chuckstang Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I had an argument the other day with a friend of mine (he drives an STI, need I say more). We were discussing American cars vs Foreign and why I prefer American and him Foreign. He told me the most American made car is actually the Camry. I didn't really argue with him on that as I do not know but he was basically saying that the theory "buy American" is just propaganda and there is no such thing. Even if that is true to some degree today, there is something that can not be achieved by buying Foreign and that is... Driving a modern day Shelby is literally like driving a peice of history that constantly reminds everyone of our great Nation's success and dominace at one time in motorsports and many other things that do not exist today. I look at myself as an embassador for the brand and legacy of American sports cars that perhaps no other modern day car can do as well as the Shelby GT500. I have driven nearly 500 miles in the past 5 days and I had forgotten about all the thumbs up, smiles, waves, and positive comments people give while driving or stopped in this car. Some ask what car it is and others just want to admire or have comments/questions, but it hit me today when I drove by a lareg group of 6-10 year old boys playing in the street. As I creeped by (clutch chattering), they all stared and literally dropped what they were doing. I heard one say, wow, what is that, and the other replied, its a "shelby you idiot!." (none replied, wow what a shitty clutch/tranny lol like what I was thinking at the time haha) I know that those boys are going to group up just as I did falling in love with all things great and American in the automotive world. That made me realize that if this car did not say Shelby on the back like some had wished, then probably 90% of all those interested in the car would not look twice because SVT or Coetti means nothing to them and some day unfortunatley these cars may no longer be built and those alive in the 60s will be long dead and there will be nothing to reimind the new generation of what America used to be and represent. I say this now, because as the economy continues to suck, unemployment continues to rise, immigration continues to increase and the list goes on and on as to why I think there may be day that America falls from its throne and these cars become all but a distant memory. So I ask you, have you influenced someone lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordRocks1 Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Great post, yes I influence many everyday, mine is a DD :happy feet: down here in Miami it's cool to have a Mustang especially a Shelby one at that because all you see down here are BMW's, MB's, Audis and the like so driving a Ford around here stands out big time. For a 3yr old car my SGT still turns heads, how many cars can do that :jackinbox: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shel-b001 Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 To answer your question OH YEAH many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach 1 1970 Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 These KR's are so loud and mean that children run in the house when they see one. Mothers pull kids off the streets and dads run for their guns. No that was in my dreams sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springer Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 "So I ask you, have you influenced someone lately? " I influenced my neighbor the other night who owns a Porsche Carrera Turbo convertible. He wasn't up to speed on American muscle, and after a quick ride in the GT/SC, he was significantly influenced by the power and handling of a Shelby GT/SC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matts Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Whatever brings a smile to your face, then I say drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckstang Posted March 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 These KR's are so loud and mean that children run in the house when they see one. Mothers pull kids off the streets and dads run for their guns. No that was in my dreams sorry. Ya, mine sounds similar with my slp muffler deletes, very loud, but yet the sound is one of the cars biggest draws, it just sound different than any other car on the road. I think the blower adds a unique 21st century touch to this great muscle car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelTownStang Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Sunny day in Pittsburgh today and had the car out playing... Influenced...? Yeah, I'd say... I felt like a rock star. Everyone waving, beeping, and complimenting the car... old and young alike. While I really do not care for all of the attention, you can’t help feeling a sense of pride. The car is truly iconic and is an epitome of American ingenuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlugs Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I was out with the wife earlier this week... We took the KR to the CA poppy reserve to have a look around. When we got back to the parking lot, I hear a woman across the lot shouting to her husband "look honey; a Shelby" - "I saw it", he says... This is one of the few cars I've owned, which draws that kind of attention. When I'm looking to go unnoticed, I take my sleeper -the '08 Bullitt. A big thank you to Ford, and the folks at Shelby American! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicShelby Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Well said. When I'm at shows or when people ask about it I always have to say "it's all American horsepower, baby!" The other day I was at a stop light and this guy in a service truck in the lane next to me got my attention. He said, "Hey man, I'm a hardcore Chevy guy but that car is bad ass!" Couldn't help but smile It really does bring some pride to me. It didn't occur to me until last week, but I've also got the "red, white, and blue" thing going on with the red pit stripes. It's a patriotic car in it's own sense, and I wouldn't trade it for a nine second import for ANYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhead213 Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Don't know about the camry being the most american made car but,i do know the profits sure as hell don't stay here in the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangme Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 and when i look at that 500hp engine and the tag says " Hand built with pride in the USA" goose bumps appear on my arms.... I was driving it day before yesterday. At one traffic light I could hear the family in the car next to me and finally their little girl blurts out 'Hey we like your car"..... LOL My beauty/beast "almost" got away from me the other day during a hard accelleration shift into second gear the rear end got rather squerily and a on coming car was headed my way......Luckily I got it