SVT is in trouble.....

I have mixed feelings about SVT going down. I got screwed over by them Big Time. In 2001 i bought my 2001 Cobra Convertible. 13,543 miles later, the oil pump dies and blows my motor. They replaced it with a REBUILT/REMANUFACTURED Cobra motor. After serveral unanswered letters to John Coletti and Mr Ford Himself requesting a new motor, I am still driving around with a re-manned motor. Years later mr ford wrote back to me stating that they reviewed my case and that the company did all they can do for me. I come from a family that know nothin but Ford.... its stuff like this that make me not care if SVT goes down.... The only letter you'll see from me is one telling them to go bite me.

kcp203 said:

If that is the case, there are a lot of other parts of Ford that should see heads roll first.

"PAG reported a pre-tax loss of $171 million for the third quarter, excluding special items, compared with a pre-tax loss of $24 million for the third quarter of 2003."

Maybe they should fire the people running Jaguar and Rover, since they seem to be having a hard time finding people who actually want to buy what they are producing, contrary to SVT.

The Premier group's results would have been MUCH worse if Volvo wasn't selling every XC90 they can make. And I can tell you as an owner that XC90s are not going to help Ford's EPA or CAFE efforts. The things gets much worse milage than my Cobra.

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Maybe you should have read the whole article?? PAG IS BEING HEAVILY RESTRUCTURED!!!! They obviously aren't going to ditch their Premier brands, because they are a *much* greater investment than SVT. But to your point these groups are being shuffled as well because they are not profitable. SVT is simply not big enough to warrant so much attention.

I agree with the SVT vehicles helping along other brands because of their star appeal. But to be honest, that is nothing that Roush could not accomplish. Ford is getting blasted on emissions because they are so leveraged in truck sales and quite honestly I don't see them going way out of their way to make SVT profitable.

Jpjr said:

.. as opposed to mass producing focuses and cobras that fill up dealer lots and hurt average fleet fuel economy numbers.

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Ummm...How do Focuses HURT the average fleet fuel economy numbers ??


I'm very disappointed with Ford . Apart from the Mustang and maybe a few very expensive toys , Ford's latest line up is boring.
And what happened to the F1 team ??

Ford has gone from Jackie Stewart to Martha Stewart.

Chrysler and GM are building exciting and affordable cars. Ford brings out the under-powered 500 . Yawn...

Another sign was they had to butcher the cobra roadster prototype and use some of its parts (including the motor) to make the Daytona coupe prototype because Ford wasn’t willing to support them financially. Take this with the drop of the Focus and Lightning and I think it’s a sure thing of impending doom.

Land Rover sales are up on the new Range Rover and LR3, but Jaguar is hurting Ford that is why they are selling off the F1 team for the 05 season. All of Jaguars plans for the E-Type sports car were canned and I think SVT will be next. When a company is looking for profits the first to go are always the lose leaves on the outside and SVT falls into that category.

I think an 08 Cobra III automatic could very well happen! The new lightning was ready to roll yet they stopped it to work on the 07 Cobra, it doesn’t make sense! If you had a product ready to roll and make you money would you shelve it to bring another product that is equally profitable out six months sooner down the road? No, they are buying time so a decision can be made on what to do with SVT.

Jpjr said:

SVT is in trouble. And trust me, unless who you've been talking to are accountants or executives.. they will be the last to know.

Ford is considering canning SVT because its 1) unprofitable and 2) no longer fitting into their global EPA compliance efforts. basically ford is hamstrung because of all the trucks they sell and will need to cut gas guzzlers where they can.

Don't worry.. there will be a Cobra. Just that Ford is thinking of outsourcing the high performance work to Roush, from what I've heard. That means we could all expect a hideous and very expensive Cobra for '07.

