I understand sentimental attachment to a particular model based upon fond or formative memories; but fierce, unchanging loyalty to an entire brand to the point where nothing the "other brand" produces has any merit (even if it truly does) baffles me.
It's a form of self-imposed servitude that hands ownership of one's tastes and judgement over to some marketing department nerd who tells you what you like instead of the other way around. While you're busy being blindly loyal to their brand and product, they're busy being blindly loyal to their bottom line and bank accounts.
Personally, I am beyond happy to see the ongoing resurgence of the muscle car wars. The Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, and Challenger are orders of magnitude more potent than their 60's and early 70's ancestors, blowing away the proclamation of the "death of the muscle car" in 1973. I would choose one of those cars over the others, but that choice would be based on my personal criteria of what constitutes the ideal muscle car, not some mind numbing obligation to support the brand of a corporation that only (and rightfully) cares about itself and it's profit margin.
Here's the on-topic tie-in: Shelby was no different - his brand loyalty was to himself, but he created such an iconic S.O.B. of a car that was so damned special that it shattered the paradigmic brand boundaries and drew fans from all over the automotive universe.
Replica companies have given these fans the ability to make their dreams flesh and there are many who love the Cobra yet have no binding loyalty to Ford or Shelby (or AC for that matter). Half of these people are the ones who will likely be open to an alternative powerplant. The other half will probably try to recreate their dream as faithfully as possible with a spread-out spectrum in between.
Just my thoughts - (I made some scratch gourmet pizza - dough and all - tonight and Pauline rewarded me with a truly fine wine, so I fully realize I'm waxing a bit here)
Have a good night my friends and fellow Cobra enthusiasts. We love our cars but love of family and friendship is far more important.
