There will be a repeat of the Fuel protests that we saw in 2002 soon, the price now is higher than it was then. The whole country was brought to a standstill last time.........

 

the fuel out here in california is outrageous, 2.40 for normal unleaded if not higher... it always irks me when I see news reports about sky rocketing gas prices and they show some station in another state and its just breaking 2.00

 

There will be a SVT Mustang. However, it most likely won't be called "Cobra" because of the confusion with the Shelby Cobra. I have heard names from some of the engineers working on the car but they have ask I not repeat them.

They are currently have a problem keeping a rear end under the car, too much HP / Tork. Could cause the release to be delayed even further then expected. Engineers are keeping details pretty quite.

 

Here is what autoextremeist.com had to say about SVT & Lightning.

These guys have connections, so they are most likely correct.

 

There will be a repeat of the Fuel protests that we saw in 2002 soon, the price now is higher than it was then. The whole country was brought to a standstill last time......... [/b][/quote]
uhm, what fuel protests?

 

No arguement here the new F-150 is a good product (although very large).

The problem that Ford is facing (& GM) is that the traditional SUV market is about to implode. The new FreeStyle came not a moment too soon. Ford has also get the new crossover Aviator out on time along with other crossover products to replace the traditional truck based SUV sales that they are about to loose.

The core problem is that gasoline prices are NOT going to be going down anytime soon. As high as they seem, gas prices have not yet caught up to inflation over the last 20 years. The Bush government's "weak dollar" policy will also keep oil prices high. The Saudis and OPEC are not stupid. They will NOT sell their oil at deflated US dollar prices. So as much as the Saudis keep talking about brining the price of oil down, they only want to keep the price of OPEC oil low enough that it will limit the investments made in shale oil, tar sand oil and other synthetic oil production.

 

A number of the SVT Engineering staff did work on the Ford GT development.

 

I'll believe all these rumors when Ford comes out with a press release or some reputable insider leaks info that SVT is no more. I hope to God they don't terminate SVT, cuz I am really planning to buy a new Cobra in 07. On the other hand, if these rumors are indeed true, I would expect that it might have something to do with Shelby's renewed involvement with Ford and also with Ford's expansion of Ford Racing. Either way, it will be a sad day when it is officially unveiled that the Cobra is dead. Looks like I might have to get used 03/04 Cobra afterall.

 

I think that this is all just B.S.

 

A few points, if I may.

Gas spiked up just after hurricaane Ivan as it wiped out quite a few rigs in the gulf, from what I hear we lost about 30% capacity from that one. 50+ foot waves were reported at some of these rigs. This is must be true as I have seen the devestation first hand from Orange beach to Pensacola.

Gas at $2.00 is cheap, I remember when it was $1.00 a gallon, 20 years ago.
Have you seen what a gallon of water costs in the supermarket?

I really have no sympathy for California gas prices, you guys made your bed, and many other peoples for that matter, so go ahead and sleep in it. If you don't like it elect someone in your state who is technically aware to do something about it, it can be done.

And back to topic, SVT is more than just the 5-10K Cobras they sell a year. It is an example of Fords superior engineering ability, and what they do today, trickels down to the rest of the line. Its like Fords own little NASA if you will. It also gives the guys with GT's someting to shoot at, they can afford that GT, but they want what a Cobra is. Ford would be insane to let it go. I have to believe dropping the Lightning has something else behind it, I mean it got the supercharger first, right. Perhaps the first high performance 6.2 hurricane will find a home there. At least I hope so.

 

Oil prices are here to stay, at least for a while.

V10, you are right, the Saudis want to keep the prices high and are unwilling to sell large amounts of oil to the West. However, the problem is not the Bush weak dollar.

The infrastructure in the Middle East for drilling, pumping and refining uses dated technology. They(the Saudis) will not put down the money to update their infrastructure for several reasons. Most important, it would stop the flow of oil for a short time. Also, it is more profitable for them to have a limited amount of oil going out, which keeps the prices high and at the same time lets them say they are not dictating the price and they are producing oil as quickly as possible.

The only way for oil/gasoline prices to go down is for U.S. companies to get into some of the oil fields in Iraq, and that isn't going to happen.

 

Why is it gas prices always seem to skyrocket when manufacturers start getting into hp wars?

However, with the Ford GT, the Cobra, the GR-1 and all the other new cars, the Ford engineers have way too much on their plate to add another new Lightning AND the very-engineering-heavy Cobra/GT350/whatever they call it project. In due time, I suspect they will come back though. When Ford needs to make new headlines.