Carroll Shelby same old story

[Historybuff]

in fact i follow no sports so sports fans can feel free to correct me but I think LA just signed a new coach who is going to get several million over the next three years. And that's because they think he knows how to pick good players , weed out the bad ones, etc. I have heard many celebrations of famous football and baseball coaches, and occasionally even dialogue coaches for actors. So if you look at it that way-- Shelby as a great "coach" picking many of the right players way back when, like keeping Phil Remington on when he took over the Scarab facility (or hiring Ken Miles when he was viewed by many as a cranky malcontent)--you can see he was indisputedly the leader of the band. Conversely, I don't see any sports teams of today rehiring the same coach that took them to the Super Bowl or World Series 40-plus years ago like Ford rehired Shelby so he deserves recognition that Ford , et al still think the old codger has something to contribute.

You can see what a tough job being the coach is when you analyze each of his business ventures one by one and see the fate of those where he wasn't paying attention (like in the Series 1 Olds powered car) the ball dropped big time because the players on the field couldn't carry on well without him (he was in the hospital during much of that venture).But those where he was right on top of it, like LeMans with the GTs in '66, he brought the ball across the finish line

And as you youngins get older, and began to feel marginalized, you will admire anybody over 60 who still commands authority in the business world...

[csx700?]

historybuff
it wasn't shelby's $$$ that started the cobra to be produced it was a guy by the name of ed hugus that bank rolled the project at ford's request. for this ed hugus was to be the east coast assembler / distributor. if you look at the registry you can see that the first few cars were delivered to hugus' penn. dealership for assmbly, shelby had niether the facilities nor the man power (or the $$$) to get the project rolling at the time. just for the records.............

[Sal Gerace]

I don't blame Shelby for cutting in on people making money off of his name like they have done for so many years. I am not referring to SAAC. SAAC has kept the hobby legitamate for a lot of years and I appreciate everything that they have done for the hobby.

[Igofastr]

I think most of you are missing the point entirely. It is NOT about intellectual property, copyrights, trade dress, or any of the such. It IS about being a "Johnny come lately" (yes, he was absent from the picture for a good 20 years) that is suddenly trying to recoup decades of perceived lost revenue by ticking off the very people he hopes to have as future customers.

Protecting your "property rights" is one thing. But is alienating potential customers in the process always the best business decision? I guess time will tell.

[andy0935]

In 1977 or 1978? Shelby was honorary judge at the Palo Alto Ca. Concourse. Shelbys were the featured marque. Afterward, he dropped by the local club's pool party at a member's home. My wife and I had our pictures made with him standing beside our 1968 Shelby Convertible(Original Owner). He sat outside the house and answered questions about his views at that time about the future of cars of similar type. He certainly didn't forsee whats happening today. At that time he had recently moved back from Africa, and apparently out of touch with the auto industry and no affiliations(sort of in limbo it seemed.) He was quite friendly and approachable(an all around nice guy). Much younger then and pre heart transplant. Over the years since, at various venues I have heard him and other members of his team express amazement and appreciation and acknowledment that the club was the major reason the name and Marque was kept current in the minds older and newer generations alike. He has also seemed to get crankier and more cantankerous. This is just an observation on my part and after all his health problems understandable. I am very sorry that after all the club has done(no doubt a major factor in his success today) he has decided to part ways. Hopefully, this will be reconsidered and that both parties have learned something

[Excaliber]

A good coach doesn't use HIS money, he relies on the 'investment team'!

[hwoods6617]

If you use Shelby's logic that he created and owns the rights to these cars, why don't you have a pay a roalty to the first guy who did an engine swap into an old beater hot rod anytime you drop a V-8 into an old car or truck. Shelby did not design the body of the Cobra, he dropped V-8's into AC's bodies that were built in Merry old England. Just a hot rodder ex Texas Chicken Farmer

[What'saCobra?]

Great reading!

Meanwhile, this is not the first time SAAC and Shel' have not seen eye to eye on various issues. Mostly, SAAC has bent to his will or at least subsumed their angst and wall-papered over the bumps until he cooled off.

