Club Cobra - Appears Factory 5 beat Shelby in the suit and will now own SAI

I don't think the settlement would have anything to do with this because it was SAI that was suing Factory 5. Each side can call it what they want as far as the settlement goes. The fact was the goal was to put Factory 5 out of business because they were the big players. The Smith Brothers were the ones who were making bank. The reality is Shelby lost his case because he abandoned the Cobra in the 60’s. The very existence of the replica industry came to life from him abandoning the Cobra. If you don’t enforce within the statute of limitations pertaining to such, you lose the right to declare it yours. Perhaps if he had done this in the 70’s there would be no replica industry. Then again there might not be the interest there is now and the popularity and value of the car would be minimal?

Either way you cut it, Factory 5 won. They were attacked by a lawsuit and they walked away still in business and now perhaps in position to buy the company that sued them. I can’t see Shelby being the mastermind behind the lawsuit, rather just the spokesman. Who ever was in charge at the time clearly did not have SAI’s best interest in mind. I think some people need to be $hit canned over there that is for sure. Looking back it obviously was not a very cost-effective decision to target a company that does not even market to the type of customers that you market your car. It served no real cost benefit to sue Factory 5. Perhaps if the person in charge of SAI had focused the assets on trying to build SAI, rather than target Factory 5, they might not have got out of the red? It isn’t rocket science and a little common sense can go a long way.

How much are Factory 5’s? How much are SAI’s? (too much if you ask me, but that is my personal opinion) How much was there to gain? Would they have created more demand from customers who could afford their cars? How much did they have to lose including the trial costs? I guess the guy at top forgot to make a check list and see if it was cost effective to pursue Factory 5. Who knows the cost of the trial against Factory 5 could have been the straw that sent them over to having to file Chapter 11? Clearly SAI was weak financially to begin with and after the suit they walked away with the trial costs and oh yeah and Factory 5 cannot use a name that they themselves borrow from Ford.

I say Venture would be smart to cut their losses and let Factory 5 take it for a spin and send the idiots who drove it into the ground to the unemployment line. People were making the comparison about AMC and Harley, who is to say that SAI is currently like AMC was with Harley and now they are about to improve and be run by some brothers that love these cars and have proven that they can take a small operation and make it successful.

I love Shelby and his cars and I am not bashing SAI, rather expressing my opinion of the fools who presently run it.