Quote:
Originally Posted by mrmustang
Sometimes it's all about the verbiage  |
Not sometimes...
When you are dealing with Lawyers and Judges, it is
always all about the verbiage.
"Law" is nothing more than written descriptions of accepted (and acceptable) societal conventions. Nothing more.
And it does serve a very important purpose -
However, and perhaps unfortunately for some of you die-hard "The only Cobras are the ones made by Shelby American" guys, I'm going to drop a truth-bomb on all of you...
The term "Cobra" has morphed into the same mythical, mystical realm of interpretation already occupied by another very popular American icon: The Jeep.
The term "Jeep" was originated by soldiers as a euphemism to describe the Willy's GP (General Purpose) vehicle, and it's visually identical twin: the Ford GPW (Willys contracted Ford to build Jeeps during WWII when Willys couldn't keep up with demand)
Now, fast forward 70 years to today, and go to a local 4x4 and off-road show. - How many "Jeeps" are actually there? And how happy are the owners of these extremely few, perfectly restored, Olive Drab WWII icons, as they find themselves lost in an ocean of vehicles which are all referred to as "Jeeps"...?
I'm talking CJ5's, CJ6's, CJ7's, Wranglers, Scramblers, Wagoneers, Cherokees, Grand Cherokees, Toyota FJ40 LandCruisers, Nissan Patrols, Land Rover Defenders, Suzuki Samuris, M151 Mutts...etc
To the world at large, They're
all Jeeps...
So, in
popular terms (but perhaps not in legal terms) "Cobra" is simply a word that describes a vehicle of a specific shape and configuration... Exactly like the term "Jeep" does.
for the past 25 years, restoring old 4x4's has been one of my other hobbies. Back in the 90's when Autotrader was the number one publication for selling vehicles, any time I had a Toyota FJ40 or a Nissan Patrol to sell, I would ALWAYS have Autotrader magazine list my ad in the Jeep section, never in the Toyota or Nissan sections. This was no-brainer - Anyone looking for a short wheelbase, topless 4x4 with removable doors was always going to go to the Jeep section first, and I wanted my ads seen by those buyers.
So yeah - when people list a Cobra for sale on Ebay, they list it in the Shelby section, because their vehicle is more like a Shelby Cobra than it is anything else... Again- it's a no brainer.... And as long as they correctly state what their vehicle is (fake, replica, etc) and don't try to pass it off as something it's not, then what's the harm about where they place their ad?
Oh, and on the topic of "passing a car off as something it's not" - It is a very popular practice I've noticed that a lot of 289 guys rivet the "Manufactured by Shelby American, inc" placard to the dash of their cars, Just like the original 289 cars had it. Now
THIS particular practice, I do agree 100%, is dubious, and could provide grounds for legal Trademark infringement.
I mean, if the car wasn't manufactured by Shelby American, I don't think there should be any markings on it suggesting that it was...
Sometimes "authenticity" in your replica needs to take a back seat to physical (and legal) accuracy... That's just my personal opinion.