DISCLAIMERHi. Congratulations, you have hit one of my buttons. I want you to keep in mind that this is not in any way directed at you, and that I'm simply venting. Do not take this personally. It's not directed at you in any way, shape or form. Don't get the wrong idea. Don't come back with any kind of attack - I don't mean this to start any kind of flame war. There will be quite a bit of name-calling and use of the word 'stupid' in the following diatribe. If someone talking from the top of a pulpit in any way offends you, please read no further.END OF DISCLAIMER.
Carroll Shelby had some reasonable success back in the sixties. He was a failed chicken farmer who became a failed race car driver - retiring because of a heart condition. He started selling tires out of Dean Moon's shop...that should tell you something.
By an incredibly lucky happenstance, he was in the right place at the right time, and convinced AC Cars that he had an engine that he could drop in to their nimble little roadster (AC had just lost Bristol as their engine supplier) - even though he really didn't have an engine or an agreement with anyone. Shelby also convinced Ford that he had a car that he'd like to drop a Ford engine into - even though at the time he didn't really have a car or an agreement with anyone.
Thus was born the Cobra. Shelby has said that the word "Cobra" came to him in a dream, and he wrote it down on a notepad that he kept by his bed. He has also said that that story was a load of manure, and that it never happened.
It wasn't Shelby that made the 289 Cobra the legend that it was, it was the team of people behind the car - the mechanics and the racers. Shelby was a guy with an idea. He continued racing Cobras right up to the time they became unprofitable. Then he dropped them, shut the doors, and never looked back.
Shelby had nothing to do with the kit car industry at all. The father of the Cobra replica was Steve Arntz. The people who kept the Cobra replica industry alive were the faithful; Shelby had nothing to do with the Cobra after it became unprofitable.
Then, suddenly, in 1994, Shelby decided to get back into the kit car industry. He has done nothing but berate and attack everyone who has ever manufactured a Cobra replica, even going to the point of suing a few of them ... and losing horribly each time. He has called other manufacturers "horse thieves and liars," saying that they 'stole' his car. He has put "trade dress" on the bottom of advertisements for his replica, although he had nothing at all to do with the body shape of the Cobra; it was designed by AC. The chassis was designed by John Tojiero. The chassis was updated by Ford. His replica is nothing more than a copy of a Hi-Tech replica. His fiberglass Cobra is a copy of a copy. His aluminum Cobra is nothing more than a re-badged Kirkham that he charges an arm and a leg for. Have you seen a Shelby assembly manual? No? Neither has anyone else.
What about those 'continuation' Cobras? Hmm? A bunch of chassis that he had laying around since the sixties? Well, according to AC records, every chassis was accounted for; there were no chassis numbers left after the final run of cars. Continuation my ass; they were a bunch of chassis he made up, put outside to weather, and then said "whoa, where did these come from?" and then slapped a $400K price tag on the cars.
And let's talk about his Heart Foundation. The records are public. Look at how much money has gone through the "charity." TONS of money. BUCKETS of money. And, although millions and millions and MILLIONS of dollars have flowed freely through the floodgates, there's one question that nobody seems to want to answer: how many children has the Shelby Childrens Heart Fund actually helped? Well? Anybody know the answer? Anyone? Beuller? Oh, that's right...at last count there were around 10 kids who received help, for an estimated $25 million dollars. Ten kids. Twenty-five million. You do the math (a heart operation and maintenance can cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars ten kids, $200K each, $2M dollars total). Where's the other money? The Twenty-Three MILLION dollars? Administrative expenses.
Shelby helped out with a few Chrysler products by slapping his name on them. He also was part of the Viper Development team. If you talk to Chrysler today, they'll disavow any knowledge of his actions, to the point of shredding paper that has his name on it. He's hard to find in Viper lore; they don't want to be associated with him.
Shelby sued Ford to get the Cobra name. An L.A. Judge declared the Cobra name to be public domain. Shelby and Ford (with a briefcase) had a meeting. Shelby (with a briefcase) and Ford told the judge they wanted the judgment set aside after the meeting. The Cobra name was public domain. Then, later, Shelby sued Cobra replica manufacturers for alluding to the fact that their Cobra replicas were ... Cobra replicas. He - the guy who knew that the Cobra name would become public domain if the judge decided properly - sued people over the name.
Shelby has repeatedly said that he asked replica manufacturers to donate $1K from the sale of each kit or car to his heart fund and he'd offer an endorsement (slapping a Shelby name) on that kit. The kit car industry said "sure!" He immediately withdrew his offer. Later, he'd say that not one manufacturer stepped up to the plate. I counted five, and that was without really getting into it...
Shelby also said that he wanted to get trade dress rights to the Cobra (keep in mind that he continues to put "trade dress" at the bottom of his advertisements, although he really doesn't and can't get those rights; he didn't design the car). Had he pursued those rights back in the 60s he would not have got them; the car was designed by AC. BUT - and this is a big but - he didn't pursue the rights 40 years ago. They weren't profitable. His argument that the Cobra is a unique vehicle so he should get the rights falls on deaf ears. He also has argued in the past - when confronted with the Cobra not being unique because 40 to 60 companies produce replicas of the car - that he didn't know the replica industry existed 'until recently.' An interesting argument, and it might have even held up ... had he not appeared on so many publications standing next to replicas...and even appeared on the cover of Popular Mechanics DRIVING a replica.
