Finally, the recognition I deserve.
I don't know how anyone can make a statement as broad as "replica companies are going out of business" and second its because of the economy without backing it up with specifics and facts.
I'm not intereseted in the downturn in replica sales because of the bad economy. Most everything is down including the morale of the country.
My concern is that these great cars "REAL" and replica alike (oops did it again
silly me
) will fade away with the upcoming generations.
I for one have no confidence in todays generation. They are products all to often of lax parents or absent parents, too little discipline, failing schools and bad teachers that are impossible to get rid of due to Union Agreements and all too often by the time they graduate H.S. have little or no knowledge of history and civics let alone automotive history and the iconic cars of the past. They can't even pull their pants up and figure out how to wear a baseball cap right. I could give you specific examples of some conversations I have had with H.S. seniors recently and it was scary.
So...point is...these guys/generation who have little interest beyond their cell phones, social justice,carbon foot prints, engines that run on alpha sprouts, Hondas with NOS, Face Book and My Space are going to carry the torch of these iconic cars??? I'm not buoyant on the future of these cars as I once was.
And while I did mention REAL and non real cobras in my original thread post the reason was simple. Very simply both REAL Cobras and non real cobras, replicas or whatever you call them are inextricably linked to each other. One sprang from the other because of the love a generation had for the car. If that love for the car disappears both disappear, kinda like the dinosaurs.
Yeah, I admit one reason (not the only one though) I bought a Continuation series was I thinking it would have a better chance of retaining its value or even increasing in value if SA ever stopped producing them. Truth be told, I didn't see the vacuous nature of the next generation coming 10 years ago. I'm concerned that all these cars are doomed. It has me down actually. These cars in a way stand for and represent American pride and greatness and showed what Americans could do with a little American ingenuity, grit and muscle. A four wheeled representative of American greatness. The Cobra is more than one of the worlds fastest cars. I'm actually proud of the Cobra and what it represents because to me it is a representative of American Greatness. It's a living record of what ordinary American guys can do with grit and determination. We beat the world's best manuafacturers that dominated the worlds fastest and most demanding circuits with those fancy overengineered European V12s with good ol American Cast Iron V8s built by home grown California hot rodders. Those cars are from an era when men were men and the world respected America. Along with the men that made it great, it is an American hero.
I'd hate to see the Cobra become the victim of the nimrods that by and large the next generation is offering.
My two cents.
I hope I'm wrong.