[cobraviper_99]

Thanks, Brent. I think what has happened in the course of this thread is that somehow my position has been misconstrued. All I came with was an opinion. I found it interesting that in the history of unscrupulous automotive front men ( and there have been many), their tainted reputations and in some instances felonious business practices failed to diminish the loyalty and enthusiasm of those who were drawn to their cars. Is that so convoluted a scenario?

If you were to rifle back through the innumerable posts on this board that address such topics as "What replica should I build/buy?", or the dreaded "Is a Continuation Cobra a REAL Cobra?", you'll find many posts in which Cobra enthusiasts have an emerging reluctance to purchase a New Generation Shelby because of recent events pertaining to Shelby's lawsuits, business relationships, the SAAC divorce, etc. But I hasten to add: I'm not painting this picture with too fine a brush. I'm not making head-to-head comparisons between Shelby, Ferrari, Delorean, Bricklin, M-B. etc. At the risk of redundancy, I direct your attention to the first paragraph of this post.

What Shelby did, didn't do, when he did or didn't do it, what his motivations were--sincere or evil--who were his accomplices or victims, how crooked were his intentions, was he more culpable than Delorean, Ferrari, Bricklin, etc. or just playing by the New Rules of Business are all arguments that would take a long time to unravel. "Shelby did this but Delorean never did that....." takes us far afield from the simple idea that the disapproval within the Cobra community of what is transpiring in the corporate offices of Shelby Automobiles is affecting the desire for his cars within that community. I have yet to see that kind of ripple effect within other enthusiast groups which celebrate automobiles that had been manufactured by zealous entrepeneurs who were morally or ethically challenged.

That's the best I can do.