You "leaked" Ford product details before they did? That sounds like like a bunch of hooey! Who are you?
2015 GT350 Mustang Confirmed????????!!!!
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You "leaked" Ford product details before they did? That sounds like like a bunch of hooey! Who are you?
There are actually a few SVTP members who have some very deep affiliations inside the FoMoCo.
Well, if by using my name and listing my affiliations don't give a general idea who I am, Im not sure what I can reveal in a post that will help?:shrug:
My life will go on whether a 10 post member that uses the word hooey believes me or not,:beer: But welcome to the forum, and I feel honored that I am somehow worth 10% of your total input here.
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Can you say if the new GT350 is a precursor model to something faster, like a 2016 SVT Cobra?
ford acquired the shelby name for a long time, so i am not seeing a basic SVT cobra anymore for a long time. i would bet it will be another gt500. and ha, newbs
I am with a few others here. I like the S H E L B Y across the back of my car. If I did not get my 2011, I would have found a base GT cheap and did the GT350 conversion.
I think Ford is doing a great job, and if you truly are a car enthusiast. then you would appreciate what that 'chicken farmer' did for the automobile world.
I think Ford is doing a great job, and if you truly are a car enthusiast. then you would appreciate what that 'chicken farmer' did for the automobile world.
I have no idea how long Ford holds onto the Shelby branding. My initial thought has me thinking back to the progression of the GT500. Ford initially planned a 2-3 year run of GT500, but with the amount of cars flying out of the dealers, Ford was back at the table with CS, negotiating an extension for the rights to GT500 for another 5 years we know of.
This time around, my guess would be they secured the rights to equal the GT500 if it sells like the 500 did. Now I have also heard that the GT350 might be introduced as a 1 year anniversary build, and then that would open the door for the return of the SVT Cobra, or perhaps even a return to the King Cobra in a 4 banger setup. This seems like they would be throwing away a real cash cow though, and getting rights from CS Licensing may not be something they can do again at a later date. But that's just me supposing.
Ford has many different options, and from what Ive heard, they have looked very seriously at all of them.
This time around, my guess would be they secured the rights to equal the GT500 if it sells like the 500 did. Now I have also heard that the GT350 might be introduced as a 1 year anniversary build, and then that would open the door for the return of the SVT Cobra, or perhaps even a return to the King Cobra in a 4 banger setup. This seems like they would be throwing away a real cash cow though, and getting rights from CS Licensing may not be something they can do again at a later date. But that's just me supposing.
Ford has many different options, and from what Ive heard, they have looked very seriously at all of them.
Thanks for the insight...Gonna be a long and tough wait till April-->:read:
Signature quote material there:bowdown:
Now about the S550...do you think that there could be a Cobra and then a proper "R" model to take the place of the B2 Boss model? I personally would love to have a S550 Cobra/R available and the Cobra would be a "Loaded" n/a motor car and the "R" could be a base n/a car with track use the focus!:beer:
Lol- thanks. My sarcasm has unfortunately done me more harm than good in most aspects of my life.
Now, to your question- thats the whole point of the chassis upgrade, right? I can't imagine anyone at Ford taking a phenomenally great live axle high HP vehicle, and following it up with less HP and worse performance. Even equal performance would be somewhat a failure. Since we are all but sure the 5.8 has been retired, we know performance of some other function will take over. The GT350 was initially designed for just what you have in mind, and an R trim would be equal to a BOSS S. If it goes the way of SVT badging, a new R on a chassis developed for IRS sure wouldnt be a bad place to start. If you look at the history of Ford/Shelby, the 60s brought great Shelby Mustangs, and eventually Ford valued a Ford branded performance mustang over a Shelby one. With Shelby and Ford II out of the executive decision making, the real question we ask now is - Do the decision makers at Ford prefer a Shelby branded SVT, or a SVT branded Ford, or a Ford branded Ford. Carroll Shelby was replaced by the BOSS back then, John Coletti isn't around anymore in large part because Ford didnt want SVT stealing their thunder just like the first go around of performance muscle.
To me, the BEST answer is to make the ones that sell the most. Shelby sells very well. My hunch is they ride that wave till it loses its momentum. Then they have a huge arsenal of performance to bring in to replace it. We still haven't seen a true Mach comeback. King Cobra is always possible too, or simply a SVO. There are many great nameplates to choose from.
