For people mad that Ford is ditching Shelby, hear me out

[broncoboy22]

Wrong........

Yup. If the name had no more cache we wouldn’t see so many people clamoring for it

Ford missed the forest for the trees on this one. They felt they had to use the dark horse name to tie it to Ford Racing. That’s why it was gonna be Dark Horse Boss instead of just Boss. But that’s dumb so they changed to it to DH SC. But because it’s a Ford Racing product that automatically ties it. Put illuminated ford racing door sill plates and puddle lamps or something and you’re good to go.

It seems like they want Dark Horse to be a sub brand like Raptor is. The problem is Dark Horse, although a good car, has 0 cache. Raptor had nearly instant cache because it was revolutionary for its time. DH brand started life as a re-skinned Mach 1 and slower than its predecessor in some regards…

Oh well. We got what we got.

I hope Ford eventually makes new and unique Mustang models or a true 2 seater sports car vette fighter

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[GaryTheSnail]

There are 2 year old NEW Dark Horses sitting on lots by me at 7K discounts ........
Seeing massive discounts everywhere.....

I dont think there was ever a time where Ford Performance GT350s or GT500s were selling under sticker - partially because of that Shelby name ....and yes I know that Cars and Coffee crowd driving part of that ......

The Dark Horse is a great car- have driven a few and loved them.......but yeah to just throw out history because you want to move forward.....then why even call the car a Mustang.....isnt that an old boomer name from the 60s too?

While that might be the case. Back in May of 2020 I bought a new 2020 Silver Gt350 for 5k under sticker.

 

[FunkinGoNuts]

Stangmode claims, and seems to confirm Shelby American will in fact that advantage of the lack of Cobra and use the DH SC as a base for the next GT500

 

[DeluxeStang]

Wrong........

I'm not wrong. I've given the Disney example. Many people would still call Disney an iconic company, but most would agree their reputation in recent decades has fallen off what it used to be.

 

[Snakebyte]

No need to explain on this, we all knew Ford would one day walk from Shelby. The Dark Horse and the the RTR was Fords turning point and I don't even have to defend the "GTD" . Now this new DARK Horse SC is the equivalent to the GT500 IMO. This will give the Shebly market a run.

And this is just me throwing my thoughts out there. I mean no disrespect

Sitting back and observing the last decade of Shelby/Ford relationships, I sensed a personal bond between Carroll and Ford that kept that fire going. Once Carroll passed, the fire in the gut between those two entities waned....no shock....because Carroll was no longer the tangible face of the Shelby organization.

But, that is the way relationships go throughout life. We older folks have witnessed many memorable automotive advances that were tied to a person. Think not only of Ford, but GM and Chrysler too, back in the hey days. We saw innovators jump from one company division to another, breathing new life and innovation to it through his new leadership there. In some cases a person jumped from one corporation to another, leading a charge to new, exciting products there. We witnessed that success could be directly tied to that person's influence.

It is people, it is individuals with unique leadership coupled with unique skill sets (like Carroll Shelby) that pushes any business to new levels. That's how life works in the automotive field, and any other corporation. The world is waiting for the next Carroll, and you know what, they are out there, but we just don't know their name(s)...yet.

 

[Upacurb]

I'm not wrong. I've given the Disney example. Many people would still call Disney an iconic company, but most would agree their reputation in recent decades has fallen off what it used to be.

Then why are new Dark Horses selling for 6k and 7k off sticker around here and my car 6 years old with 16k miles would still sell for well over sticker?

yes I agree that Shelby American has fallen off but to suggest the name Shelby still doesn’t carry weight is incorrect…

if the S550 Shelby cars were from 30 years I would agree with you … but the last Ford Performance car with the Shelby name was just built 4 years ago … not decades ago …

in a way I think it’s kind of weird… people seem to consider the Ford Performance cars Shelby’s and the Las Vegas cars Gts with blowers …

 

[DeluxeStang]

Then why are new Dark Horses selling for 6k and 7k off sticker around here and my car 6 years old with 16k miles would still sell for well over sticker?

yes I agree that Shelby American has fallen off but to suggest the name Shelby still doesn’t carry weight is incorrect…

if the S550 Shelby cars were from 30 years I would agree with you … but the last Ford Performance car with the Shelby name was just built 4 years ago … not decades ago …

in a way I think it’s kind of weird… people seem to consider the Ford Performance cars Shelby’s and the Las Vegas cars Gts with blowers …

But that's the thing, the last Shelby cars weren't Shelby cars at all. The last "true" Shelby was probably the 2013 gt 500. I'm not saying the Shelby name doesn't matter at all, I'm just saying there's a better way.

I'm glad Ford is partnering with the company that builds the Valkyrie, and not the company that basically just tunes cars. Multimatic is a much stronger partner for performance cars.

