Hollywood_North GT

That's the heart of the matter right there. If the price is going up a little to keep all the features people are clamoring for - and that Ford promised ("no bait and switch this time," remember?) - then it's justified.

If it continues to be decontented, then I will probably jump ship, too. $45K US will equate to over $60K CDN, and not many are going to pay that for a car without even the basics of 21st century engineering, like IRS, for example. So it's got a big motor? Who cares? There's more to driving a car every day than going fast in a straight line.

$45K+ is cause for much greater pause before plunking down one's money. Some baby boomers might consider this, but I have my doubts. Some baby boomers have fond memories of Shelbys, but there was no global competition back then. There is now, and most of it builds a better product that is going to be more appealing to people getting older and looking for overall performance and value for their money.

After the news about GM's inevitable bankruptcy yesterday, Ford cannot afford anymore missteps.

V10

HTT needs to get out of his corner office @ SVT and look at some other cars.

The BMW 3 series starts @ $29,300 for a 325 coupe and goes up to $70,775 for a fully optioned M3 Vert. That's a 2.4 difference from base to top, greater than the Mustang's.

Route 66

Here's how I see it. In 1967 the GT500 cost $4,195 and there were 2,048 made. The total production run for Mustangs that year was 475,376 Mustangs. That means that only .0043 of the total Mustang run were GT500s. So, for every 1000 Mustangs built that year, about 4 were GT500s. Hense the reason why they are such collector items today. The $4,195 price was only $1,503 over the price of $2,692 for a 1967 Fastback Mustang. So the GT500 was priced 1.55% higher than the Fastback. With the Fastback being todays Mustang GT, the price of the 2007 GT500 should be around $40,300. I can accept that MSRP price. However for all the people thinking the car is worth so much more because Shely's name is branded on the back, think again. Remember, less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the 1967 production run were Shelby GT500s. In 2007, about .044 will be the GT500. Not the less than 1/2 of 1 percent as state before, but over 4% of the total production run will be the Shelby. That means over 10 times the # of GT500s will be produced in 2007 (with having total production numbers factored in for both years)than in 1967. In my opinion, this car shouldn't be over $40,000.

Budders

no matter the price, no matter how many are made, they wil sell every one of them and most likely over MSRP. For all of you that say you will jump ship there are 10 others wating to take your spot. This is unfortunate because the majority will probably end up going to the Barret Jackson crownd instead of real mustang enthusiasts like us.

bpmurr

This is why I just bought a GT and continue to add things here and there. Some day I'll have my GT500 beater!

V10

I agree with everything you said RT66, except the price of a '67 GT500 was 155% of the price of a '67 GT not 1.55% more!

I agree with you that the % of GT-500s to all Mustangs is too high.
Look how Ford had to offer rebates to clear out the remaining 03/04 Cobras and Mach 1s.

I already posted elsewhere that I though Ford would have trouble moving 20,000 GT500s in 2 years time @ MSRP, let alone with dealer markups. Once you get over $40K the size of the market rapidly shrinks, especially for toy cars.

Ford GT prices have already dropped from $100K over MSRP to $10K over MSRP.

crazyhorse

I think you will see that this is not true. The car will have more interest than the Terminators, but, not 10 times as much. I don't know how many of the 11,000 or so Terminators went above sticker, but, I'm betting it is less than 1000. I wouldn't look for more than 2000 going for above MSRP. Suddenly, 5-8 thousand cars will be available and no idiots left to buy them.

Most of the people that can afford $10k over sticker did not get that money from being stupid. This car is not worth any more than its sticker price and will not be worth any more for a long time, if ever. It is not a classic, rare Shelby. Do you see the Shelby Chargers going for more than they were paid for because Shelby's name is on it? Neither will these. These cars will depreciate just like all other new cars. The knuckleheads that pay over sticker will lose their hineys when they go to sell them in a few years. The cars depreciate from MSRP, not from MSRP plus AMV. Go try to lease one and see what the residual value is.

So if 5,000 of us jump ship, will there be 50,000 people behind us? Not hardly.

1 COBRA

Ford best have a good leasing plan in the works or 10 years loans. Add taxes and other fees and not to many fans will be able to afford $50K. The insurance will not be cheap either. Steeda, Saleen, and Roush have proven their top end car market is not an easy sell. Ford can push the line as hard as they want, time will tell if they are right.

MSP

This is really getting out of hand.. What it looks like to me, are dealers are trying to cash in on what the car is destined to be, as opposed to what it currently is..

Lets look at the timeline..

http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/time...8/68/index.htm

In 1968 we see a Standard Coupe went for $2689.. The GT500KR went for $4472.. Thats a difference of $1783 Dollars!

What we have going on today is a complete sham!! The dealers are trying to steal the value of the car from the new owners, 10 years down the road..