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I agree about the CAFE stuff. The L was set back to Debut 1 year after the Ford GT is. The GT is set to be last sold as a 2006 model year. The L has been postponed till 2008. That’s only 1 model year after the GT. The GT gets worse gas mileage that the L. Once the GT is gone the company will be able to replace it with another poor EGA mileage vehicle. Also their rumor that the tranny couldn't handle putting nearly 600hp to the ground in a 6000lbs truck. It needs further development and the Ford GT stole a lot of money from the SVT development budget. Thy just can't develop it till a different fiscal year.
SVT does not make Ford money on the books but it brings Ford LOADs of mostly great press. This more than makes up for any loss they have on the books with the SVT program.
I bought my 98 Cobra thinking it may be my only Ford. Well Since then I got my wife a Sport Trac new in 2003, Talked he brother into a brand new in 2004 4x4 Sport Trac and her dad ended up buying a new 2003 F150 and her grandmother bought a new 2003 Focus. Why? Because we liked the products but it was all turned onto them by me getting my 98 Cobra. If the Cobra didn't exist then we would still be a GM and Honda family.....And I would either have one of the newer import s like a STI or a LS! powered Fbody. My Cobra stock is slower than they are now but I still fell my car has much more soul than the cars mentioned above, the looks, the sound etc.

Don't forget guys the L went away for 4 years in the mid 90's but it came back. People said the same thing then. The only thing Ford did then was build the Cobra and I think thats when the first flirted with the SVT Contour, but it was never a serrious venture. SVT doesn't soak up that much cash considering the R&D they provide for other cars in the Ford lineup is critical. IE the Mach 1, Ford used much of the info SVT compiled over the years for the Mach 1's motor.

I won't buy Ford unless it's an SVT.

If you have not signed the Petition yet please go to...

http://www.petitiononline.com/savesvt/petition.html

...and sign. It's not over til it's over.

95SVTCobraVA said:

If you have not signed the Petition yet please go to...

http://www.petitiononline.com/savesvt/petition.html

...and sign. It's not over til it's over.

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Done

BTW, this comes from Coletti so what do you haters (doubters) think now? Also you will note he mentions "chat sites" and the word coming from the SVT clubs that the decision to postpone the L and the possibilities of the division being 86'd has outraged the owners. We are being heard folks, that’s a great thing.
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/sema2004/ford/lightning/page1.html
Ford SVT Lightning Update
By: Mike Magda Posted: 11-02-04 19:31
© 2004 PickupTruck.com

Page: [1]

The director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) steadfastly denied that the Lightning pickup has been killed.

John Coletti said some media and enthusiasts have interpreted the group's decision to postpone work on the next-generation truck as meaning the program is cancelled.

"That's simply not true," said Coletti, who spoke with PickupTruck.com at the Innovations Day luncheon, which kicked off Ford's participation in the 2004 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 1.

"It was a business decision," continued Coletti, who was a panelist along with such legends as Parnelli Jones and Carroll Shelby to help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. "This was almost like a perfect storm. There were a lot of things that hit us simultaneously and now it's just a matter of us getting back in step."

Officials said that switching to next-generation platforms of the F-150 and Mustang hit too close together for engineering to proceed at a timely pace on both vehicles. Also, the plants where the vehicles are to be assembled have changed and acclimating the procedures and parts to a new workforce would have stretched the SVT team too thin.

"We're trying to find a slot that it [Lightning] makes sense in," continued Coletti. "The current slot just didn't make business sense so we're going to go back and reassess it."

"A lot of people are taking it to mean a stronger word than postponement, and we're here to say it's just a postponement. But the customers will get the truck they're looking for."

Talk through the rumor mills and chat rooms sometimes focused on lack of performance in early versions and that the new Lightning might not be able to reclaim its status as the world's fastest pickup, a title now held by the Dodge Ram SRT-10. Coletti said there are always such development steps with any performance project.

"Some of the early ones just didn't get there. It wasn't meeting our internal objectives," said Coletti, who also stressed that some of the early models of the Mustang Cobra and even Ford GT didn't reach performance goals in the beginning. "That's not usual. We evaluate it as a team and say we got to have more or we say it's right," said Coletti.

