I second that. Unless all the money from the sales is going to the vet fund or something, just seems like another way to sell cars without really caring about military personell.

 

Not really an "SE," just a fancy stripe job. Next thing, they'll sell the exact same car with a slightly different window tint and say "Look, another SE!!!"

 

How many people are on here? If we find a crazy who just served and we all put in $10, could we actually buy one of these for a Veteran?

It would be awesome to get one for someone willing to do crazy stuff with it and then post videos.

Maybe in time for the Power Tour?

I would easily pony in some cash if it became what Saleen said it is to be.

 

Many posters here are complaining about something that can't logically be related to Saleen's car. Seriously, do all the naysayers have so much money that they're p!ssed they have to buy ANOTHER special edition to keep up?

Saleen is in the BUSINESS of special editions. If you want a standard, cheap Mustang, visit your Ford dealer and own what 1,000 of your neighbors own. If you want something that can ONLY be limited by price and design, then go visit Saleen, Roush or Steeda.

Again, special editions ARE their business, so quit this nonsense about special editions gone too far. I don't want $50,000 Mustangs to look and perform like standard models, so I'm happy about every special edition and glad someone takes the market risk in releasing them.

(I'm going to ignore Saleen's poor use of the military in their sales pitch since that's a bad move; they should've just called it the "Patriot Series" and left it at that...)

/ Ok, I've calmed down now, lol...

I like the idea of collecting money to give Mustangs to some younger vets from Iraq, but it would be better to just stick with standard V6 Mustangs- two for the price of one Saleen!

 

2006stang: Hold on a minute, 2006stang--"about 24K" is less than the sticker on a base 2008 Mustang GT. The totally stripped, non-street-legal FR500C weighs 3,130 pounds ready to race before the Grand American Road Racing Association makes Mustang racers add "awards" weight (to 3300 lbs on the grid) to slow them down enough that other makes have a chance at a win. There aren't even door windows in the FR500C; the electric window motors are removed; the non-essential metal in the doors & doorframes are cut away; there's only a driver's seat; there's zero upholstery everywhere else; there's no rust protection; there's no sound/heat insulation; there's no seam sealer; of course there's no A/C, heater, or even the crudest sound system; the dash is hollow--even the air vent nozzles are not connected to any source of cooling air from the outside; the turnsignal wiring, bulbs, lever, et cetera, have been removed--and I'm sure the same applies to the backup lights; and the lightweight Fikse wheels cost over $4,000 for the set. Street-legal tires may weigh more than the series spec tires, too (Hoosiers were the series spec tires through '07, but I believe Pirellis might be the series spec tires in '08).

How much of a market would there be for such a naked vehicle, even if it weighs only 3,130 lbs? And that does not include the weight of the emissions equipment, or the front & side airbags, or quieter mufflers that would get the engine snarl down to street-legal decibel levels, or a dash with instruments, or functional air vents, or turn signals, or backup lights, or a parking brake (this might be on the FR500C, but I doubt it), or sun visors, et cetera...


Stripped, powerful Mustangs cost a bunch: the mildly powerful FR500S costs $75,000 in non-street-legal form and the powerful FR500C costs $129,900 in non-street-legal form. The very powerful FR500GT costs about a quarter of a million, and there is no chance of ever converting one to street-legal form.

Solution: 1. Buy a Bullitt, 2. Buy an intercooled Vortech, 3. Keep a traffic law attorney on permanent retainer...

Greg "Eights" Ates

 

They have all this...It's called a FOX body Mustang with a Vortech! You can get one with a cage on Ebay for about 9K ready to go.

IF Ford made a smaller, lighter car with more power, they wouldn't sell one more than they have sold. People want nice cars that go fast. Select people want fast cars that look nice. And almost everyone that ONLY has a very fast car that is purpose built for hellraising wishes they had a new S197.

Stop at a dealer, stop at an ice-cream stand, stop at the strip. Everyone wants to have power and power windows. Everyone wants an SE, but you have to work hard to play hard.

So kudos to any SE owners as you obviously didn't find a money tree. Good for you for working toward your goal and achieving it.

 

