Inside Line: Edmunds, "SVT Concept is History."

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Old 4/15/06, 08:17 AM
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Shelby GT500KR @ April 14, 2006, 11:46 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
... Get what I am trying to say. Maybe Ford's sooner or later is going to have to stop relying on Steve Saleen to clean up after them, but instead do everything right and stop being such a liar to the press, which will believe anything. You're only hurting yourself and your profits.
[/b][/quote]

I am not sure I understand your point about "cleaning up messes" and "being a liar to the press". Ford is already hurt for profits because many people, beyond Mustang enthusiasts, don't believe their cars are desirable or worth the money. Having engineering partners like Roush, Saleen, and aftermarket companies that work through Ford's SEMA technology transfer program are what keep the Mustang viable to the hardcore performance enthusiasts.

The bottom line is that Ford in the Americas is in survival mode, and this will have an impact on what can be delivered to the performance enthusiasts. The business case has to play out, or we won't see it.
Old 4/15/06, 09:09 AM
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tony Alonso @ April 15, 2006, 9:20 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I am not sure I understand your point about "cleaning up messes" and "being a liar to the press". Ford is already hurt for profits because many people, beyond Mustang enthusiasts, don't believe their cars are desirable or worth the money. Having engineering partners like Roush, Saleen, and aftermarket companies that work through Ford's SEMA technology transfer program are what keep the Mustang viable to the hardcore performance enthusiasts.

The bottom line is that Ford in the Americas is in survival mode, and this will have an impact on what can be delivered to the performance enthusiasts. The business case has to play out, or we won't see it.
[/b][/quote]

What I mean about lying to the press is that they told them that the lightning and the adrenalin were goint to production if im not mistake, but as you know, they got canceled. and what i meant about profits is that many potential customer and recent customers will think of ford as undependable for the productibility on future fords.
Old 4/15/06, 09:28 AM
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According to Mark Fields recent comments, an SVT truck is in the cards again. I would not call what was said lying but rather sharing incomplete information that changed when the re-structure effort went into high gear. It certainly isn't the best situation to be in, but sometimes it happens.

I believe only the enthusiasts were most angry about those announcements, not the broader market that Ford needs right now to increase sales.

I wish Ford well with the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr and Edge. Those vehicles are primary examples of the ones that will eventually improve the financial situation.
Old 4/15/06, 03:23 PM
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tony Alonso @ April 15, 2006, 10:31 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
According to Mark Fields recent comments, an SVT truck is in the cards again. I would not call what was said lying but rather sharing incomplete information that changed when the re-structure effort went into high gear. It certainly isn't the best situation to be in, but sometimes it happens.

I believe only the enthusiasts were most angry about those announcements, not the broader market that Ford needs right now to increase sales.

I wish Ford well with the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr and Edge. Those vehicles are primary examples of the ones that will eventually improve the financial situation.
[/b][/quote]
I thought the remarks of Mark Fields were really encouraging overall. Him saying it was vital for a car company to have performance cars may be a really good sign for Ford and us in the near future. If they can sell pickups with Shelby's name on them, more power to them. It might actually be a pretty bad a** truck. More chances for Boss, Mach 1, Cobra Jet motors, all kinds of cool versions of the car. I think they saw how aggravated we were that they were taking apart SVT and decided it was too valuable to let go.
Old 4/15/06, 04:50 PM
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crazyhorse @ April 15, 2006, 5:26 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
... Him saying it was vital for a car company to have performance cars...
[/b][/quote]
No other company enjoys the popularity of the Mustang and the performance SVT brought to it, the irony and contradiction is the effort to kill it. It is disappointing but not surprising. Every large company has individuals whose efforts and dedication accomplish and succeed in their goals of providing popular products and services while there is always a bunch of General Custards with personal goals and out to make a name for themselves by destroying what others have built without having the vision to foresee the possible consequences to the very company they work for.

Perhaps there might be some second guessing behind the scenes. I sure hope so.
Old 4/15/06, 05:34 PM
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crazyhorse @ April 15, 2006, 3:26 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I think they saw how aggravated we were that they were taking apart SVT and decided it was too valuable to let go.
[/b][/quote]

I think they knew the importance of high-performance vehicles but were undergoing so much planning for the restructure, along with key leaders moving out, that there simply was not enough chance to say much about it. Having lived through a number of large corporate restructures over the past 5 years, I can tell you that ideas, budgets, roles & responsibilities, and other things change day-by-day until final decisions are made. People tend to keep quiet until there is a high degree of certainty.

From our point of view, the form by which we knew SVT previously was being changed so dramatically that we read it as "SVT is gone". In actuality, I believe there are passionate people who understand the enormous value Mustang has for Ford in the Americas and what a core of dedicated engineers provided in terms of the end products that have been marked "SVT" for awhile.

Honestly, I have gone to "SVT dealers" and found limited value in many cases in terms of what they directly provided to me. When I drove the SVT-badged Mustang, then I found value. The product matters most.

Now if they can just bring out that Mustang between the GT and the GT500 with about 385hp from a naturally aspirated V8, SVT would no longer be "history" but rather making it!
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