Anti-Carroll Shelby???

[Russ Dickey]

These forums has been exceptionally helpful to me in my search for the "perfect replica". I have met so many nice and knowledgeable people in just the mere few weeks that I have been posting.

I am curious about one sentiment that I have seen reflected in more than just a few threads, and that is the "Anti-Carroll Shelby" comments that I have seen posted here. I must say that I find this very surprising to say the least, especially on a Cobra website.

I am sure that these sentiments are probably a tiny minority, but I feel like I need to share my thoughts anyway. If it wasn't for Shelby, none of us would have these fantastic cars to enjoy. He is truly the creator of the Cobra, but some people seem to downplay that because of the fact that he took two existing products, the AC Ace and the Ford smallblock, and put them together. But ask anybody in the manufacturing world, and they'll tell you that consitutes an all-new product, which is just what he created: an all-new car the likes of which the world had never seen before. And he made it an American World Champion, also something that had never been done before..or since for that matter.

I brought up the old licensing issue to a couple of replica owners, and they said "Shelby is just a greedy old man..he's just about the money." Hmmm...I don't think FFR, SPF, ERA and all the others are building these cars for charity. Can you blame Shelby for wanting royalties or licensing fees? Other people are making money by producing an exact copy of a car he created. If that was me, I'd want some compensation, too. I work in the NASCAR industry, so I know all about royalties an licensing issues, and I can tell you that the drivers and teams get paid for anything and everything that has the slightest likiness of them or their car, or even their car number for God's sake! Overkill maybe, but nonetheless, if it was one of us, we'd want our share too.

Then I heard "But he wants royalties on a 35-year old car!". So what? The Beatles and Elvis (estate) and every other recording artist still gets royalties on their songs, and they're just as old. I've heard different stories on what Shelby was wanting for a licensing fee. I've heard everything from wanting $5000 per replica to wanting a one-time donation of $5000 to his Children's Fund. I know that the lawsuit was settled, and I heard nobody had to pay Shelby anything, and that just doesn't seem right. And I realize that he doesn't need the money, but that's not the point. Maybe some of these replica companies have donated something to his Children's Fund. I think that's the least they could do.

I guess I'm just struggling to figure out why some of the folks on this website loathe the guy so much. He's just a tough old Texan who's trying to protect what's his. Some people are upset because he has, on occassion, wanted a donation before he'll autograph something. From my dealings with various race car driver's and other athletes, that is a common practice. And who can fault him for that? His foundation has done some great things for young transplant patients.

This is all just my humble opinion. Maybe you guys (and gals) can shed some light on why Ol' Shel doesn't always get the kind of respect he deserves.


Russ