Ford seemed to sell alot of LX trim 5.0 Mustangs in the 1980's to people who either didn't have the cash for the GT or didn't want all the fluff. And the LX wasn't a hollowed-out race car, it was a base trim package model with the 5.0 and yes it was thousands cheaper than the GT. That what I was getting at, not a race only car that would be useless for anything else but racing. Anyone who would buy a race only car and try ot live with it on the street needs to lay off the crack. Personally I wouldn't want anything less than a Premium edition GT but I am one of the lucky who can swing the price of admission. If my $$$ situation changed for the worse I would have to scale down accordingly. If I couldn't afford it I would go with the cheaper version if possible or buy used and save a bunch of cash for other stuff. My point is that not everyone can afford a loaded model but if a cheaper version with V8 power and less options were available people would buy them. The only other options are buy an older Mustang or buy another auto make alltogether. Neither option puts cash in Fords pocket. A higher MSRP SE would be out of their range anyway. Yes everyone today wants it all but wanting and getting is two different things. A six banger trim mustang with the 4.6L and less options would be doable and would sell enuff to make a profit and profit is all any business is concerned about including Ford. It wouldn't be a SE by todays standards. It would be an entry edition for those more interested in affordable muscle car transportation and not a status symbol or collectible car. BTW a collectible car is one that is high in power and produced in small numbers maybe a few hundred a year for a few years. Thats why they command big dollars now. 8000+ units aren't really all the rare as with todays "low production collectibles" so don't expect the same hype with the new models 30 years from now. Its just ain't going to happen. Shelbys, Roushs, Saleens are for the rich, Bullitts and highly optioned GTs are for the upper middle and middle class, and a lower trim car would be for everyone else who would otherwise have to buy used or do without which doesn't help Ford. There are a bazillion more of middle class and everyone else car people than rich and a few thousand SE and loaded GT's aren't going to keep Ford rolling in the dough. What they do is cause excitement and floor traffic to the dealer so the dealer can then sell a customer whatever they are interested in. No customers/ no sales/no Mustangs of any level...that simple. Its large numbers of cars sold for a smaller profit not a few sold at a higher profit sold that keep any car company profitable and able to cater to everyone. My point is the more cash Ford can make by selling more cars to more people benefits everyone regardless of what trim level someone wants. If the next SE is a Mach 1 and it looks the part and my local dealer doesn't gouge me and I can swing the price I might be trading up but until then I will continue modding my GT and saving it for weekend crusing and the occasional trip to the track. SE's are cool and are the best yet but if possible put something on the table for everyone.

 

2006stang: Thank you for your prompt and informative reply! I just finished shopping and wrapping Christmas presents, so I couldn't reply as promptly as you did! I apologize for the tardiness.

Ford offers a pretty fine package in the base Mustang GT starting at under $26,000--a 300 HP V8 with enormous modifications potential and a five-speed manual. In today's heavily regulated industry, that's a helluva lot for the money--notice how few competitors Mustang has in the under-
$26,000 performance two-door coupe class.

The answer may be the Terlingua Racing Team Mustang V6. The basic Terlingua package can be installed on your S197 V6 for about $7,500, with the supercharged version no doubt costing considerably more. This isn't too difficult to acquire if you already have an S197 V6 and it's paid off...

The Steeda QS6 that's the topic of another thread could work, too, but it's probably quite pricey like the CS6 from Shelby. The issue may resolve itself if the new 3.5 V6 becomes available with lots of horsepower and torque (for a 3.5) in a base Mustang.

I could be tempted if the Terlingua package becomes available for the V8 Mustang GT!

Greg "Eights" Ates

 

What is the price of the QS6? Looks like Steeda will sell several of them. For a V6 model it rocks. It looks better than the Shelby supercharged V6 offering. I like modding things too much to buy a limited production edition anyway. I would be happier to buy a regular production model and make changes to suit me. It wouldn't be worth as much later but I wouldn't be keeping it for resale I would be keeping it for my enjoyment. I can mod my Mustang but when it comes to my GSX I have to leave it as is. No cutting or drilling even though some mods would make it a better car in some ways but kill the value. It needs nothing but I love to tinker by nature. And there's the problem of risking damage to hard to find parts. I don't drive it but about 400-500 miles a year so I can do without AC, MP3 players, and slotcar handling. My GT doesn't have that problem. Get a scratch, get it fixed. Break a part, goto the local dealer and order another one. Want a different hood scoop or paint scheme, change it. No fuss no muss. Cutting up a collector edition is blasphemy to most enthusiast. Just imagine someone owning an original low mileage BOSS 429 and drilling holes and cutting sheetmetal just for the sake of making it stronger,faster,better. Or a new Roush and ricing it up. Yuck. If my powerball ticket wins I will be able to have 2 of every car on my wish list, one original to look at in the garage and a clone to mod and drive the snot out of it.

 

2006stang: Your reply is as good a posting as I have ever read, and it sums up the Mustang precisely: affordable performance in a really good car. 'Performs well enough for good times right out of the box, yet inexpensive enough to leave you with sufficient funds to enhance the performance with modifications of your own. Tuner cars are the same idea, but for those without the skills, tools, or garage to enhance the performance on their own. That's how tuners make their living...

In a way, it is unfortunate that tuners have gained "reputations" such that having a tuner car in as-delivered condition makes it worth more than the same tuner car that has been further enhanced by its original owner or by later owners...Still, it's better that tuner versions exist than if they didn't.

I wonder if the Lotus Cortina was history's first tuner car?

Greg "Eights" Ates

 

2006stang: For days, I've logged in and posted replies. Each time I submit the reply, I get the "you're not logged on" message, but the above reply actually got posted despite the message, unlike at least two previous replies. I think the problem involves replies that quote the posting being replied to...

Greg "Eights" Ates

 

 

that car is simply hodeous

 

Is that the best that Saleen can do to "Honor the military"???? Yuck!

 

 

i saw a Vista Blue one identical to the one posted above today at my local dealer ^^

looked very... very tacky.

 

I saw a car for 51k that was much nicer....