3rd year of production?

[Alloy Dave]

I just saw on another forum someone say that they have confirmed a 3rd year of production...here is the direct quote.

 

"The third year was optional(always).It has been negotiated and it is going to happen."

 

Has anyone else heard this? I'm leery of believing this without confirmation. If true...I think it's good news. :happy feet:

 

Dave

[Daz]

I just saw on another forum someone say that they have confirmed a 3rd year of production...here is the direct quote.

 

"The third year was optional(always).It has been negotiated and it is going to happen."

 

Has anyone else heard this? I'm leery of believing this without confirmation. If true...I think it's good news. :happy feet:

 

Dave

 

 

It's entirely possible as Ford have pushed back a refresh of the base Mustang by a year to 2009.

[5.4 Shelby]

I just saw on another forum someone say that they have confirmed a 3rd year of production...here is the direct quote.

 

"The third year was optional(always).It has been negotiated and it is going to happen."

 

Has anyone else heard this? I'm leery of believing this without confirmation. If true...I think it's good news. :happy feet:

 

Dave

 

It may be rumor, but, it is popping up more and more. R&T and 5.0 Mustang both just quoted 3 years. One of the dealers I have been talking to told me that about a month ago. I just brushed it off as not knowing. MAybe he was right.

[68fastback]

I just saw on another forum someone say that they have confirmed a 3rd year of production...here is the direct quote.

 

"The third year was optional(always).It has been negotiated and it is going to happen."

 

Has anyone else heard this? I'm leery of believing this without confirmation. If true...I think it's good news. :happy feet:

 

Dave

 

 

.

That would seem to be consistent with the fellow (D.Boone, I think) who posted a couple of days ago that a friend confirmed order from Ford for an additional 3000 hard parts (car won't run without it) for early 2008.

 

.

[flattusmaximus78]

Red it in 5.0 magazine I believe.

[ColdwaterHotrod]

It may be rumor, but, it is popping up more and more. R&T and 5.0 Mustang both just quoted 3 years. One of the dealers I have been talking to told me that about a month ago. I just brushed it off as not knowing. MAybe he was right.

 

even a broken clock is correct 2X's a day (unless it's a digital)

[KingCobra]

With so many other projects in the wings, and a re-fresh of the Mustang

 

bodystyle in 2009. It doesn't make sense to me to continue a limited production

car with the old body style past the re-fresh date.

 

But, who knows!!!

 

If you can swing 2007-08, then I wouldn't gamble on a third year of production.

 

 

KingCobra.

[Five Oh B]

Our contract with SVT is for 2007 and 2008 only, so Ford has not communicated a 3rd year to dealers yet, but that would not be unusual for dealers to get the news after the general public.

[68fastback]

B)-->

QUOTE(Five Oh B @ Jun 6 2006, 09:45 PM) 18619[/snapback]

Our contract with SVT is for 2007 and 2008 only, so Ford has not communicated a 3rd year to dealers yet, but that would not be unusual for dealers to get the news after the general public.

 

 

.

 

A couple of things I've heard suggest the '09 model change is more likely to move to '10 -- I'd bet that depends on what the competition does too, but ...who knows. A hot rumor at Flat Rock is that the Mustang is leaving there (and going to where the panthers are currently made -- I forget where that is) to accommodate more capacity for the stangs in the future. Supposedly Mazda wants to buy out Ford's share in AAI Flat Rock, so the move would serve both purposes. Now, just thinking our loud, the panthers (CrownVic/GMarq/LC) won't ramp down abruptly even if cancelled for public sales tomorrow, since there's still around 70K/year government sales of police cruisers and other specialty/fleet and nothing new yet to convert that base to. So that would seem to support '10 as well for the new Stang since it's highly unlikely Ford will re fit Flat Rock for the new model then move line the next year, and little chance the panthers will stop rolling before then.

 

Also with the competition starting to play in '09, Ford would want to be ready on the new line in '10 with an answer (new 'stang), not concurrently which would increase risk for the incumbent and waste advertising. It might make sense also that a low-volume '08/'09 flavor-of-the-year (Boss?) stay at Flat Rock while the base 'stang production moves. That would leave capacity for the flavor-of-the -year AND a 3rd year GT500 (if so desired) on its native line. And since Flat Rock is so flexible, it would let Mazda ramp up at the same time to the extent base capacity moves out. All fits nicely, at least (as they say) in theory. Anyhow, just some thoughts and scattered info/rumors. We shall see.

