[gary osborne]

Freddie, Freddie, Freddie my brotha,

There is a term used in advertising called "Puffing". It is a reference to small, seemingly irrelivant and unsupportable claims advertisers make that almost everyone (consumers and the like) guesses is balogna. Maybe a little of that has been done here. I do not think that anyone intended to say that 90% of SPF owners had switched. That would be pure foolishness and outright lies. What I THINK was said / meant is that 90% of all SPF owners who have visited this factory have switched. First that is unprovable. Second, the claim is meaningless. IF a SPF owner was at the "Plant" looking it would likely mean that that ONE SPF owner was looking for something different already for WHATEVER reason. He or she would hardly be "representative" of SPF owners making any ratios offered totally irrelevant even if accurate. Maybe he or she wanted something faster and prettier. Maybe they wanted a junker to slam into the walls at the track. Maybe looking for something to cut in half and make a couch from. Who knows? The other missing fact is how many. If ten came in and nine bought that would be 90% but I don't think 9 out of 2000 total SPF owners/drivers is meaningful. If 10 came in and 1 bought and 8 others came really really close to buying, maybe one could say 90%. Again, who knows?

The bottom line is that while owners of these cars (regardless of manufacturer) should be able to say whatever it is they think without fear of retribution (i.e. BB vs SB, Red vs Blue, My Cobra can beat up your Cobra), --- manufacturers better be prepared to back up the "Mine is Best" comments and leave the "puffing" at home. Owners bragging is just pride of ownership. Manufacturers bragging is probably bad business tactics on a free public forum. Want to brag? Buy an ad, pay by the word and say whatever ya want. Just watch out for libel and crossing the "Truth in Advertising" line.

It seems to me (Look out -- here comes another unsuppotable and uninformed OPINION) that most of the manufacturers and dealers that use this or similar forums to "sell" their products are typically new comers trying to grab a piece of the pie and squeeze some free advertising out because they aren't making enough money to keep their heads above water. Typically, these businesses dry up, blow away in the wind and are forgotten until the next start-up comes along who THINKS they have built a better mousetrap. Every once in a while, one is right and knocks the cover off the ball. Here's to ALL the companies hitting home runs and doing it with class.