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Back From the Dead: Officials Say Ford SVT Lives On?

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JETSOLVER Team Shelby Member

JETSOLVER

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SVT as it was is dead. SVT was not a sticker and badge "brand"(remember how GM "brand managers" gave the world the Looney Tunes minivans, and crap like the AZTEC). SVT was about the total package. "By "genuine," I mean it was developed by SVT, from concept to execution, then sold through the network of 600 dedicated Ford SVT dealers, who paid to be part of SVT, sent employees to SVT training and stocked SVT parts.""It's painful to see what has happened to SVT, especially when you look at the success of Chrysler's SRT program, which in many ways mirrors what SVT was. In the grand scheme of Ford's problems, botching SVT is a small one. But to enthusiasts, it speaks volumes.

 

Nearly 10 years ago I was in Las Vegas, the first to drive the upcoming SVT Contour. John Coletti and I, en route to some all-you-can-eat buffet at a casino, were talking about GM's current strategy of hiring brand managers for each model. It was not a successful program, but I was playing devil's advocate.

 

"Maybe it's a good thing," I told Coletti, "to have someone whose job it is to be excited about the Chevrolet Cavalier."

 

Coletti thought for a moment. "But wouldn't it be better to just build cars that you didn't have to pay someone to be excited about?"

 

Yes, John, it would. And you and your team always did." Quotes Steven Cole Smith 03/06/2006Edmonds I could quote more, notably from my owners manual supplement, but this just makes me sick. They will have to rebuild SVT or something like it, but throwing away 13 years of passion behind the best cars and trucks Ford ever built makes me sick. Mr. Thai-Tang, hang your head in shame. This goes on you sir.

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SC2004arispe Team Shelby New Member

SC2004arispe

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SVT as it was is dead. SVT was not a sticker and badge "brand"(remember how GM "brand managers" gave the world the Looney Tunes minivans, and crap like the AZTEC). SVT was about the total package. "By "genuine," I mean it was developed by SVT, from concept to execution, then sold through the network of 600 dedicated Ford SVT dealers, who paid to be part of SVT, sent employees to SVT training and stocked SVT parts.""It's painful to see what has happened to SVT, especially when you look at the success of Chrysler's SRT program, which in many ways mirrors what SVT was. In the grand scheme of Ford's problems, botching SVT is a small one. But to enthusiasts, it speaks volumes.

 

Nearly 10 years ago I was in Las Vegas, the first to drive the upcoming SVT Contour. John Coletti and I, en route to some all-you-can-eat buffet at a casino, were talking about GM's current strategy of hiring brand managers for each model. It was not a successful program, but I was playing devil's advocate.

 

"Maybe it's a good thing," I told Coletti, "to have someone whose job it is to be excited about the Chevrolet Cavalier."

 

Coletti thought for a moment. "But wouldn't it be better to just build cars that you didn't have to pay someone to be excited about?"

 

Yes, John, it would. And you and your team always did." Quotes Steven Cole Smith 03/06/2006Edmonds I could quote more, notably from my owners manual supplement, but this just makes me sick. They will have to rebuild SVT or something like it, but throwing away 13 years of passion behind the best cars and trucks Ford ever built makes me sick. Mr. Thai-Tang, hang your head in shame. This goes on you sir.

 

 

 

 

Jet, you took the word out of my mouth, very well put :cry:

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68fastback Team Shelby Enthusiast

68fastback

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Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but I think what Ford did with SVT is actually just a 'holding place' due to some largely unavoidable gaps in SVT-suitable model plans. The Focus was slated for a Mazda-3 retarget, the mustang got a top-to-bottom overhaul, and the Lightning did not make any sense on a the new F150 which is 800lbs heavier than the old one. So I think Ford moved SVT into FRPP to help assure the expanded investment in FRPP will also satisfy SVT's needs as well.