 

One thing I find intrigueing is that if the GT500 with its price points actually hits around 21K units over 3 years, then that opens the door for some very special goodies in the future, because I don't think anyone at Ford thought there would be this much demand at this price point (asuming it sustains it). I sure hope it does, because it might permit Ford to move the hi-po variants to a whole 'nother design point in the future -- wishfull thinking, I admit, but for a 'vette killer to be possible (low weight, balance), there has to be a substantial hi-price-point market to justify the investment. And what GM and DCX do might provide further insight on that.

 

Ok, I'll pull myself down out of the clouds now (or at least I'll try) -- have been brainwashed for too long now..... ;-)

 

...in the meantime...

 

.

[Five Oh B]

Panthers are built in Canada. I love Canada, but Mustang is an American icon so I'd really prefer that its production (at least the finally assembly) be done in the USA.

 

I really like the new Ford Fusion V6, but I find it ironic that the Japanese chassis (Mazda 6) is now under an American nameplate (Fusion) and assembled in Mexico (albeit just 10 miles over the border from Texas).

[dtharmon633]

B)-->

QUOTE(Five Oh B @ Jun 7 2006, 11:59 AM) 18732[/snapback]

Panthers are built in Canada. I love Canada, but Mustang is an American icon so I'd really prefer that its production (at least the finally assembly) be done in the USA.

 

I really like the new Ford Fusion V6, but I find it ironic that the Japanese chassis (Mazda 6) is now under an American nameplate (Fusion) and assembled in Mexico (albeit just 10 miles over the border from Texas).

 

 

Now, Now you know Ford is the largest stakeholder of Mazda. It essentially owns Mazda. FYI-you can buy a Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, as well as the usually mix of FLM vehicles, on employee pricing plans.

[68fastback]

name='Five Oh B' date='Jun 7 2006, 11:59 AM' post='18732']

Panthers are built in Canada. I love Canada, but Mustang is an American icon so I'd really prefer that its production (at least the finally assembly) be done in the USA.

 

I really like the new Ford Fusion V6, but I find it ironic that the Japanese chassis (Mazda 6) is now under an American nameplate (Fusion) and assembled in Mexico (albeit just 10 miles over the border from Texas).

 

.

hmmm, thanks, Five Oh ...hadn't thought about that since I didn't realize panthers were from Canada... so the Fusion could also go down Flat Rock with 'stangs and mazda6 (not that it would, but it could). Actually, Ford collaborates heavily with Mazda on design... my understanding is that the hardpoints of Mazda 3s and 6s were both designed to be portable to Ford needs from the getgo, though I'm suprised the new Focus is taking so long whereas the mazda3 are out for, what ..2 years already? Maybe Ford doesn't want to mess with with the Focus while it's still competitive (though I do miss the SVT). Fusion SVT will be a winer (if it happens) -- what a great platform to start with and there's a lot of buyers who ache for a family ride that rocks!

.

[94gt]

:D Beyond the shadow of a doubt yes, whether there is a refresh or not. If any of you saw the shelby video on youtube from san diego with the jay o connell interview he directly said they are working on more versions of the gt500. Within two years the only other possibility is the gt500r which HTT has said in interviews he has interest in but such a limited production car could not be gauranteed. Caroll Shelby in a recent interview when asked about the new gt500 he said will be associated with the mustang till he is horizontal. Look, in 2009 the camaro and challenger supposedly 2008.5 are likely to go into production if they haven't already. With this kind of competition we will not see the return of the mustang cobra. The boss is the 5.4 without the supercharger so 400 horses with a little tweaking. A lot of word has come down to a push back of the 2009 refresh to 2010. The people at ford are not stupid. Insiders have said there are a lot of great shelby autos coming you just have to be patient. The shelby's won't last forever but 2009 will not be the year they dissappear.

[68fastback]

:D Beyond the shadow of a doubt yes, whether there is a refresh or not. If any of you saw the shelby video on youtube from san diego with the jay o connell interview he directly said they are working on more versions of the gt500. Within two years the only other possibility is the gt500r which HTT has said in interviews he has interest in but such a limited production car could not be gauranteed. Caroll Shelby in a recent interview when asked about the new gt500 he said will be associated with the mustang till he is horizontal. Look, in 2009 the camaro and challenger supposedly 2008.5 are likely to go into production if they haven't already. With this kind of competition we will not see the return of the mustang cobra. The boss is the 5.4 without the supercharger so 400 horses with a little tweaking. A lot of word has come down to a push back of the 2009 refresh to 2010. The people at ford are not stupid. Insiders have said there are a lot of great shelby autos coming you just have to be patient. The shelby's won't last forever but 2009 will not be the year they dissappear.

 

.

