http://www.fordboldmoves.com/Episode.aspx?episode=9

Enjoys!

 

I watched it earlier this morning. There were some very interesting things mentioned. First, Mark Fields recognizing that they can't keep the status quo in their product development and they're lookng for ways to knock down the barriers. Let's hope he can be successful in that endeavor. Secondly, the remark that dealer profits are at an all time low. Having to unload all the SUVs and trucks at deep discounts is definitely hurting them.

 

HEY!!! I think I saw Amyb in that episode!!....however...I didnt like the way that they bragged about how fast they got this out to market....I think maybe they shouldve taken a little longer think about stuff like....oh say, how many colors people might want...actually....thats the only thing thats chapping me right now...colors....

 

**** IT..It's starting to grow on me. Isnt this what we were asking for in a Bullitt? At least a moderate HP raise, some suspension tweaks...
I bet the naysayers would be all over the Shelby GT if it were named "BULLITT"

 

Nah, they would ask why isn't it DH Green, and why does it have LeMans stripes

 

Haha, I'll admit AFBLUE, that was pretty funny.


As far as what MustangFanII said, I'll bet the car could be had for about $2500 less if it were named "BULLIT." So yeah, I would be all over it.

 

Very cool. I have one question though. When they're pulling the white Shelby out of that garage, you can see about 3-4 of the old-style Shelby Cobras in the garage. Are they making their own replicas of them? Are they originals that are in there for work or restoration? Or is this another project that we might hear something about? Like the return of the Cobra now that the Ford GT is going away.

Amy B: Any insight to this? Am I just looking too much into something that really isn't anything?

 

I think I remember reading somewhere that Shelby was building "new" Cobras using new-old stock (i.e. bodies and engines manufactured in the '60s but never used).

 

http://www.shelbyautos.com/CSX4000.asp
http://www.shelbyautos.com/CSX7000.asp
http://www.shelbyautos.com/CSX8000.asp

 

Coolness!

 

Interesting. At least it seems Ford is well aware of their tortuous product development system and are searching for ways around it. A smaller, nimbler, more adroit subcontractor certainly is a tried and true method, ala AMG, and BMW M group, although these have been fairly well subsumed in-house. Small, in-house groups ala SVT and SRT is another approach, but these seem more suseptible to being mired down by the same processes, burueacracies, politics and corporate culture of the larger company, which has afflicted SVT particularly. Hopefully Shelby can keep far enough away to avoid this.

HTT doesn't really come off well, IMHO. He seems to epitomize the buttoned up corporate suite -- all numbers and processes, but lacking the passion and can do attitude of some of the more obvious "car guys" in the piece. There he is, in a size-too-big suite mumbling how the numbers make for a difficult business case, blah, blah, blah, can't do, can't do, can't do...

Compare that with the Shelby group who just go ahead, make a way-cool model (Shelby GT) in two months. They don't need no stack of stats to tell them it'll sell like hotcakes (they know it will, they're "car guys!")

 

I took a tour of Shelby American back in December. They are making "continuation cars", which are from all new materials and have new CSX numbers. Here's a couple of pics. The aluminum car is old number 98, the most photographed racing cobra of the sixties. The red one is a brand new car being raffled off. (no, I didn't win, but I did try). Not much difference, huh? They even had the original, unrestored Cobra #1, with the 260 engine there. It's a shrine to Shelby history, and they let you sign your name on the wall in the shop. (You get a glimpse of the wall on the new Bold Moves video.) Definitely stop by when in Vegas. It's free!

 

For some reason that video really upped my impression of the car. Now I'm just hoping it is 32k or below and it will be possible to get a hold of one; On the video the white one really l ooks nice. I think I'm getting Shelby fever.

 

Have you met and talked with him in person previously? He is very much a car guy. In terms of his personal style, he is who he is. If you listen to the dialog, the other managers are asking for his support to go ahead with this arrangement rather than using the SVT engineering staff. I take his comments to mean that if they had to develop and certify parts beyond what has been through Ford Racing, it would pull away time and money from their other program - the next SVT truck.

