[Historybuff]

There was a reference to Modena and how Ferrari cracked down on
those clubs (fan clubs) that were using the Ferrari flag, etc. There was much anguish at the time on how could they stomp on those who were their fans? But you have to look at it from Ferrari's viewpoint. Ferrari executives would go to events and see thousands of cheap and sleazy Ferrari flags, far below Ferrari quality, as well as T-shirts and god knows what else. Meanwhile here they are trying to make deals to license chromometric Ferrari watches, and high quality model cars as well as quality clothing. The potential licensee buyers were understandably wary--saying "How can we make a $5000 watch when you allow these ten cent flags?" So Ferrari had to clean up its act, make sure only quality products carry the Ferrari image. This even extended to who they choose as dealers. I know one car dealership with lots of money in one of the premier rich folks' towns that couldn't get a Ferrari dealership because there were rumors (unproven) of where their original grubstake money came from.Ferrari wanted to protect their reputation above all, more than they wanted a dealership in a town where every house is worth $1 million plus. So in protecting the brand, what Shelby's marketing effort is aimed at now is trying to become more professional so that there are no tacky affiliations to bring down the brand image. Ferrari even went to the extent of creating a special car, I think it's called the FXX, basically a modified Enzo, and started a program involving wealthy Ferrari owners being part of the development team, inviting them over to Modena to test the cars they sell them for over a million bucks. You can't do stuff like that if what consumers see is too tacky. If you present a quality image, you can have programs like that. I think Shelby is a long way from having as sterling an image as Ferrari but basically that's why the changeover, to try to professionalize the image so they can have higher quality licensees. It all benefits Shelby owners in the long run if the image is upgraded and professional.

PS I am not on Amy's payroll, just an observer of marketing tactics. My idol as far as a successful businessman is Ralph Lauren.