Not Ranked
I was going to post this on 12/12/02, but I didn't want to be the first "troublemaker". However since the ball is rolling, here is my .02 cents....
Well it looks like the ol' "Texas Snake" is at it again. I have stayed out of the Shelby debate for years, however the last two years the guy talks $hit everwhere he goes. He is now in the January "Mustang and Fords" magazine talkin' trash again.
Here are some quotes:
M&F: So what do you want to do with the rest of your life?
Shelby: (Laughs) Ah, just build cars. Play with my airplanes. work on my foundation. Do the things I've always been doing. I'll never quit because I'd be bored. IT'S A TOUGH, TOUGH MARKET OUT THERE NOW. SO MANY PEOPLE BUILDING THESE CARS. THESE KNOCK-OFF PEOPLE STEALING MY COBRA'S. WERE MAKING SOME HEADWAY ON THAT.
M&F: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Shelby: YEAH, BUT A LOT OF THESE SONS-OF-*****ES PISS ME OFF. IN 1985, I ASKED THESE GUYS TO GIVE ME $1,000.00 EACH FOR CHARITY AND I'D LICENSE THEM. MOST OF THEM NEVER EVEN WROTE ME A LETTER. THAT'S WHEN I STARTED SUING THEM. IT'S HARD TO SUE ALL OF THEM. I FIGURE THERE'S SOME STUFF HAPPENING THAT WILL PUT MOST OF THEM OUT OF BUISNESS ANYWAY. THE GOVERMENT ISN'T GOING TO PUT UP WITH THESE COBRAS COMING IN FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH NO EMISSIONS OR SAFETY STANDARDS. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS LOOPHOLE.
M&F: What loophole?
Shelby: THEY DON'T HAVE TO MEET SAFTY AND EMISSION STANDARDS. YOU'D BE SURPRISED. WITH THE SERIES 1, WE HAD TO MEET THE SAME EPA STANDARDS AS GENERAL MOTORS.
Later in the interview...
M&F: I hear you're in bed with Ford again. Any truth to that rumor?
Shelby: YEAH, JOHN COLETTI IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE. FORD IS REALLY WHERE I BELONG. WERE WORKING ON A NEW COBRA ROADSTER TOGETHER. FORD'S WORKING ON THE NEW FORD GT, WHICH IS WHY I HAVEN'T SAID MUCH ABOUT THE COBRA. FORD'S MARKETING PEOPLE WILL SELL IT. PEOPLE ASK ME WHY I DON'T BUILD ANOTHER SHELBY MUSTANG. BUT WHY SHOULD I COMPETE WITH ROUSH AND SALEEN WHEN THE DON'T MAKE ANY MONEY AT IT? THE FACTORY IS GOING TO COME OUT AND BEAT BOTH OF THEM BECAUSE COLETTI AIN'T GOING TO LET ANYBODY GET TOO BIG WITH ALL OF THESE GUYS HE HAS AT SVE. IT'S A WONDERFRUL GROUP HE HAS PUT TOGETHER.
A couple of questions, I have?
1. When he mentions the $1,000.00 each, it almost sounds like he is saying he wants a donation of $1,000.00 from each MANUFACTURER, when we know he wants $1,000.00 from each car. I don't know if it's the magazines fault or Shelby, but the common man would think all of the Manufacturer's are pretty low if they won't donate a lousy $1,000.00 (per Manufacturer) for the charity.
Does Shelby donate $1,000.00 per car to charity?
Does Shelby make Kirkham and the other companies he has worked with donate $1,000.00 per car?
2. He has talked before about how he is trying to stop the other Cobra manufacturer's because they are selling "unsafe", "unregulated" , and "poor copies" of the Cobra.
Yet this guy states that he would License any Company that payed the $1,000.00 "donation".
We all know that he would "license" a Cobra replica built on a Pinto chassis as long as they "donated" $1,000.00 per car.
3. He mentions that the "Goverment isn't going to put up with these Cobra's coming in from all over the place with no emissions or safety standards". "They don't have to meet safety and emissions standards".
His Cobra get's by with the same "loophole" as every other Cobra Manufacturer. I don't think I have ever seen a "new" 427 S/C Cobra from shelby that had emissions controls, air bag, 5 mph bumper, third brake light, etc... but the way he words it, it sounds like only his Cobra's are safe and have the proper emissions controls.
Why would it surprise this idiot that the Series 1 would have to "meet the same EPA standards as General Motors". After all, like the Viper the Series 1 is a all new car, duh!
4. Shelby: "WE'RE WORKING ON A NEW COBRA ROADSTER TOGETHER".
It looks like Ford was helping him sue the other manufacturer's and going after everyone using the "Cobra" logo or name because Ford does want to make a "new" Cobra roadster after all!
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