It sounds like the dealers, not the Ford and Shelby people involved in the approval, were really the ones who drove this decision. Furthermore, approving this car is much easier than if totally new parts and engineering were done. The process for making a Shelby GT has already been proven by the GT-H arrangement. One can conclude that conversion capacity and parts availability were probably the biggest impediments to doing this. Of course, I am only speculating. There might be more involved, especially if Ford warrants this car with their standard arrangement.

The dealers are thinking they will sell like hotcakes. If you contrast that with the general comments in the small pool of potential customers on the TMS forums, it sounds like there is less enthusiasm.

 

I'll take issue with what you are saying about HTT, and I'm going to defend him. Hau is the true definition of a "car guy" This guy saw the Lawman Mustang that was taken to Vietnam during the war, and that car lit his passion for the Mustang. Its so amazing how some loved the guy for bringing back the look of the original car, and making it affordable, but when he has to lay down the facts that the factory can't just add another car at the snap of a few fingers, some of you want to jump on him. Is he a big wig in the company? Yes. Does he have to keep a staight face in meetings? I'm sure. He's just laying down the facts. That its near impossible to add a car to the factory just like that, and have it ready in a few months. There are many things to take into consideration to have it ready in a few months.

Now, I have had the pleasure to meet Hau, and actually talk to him for a few minutes, and let me tell you, he is a BIG car guy. He was up in Carlisle for this years All-Ford Nationals. He was out on the showfield scoping out all the old Mustangs at first. By the time I got my car on the field, and cleaned it down from the drive, he made his way over to the S197's, and he's standing right infront of my car! He was being followed by a camera crew, who was doing a doctumentary for Ford, on how popular the Mustang still is. I was in awe of him just standing in front of me. I walked up, shook his hand, and thanked him for making the car the way it is. Next thing I know, he asked to see MY CAR, and describe all my mods I've done to it!!! And to top that, I was being filmed by the crew. My car and I are going to be in a video for Ford!! I'll tell you, Hau knows his stuff. He knew about the MAG plenum cover, center fog grill, interior trim that was available. He was even nice enough to take a quick photo with me. Hau is a car guy fellas, trust me on that. If he wasn't, the car may have turned out a bit different.

 

Indeed he is...as are many of the engineers who worked on the Mustang. They know the heritage, and many of them own the cars.

 

He sounds like a nice guy, and a real car guy...

 

HTT may be a car guy, maybe not quite the grease under the fingers engineer like Coletti was, but perhaps more than an MBA suit.

But he didn't come off too well in the video, IMO, as he seemed to be set up as a foil in the appearing the icon of buttoned-up corporate beauracracy in counterpoint to the various short sleeved, open shirted folks in the rest of the piece. Perhaps HTT ought to be a bit miffed at the producers of this piece for a misleading counter positioning.

In any case, I liked to overall tone of the piece, in having a much more pared down, consumer-oriented decision process not so mired down in the corporate morass. If the Shelby GT is but the opening shot, then even given any short comings of that specific model, it bodes very well for future efforts. I recall when the Mustang GT was reintroduced in '82 (yeah, I'm a bit old). Even with a 2bbl carb, single exhaust (but dual tips and a rumbly note) and a mere 157hp, backed by a 4 spd MTX, it signaled the end of the emasculated '70s and the rebirth of real performance cars, which continues to this day. It was quickly followed by 175hp 4bbl, dual exhaust and 5 speed tranny, then 205hp EFI, the quad-shock rear, then...

 

then, what???! You are old, you must have fallen asleep from the Alzheimers or something

 

Since he worked as an engineer on the Newman-Haas race team early on, I would say that qualifies.

I don't assume anything was intentional. I assume he likes to wear a suit.