Given his newly financed entities and market authority, including the Jimmy Price corral, this may not be a temporary issue subject to a change of heart.

Dear Amy can take care of herself. This will be good on her resume either way and no one ever fired by Shel' (of whom i know) has ever suffered too much from it. She has turned things around and everyone knows it. And they know of his legendary temperment & lack of "manners".

SAAC is a business and has been a handsome one at that. They have rendered a service to Shel' worth millions and millions and we all know it. The founder/owners have done rather nicely for their efforts, i think, and they earned what they gained from their investments of time, energy, cash and knowledge (which was slow in coming at first). The individuals involved are not all the same persons and several have worked very hard for Shel's interests and not always just for their own.

Several SAAC "leaders" have been gracious to both members and non-members many times and deserve more than just faint praise.

Errors have been made, admittedly.

But, history has moved on, perhaps. Shel's new operations are more mature and more aggressively protective. This is not the first time Shel' has ranted and raved about "others" stealing "his stuff". And, it won't be the last.

Remember, first and foremost, that Shel' is a Championship race driver, fully embodying all the pluses and minuses that those words describe in professional racing. All of his behavioral variations flow from that mind-set.

When i have been confounded when trying to comprehend his activities and public statements, i have found that explanation the best way to settle things in my own mind.

Professional champions rarely display a charitable concern for other people's feelings during their active driving careers. Intimidation and fear are valuable tools to the professional driver. "Flying off the handle" can become a useful posture to control judges, owners and competitors alike. A skilled marksman rarely retires all his weapons. And, once ingrained, the behavior morphs from skilled posturing to an uncontrolled habit for the emotionally unsecure...

Nor has Shel' mellowed all that much with age (which makes me suspect it is an act), but it is physically harder for him to muster the bluster. Emotionally though, i suspect it is easier with age and edge-softened memory. He likely carries few real regrets... but, i bet he would protest that with the same old same old bluster.

FORD has saved his bacon, again. And, once again, at his very advanced years, he is handing his old financiers a competitive edge in the marketplace. We should all be so useful.

Not every Champion has been as genuinely likeable as Dan Gurney, nor as composed. The knowledge of that kind of simple fact really P's Shel' off sometimes and occasionally explains Shel's red mist. A driver's blood occasionally still runs hot in that old sucker.

If you said i dislike the man, you would be quite wrong. If i said i like him, i would be lying.

i respect and admire his many accomplishments. That's enough. Everything else is either relish or smoke & mirrors.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by What'saCobra?

Great reading!


Not every Champion has been as genuinely likeable as Dan Gurney, nor as composed. The knowledge of that kind of simple fact really P's Shel' off sometimes and occasionally explains Shel's red mist. A driver's blood occasionally still runs hot in that old sucker.

If you said i dislike the man, you would be quite wrong. If i said i like him, i would be lying.

i respect and admire his many accomplishments. That's enough. Everything else is either relish or smoke & mirrors.

V,

Good point. A bigger difference between Dan and CS could not exist. As former partners they have had markedly different sucess. Dan still tilts at windmills (the Alligator and the ill-fated Eagle Champ car of recent) while CS still collects the Benjamins.

It would be hard to find someone who speaks ill of Dan, he is gracious with his time, receives people he does not know in his Santa Ana office, signs most anything and get nothing more in return than a warm "thank-you" and the inner peace that being a good human brings to him. I have spoken with him on occaison but would never say I "know" him, although I would be honored to. Conversely, I have also "spoken" to CS and I am sad to say I have no interest in further personal knowledge of him. It is tough watching two of my youthful idols take such divergent paths.

I too, commend Amy for all she has done to resolve issues at SAI. I think she is forthright and honest in her communications. I know a participant in a meeting who relayed to me the fact she told CS he must "open up his wallet" and make things right for customers who at that time were being treated, well let's say, less than fairly. I hope she will continue to improve the corporate climate and products that SAI is involved with, I am sure Amy would be an asset to most any business.

Rick