 

...and a Shelby person let slip that they (i.e. not Ford) will do the GT500KR, whihc I've predicted all along because that ws the car that caused the Ford-Shelby rift when Ford decided to do the Shelby themselves and then started slipping the 428SCJ in the mustang at half-year. So, heritage-wise there HAS TO be a KR and Shelby HAS TO be who does it, in my opinion. That says low volume and higher price, but also might include a few hundred pounds of lightening. The blown alum 4.7 Saleen stage-3 is 3550lbs and 53/47wd; a KR w/alum 5.4 would be one quick mutha. And, while dreaming, a rear transaxle IRS would make my day! and get w/d damn close to 50/50.

 

.

[STSVT]

I just saw on another forum someone say that they have confirmed a 3rd year of production...here is the direct quote.

 

"The third year was optional(always).It has been negotiated and it is going to happen."

 

Has anyone else heard this? I'm leery of believing this without confirmation. If true...I think it's good news. :happy feet:

 

Dave

 

R&T and 5.0 magazines both stated there would be a third year of production for the GT500 I called ford performance they did not have any info at the time. I hope they will build more

[DVS2XS]

68fastback - Doesn't the KR/"King of the Road" name belong to Ford, not Shelby?

[MSRPSHELBY]

I thought Roger Miller did. Trailer for sale or rent.

[DVS2XS]

I think is it great how many cars in the 60's were named like the KR, Judge, RoadRunner, Boss, etc. after items in the period's lexicon.

 

But since the 1968 GT500 KR was built at Ford - not Shelby American - can SA use the term KR without license from Ford?

[PhotoRick]

A third year of the GT500 ....

 

Everyone who is now paying mega sticker plus .... will have lost it all by the third year. Maybe even by the second year.

[68fastback]

Car and driver and 5.0 magazines both stated there would be a third year of production for the GT500 I called ford performance they did not have any info at the time. I hope they will build more

 

 

yeah, R&T said the same thing... then again could have all heard it at the same press briefing before they got to play with the pre-productiojn units... but I would think if Ford said that, they meant it.

 

And a 3rd year seems to be directly supported by the fellow in another thread whose friend assured him Ford placed additional order of 3000 for '08 and it's was for GT500 hard-parts. Who knows, could be for a 500KR since the base Shelby would work off is likely the same.

[442forever(noolds)]

rooms to rent 50 cents................

[68fastback]

68fastback - Doesn't the KR/"King of the Road" name belong to Ford, not Shelby?

 

 

Devious, Amy at Shelby Autos said that Shelby owns GT, GT500 and all derivatives (and she called out GT500xx as an example). She said Shelby licenses those marques to Ford but that Shelby and Ford both own the Cobra marque, Shelby for vintage and Ford for modern.

 

--------------------------------------

 

She also told someone there's a lot more coming from Shelby and Ford. She was begged repeatedly to give some details on GT500KR or anything that Shelby would actually be doing (as opposed to Ford with Shelby name). All she would say is that we should be patient a little while longer and that there's a lot more coming ....but she did mention that a GT500KR would be done by Shelby, and not Ford. It wasn't clear whether she meant it was definate vs if it's done at all it would be Shelby who does it. The questioner unsuccessfully tried to get more out of her but I got the impression from the dialog that she meant there would be a GT500KR and it would be done by Shelby. I think she realized she already said more than she intended at that point because no one since that has been successful in getting any additional specifics from her or Rich Specman on any future plans (that I'm aware of).

 

I asked Specman some Qs on the GT-H buildout and the possibility of a CS8 to complement the CS6. He told me the GT-H run is about half complete, CS6 kits are in testing, he implied CS6s (not kits) would follow, but I could not get even a whif on a CS8 -- all he would say to that was that he can't say anything at this point for obvious reasons.

 

All I got for sure is that as the GT-H ramps down in the next several weeks, the CS6 will ramp up. Now, realistically, the folks who are testing and fitting those up (over and above the 40-ish who do the CS Cobras)would need roll to something new after the CS6, like a CS8 (if they do one) and/or a GT500KR. I don't see any point in losing that talent for lack of new stuff, and I can't imagine what other cars they might be up to (regardless of what they might name them) besides a lighter weight road car (CS8-like) and an ultimate Shelby (500KR). I mean, it doesn't make any sense to have Shelby do a Boss/mach/bullit since those aren't Shelby marques and, if contracted to them, all they would add is more expense than Ford -- there's no 'line' in LasVegas... it's flat floor, by-hand operation.

 

I can't see any other work flow that makes sense besides GT-H, CS6, [CS8-like], [GT500KR-like] .... and notice that they all are in order of increasing build complexity -- exactly how you would go about building a durable team over the '05 to '08 timeframe (just my guess, of course).

 

.

