cobra.

And in the 80's he wasn't using the GT350 name(and hasn't since) but he sued Ford; either because he wanted money or because he was working for Dodge.

Either way, I don't see him as a friend to the hobby.
 
Factory five still makes kits and good ones at that...so did the lawsuit really hurt anyone??? If anything the new kits are more shelby and worth money to build as they are closer too shelbys, IIRC shelby now owns or controls factory five to some extent.

Also think of it like this...HE did create the damn thing he should have every right to protect what he came up with. I think the fact he does work with other makers (factory five, unique, ford) is showing a great deal of friendship to people of the hobby. People for the most part cannot afford or afford to spend the kind of money for a orig. shelby...much less as a daily. Now we are bitching about the fact we do in fact have new models that even with just alittle more hp and susp. (just like the orig. gt350 for the most part) is at least more than a sticker package.

I would have a hard time having anything to do with any sort of "not a friend to the hobby" with the history that man has done in his lifetime...from the only private winner of the le-man with the daytona, to the 1,2,3 gt40 program, cobra, shelby2 thing, viper, Ford GT involvement, development of other ford prototypes, children foundations all from his passion for the automobile...passion.

In the end business is business dont think for one second someone will not kill anyone of us much less someone like shelby for gain. The companies are not 100% correct in coping a product that was under copywright/tradmark just because they were the little guy does not make it theft/honest because the big guy coverd his butt to protect his property.
 
I think you're thinking of Superformance.

Interesting that you brought up Unique. How much do those cars cost? He sure made those cars available to the average person.:rolleyes:

I'm sure you're also unaware that he's pulling all Shelby licensed reproduction parts from aftermarket suppliers. Now to buy, say and rocker stripe that says GT350, or a GT500 gas cap, you have to provide proof of ownership of the real Shelby to Shelby American in order to be qualified to purchase this. Why? Because he can't sell his Unique clones for $100,000 if someone is building their own clone for $20,000.

Honestly, I don't mind clones. I'd never want one though because of Shelby's attitude, none of my cars will have his name on them.
 
I feel bad for Carroll Shelby....he mistakenly put his name on this new edge (no really, he signed it) and they went ahead and built this as a tribute

shelbytribute2.webp

shelbytribute.webp
 

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I think you're thinking of Superformance.

Interesting that you brought up Unique. How much do those cars cost? He sure made those cars available to the average person.:rolleyes:

I was talking about the avail. of the new 07's that will be shelby for 2k more and what you get is not bad compared to say a base and prem. price diff.

As far as Unique goes yes they cost money but any quality full on custom like that based of a foose design (yes he designed it) with shelbys name, based on an old classic mustang, with nice parts is going to cost 100,000k in todays market if done 100% at a shop and not in the garage. IF someon can build a nice clone for 20k they are doind DAMN good. I bet it would be hard to find and build a good resto non-shelby for 20k.

They have been making repo shelby parts for years I am sure the second hand market is going to be fine as far as getting parts...just not new or at least without not knowing someone who has a shelby. His name is at a high of course he is going to capitalize on it...give it a few years and I bet things calm down on that side of things and enforcing those things will slack.
 
IF someon can build a nice clone for 20k they are doind DAMN good. I bet it would be hard to find and build a good resto non-shelby for 20k.

You don't necessarily have to start out with a shell. It would probably be cheaper to buy a fastback for $15k and just do the changes('65/'66 Shelby aren't that different; mostly suspension). Paint would probably be the biggest cost.
But so what if it's more than $20K? What $50k to build a good clone with a $15k cammer 5.0. You're still doing a helluva lot better than $150K for some ricer looking clone.

My point is that Shelby gets in the way of the normal hobbyist by pulling the crap that he does. Some of you think that it's his trademarks and he can do whatever he wants to make a buck.
So the question is; Is he a really friend to the hobby, or just a fan of his own accomplishments(which IMO ended in the '60's; The Shelby Charger, Viper, and Series 1 all suck).
 
"$150K for some ricer looking clone"

but they are not clones either they are "real" shelby gt500E's listed on the shelby of america registry. Also to make a really good clone of the gt500E is going to take ALOT of money in parts alone...now a "look alike" on the outside only clone maybe but it will still not be cheap. That is what the unique "issue" was and further makes the new 07 an average joe good deal.

