When is a limited edition truly limited?

[Historybuff]

Read in the Detroit Free Press that a customer is suing Ford for misleading how many of the Roush Stage 3 Blackjack would be made. The buyer thought he was buying one of 100 but a New York man who paid $58K for his car says another 100 were made to be sold in 2008.

Seems like Shelby avoided stepping into the same pile of horse puckey with the KR by correcting Ford immediately when Ford said there would be a finite number of the KRs and Shelby said he never agreed to any number, implying the number to be made would be dependent on sales.

I think if an automaker is going to sell a car for top price based upon saying in print only a certain number would be made, then for that model year they should stick to that number. Ford never promised how many of the '05-'06 Ford GTs they would make but it turned out they made less than they thought, owing to not being able to make a 2004 model. I think they missed their chance to make a LeMans commemorative model more special by not numbering just that model in a separate subseries, say 1 to 100 or doing that with the Gulf Mirage livery cars.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

The same thing happened in 03 and 04 with the new Mach I.... Ford said they would build 4000 in 03 and that would be it, but they sold out and decided to do it again in 04, pi$$ed off a lot of 03 owners that had plans to keep the cars for collector purposes.... I personally know of two owners that sold their cars when the 04 models came out..........

David

[puppster]

I have a rule about not collecting "collectable" things. Things generally become really desirable for reasons that are intangible when new. Whenever somebody slaps a label on a product that says "limited edition" or "collectable," I run the other way. I hope this guy enjoys his Blackjack, and drives it every day. That's how he'll get his money's worth.

Jeff

[Mark IV]

Anyone who buys a "Limited Edition" auto for investment purposes deserves to get boned! They are only "limited" by the number that can be sold!

[w-lewis]

I don't know why anyone would sue Ford over Blackjack production numbers. Roush sets their production numbers, not Ford.

[kris-kincaid]

Yeah, why should Ford and Roush have integrity.

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Anyone who buys a "Limited Edition" auto for investment purposes deserves to get boned! They are only "limited" by the number that can be sold!

[PANAVIA]

puke.... this whole idea of manufactured limited editions; AKA ; we are only making "this many" and if they sell out at a high margin, we will make them again!

the only place this really makes sense is when a manufacturer is truly NOT going to make something any longer and the Last good ones are done the best they can be....