 

So now we have the GT500 on the mustang, and a holding place for the Lightning on the new sport-track base (essentially a terminator) until a true Ligntning which will have to wait for something lighter than the F150 -- the new Ranger! The Focus is the largest selling car on planet earth (though F150 is largest selling vehicle in NA), so Ford is moving slowly on retargeting it, especially since it's still holding nice volumes and there are larger fish to fry in Ford's cost-control and restructuring efforts.

 

I think you'll see SVT doing more of what they used to do just as soon as the product plan rebasing gets traction and recovers from the gaps. I expect there will be a Fusion with SVT's hand in it and there will be much more turn-key packaging by FRPP complements of SVT insight and package-building experience. They'll certainly have a hand in the Boss and assuring there's man-racer trickle-down into FRPP in packages actually usable by customers other than professionals.

 

So I'm still hopefull though I certainly do share JETSOLVER's concerns.

 

Which reminds me "Where DID John Coletti go?" :)

 

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JETSOLVER Team Shelby Member

JETSOLVER

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So I'm still hopefull though I certainly do share JETSOLVER's concerns.

 

Which reminds me "Where DID John Coletti go?" :)

 

I am darn sure he isn't fishing for Tarpon off of the Key's!! I hope he is hidden away in a corner of Detroit, controlling a bunch of young intern's via intra muscular waldo's, just waiting for 'Lil Bill to fall out of his high chair. :wacko: But really, I just hope he doesn't reappear in the enemy's camp ala Lutz, because any corporate clown who hasn't figured that one out(remember,GM pushed everybody out of the way with total vapourware at the Detriot show this year), better not be in charge of product planning. Nothing kills an engineer's passion faster than being limited to part of a project. The fact that SVT skunkworks people were cut off from the company and forced to do things out of the box was what made the concept(and the larger corporate benefit)work. Do you really think that the same VERY small group who built the GT in less than 2 years would let the next car be so friggen porky? If they had a LEADER who back in early 2001 when testing running prototypes for the next COBRA stopped on the side of the road and said flat out,"this is not a COBRA. This is garbage! I want a car that breaks the mold. Not an upgrade, not bandage engineering, MAKE THIS THING A TERMINATOR! Put a damm blower on it or something!" True story. Sorry folks, this is so passionate for me because I have been a part of programs ripped apart by misguided efforts, and this is absolutly the same thing.
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68fastback Team Shelby Enthusiast

68fastback

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I am darn sure he isn't fishing for Tarpon off of the Key's!! I hope he is hidden away in a corner of Detroit, controlling a bunch of young intern's via intra muscular waldo's, just waiting for 'Lil Bill to fall out of his high chair. :wacko: But really, I just hope he doesn't reappear in the enemy's camp ala Lutz, because any corporate clown who hasn't figured that one out(remember,GM pushed everybody out of the way with total vapourware at the Detriot show this year), better not be in charge of product planning. Nothing kills an engineer's passion faster than being limited to part of a project. The fact that SVT skunkworks people were cut off from the company and forced to do things out of the box was what made the concept(and the larger corporate benefit)work. Do you really think that the same VERY small group who built the GT in less than 2 years would let the next car be so friggen porky? If they had a LEADER who back in early 2001 when testing running prototypes for the next COBRA stopped on the side of the road and said flat out,"this is not a COBRA. This is garbage! I want a car that breaks the mold. Not an upgrade, not bandage engineering, MAKE THIS THING A TERMINATOR! Put a damm blower on it or something!" True story. Sorry folks, this is so passionate for me because I have been a part of programs ripped apart by misguided efforts, and this is absolutly the same thing.

 

 

I can tell you feel this from the bottom of your heart and ... not there is not even one tiny little thing to be sorry about... your well thought out posts make it clear how real this is... you can probably tell we're of similar minds on many of these things. It would be a big mistake, and a travesty, if SVT has been permanently emasculated as opposed to just in a holding pattern until product staging catches up. Ford has to provide the media with 'reasons' for all its actions, even if some are smoke. Coletti knows too much to let him out of the bag. Even with a non-compete clause he would be so damaging elsewhere. I can't tell you how many projects I've turned down promotions on because I didn't agree with the project goals. Maybe that's what happened to him. Fortunately I worked for a company where such 'wild ducks' were rewarded by virtue of being given another project they believe in. I'd rather be poor than violate my beliefs. I sure hope Coletti, as an engineer, is true to himself, whatever that means for him.