I say we would all be better served to let all GT500 sit on the lot, which are all more than $2500 over MSRP, which is $40K..

We can not as a community endorse anyone to pay this kind of money for the cars, willingly giving away their future value of the cars, to the dealers.. Those same dealers who want you to pay $15K over book now, are the same ones who will try and give you $5K under low blue book, should you decide to trade it in later..

Lets face it guys, they have over hyped the 2007 GT500 so much, that the true value of the car will be about $25K less, once you roll off the lot.. Who is gonna eat that $25K.. You, the guy who paid $55 or $60 K for the car..

Dont you guys get it? MSRP is $40K, about where it should be.. They want your appreciation of the car, before you buy it.. Normally, this appreciation is your investment for the $40K buy in.. They are trying to steal it from you..

I truley will not respect anyone who has this car, who pays more than $42,500 plus tax and license.. I wont respect it, because you have allowed the dealers, to rape all of us, the appreciation of the car like in previous years..

Just my rant on it!

Galaxie

IMO $45K is a lot to ask for unpainted mirrors and a solid rear axle.

I'm disappointed that the Cobra didn't go after the M3 by stepping up the refinement in every single way. The chatter about an IRS adding $4000 to the sticker is false IMO. I think it would have cost a lot less to build the IRS than it will to put 'ol Shelby's name on it.

Hollywood_North GT

True collectors will quickly determine that this car has little collectable value. Once the "I gotta have it crowd" (not as many people as you think) are finished their feeding frenzy, others will be able to pick one of these up at or below MSRP in due time.

Hollywood_North GT

Hollywood_North GT

Yeah that old IRS argument that Ford presents is just beancounterspeak for "we can't afford to do it because it will take too much off our bottom line at a time when we're in financial trouble."

SRA better at handling power? Doesn't seem to be a problem for BMW, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, etc, etc, etc.

I too, am starting to feel that HTT has sold out to 'towing the corporate line'. He's made a number of erroneous misstatements recently.

burningman

i Agree with you Steve..but i dont think HTT sold out..he's just doing what he's supposed to be doing. I think his heart is in the right place.
I also don't think he has as much pull as John Coletti did and the brass is probably keeping tight riegns on him.

JeffreyDJ

For 40K it should be competing with the cars like the M3's. I don't think they're coming close to it -- at least on paper. I don't know what to think abou this whole, but at one time I was pumped for it.

Not so much now, honestly.

Route 66

Actually I meant 55% more. I had such an algebra equation going that I lost tract. Just like in high school. HTT didn't sell out, Shelby did. He's starting to put his name on many things. I'm just curious how much $$$ Shelby gets for every GT500 sold. $2,000, $3,000, how about $5,000. Just think, if it's $2,000 he'll bring in $16,000,000. Not bad. Don't get me wrong, Carroll has every right to do so and I don't blame him for doing so. Gee, I'm kind of contradicting myself. On one I'm saying he's selling out. On the other hand I'm saying he has every right to do so. OK, my final opinion. Carroll take advantage of your name recognition. FORD, stop taking advantage of your elders. First Steve McQueen, and now Carroll Shelby. Ford has probably had Carroll do commercial takes already just in case he passes on. Gosh this is a harsh thread.

1 COBRA

It's the harsh reality. Dealers would love for him to croak.

4 or 5 years ago when Shelby got sick I happened to be shopping for a '68 or '67. Classic Corvettes in Tarpon Springs had a couple and over night the prices went up over $10K because quote, he could go at any moment and his cars would be worth a lot more, unquote. The are very little scruples when it comes to money, specially in this business.

Hollywood_North GT

Scruples? What are those?

JETSOLVER

Food for thought, Motor Trend May 05..."How much was Carroll Shelby involved? Not a lot, so far." "A pricier version--as an SVT Cobra--was under consideration, which would've had an IRS and an even more powerful engine. But the business case was rejected by management as too rich for a Mustang. " This is my point. At 45-50k the real SVT buyer would expect an awful bloody lot. As SVT buyers have ponyed up over the years. They expect high servicing costs and some difficulty getting parts etc. If an older person trying to reclaim their youth,whom might have had a Buick last week buys one how long is it going to take Ford to sour on the whole program when all the dealers get is hassle? Yes most of the hard core folks on these forums are welcome buyers of these cars. I suspect however a lot of people willing to lay out 50k are going to be impulse buyers and will not have any idea what they are getting into. I can think of very few SVT COBRA owners who have not spent money on the VERY best mods money can buy, and value the SVTOA track days when they can use their car to its; and their limits. Then go looking for more. Wanna bet how few of this cars owners run them hard? These existing SVT owners are the ones who would consider 50k for a truly super Stang, all sorted out(balance) with a warrenty. Then you could produce 7000 and still turn a buck while generating a buzz throughout the automotive world, without spending a penny on hype or advertising.

MustangFanatic