Just to throw out a thought: Anyone here think ALL the research and time that has gone into the Cobra Jet program was simply done to build a few non VIN drag cars? That whole program seems to me a testing bed for stuff we are about to see here in the s550.
A GT350 somewhere in the range of 550-600 HP NA and an IRS?! I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility. Many think the DI 5.0 is coming. I wonder if we don't see a 5.2...or something like that first.
I bet we find out REAL soon!
I think its almost a guarantee there will be a high-revving N/A road race engine upgrade. All the 302s/r cars compete in classes that, I think, forbid forced induction motors. It's all restrictor plate racing (e.g. Continental series, PWC, NASA, SCCA ). Unless Ford are going to abandon all their _success_ in road racing they will need to keep those programs alive with new offerings. Bowing out of road racing completely would contradict any future performance platform release and really threaten their credibility.
Like others have pointed out, those race programs serve as a basis for production performance vehicles and hopefully it stays that way.
How much "negotiating" would Ford have to do with Shelby? Where is Shelby without Ford? Shelby does not dictate anything to Ford. Where else is Shelby going to billboard its name? On a Buick?
i would say most of shelbys business comes from in house operations, not from letting ford run something down the assembly line with their name on it
I'm going to go out on a limb here and inject my opinion. I think my opinion correlates to a lot of the real world buyers, however. I really don't care what Ford calls the car. I don't care about the history. When I mash on the gas I want to have FUN. I highly doubt the performance of the regular 5.0 is going to keep me entertained for long and that's why I will buy the "upgrade" whatever it's called..I would venture most of us care about the performance and not the name..
It honestly blows my mind that Ford would ponder what to name their car or shell out cash to pay someone for a name. Is there a single car buyer that isn't going to buy a car because its an SVT Cobra vs a Shelby? Do these people exist? If they do exist is their an ROI for the number of these people? People bought the GT500 because its a H*LL of a car and not because it had someone's name plastered on it.
This is obviously the center of all things Ford but if we step one foot outside of this place who really cares what Ford did 20, 10, 5 or even two years ago?
It honestly blows my mind that Ford would ponder what to name their car or shell out cash to pay someone for a name. Is there a single car buyer that isn't going to buy a car because its an SVT Cobra vs a Shelby? Do these people exist? If they do exist is their an ROI for the number of these people? People bought the GT500 because its a H*LL of a car and not because it had someone's name plastered on it.
This is obviously the center of all things Ford but if we step one foot outside of this place who really cares what Ford did 20, 10, 5 or even two years ago?
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Sure there is. They're called Corvette owners. Camaro owners. Subaru owners, etc.
Of course, people don't buy cars on names alone. It must appeal to them in various ways. Looks, heritage, brand loyalty and non-performance things like that actually do matter. The marketing genius' have figured that out.
The point is, you don't care if the car says Shelby so long as it performs the way you want. Well, that branding isn't meant for you then. Some people take history and branding under consideration and I guess you could say those are the people who care about branding. Identity is important though.
Having said all that ask yourself these questions. How well would the GT500 sell if it was branded as "The Mustang 3"? Probably not very well. No matter how you slice it. Many years ago, Chevy released the NOVA in Latin America and wondered why it didn't sell. Well, NO VA in spanish means "doesn't work" or "doesn't go". I digress.
I do agree Ford need to come up with some NEW branding ideas if possible instead of re-hashing the same ones for eternity.
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Because people think that taking away Shelby is going to magically drop the price and make it more attainable. Fairytale land. Call it the shit mobile and it will still command the price it does. I see this a lot from the Terminator crowd. I however want to see SVT products without the Shelby name, only so those thinking they will be cheaper will realize they just won't be. No magic leprechauns at the end of that rainbow.
Huge misconception that many Ford enthusiasts have about Ford paying Shelby. NOT. Ford placing the SHELBY across the back of 50,000 Mustangs is a level of advertising and visibility that SAI could not come by for 100 million. Ford drives the bus here. Shelby can play ball or take a hike. Anyone who doubts any of this doesn't understand much about business. The big boys call the shots.
americansteel
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there might not be a GT350. The 500 is being debated on what ford wants to do with. ford has plans for a new SVT cobra but has ideas for some other product aswell. i know raptor production ceases soon but plans for a 9 month 2015 raptor build and thats it for the raptor. new car? new lightning from SVT? who knows. ford changes plans alot.
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