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JETSOLVER Team Shelby Member

JETSOLVER

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I can provide references for all these quotes from Ford press releases if anyone wants( PM me I'll send the links in an E-mail). It makes a tidy package of usable quotes. “The Special Vehicle Team is not a department within Ford Motor Company,” says Tom Scarpello, Ford SVT marketing and sales manager. “It is a true team, including Ford, its suppliers, and the SVT dealers — every person and organization involved in developing, manufacturing, marketing, selling and servicing SVT vehicles.

 

“This group has a single-minded focus,” Scarpello adds. “There are no conflicting priorities, and no capitulating to lowest-common-denominator thinking. This is an organization staffed by enthusiasts, creating cars and trucks for enthusiasts.” "

According to Mickey Matus, product marketing manager for SVT, the reason SVT has been so successful is because of the way it caters to performance enthusiasts -- car buyers who are widely regarded as being very influential in the marketplace and who fuel the most effective form of advertising: positive feedback.

 

"They are very vocal, highly-visible buyers. They are our army of loyal and passionate advocates out there," said Matus. "What differentiates SVT from the performance arms of General Motors and DaimlerChrysler is the quality and sincerity of the relationships we build with our customers."

""We created the SVTOA in 2000 for the highly involved SVT owner," says Tom Scarpello, Ford SVT sales and marketing manager. "The Association provides members with opportunities to have great driving experiences. 'Drive safe and have fun' is our mission statement. This exclusive Association is another way we're enhancing the SVT ownership experience and the core values of SVT: performance, substance, exclusivity and value."

 

The chapters, headed by a volunteer and sponsored by a local SVT-certified dealer, are the backbone of SVTOA." " By creating an atmosphere of exclusivity through special shows, events and promotions, SVT aims to attract performance enthusiasts and ultimately gain their loyalty to the Ford brand. SVT also staffs an information center (1-800-FORD-SVT) so that car buyers can call and get knowledgeable answers to their questions from fellow enthusiasts.

 

"We don't want 15 minutes of fame," he said. "Just like Ford is a family company, we're bringing enthusiasts in and making them part of our family." "One hundred thousand vehicles, and we're just picking up speed," adds John Coletti, chief engineer for Ford SVT. "You haven't seen half of what we can do. SVT has proven to be a differentiator for Ford Motor Company, and support from upper management couldn't be stronger. Even with other companies trying to follow suit, we believe SVT will remain on the forefront of niche vehicle engineering and development."

Does this seem like the same company?

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68fastback Team Shelby Enthusiast

68fastback

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Great insights, JETSOLVER... the Coletti speech from 2002 is also a gem... thanks

 

<edit:> do you have any insight on what is the timeframe of the quotes in your note? Hopefully some are fairly recent -- it would give us more reawson to be hopefull.

 

Here's also a recent speech (not on SVT) by Mark Fields, head of Ford NA on the industry in general and how the playing field is manipulated artificially... worth a read

Mark Fields Speech 6-16-06

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68fastback Team Shelby Enthusiast

68fastback

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Is anyone else not able to get the SVT original home page with all the old data? Looks to me like they dumped it. Hmmmm

 

 

Not sure which site you mean, Jetsolver. This one was broken a little while ago, but seems ok now SVT Home but I'm not sure where historical data is located.

 

Ooops, I'm now previewing my post to check the link again and now it's broken again... Hmmm. Maybe they're just doing maintenance? It did feature the GT500 as it was loading (when it was working five minutes ago;-)

 

<edit:> Today (Sun 6/25/06), the site loads, but the home page is just the boilerplate with no pix, but if you click on any of the SVT models, those pages all seem to load ok... strange.

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