[computerworks]

That’s when the OTHER Carroll Shelby emerged.

Cobra prices started climbing into six figures and that definitely caught his attention. He woke up to a world where the cars he created had spawned a devoted following, shepherded by a group of enthusiasts who had assembled under the banner of the Shelby American Automobile Club (named after the company which had produced the cars—not the man himself; if Shelby had named his car the Ajax, the club for these cars would have logically called itself the Ajax Automobile Club). SAAC kept the flame burning for 20 years when nobody else cared. They kept track of every car, every change of ownership and every change of color. What had begun as a stack of 3x5 file cards maintained by a few dedicated individuals who didn’t even know one another eventually became, after untold of hours of work, a computerized database of historical data. Snippets of information came from thousands of individual sources. This information enabled SAAC to publish a series of registries over the years, documenting what individual registrars had collected, collated, sifted through, double-checked and categorized. All the while prices surged. Cars thought previously to be “gone” were pulled out from behind buildings, storage sheds and from under tarps. During this time SAAC and its registrars maintained a spotless record of honesty and integrity. This, in turn, helped the cars increase in value and desirability year after year. Without all of this work, Cobras and Shelby Mustangs would have become just so many used performance cars, sliding down the greased pole of depreciation.

The Cobras were so desired that enthusiasts without the means to purchase one did the next best thing: they made their own. Companies soon sprouted up filling this demand for “Cobra replicas.” Some were crude kit cars but others were excellent representations, and before long a whole subculture grew up around them. Slowly these cars came to be accepted. Some would even say that their presence contributed to the high level of interest in the originals. Shelby’s first inclination was to move in and get a piece of the action. “I’ll sue the SOBs” was his battle cry. But once in court he learned that if you let your claim to a car’s name or shape go without protection you don’t own it forever and Shelby became no stranger to the inside of courtrooms. He eventually started building his own Cobra replicas; if he couldn’t sue these upstarts out of business he would compete with them and by putting his name on “his” cars and running the rest of them out of town. But the Cobra was, by then, too much of a legend. So many people wanted one that there was room for Shelby as well as a dozen other companies creating passable copies.

While he was involved once again in the Cobra market, Shelby realized that those maintaining the records held the key to history. He saw the power of the registry. And he also saw a potential revenue stream that SAAC was not tapping into. These fools were giving things away which club members would surely pay for. If someone was interested in getting a report on the history of a car that was for sale, they would gladly pay for that service. If someone owned a car and wanted it “officially” authenticated (think “Marti Report”) that was worth something. If an owner needed a letter verifying the value of his or her car for an insurance company or as collateral for a loan, it could be provided—for a price. SAAC was letting all that potential income slip through its fingers.

Wrestling control away could be a simple matter of putting them out of business and then just taking over. The first step would be to start a competing organization. This was greatly simplified by wrapping it around the latest generation of Shelby Mustangs. “Team Shelby” would provide the perfect springboard. After getting it up and running, the next step would be to expand it to include the “vintage Shelby” cars. A registry for the current generation of cars could be easily started because factory records already existed. Who cares if these new cars have yet to acquire any history? Expanding this registry to include the original cars would be a logical next step. Taking over SAAC’s records might even be accomplished through the courts. After all, this small organization surely didn’t have the resources to muster a multi-hundred thousand-dollar legal defense which might take years to litigate. Shelby actually called each registrar personally to take their temperature. Should anything happen to SAAC, they would be welcome to bring their records and work for him. He would even pay them. One was offered a new GT500. Shelby was stunned when none rose to take the bait. While this was happening, he was directing that the licensing agreement he had with SAAC be terminated. If they wouldn’t walk the plank on their own, maybe he would give them a little shove.

Once Shelby became more involved with cars, in the 1980s, the agreement he had with SAAC was based on a handshake. SAAC could use his name and likeness in the promotion and operation of the club. In the 1990s when his licensing company was chasing everyone who produced anything he had trademarked, SAAC received an official 12-page licensing agreement. “Why do we need this?” we asked him. “Don’t worry,” we were told, “it doesn’t change anything. It just keeps my lawyers happy.” Sometime later we learned how to spell “naïve.” Yes, we’ve met the second Carroll Shelby and we can’t say as we like him very much.


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