This is why I did not renew my membership, I didn't want to send my $40 for nothing....I got this e-mail this morning.
SVT Dead at 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ford doesn't see a way forward for SVT
Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT -- the Special Vehicle Team -- and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT, as we've known it since 1992, will cease to exist.
SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the Sport Trac, called the Adrenaline, was shown at the New York Auto Show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenaline "is going to turn the performance-vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenaline was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.
A new Shelby Cobra GT 500 Mustang is due later this year as a 2007 model. But it will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, instead of SVT's network of roughly 600 dealers.
SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford to build and sell high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers that had an interest in selling performance products.
In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: The 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup, and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went on sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.
It's likely that Ford will continue to produce special-edition models of several vehicles, but they will not be sold through SVT channels
The SVT engineers are gone, all marketing is gone, the trailer is gone, the press fleet is gone, and the top chassis engineer has been sent to the fuel cell program.
7,500 or so Mustang GT500's are planned for 2007 .... more if they can get transmissions, and they will be sold through all Ford dealers.
Some SVT dealers, annoyed that all 3,900 Ford dealers are benefiting from what those 600 or so SVT dealers financed, are contemplating a class action law suite.
The GT500 will keep the SVT emblems. Too late to delete them."
Special Vehicle Team
Born 1991
Died 2006
Tony Sorrentino
[email protected]
SVT Cobra Mustang Club
www.SVTCobraClub.com
SCMC Hotline: (803) 371-0725
Check our website for the upcoming 2006 events. www.svtcobraclub.com.
So if SVT is gone whats going to happen to SVTOA? How will you guys get insured for events and so forth? Chris,Mike,Troy...
Dave
SVT Dead at 15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ford doesn't see a way forward for SVT
Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT -- the Special Vehicle Team -- and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT, as we've known it since 1992, will cease to exist.
SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the Sport Trac, called the Adrenaline, was shown at the New York Auto Show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenaline "is going to turn the performance-vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenaline was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.
A new Shelby Cobra GT 500 Mustang is due later this year as a 2007 model. But it will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, instead of SVT's network of roughly 600 dealers.
SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford to build and sell high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers that had an interest in selling performance products.
In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: The 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup, and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went on sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.
It's likely that Ford will continue to produce special-edition models of several vehicles, but they will not be sold through SVT channels
The SVT engineers are gone, all marketing is gone, the trailer is gone, the press fleet is gone, and the top chassis engineer has been sent to the fuel cell program.
7,500 or so Mustang GT500's are planned for 2007 .... more if they can get transmissions, and they will be sold through all Ford dealers.
Some SVT dealers, annoyed that all 3,900 Ford dealers are benefiting from what those 600 or so SVT dealers financed, are contemplating a class action law suite.
The GT500 will keep the SVT emblems. Too late to delete them."
Special Vehicle Team
Born 1991
Died 2006
Tony Sorrentino
[email protected]
SVT Cobra Mustang Club
www.SVTCobraClub.com
SCMC Hotline: (803) 371-0725
Check our website for the upcoming 2006 events. www.svtcobraclub.com.
So if SVT is gone whats going to happen to SVTOA? How will you guys get insured for events and so forth? Chris,Mike,Troy...
Dave
