[marcocsx3121]

As someone who's been involved with Cobras and Cobra-oriented organizations from the very early days, I've found this thread both fascinating and a bit of deja vu. I was one of the charter members of the Shelby Owners Association, having attended the first meeting in January 1972. The SOA morphed into the SAAC a few years later, by which time I had 1. resigned from the SOA and 2. sold the Cobra.

I left the SOA when it became apparent that the original president, a gentleman by the name of Dave Bythewood, was using his position for personal gain. He was doing this by intercepting ads for both complete cars and choice parts submitted to the Club newsletter and buying them or brokering sales before they were ever offered to the membership as a whole. The model of the Club as a generator of personal revenue was completed when the SAAC broke cover as a "for-profit" organization. The expansion of the club's charter to include such strange devices as Shelby Dodge GLH turbos was a pretty transparent ploy to cast a wider net for membership dues.

Given all that, I'm convinced this new "club", like the SAAC, is about money and only money. The reputation and collectability of the original Shelby cars will do fine without either organization.