[grumpy]

Felllas, fellas,
Now that this thread has had a good run
and the concensus is QUALITY equals COST, that is you have to spend the bucks to get quality is very wrong in that of a summation.
DOM steel welded by certified welders is almost 100% the same. Hand laid fiberglass is just that, it's just hand laid that is if the manufacturer is truly being honest, (and that's a good test of a company's honesty), the aluminum comes from the same suppliers for the interior panels, so the QUALITY related here is really craftsmanship, not QUALITY. The fit finish, the accuracy of all the bolt togather assemblies and such so that you see which is really not quality, it's the CRAFTSMANSHIP of the company.
With that as fact, removing emotional feelings of "mines better", then we move into the design area of the car or the assemblage of the donor parts, none of the assembly parts excluding above noted are normally supplied by the manufacturer, there are shelf parts from a major auto supplier, are we calling those fellas QUALITY into the picture?. I hope not.
So if all above is actually FACT not assumptions or personal favorites then a Factory Five chassis and or body is no LESS than or BETTER than a Shelby American glass car and vice-versa . Now we get the real picture, so COST of the basics DO NOT RELATE that much to QUALITY but Craftmanship and how the company treats you is really the true test of a COBRA SELCTION NOT MONEY. Some noted that computers are a part of this and makes the cars better, great for keeping records, design, and communications, but NO COBRA replica/kit manufacturer has a body laid up with computers, or frames welded by computers, if I am wrong on that one let me know, and I'll get back on my mule and go home..
grumpy