But I digress. Let's talk about the Gone In Sixty Seconds Eleanor Mustang. It was designed by a production company in Hollywood. It was built by a car modifier in Hollywood for a movie by Jerry Bruckheimer (who, by the way, has a REAL Shelby GT500 that was modified to look like Eleanor for the movie). Shelby had NOTHING at all to do with the car from the movie. The car from the movie looked nothing like a GT500. Know why? Because the movie company was afraid that Shelby would sue them if they used a real car. Shelby likes to sue people. So they made a car that would not look like a GT500.
Now, a company from Texas is building a GT500 that resembles the movie car. They're calling it a GT500E - the "E" being for "Eleanor." Shelby poses by the car for the camera. Shelby endorses the car.
People - and there are apparently a number of gullible people out there that will shell out butt-loads of money when they see the word "Shelby" attached to anything. Look at the guys who bought the "continuation" cars. Look at the idiots who buy a Kirkham sold through Shelby (for a substantial markup, of course!) and claim that it's a Shelby and is better than a Kirkham. Look at the stupid, dumbass, knuckleheads who buy Shelby kit-cars and claim that they're "real" Shelbys, when - in fact - they're just another kit, designed by someone else, with the Shelby name slapped on it. - are idiots.
The GT500E isn't a real Shelby any more than a Kirkham is a real Shelby. In 1967 Ford sold brand new, undriven, non rusty Mustangs to Shelby American. They added some fiberglass, a new grille opening with two center-mounted lights (which, being the engineering geniuses that they were, impeded airflow to the radiator and caused the cars to overheat), a roll bar, some new badges, a different trunk, and Thunderbird taillights. The 1967 and 1968 Shelbys are - in my opinion - the best looking, most bitchin' Shelby Mustangs ever made. They are awe-inspiring.
The 'new' GT500E has nothing at all in common with the legendary Shelbys of the sixties. They will - like the 'new Cobras' being produced by Shelby - never ever attain the status or the value of the older cars. They are nothing more than a marketing ploy. They're only cars with crappy Shelby endorsements stuck on them to make them look like they're worth something. Further, the GT500 - the REAL GT500 - came with a 428 Police Interceptor motor. The GT350 came with a 289. NONE of the replicas come with anything near that.
What makes the old Shelbys magical does not exist on the new Shelbys. The new Shelbys do not have the pedigree necessary to make them worth anything. They have no history. You don't just slap a name on a car and - viola! - it's a Shelby! Remember, Shelby didn't design the Gone in Sixty Seconds car. He didn't produce the parts. He didn't have anything to do with the car. He doesn't even build the new cars. They're built from old, used-up Mustangs. If you can put the car together yourself for less than $20K what makes the GT500E worth anything more than that amount? The fact that some snake-oil salesman didn't see the car, didn't have anything to do with the car, and slapped you with a bill for an extra $100K? If and when I see the owner of a GT500E standing proudly next to his car saying that he picked it up for $120K, I won't see a guy with a Shelby, I'll see an idiot who paid $100K to get butt ****ed. Butt ****ed with a car and no Vasoline. That's gotta hurt. .
Are the GT500Es real Shelbys? No. They're old Mustangs with some suspension upgrades, an engine and a body kit. If you get all of the 'stuff' and the body kit and put it on a Mustang, you'll have a car that is infinitely more valuable than the GT500E...plus, you'll have around $100K to build five more cars. Does Shelby work with the company that produces the GT500E replica? No. He poses next to a few for publicity, and then sits back in his Nevada office and collects checks from them for using his name. Anyone who believes the GT500E is worth anything more than then cost of the parts is a ****ing idiot. I have a bridge I'd like to sell them...and I'll even stick a Shelby sticker on it for them.
Are the Cobra replicas that Shelby is selling real Shelbys? No. They'll never be worth anywhere near what a real Shelby is. If you get the chance to go to a Shelby meet, the real Shelbys - the cars from the 60s - are parked in one section, and the Shelby Cobra replicas are all grouped together in another section...The $100K Shelby Cobra replica will get parked right next to the $11K Factory Five replica. Why? Because they're the same; they're a kit car.
Did Shelby invent the Cobra kit car world? No. He sold off the last pieces and shut the doors when the cars became unprofitable back in the late sixties. He had nothing at all to do with the Cobra replica until 1994 - just about 25 years after the last Cobra rolled out the door. He's a salesman. He's a huckster. He's a profiteer.
Shelby was a legend back in the 60s. Now, he's just an angry old man who does nothing but degrade his legend every time he opens his mouth.
Your pal,
Meat.
Looking for 67-68 Mustang Fastback (Eleanor)
Posted - June 08 2002 : 09:54:31 AM
