GT500 Production Run

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That's different than it was at the chicago auto show... he guy was still taking make-them-as-they-can-be-sold then. Now it's ford's usual instant collectable crap.

What a bunch of marketing bullshit. The shelby numbers were low because that was the MAXIMUM shelby could build. Ford brought the shelby production more and more inside ford to increase it. Then the production became buyer limited. They either made as many as they could or as many as they could sell which ever was less.

That's all I want to see with the GT500, build as many as possible or as many as there are buyers for.

Exclusivity my ass.. it's a mustang, not a bugatti.

And another thing, someone should hit this ford guy upside the head with a 1966 Shelby GT350H. Hertz rent-a-car. Sure, you had to join the hertz sports car club which meant you proved you could drive a car with a manual transmission.... Yeah, that's 'exclusive'.

I'm not anywhere as knowledgable as real mustang experts (maybe good enough to play one on TV) and I have better grasp of the history than these marketing numb-nuts.

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Oh, come on...

Exclusivity (besides being an intended absolute) is now a relative term. It's not a Toyota Camry, either.

dwight

I have no idea if you will spend less money or which model Mercedes you are considering, but all told I know you get more car either way with your secondary choices. If Ford pulls the same s*it with the Shelby that they did with the GT they can kiss my fat ass goodbye as far as a customer goes.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Brent P) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

All I know is that's what the "official" guy said, which shocked the hell out of me. I watched that little video from David's post, and the marketing moron simply said that the exclusivity was part of the whole SVT thing - he didn't talk actual numbers at all.

The bottom line here is that I seriously doubt that you'll be able to walk into a Ford showroom and order one up like you can a Big Mac Value Meal. Another c**k-teaser from Ford.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

"dwight" wrote in news:FPKdnWWQFeSM_IDZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

dwight, I saw the Jag in your pic in person - simply breathtaking. Lots of people drooling over it as well. Looking at the front end head on, it reminded me of an Aston Martin.

Also, the Chevy Nomad concept was there. Very cool, but IIRC the placard said it was a 6-cylinder RWD. Disappointing.

Finally saw the Camaro concept in the skin. From the side it's almost awesome, but not quite. The front looks like a Cadillac that someone heavy sat on the nose and pushsed it down; the rear looks like an older Camaro that's had the entire top 1/3 scraped off. Pretty gross.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Zombywoof wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The Z06 was one of the most awesome cars there, especially for the price. As MC Hammer used to say, "You can't touch this." The Mercs were nice, but nowhere near as impressive as the Z06.

As for the GT500 issue, the easy solution there is to go buy a regular GT, then go visit Steeda, Saleen, or Roush with about $20k in your pocket.

BTW, the guy pushing the GT500 talked about the live rear end as an advantage. He just stopped short of dissing IRS.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Don't forget, these are the same marketing wizards who "predicted" a severe shortage of 2004 MY Mustangs. (never happened)

Creating hype about limited production/availability is a "sure-fire" way to fuel a feeding frenzy in the showroom. (ask any marketing wizard) ; )

Personally, I'm gonna sit this one out 'till the dust settles. Far too much bull$hit being spread around from Ford at the moment.

-- John C. '03 Cobra Convt.

Ford doesn't maximize anything except resentment from their customers when they contribute to their dealer network scalping their customers, After all, Ford sees none of this mark up.

I just want some straight shooting with us loyal Mustang

Agreed, Ford should maximize on all the investment and hype they have generated with the GT500, and sell enough of them to actually make some money off the project while helping boost their customer loyalty, rather than pissing most of their loyal customers off and ending yet another poorly executed project deeply in the red...

I too am a life long Ford customer, as much as I would like a new Shelby GT500, If I'm spending sixty plus thousand, I will be driving a brand spanking new Z06, not a $40,000 Mustang...

Really? What was the first year production of the mustang?

Have you actually checked saleen prices? The base S281 With brakes close to the GT500 it's 45K with 330hp. I doubt bringing them a car to convert is going to be much cheaper, maybe with more horsepower...

Besides that's ford's game with instant collectables... to get people into the showrooms to buy some lesser ford.

"Michael Johnson, PE" wrote in news:n8idnaBPnrRQCYDZRVn- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

You'll have to tell that to the Ford guy in David's video. He espoused otherwise.

At this point, my theory is that they're barely breaking even, or even losing money on every GT500 if they go for the advertised $40-45k (that's what the "official" guy said). It's in their best interest to keep production as low as possible to minimize their loss.

There will be plenty of Shelby GT500's to go around and yes, the likelihood of walking on a dealer's lot and buying one will be pretty good.

First off, not as many people are able to purchase a $40,000+ hi-performance car as easily as they can purchase a $25,000+ sports car. Financing gets in the way for some, others cannot get insurance when financing is approved. This ugly fact will whittle down the pool of potential buyers.

Comparing the recent Mach 1 production numbers, Ford planned to produce approximately 6,500 of the 2003 Mach 1. Well, they actually built 9,652 units for 2003 and 7,182 for 2004. As you are all to familiar, there were unsold Mach 1's sitting on many dealer's lots; and that was a $29,500 car.

Sure people will pay a dealer mark-up and/or surcharge to be the first to own a Shelby GT500. Good for them. I am willing to wait to pay M.S.R.P. or less with discounts and incentatives. I paid invoice minus $3,500 for a 2004 Azure Blue Mach 1 and feel confident I can do it again.

As for the Shelby GT500 becoming a collector's item, that will be years down the road and the future price of oil and/or technology may erode it's potential value. Point in case, my 2004 Mach 1 isn't commanding a premuim price the the reseller's market right now.

My 2¢ Davïd Greenville, NC

I don't see how it would be possible for them not be making money on each one unit cost wise. The MSRP of 40K is more than enough to make a profit on the car. I don't think there is 15K worth of special parts at factory cost after subtracting out the regular GT stuff in the car, and even if there was, they would still have the same dollar value of profit they do on the GT. The only way they would be losing money is from the inclusion of tooling and development money and dividing those dollars over a small number of units. So, the solution is simple, build as many as can be sold and divide those costs over more cars so it is profitable.

An MBA can make anything lose money... Usually even when they dont intend to... ;)