straigtened out in time....I have even more respect for this kind of 'Power/torque" now and will be more careful around traffic in general. Now I think I will go listen to that "SHAKER 1000" stereo with "Grand Funks" "Wer'e an American Band".......volume at max..........Then maybe DEEP PURPLE's "Highway Star".............uh oh here come those goose bumps again......Ride our Cobra's..with American pride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipereatr Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Don't know about the camry being the most american made car but,i do know the profits sure as hell don't stay here in the US He may have been referring to parts made oversees, assembled in America or some variation on that theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisssss Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 +1 on this thread, These cars just reek "American", like Vipers & Vetts. I havn't meet an STI owner yet that I'm impressed with.....and my son owns one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprayboy422 Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I do love these cars and it is a American pride thing. Great post if it wasn't raining right now I would go for a little ride!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stentgraft95 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 He may have been referring to parts made oversees, assembled in America or some variation on that theme. Amazing! More American made than a shelby??? The Kool-Aid drinkers are amazing that's for sure! Like their Camry's have all American made parts or more than one of the domestics produced in the US? I know that they all have parts produced by suppliers but it's like they think all of their vendor parts are from the US and Ford's and other domestics vendor parts come from overseas. Toyota---You Just Cant Stop Them! (uhh---pun intended) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullens Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 I came out of Walgreens the other day and saw a guy with his young son taking photos of the car with his camera phone. I showed him the engine and let the kid sit in the car...both were thrilled. I've always owned sports cars but I've never had this kind of reaction. I get constant thumbs up and stares. That ain't happening with an STI... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewheelman Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Why are our cars so important? When Ford built the GT to remind the world of the rich heritage of the company, our generation of Mustangs clearly established their intent for future projects. What better way to punctuate their philosophy than with a 500 horsepower exclamation point? Consider when these cars were developed; the Camaro and Firebird had died a painful lingering death and the only hemi's you could get were in sedans or trucks. Our cars are responsible for sparking the revival of American Muscle in this generation. That's why our cars are so important. (Besides, they're a hoot to drive!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTSVT? Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Chuck, you should of put some of those 500 miles towards my house! Wait till you see the rims! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me32 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 great post an yes its great to see all the smiles of people when you drive by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangshelbygt500 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 I had an argument the other day with a friend of mine (he drives an STI, need I say more). We were discussing American cars vs Foreign and why I prefer American and him Foreign. He told me the most American made car is actually the Camry. I didn't really argue with him on that as I do not know but he was basically saying that the theory "buy American" is just propaganda and there is no such thing. Even if that is true to some degree today, there is something that can not be achieved by buying Foreign and that is... Driving a modern day Shelby is literally like driving a peice of history that constantly reminds everyone of our great Nation's success and dominace at one time in motorsports and many other things that do not exist today. I look at myself as an embassador for the brand and legacy of American sports cars that perhaps no other modern day car can do as well as the Shelby GT500. I have driven nearly 500 miles in the past 5 days and I had forgotten about all the thumbs up, smiles, waves, and positive comments people give while driving or stopped in this car. Some ask what car it is and others just want to admire or have comments/questions, but it hit me today when I drove by a lareg group of 6-10 year old boys playing in the street. As I creeped by (clutch chattering), they all stared and literally dropped what they were doing. I heard one say, wow, what is that, and the other replied, its a "shelby you idiot!." (none replied, wow what a shitty clutch/tranny lol like what I was thinking at the time haha) I know that those boys are going to group up just as I did falling in love with all things great and American in the automotive world. That made me realize that if this car did not say Shelby on the back like some had wished, then probably 90% of all those interested in the car would not look twice because SVT or Coetti means nothing to them and some day unfortunatley these cars may no longer be built and those alive in the 60s will be long dead and there will be nothing to reimind the new generation of what America used to be and represent. I say this now, because as the economy continues to suck, unemployment continues to rise, immigration continues to increase and the list goes on and on as to why I think there may be day that America falls from its throne and these cars become all but a distant memory. So I ask you, have you influenced someone lately? Where I live some people do stare but nothing like the way you are describing, very few people ask questions and they are often stupid questions. The kind of people that look at my car are middle age/senior men and kids... Girls do like it z log but they are mostly interested in BMW's, Porsche's, Mercs and don't care about Shelby's history and legacy. To answer your question, no, I have not influenced any body. It's up to Ford to keep the Shelby cars interesting, IMO Shelby company doesn't know how to build good cars anymore. 