Ford resurrected the early Mustangs with the S197A (05-09) for a target market - baby boomers. The boomers grew up with Mustangs and... the Shelby name. (Its great that it has had such a wider appeal...)
Adding a Shelby to the S197 Mustang corral? Marketing... plain and simple.
Many couldn't afford a Shelby back in the day, but many can now. You may not like the man, the name, the product... but there's plenty of boomers with dough that will gladly push you out of line as you whine about someone (other than you) having some success in building a brand name.
And Ford benefitted the most.


If Tasca had the same branding focus that Shelby had, we'd probably have seen a number of SE Tasca Mustangs. But it was Shelby that led the pack and cut the deal.

 

No one should tell me I can't afford a car. Those few of us that excel at asset allocation, creative financing and debt management, pull off many maneuvers that seem unorthodox. Doesn't mean we're wrong or shouldn't move forward with personal purchase decisions.

Besides, loan amortization and used car depreciation have little in common.

 

Barring any act perceived to be against the interests of the company whether intentional or not, what it reads is loyalty seems to be a one way street when dealing with Shelby as it has on so many previous occasions.

 

I'm not up to speed on their company history, has there been shake ups like this in the past?

 

That doesn't change how many he has screwed either. He has had every opportunity to be a man of his word and declined, probably more times than documented.

As an icon he could have followed Jack Roush recipe. If so he might not have had the need to spend so much of his resources on legal counsel.

 

+1. There are many ways to do business and some are better than others.

 

The financial history is not a favorable one and I would doubt many sound and sane financial advisors would suggest investing is such endeavor. With that said, AB and I had serious differences of opinions, frequently, but I have to grant her the fact she resurrected a case of terminal illness. The marketing turn about seemed, short of a miracle, an impossible task. IMO, what seems to be taking place at the present time is a self inflicted wound.

 

Amy's gone?

Bud's gone?

Scott's split the blanket?

How many Shelby-badged cars did SAI sell? How many "Shelby"-badged cars did Ford sell? How many of those buyers actually knew much about Mr Shelby beforehand - or cared?

I'm just a guesser in this arena, but I'll bet "darned few". The cars are attractive in their way, and (sad truth) the fact of a significantly elevated price is enough to lend some kind of cachet to a product, with or without virtues to back it up. That's been shown by research, as well.

Seems to me there is something in the Shelby name that will be marketable on the same basis, regardless of who is in charge of the products. Bud is a great guy, a real enthusiast, and he should not feel at all deflated by whatever events resulted in his absence. He's a land-on-your-feet kind of person, and you can bet his parachute was not of base metal. Amy did more than she got credit for, but again, someone who did as well as she did for SAI is not going to be in any serious kind of hurt, no matter what the circumstances were. My conjecture is that they might have decided to leave before being invited, and their silence is a sign of class, letting Shelby maintain its dignity when it and its investors seem to need it.

Shelby American - the business entity - has enough momentum and resources to keep on keeping on, in some profitable fashion. You can bet the Shelby name will be attached to plenty of merchandise, an even wider spread of items than appeared in the most recent catalogs, and ... Well, imagine the way Craftsman is at least as well established as Sears. Why not meld with someone like Cobalt and elevate a run-of-the-mill tool selection to cult status as well?

Would I have bought a Shelby? I was within a little paperwork and a signature of taking home a 2008 GT500. Aside from being a bit ponderous as a recreational driver, I liked it, but liked even more the idea of two cars of equal attraction (to me), to include a coupe and a convertible. When I got the 2009 GT/CS coupe the sales guy pointed out a 2007 Shelby GT for just a bit more, and I turned that down, too. I have forty dollars worth of S H E B L Y lettering I can put on either of mine, should the mood strike.

I've been a fan of Shelby the racer (from the early 50s) to Shelby the party guy (and he is, for certain), and even Shelby the curmudgeon; this new stuff is not likely to shake my estimation of him. He's just like the rest of us: he does what he thinks he ought to do, and lives with the consequences, and for the most part he doesn't holler about it or deprecate folks or things he doesn't know anything about. The fact that he doesn't suffer fools gladly probably isn't his most endearing characteristic, but it's certainly a kind of honesty you can respect.

But as I said, I'm just a guesser in this arena.

 

Back on topic....
thread got Mr. Clean'd...

ECI/Flagstang...smarten up.

 

I seen a review on the chili. they said it was good.

 

It's the same chili as Wick Fowler's 2 Alarm Chili that my dad has been making since the 70's. Not sure if its older than that or who copied who, but it wouldn't surprise me who did.

 

I bought a set of Goodyear racing tires, a cotton racing suit, a carton of dry chemicals to "fireproof" the suit, and a can of Carroll Shelby's "PIT STOP" underarm spray deodorant at Shelby's Pacific Beach tire store, in 1967 or '68. Everything served its purpose. I don't remember if there was Chili Mix on the shelf at the time, but it wasn't long after that I bought some and made good chili with it. The last time I used it was about 1988 or so, when there was a "cook-off" in our office building. I made a batch with a rabbit-meat base and an optional side/garnish of "bunny bullets" I had made of dark chocolate and oregano. M-m-mm.

 

Evidently from reading up on the Terlingua Chili Championship in 1967 Shelby sponsored this first event on his ranch. Mr. Fowler was a winner at some point. Don't know if it was in 1967, but I know he won in '70. So Mr. Shelby evidently has been involved with chili since at least then.

Honestly what both these gentlemen sell is true Texas Chili as far as I've ever known. It's simple in its ingredients, but delicious none the less.

 

yeah exact same stuff but you don';t get the seperate packages like you do in Wick Fowlers but for a while there I remmeber see in thier name on the shelby packages. I';ve used WF for ages but now I mostly wing it with my own bulk spices but it's the same ones WF uses I just adjusted to taste.

 

That's exactly what I do too.

All you need is cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, salt, and then I substitute a real onion and real garlic. Plus i get to go heavy on the chilli powder like I like.

My wife prefers it with coarse ground chili meat, while I like making it with diced sirloin cubes.

I love making it when it's cold outside.

 

lol having a captive audience now trapped in doors .

 

Yeah I love making batches of soup & stew when its cold or rainy for some reason. Eat some, freeze some.

 

I'm a ground beef guy too..I never could get used to the cubed beef kind. I also do bean in mine..a big can of kidney beans. and then let that bad boy simmer for about 4 hours...then let it sit over night..it's always better the next day.....ok I need to leave this thread now cause it's making me really hungry!

Oh and if I make chili then it has to be on Dogs
Heres a pic of mine cooking
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...&id=1786908530

and the finished meal
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...=1068408088896

 

IT IS!



Me no FB.

 

I'm going too try it with ground Buffao way leaner less fat umm umm