A Lightning concept based on the new F-150 platform made its debut at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. It featured aggressive bodywork and a 500-horsepower, supercharged 5.4-liter V8 engine and an independent rear suspension.

Sources from the SVT Owners Association who attended the luncheon said their membership has been outraged at the decision. But some also admit the value of their Lightnings has increased.

Ford already released to the press that the Shelby Cobra has been dropped. No further resources were going to be spent on that one, they were switching gears to the other Shelby whose name plate escapes me. It was to be powered by the V10 found in the 427 concept.

Also, what the hell is an "L"

"L" = lightning

gemex said:

Another sign was they had to butcher the cobra roadster prototype and use some of its parts (including the motor) to make the Daytona coupe prototype because Ford wasn’t willing to support them financially. Take this with the drop of the Focus and Lightning and I think it’s a sure thing of impending doom.

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Um, the reason the roadster was dropped in favor of the daytona was the daytona would be easier to produce and it could be made lighter, it would be more aerodynamic, and would handle better. The Cobra roadster concept was as aerodynamic as a brick, just like the original. However, the Daytona would be able to handle like the Ford GT and is just as aerodynamic. The roadster was done as something cool to put that new motor in and something to bring Shelby back, it was a toy for the designers. The Daytona on the other hand is a possible replacement for the Ford GT when its limited run is up in three years. I mean, in 3 years 550hp wont be enough to compete with the lower end Ferraris the GT is made to compete with, Ford will need the 605hp.

I was the first to call this SVT scoop here... Everybody here laugh! Maybe because I'm canadian???

CarrollShelby said:

I was the first to call this SVT scoop here... Everybody here laugh! Maybe because I'm canadian???

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SVT is DEAD...

My source was the end of SVT... Remember, SVT is DEAD!

PETITION... Héhéhé! Talk about petition with the Camaro guy's... They would laugh of you! Remember SLP was doing the Camaro SS??? They closed the Camaro plan in Montréal and cancel they're contract with SLP... This time we are lucky, we know the Mustang stay alive with the new one 05"! Probably because the Camaro/Firebird die??? The only true bargain and the muscle car market's... Is a MUSTANG!

The special production will be a Roush???Hahaha, come on! NO WAY... IT'S GOING TO BE A SHELBY

CARROLL SHELBY INTERNATIONAL inc. is Stock Quote...

Carroll Shelby sign a big contract with Ford compagny in 2002 and we are going to know why in the futur....

The first was the Collector Edition for the FORD 100th! Not a big deal... Just for fun and put the name back!

The second will be the Shelby Expedition 2006--------»»»

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041029/laf049_1.html

Next up will be the reborn of Mustang Shelby lineup for 2007... F-150 Shelby 2007 to replaced the Lightning 2006 SVT project and a Spyder and Coupe Cobra or Spyder and Coupe Daytona 2008... What ever the name is, are an other project FORD compagny consider as well to offer a replacement of the Ford GT high level tag's!

Ford need a big name arround is new high performance car's and special vehicule's program... SHELBY is the perfect one name to be assosiate with FORD! They try in 80", but Shelby sign with Chrysler so they put the SVT program team alive and they make the Mustang SVO alive, Lightning, Cobra and Focus... Now Shelby name is back again with Ford and for a long, long time! We all know the guy is old, but name will stay associate forever to FORD COMPAGNY and that's a sure thing...

svt has not been dropped at all, why would they appoint a new head marketer for svt and just listen to what colletti said...

chuckstang95 said:

svt has not been dropped at all, why would they appoint a new head marketer for svt and just listen to what colletti said...

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Héhéhé...

Do you really think Mr.Colletti gone a said, SVT is dead! No... I had to shutt is mouth and wait the official announcement!

im sorry but could someone translate???