2011 GT350 is a disaster in my book, as much as I like my GT500 I dislike the look of that thing they call GT350. They have to let the Ford and SVT design and engineer their future cars. That way Shelby will have a chance to stay on top and not be forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabo Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 I picked up my car in Cleveland and drove it back to WA with my son as a father/son road trip. The first pic in my sig is in the Bad Lands of SD. We got tons of thumbs up and people coming over to us at rest stops to talk about the car. Especially the bikers. We had more than one person say they didn't know they had started making Shelby's again. I wasn't totally surprised but my son finally said to me "you know Dad a lot a people sure do like Shelby's". Then he said "I guess that's because it's cool". That pretty much summed it up for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check6 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Don't know about the camry being the most american made car but,i do know the profits sure as hell don't stay here in the US Yep, a big +2 ... To me, this is what it's all about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodworking65 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I had an argument the other day with a friend of mine (he drives an STI, need I say more). We were discussing American cars vs Foreign and why I prefer American and him Foreign. He told me the most American made car is actually the Camry. I didn't really argue with him on that as I do not know but he was basically saying that the theory "buy American" is just propaganda and there is no such thing. Even if that is true to some degree today, there is something that can not be achieved by buying Foreign and that is... Driving a modern day Shelby is literally like driving a peice of history that constantly reminds everyone of our great Nation's success and dominace at one time in motorsports and many other things that do not exist today. I look at myself as an embassador for the brand and legacy of American sports cars that perhaps no other modern day car can do as well as the Shelby GT500. I have driven nearly 500 miles in the past 5 days and I had forgotten about all the thumbs up, smiles, waves, and positive comments people give while driving or stopped in this car. Some ask what car it is and others just want to admire or have comments/questions, but it hit me today when I drove by a lareg group of 6-10 year old boys playing in the street. As I creeped by (clutch chattering), they all stared and literally dropped what they were doing. I heard one say, wow, what is that, and the other replied, its a "shelby you idiot!." (none replied, wow what a shitty clutch/tranny lol like what I was thinking at the time haha) I know that those boys are going to group up just as I did falling in love with all things great and American in the automotive world. That made me realize that if this car did not say Shelby on the back like some had wished, then probably 90% of all those interested in the car would not look twice because SVT or Coetti means nothing to them and some day unfortunatley these cars may no longer be built and those alive in the 60s will be long dead and there will be nothing to reimind the new generation of what America used to be and represent. I say this now, because as the economy continues to suck, unemployment continues to rise, immigration continues to increase and the list goes on and on as to why I think there may be day that America falls from its throne and these cars become all but a distant memory. So I ask you, have you influenced someone lately? 10+++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 A week or so ago I had the rare opportunity of picking up my daugher from school, which I did, in the SGT. I'd give anything to have a photo of the looks on some of those young boys faces when they saw my car! I may have influenced a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckstang Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Where I live some people do stare but nothing like the way you are describing, very few people ask questions and they are often stupid questions. The kind of people that look at my car are middle age/senior men and kids... Girls do like it z log but they are mostly interested in BMW's, Porsche's, Mercs and don't care about Shelby's history and legacy. To answer your question, no, I have not influenced any body. It's up to Ford to keep the Shelby cars interesting, IMO Shelby company doesn't know how to build good cars anymore. 2011 GT350 is a disaster in my book, as much as I like my GT500 I dislike the look of that thing they call GT350. They have to let the Ford and SVT design and engineer their future cars. That way Shelby will have a chance to stay on top and not be forgotten. I agree girls dont like these cars, they like the cars you mentioned because that is what pop culture tells them to like. What are you 17 years old and need hs girls to like your car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewheelman Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 I'd give anything to have a photo of the looks on some of those young boys faces when they saw my car! I may have influenced a few. LOL, my net worth certainly rose among the teenage boys at my church when I appeared with the Shelby! I'm the most popular non-parent can-you-give-me-ride-home-please vehicle in the parking lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_gt500 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Great Post. I couldn't agree more about "American Pride and American Muscle". As someone who moved to Detroit in the past few years, I have a new sense of appreciation for what the Men and Women do to design, build, and market these cars. As you can see from my thread, I am an "equal opportunity purchaser" from Detroit's Big? 3. I have even gotten to know one of the guys (almost up the street) at the Romeo Engine factory. These people have a tremendous amount of pride in their work and making these products for all of us to enjoy. You won't get that from the Import crowd. With respect to the Shelby, this is the most fun I have ever had with a car. I have received more "thumbs up" and comments in one week than I did in three years with my Cadillac CTS-V (or my other previous fun cars). My sons (ages 7 and 9) love crusing to "I Can't Drive 55" and making their mom nuts. Can't wait to have more fun and generate memories with my family again this year. Thanks to Ford, Shelby, and felllow enthusiasts to keep building and buying these cars. I don't need any government electric powered toaster cars in my future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangshelbygt500 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I agree girls dont like these cars, they like the cars you mentioned because that is what pop culture tells them to like. What are you 17 years old and need hs girls to like your car? No, I'm not 17, little bit older than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I just cleaned up this thread. The political aspect was starting to get out of hand. The rules below are TS rules set by TS. Please take note. Thanks. Political and religious discussions are strictly PROHIBITED. Commentary that threatens, degrades a race, color, religion, national origin, etc. is also PROHIBITED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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