As far as website appeal, BDR/Vintage leads the pack. The car videos are crisp, good audio, excellent photography, the music fresh. I also like their youtube channel and their marketing style. Their "black" series reminds me of the Harley Davidson "Dark Custom" bikes aimed for a new buyer to the H-D lifestyle.
This isn’t a coincidence. Shelby Cobras and Cobra Replicas are a car whose sales depend disproportionately — almost exclusively, in fact — on middle-aged Caucasian males. drivers younger than 40 generally lack the time, interest or the bankroll to buy a Cobra. But by the time they get into their 60s or older, the noise and joint pain have begun to make driving lose its allure. You might still drive hard in your 60s, but you’re doing it less frequently and you probably aren’t buying a new Cobra.
The sweet spot is the mid-40s to early 50s. And with the Baby Boomers — the largest and wealthiest generation in history — now largely aged out of this key demographic bracket, Cobra MFG have a serious problem. Generation X — my generation — is not nearly large enough to pick up the slack, and Generation Y (aka “the Millennials” or “Echo Boomers”) are decades away from being in the demographic sweet spot for Cobras, and this assumes they take to driving like their dads did. The number of American men aged 40-49 is set to decline through the early 2020s and won’t reach its old 2010 peak until 2035.
Modified Forbes report, tailored for CC
__________________
Scratch build 289 FIA see the Scratch builder forum on CC - sold
DRB GT40 MK1 red #49- sold
FF5 Mk4 #7733 302/T5/IRS - dark blue - sold
FF5 MK4 #7812 427/TKO/IRS - Guardsman Blue - sold
FF5 MK4 #8414 501/TKO600/48IDA Ollie the Dragon #91 - sold
FF5 Daytona Coupe 347/TKO/IRS Homage CSX2299 Viking Blue - sold
SPF 2063
__________________
Scratch build 289 FIA see the Scratch builder forum on CC - sold
DRB GT40 MK1 red #49- sold
FF5 Mk4 #7733 302/T5/IRS - dark blue - sold
FF5 MK4 #7812 427/TKO/IRS - Guardsman Blue - sold
FF5 MK4 #8414 501/TKO600/48IDA Ollie the Dragon #91 - sold
FF5 Daytona Coupe 347/TKO/IRS Homage CSX2299 Viking Blue - sold
SPF 2063
This isn’t a coincidence. Shelby Cobras and Cobra Replicas are a car whose sales depend disproportionately — almost exclusively, in fact — on middle-aged Caucasian males. drivers younger than 40 generally lack the time, interest or the bankroll to buy a Cobra. But by the time they get into their 60s or older, the noise and joint pain have begun to make driving lose its allure. You might still drive hard in your 60s, but you’re doing it less frequently and you probably aren’t buying a new Cobra.
The sweet spot is the mid-40s to early 50s. And with the Baby Boomers — the largest and wealthiest generation in history — now largely aged out of this key demographic bracket, Cobra MFG have a serious problem. Generation X — my generation — is not nearly large enough to pick up the slack, and Generation Y (aka “the Millennials” or “Echo Boomers”) are decades away from being in the demographic sweet spot for Cobras, and this assumes they take to driving like their dads did. The number of American men aged 40-49 is set to decline through the early 2020s and won’t reach its old 2010 peak until 2035.
You folks are thinking of "chronological age", but everyone also has a "biological age" too. Essentially, depending on factors such as exercise, diet, alcohol consumption, amount of sleep, smoking, happiness, etc., your biological age could be far more or much less than your chronological age.
If you have the time, take this simple 2-minute test to establish your "biological age."
As far as website appeal, BDR/Vintage leads the pack. The car videos are crisp, good audio, excellent photography, the music fresh. I also like their youtube channel and their marketing style. Their "black" series reminds me of the Harley Davidson "Dark Custom" bikes aimed for a new buyer to the H-D lifestyle.
Well good luck. I would expect makers/dealers will probably read your comments here and elsewhere, determine they are generally toxic in nature, credentials = electric car guy on the outside looking in, and then quickly move on to more productive things.
I think the Cobra makers have done a poor job at marketing the car for younger buyers. ------ The cars need a makeover, pimped out with modern comforts- auto trans, AC, Heat, Nav system, traction control, bigger wheels, and engine choice, whether it is a Chevy, Ford, Electric, turbo, etc. These cars can be hip again. History has proven that everything old is new.
What you are describing is already out there. It's called a viper.
__________________
"After jumping into an early lead, Miles pitted for no reason. He let the entire field go by before re-entering the race. The crowd was jumping up and down as he stunned the Chevrolet drivers by easily passing the entire field to finish second behind MacDonald's other team Cobra. The Corvette people were completely demoralized."
Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO) spent a $1 Million on his Kirkham Cobra and, unbelievably, didn't install A/C, Navi, traction control, bigger wheels, cup holders, and G-d forbid, no radio/CD player/bluetooth/iPod adapter.
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP 427 S/C, Twin Paxton 511 FE
Posts: 2,594
Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by RodKnock
Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO) spent a $1 Million on his Kirkham Cobra and, unbelievably, didn't install A/C, Navi, traction control, bigger wheels, cup holders, and G-d forbid, no radio/CD player/bluetooth/iPod adapter.
What was he thinking?
He didn't need AC in the Cobra because he installed it on his island, Lanai.
Yes, I know Jay Leno trends "old" so the "utes" (youths) may not remember this commercial from about 5 years ago, but it definitely catches the eye of any car fanatic:
Cobra Make, Engine: FFR: 302 w/aluminum heads, Edlebrock injection. Street car trim, no scoop, side pipes or rollbar.
Posts: 1,869
Not Ranked
I think Vintage is the only Cobra maker that shows High Def videos of their new build cars on the road and it is exciting to see and hear the noises these cars make.
Most of the manuf. you describe in your first post are either barely existent (JBL, really? How many cars have they built in the last 10 years?) or prefer to stay 'exclusive' and maintain a tiny yearly output. FFR probably sells as many as they can build and has stretched out into other markets as well. Plus with the 21 jiggawatts of FFRs out there it's not like they need a website to sell their product. When I got interested I had my choice of locals cars to see, ride and even drive before I ordered one.
Insurance and regulation is going to kill this hobby long before a lack of interest in the Cobra itself.
... The cars need a makeover, pimped out with modern comforts- auto trans, AC, Heat, Nav system, traction control, bigger wheels, and engine choice, whether it is a Chevy, Ford, Electric, turbo, etc. These cars can be hip again. History has proven that everything old is new ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony
What you are describing is already out there. It's called a viper.
The 2nd gen Viper, the only Viper worth buying, feels like almost as much of a go-kart as these Cobras do. And they do have A/C...if it's working. The other stuff, not so much.
As far as a vette being like the Cobra or appealing to the same market, I just don't see it.
Re: the vette, from an appearance standpoint I would agree the viper has it hands down, but for creature comforts in a roadster you can get 'em all in a vette. There was a recent thread where a veteran cobra owner decided to sell for something more manageable, that something turned out to be a vette. The thread name was something like "I guess I've moved to the darkside".
16Likes
Hybrid Mode