 

[Upacurb]

But that's the thing, the last Shelby cars weren't Shelby cars at all. The last "true" Shelby was probably the 2013 gt 500. I'm not saying the Shelby name doesn't matter at all, I'm just saying there's a better way.

I'm glad Ford is partnering with the company that builds the Valkyrie, and not the company that basically just tunes cars. Multimatic is a much stronger partner for performance cars.

yes the GTD is freaking awesome… I know some people bitch about lap times but from what I’ve seen … yes its fast but it’s also a total drivers car … its more then its lap times if that makes sense …

also its funny … the old old school Shelby guys think the last real Shelby’s were the 1967 cars as they were the last built at Shelby facilities in LA and not Fords …I had a 67 GT500 before so very familiar with that crowd ……

But im thinking Shelby took their name back from Ford because/ didn’t want a new contract … well because a Ford Performance GT500 is twice the car that a Super Snake is at almost half the price… makes it kind of hard to sell super snakes …

I will say this … I’d rather have a Dark horse SC then anything S650 from Shelby in Las Vegas ….

 

[MaddNomad]

Given Farley's comments posted on YT he may been the one killing the Dark Horse Boss. Can't say I'd blame him if that were the case.

Surprising considering how he pushed the Mach E despite the backlash. Maybe he’s turning things around.

 

[MaddNomad]

Stangmode claims, and seems to confirm Shelby American will in fact that advantage of the lack of Cobra and use the DH SC as a base for the next GT500

He made sure he watched us talk about it first. Lmao.

 

[saleen367]

The only point in your original argument that I'll take issue with is this.

Say what you want about Shelby .. don't care. How many other nameplates has Ford ever put on a car coming off their assembly line? Roush? Holman-Moody? Multimatic? Cosworth? Zakspeed? Riley? Saleen? You know the answer. Shelby was iconic for a number of reasons.

I have no issue with Ford abandoning the Shelby name because of licensing. I'm cheap too. But to completely throw out all of your historic names and cast them to the wind is quite frankly shortsighted. This is the arrogance and attitude that gets CEO's fired.

 

[Paddles]

The numbers get really wierd if you convert them to gold.

In 1968 a GT500 cost ~110 ounces of gold.
In 2007 they cost ~60 ounces.
In 2014 they cost ~50 ounces.
In 2020 they cost ~55 ounces.

Today a brand new DH only costs like ~15 ounces and a brand new Z06 is only ~30 ounces.

 

[LouG]

yes the GTD is freaking awesome… I know some people bitch about lap times but from what I’ve seen … yes its fast but it’s also a total drivers car … its more then its lap times if that makes sense …

So right. Look at the queues to buy GT3RS's, much less power than a GT2, but I bet it's more of a drivers car.

 

[jabarger1]

Furthermore, I'd argue Multimatic is the newer take on what Ford - Shelby used to have. When Shelby was good, truly as their best, they weren't just throwing tacky chrome wheels and ram truck looking grille inserts onto a car and charging 30 grand. They were engineers, they designed the cars. They made real substantial changes like designing an entire body, or doing major chassis and powertrain development.

One of the things I've seen enthusiasts get completely wrong about Shelby was believing he was a staunch traditionalist who just wanted to put a V8 and a manual in everything. These people couldn't be more wrong, Shelby was incredibly progressive.

He designed a radical experimental body for the Shelby Daytona coupe for aero benefits at a time when most people didn't care about aero. There are sketches from his team showing off active spoilers for a 60s mustang. He openly embraced small displacement performance turbocharged 4 cyls in the 80s. When working on the '05 Ford GT, he really wanted Ford to go with a dual clutch fast shifting auto, and was pissed when they went with a manual for the sake of tradition. In one of his final interviews, he said he wished he could live long enough to see performance hybrid and EVs become mainstream.

All of this is to say Shelby wasn't a traditionalist, he was on the cutting edge of experimentation and design. You know who that describes today? Multimatic. Multimatic is creating all the coolest cars right now, like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the peak of auto engineering. That's who Ford should be partnered with one their performance cars, not a brand like Shelby America that's become a shell of its former self.

100% agree! The new Dark Horse SC is going to be an incredible machine and the future of Ford Racing is going to be epic!

 

[Upacurb]

So right. Look at the queues to buy GT3RS's, much less power than a GT2, but I bet it's more of a drivers car.

Correct … I have tons of friends in the exotic world and same thing for Huracans… the AWD ones are faster but the 2wd cars are more sought after …

manual transmission Lamborghini pull big premiums over automatic even though they are slower …

in fact the last few heritage GT350 Rs have sold for more then the heritage GT500 CFTPs on bring a trailer … even though it’s a much slower car …

I mean if all we cared about was acceleration we would all be driving Tesla Plaids …

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