As far as how far he takes it...I would do the same :shrug: . Now your not going to please everyone no matter what so whats wrong with making money off YOUR design/product? Should he give everyone the ability to copy his property? and take money out of his pockets, exactly what companies that break the copyright/tradmark ARE doing. Its the LAW he is well within his rights to protect an image he has spent his life on. Even if you dont think he has influenced anything (and that is just nuts really) since the 1960's...he still did more BY the end of the 1960's than anyone else since or before.

Say you hit some mega big lottery pot. Chances of getting something like that ever again in your life is slim to none. Now take EVERYONE who plays the lottery and you give them money. Now down the road your broke and no one feels sorry...why??? You gave it away. That is what people who let trademarks/copyright issues go get...NOTHING in the end.

You either agree with it or dont, you dont seem to agree with that and thats your opinion.
 
"$150K for some ricer looking clone"

but they are not clones either they are "real" shelby gt500E's listed on the shelby of america registry. Also to make a really good clone of the gt500E is going to take ALOT of money in parts alone...now a "look alike" on the outside only clone maybe but it will still not be cheap. That is what the unique "issue" was and further makes the new 07 an average joe good deal.

Like you said, it's my opinion. And honestly I thought it was a horrible idea that the Shelby American registry allows the GT500E's to be allowed as "real Shelby's". IMO, if it wasn't VIN'd as a Shelby in the '60's, it's not a real Shelby; so it's a clone. It doesn't matter if Shelby VIN's them.
For enough money I could get Shelby to VIN a '92 Nissan Sentra, and have the only Shelby Sentra. Does that make it desirable?

And I wasn't talking about GT500E clones. I don't like those cars; I prefer the more sinister-looking real '67 GT500's instead.
But Shelby's initiative to stop the sale of Shelby parts to non-owners affects people that want to build '65/'66 clones; which are relatively cheap to build.
Why would he do this, though? If I want GT350 stripes on my coupe(god forbid), is that taking food out of his mouth? That's what I have a problem with; he just seems to do things because he can. Look at the tribute edition Shelby decal kits for SN95's. LOL The guy's done some pretty ridiculous things.

Yes, he did some pretty amazing stuff in the '60's. But is it better to burn out than to fade away? In his case, yes.
 
I dont think he has faded away the viper like it or not is one muscle car that has some balls and started back when the vett' was running in the mid/high 13's with an outdated/old chassis for the most part. I think teh Viper a hunk of uncomfortable motor but not worthless. The shelbyII thing was kinda dumb but also based on GM stuff but that was in a time he and Ford were not friendly. He was involved even if just alittle in the Ford GT program and in the concept of the new shelby cobra (like the daytona).

As far as stripes go from a kit...why not just tape the stripes out and paint them? I have always thought painted stripes look better than stickers. Buddy of mine has a 67 K specd' fastback that had the stripes and they sucked and he ended up pulling them off as they were comingn off anyway. Maybe that is another issue some of the companies are having quality issues that are making not only Shelby look bad but also robbing him of income?

Any auto sticker store/shop can make the stripes, now the harder parts I am sure there are alot of them still in the hands of owners that will get sold used. In time I would also bet it gets slack...its a big damn market and no-one can police everyone forever.
 
you really cant say bad things about the viper it is just an all out badass car with the brutal motor to back it up. Plus it looks hot, and is rare enough that when people see it they point.

And although people complain about the older vipers (early 90's) as being crude/uncomfortable/cheap the chassis is way better designed then any mustang.
 
you really cant say bad things about the viper it is just an all out badass car with the brutal motor to back it up. Plus it looks hot, and is rare enough that when people see it they point.

And although people complain about the older vipers (early 90's) as being crude/uncomfortable/cheap the chassis is way better designed then any mustang.

From what I have heard the uncomfortable thing went up to at least the body change a few years ago. I have only sat in and known owners of the "roadsters" so maybe the GTS coupe had alittle diff. setup but I heard they were just as bad.

But everything else on them is sick...esp. in a time the vett' was really showing its age in that chassis.