Kirkham and SAI cars the same?

[Years Ago]

Hal,

While I was at Shelby I was resonsible for contracting with the Kirkhams. As you may remember, for one year we took all of their production on an exclusive basis. We did so because we evaluated both cars to be so near to the original we felt comfortable having the Shelby name on the car.

We simple could not sustain an exclusive arrangement beyond the initial year, we could not absorb all of the costs required to totally sustain our operation and theirs also (in terms of taking all of their inventory on a put basis). It was necessary to settle into a comfortable working relationship on a non exclusive basis, not that either party necessarily wanted it that way, but economics just had too much to say about it. We have since worked well together and have both tried to have a gentlemanly relationship one to the other and to each others products. I will not dishonor that trust by getting into an "ours vs. yours is better" discussion and I believe that neither would they. Therefore there will be nothing along those lines initiated from this quarter.

Both cars are great. There are some differencecs resulting from what which each party believes is the best solution for their product and their customers. Parts are at times different, but most often highly interchangeable. It simply boils down to which finished product the individual buyer prefers.

However, Chuck is not right in suggesting there is a substantial premium for the Shelby. On any given day, a buyer with the right negociating skills may find one to be less than the other, or the other way around, but they run in the same ballpark. Shelby does get a premium with the name but Shelby also trys to detail the car in a way that justifies it. It is not, in any event, a substancial premium.

Go hunting brother and pick whichever one you chose. In either case it will be a great car. Whether one is more than the other depends on what the individual buyer works out.