[DVS2XS]

Thanks, good info. I guess I didn't make the connection that a KR is a GT500 derivative, not a seperate license.

[jrichard]

Devious, Amy at Shelby Autos said that ...

.

 

 

Who is Amy? Meaning, what is her title at Shelby?

[JETSOLVER]

 

I mean, it doesn't make any sense to have Shelby do a Boss/mach/bullit since those aren't Shelby marques and, if contracted to them, all they would add is more expense than Ford -- there's no 'line' in LasVegas... it's flat floor, by-hand operation.

 

I can't see any other work flow that makes sense besides GT-H, CS6, [CS8-like], [GT500KR-like] .... and notice that they all are in order of increasing build complexity -- exactly how you would go about building a durable team over the '05 to '08 timeframe (just my guess, of course).

 

 

Has anybody chewed on the fact that these anticipated GT500KR's would come from the existing build of 9000+ cars? Right now I cna't see Ford giving up more than a very few cars as they have stoked dealers and apparently unquenchable demand for the car they are building. Just doesnt' seem likely they would put aside x number of cars just to ship them cross country and tie them up in a " all they would add is more expense than Ford -- there's no 'line' in LasVegas... it's flat floor, by-hand operation." :wacko:

[68fastback]

Thanks, good info. I guess I didn't make the connection that a KR is a GT500 derivative, not a seperate license.

 

.

Actually I think it would be a separate license (if Ford were to do a GT500KR) since Shelby owns all derivatives of GT/GTnnn marques, and I believe any derivative would require their approval/license ...based on what Amy had said.

.

[68fastback]

Has anybody chewed on the fact that these anticipated GT500KR's would come from the existing build of 9000+ cars? Right now I cna't see Ford giving up more than a very few cars as they have stoked dealers and apparently unquenchable demand for the car they are building. Just doesnt' seem likely they would put aside x number of cars just to ship them cross country and tie them up in a " all they would add is more expense than Ford -- there's no 'line' in LasVegas... it's flat floor, by-hand operation." :wacko:

 

 

Just guessing, but possibly that's the additional (over and above existing GT500 parts contract) 3000 hard-parts Ford ordered for delievery 1Q08 that's talked about in another thread -- or may just be Ford planning to make 3000 more GT500s..?

 

 

Who is Amy? Meaning, what is her title at Shelby?

 

 

don't know... she seems to be a spokesperson...

 

 

fyi... here's a link to a pic of the Shelby Autos team in Las Vegas

Shelby Autos team

 

They also claim to be presently working (since at least April) on a Shelby supercharger kit for the 'stang GT. That could actually be a prelude to a CS8 in the future, tho they have refused to comment at all on a CS8 explicitly (but also have not denied it).

.

 

...

[JETSOLVER]

Just guessing, but possibly that's the additional (over and above existing GT500 parts contract) 3000 hard-parts Ford ordered for delievery 1Q08 that's talked about in another thread -- or may just be Ford planning to make 3000 more GT500s..?..

 

I would be willing to bet that they will not offer turn key cars. They(and all the other "tuners") will want your car and add/stick a bunch of sortof engineered parts on the thing. Why would Ford go to the trouble of partnering with the aftermarket(Whipple, possibly others)only to undercut themselves at the parts department? The dealers would scream bloody blue murder if they couldn't score the labour charge for installing the FRPP parts after paying the $ to get certified to sell this car. I still think it will prove a bad idea to open this up to all dealers. Prove me wrong. edit. I also forgot about the fact that Hau Thai-Tang said that Ford/SVT would very much like to do a higher performance version of the car. How could letting Shelby American have a bunch of cars possibly make sense in that light? Ford does the engineering and hands the profit to another company? No way.

[jrichard]

I'm a little confused...which isn't very unusual.

 

I asked who Amy is because it seems like a lot of this notion that Shelby will produce the KR is based on a conversation 68fastback had with Amy (of Shelby). Is this correct?

 

If it is, then Amy is the source...not Shelby. And if I had a dollar for every time I had an assistant or receptionist unintentionally give out mis-information, I'd buy a GT instead of a GT500.

 

On the surface, it absolutely does not make sense for Ford to partner with Shelby in this way. And, frankly, it doesn't look to make sense for Shelby to do it, either. Ford is about volume and can make a great profit by pumping out a higher performance GT500 with the KR label. If you're Shelby, what a great way to make a decent profit with NO risk...just license the GT500KR label. Why make the easy money by licensing the GT500 name and not make the easy money licensing the KR name?

 

Obvioulsy, without knowing the details of the agreement between Ford and Shelby, this is all speculation.

[DutchGT500]

I rather have a new Mach 1 or Boss in 2009. Shelby for two years only.