The Huffington Post
January 2, 2009
By: Kimberly S. Johnson


DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. is looking to appeal to muscle car enthusiasts with its 2010 Ford Shelby GT500.

The latest model of the Shelby pays closer attention to quality and interior detail, Ford said during a preview of the car set to debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which runs Jan. 11-25.

The Shelby Mustang is in its fourth model since being reintroduced in 2007. The car was first produced by Ford in collaboration with former race-car driver turned designer, Carroll Shelby, who first refashioned the Mustang in the 1960s.

Although the Shelby is a high-end specialty car, Ford hopes that the pumped up design _ racing stripes that adorn the seats _ and performance help show off the company's commitment to high performance and quality.

Ford spokesman Alan Hall said the Shelby "polishes the Ford oval" because the car gives off good vibes about Ford, particularly as the company's image may have been tarnished in recent months as its U.S. counterparts prepare to receive billions of dollars in loans from the government. Ford has said it doesn't plan to dip into loan monies that may be available from the Treasury Department.

"Products like the Shelby speak to the die-hard enthusiast and help fire up their passion about the brand and be our product advocates to friends and neighbors," Hall said. "It really shows that Ford still loves making cars, making hot cars. We're not just producing appliances."

Consumers unable to buy a Shelby may go to Ford showrooms and end up purchasing a new Mustang with a V6 or V8 engine, Hall said. The 2010 Mustang was introduced in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Ford sold 3,667 Mustangs in November, down 50.1 percent from November 2007.

New features on the Shelby include rear cameras to help assist in parking, a feature generally reserved for luxury cars, SUVs or minivans. The 2010 model also improves its highway mileage performance by two miles per gallon with an estimated 22 mpg on highways and 14 mpg in the city. The car is expected to hit showrooms next spring.

 

see now i dont understand these auto makers are in debt and losing sales to foriegn cars. these cars are FUEL EFFICIENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a muscle car isnt going to save any auto maker.

my 2 cents

 

eh hm...

GM and Chrysler are the ones taking the bail out... Ford decided it's okay for now atleast and is holding out.........

Ford will exist in some form or another, if nothing else making the Ford Mondeo (best selling car in Europe), and the F-150... maybe even just standard Mustangs. The Fusion is doing alright as well.....

But as for the Shelby... too expensive for times like these... they should go back to making cars the awy they did in the 60's and 70;s.

See, back then... you're car didn't even come with a radio to the dealersihp!! When you bought the ca,r you choose if you wanted 8 track, tape, or just a simple am (or am/fm later on), and that was it!! The car didnt' come with a radio most of the time... and if it did, it was a simple swap. Not like today... it was much easier to persuade someone to buy a car if you could put exactly what they wanted in it and have it ready to pick up this afternoon.... not force someone to settle with someting they don't want.

 

That was then ... this is now. Load-up the car with every darn bell and whistle you got. I want my car better than that guy's. Gimme speakers so freaking big; I gotta buy a trailer! Multiple screens to distract me. GPS, Internet, XM, Surround ... I want **** in there that ain't even invented yet. Phones, cooler, thermos, umbrella, pistol-clip, heated seats, Heads-up Display ... everything! I can't afford. I'll need a big loan. Make it for 8-Years at 16-Percent. No money down. No co-signer. I ain't going to make the payments, anyway. Send the Repo-Man if you can find me. How do you like my 28" rims? Do you think the fenders will rub? Look at this little ladder that came with the rims. Ain't it cute?

 

Why the hell does a muscle car need a rear view camera? This to me is why the american auto industry is where it is. They put stuff in the car that is of no real use. having a back up camera is not going to make the decsion for a buying between a new challenger, camaro, or the mustang

Then only getting 14 in town, WHAT? My dads srt8 6.1 hemi gets right at 18.2 mpg in town, getting 14mpg's is just down right horrible.



IMO if they want a car that will save them (the big 3) they need to stop doubling up there cars,

-Have one sedan with different trim levels
-one coupe with different trim levels
-one minivan with different trim levels
-one crossover with different trim levels
-etc.
-etc.

The big three now are competing to much with themselves right now.

Just my opinion

 

IMHO, it STILL comes down to ONE thing, and ONE thing ONLY....QUALITY! You get all these bells and whistles, and they are good for a while, MAYBE, and then they break. Don't work. Sunroofs that won't work. Gauge clusters that are crap. Cheap plastic that breaks. Poor mileage. It's the QUALITY that sells the Camry, Accord, and even the high end Lexus. People LOVE these cars, because THEY DON'T BREAK DOWN! Fit and finish. MILEAGE!

People want QUALITY, and will buy the best vehicle they can for the money. Ford said "Although the Shelby is a high-end specialty car, Ford hopes that the pumped up design _ racing stripes that adorn the seats _ and performance help show off the company's commitment to high performance and QUALITY."

I'm a tool & die moldmaker. Deadlines are all important. No time to get it right BEFORE it goes into production. Get parts, and make it right LATER! Take 6 months to a year to decide something needs to be changed. WHAT? It takes that long to see a part doesn't fit right? BULL! The new Camaro has been in development long enough that it had BETTER be right the FIRST time! It's all about quality, and if the new Camaro has 1st year bugs, it could be all over for GM, IMHO. Quality.

We have a list of things expected of us at work, and quality is #1. It is an expected. Not a hoped for. We don't "HOPE" a tool works, Shrinkage and warpage are serious issues in moldmaking, and it's a big guessing game. Does our part fit a stamping that hasn't been made yet? We guess a lot at dimensions in designs, educated guesses, but if the tools don't FUNCTION right, ie parts that don't LOOK perfect, or the tool doesn't run automatic, WE GOT PROBLEMS. We lost a customer last year. I went on vacation, and the old guy that took over on my job screwed things up so bad, they they never were right. Dimensions adjusted on dimensions that weren't right to begin with. Made things worse. It was all about quality. I took a beating, cuz it was MY mold, even tho I wasn't the one to screw it up. Doesn't matter, cuz the OWNERS name was on the side of the tool, and it was HIS quality that was bad. Same with GM. If someone buys a GM and has problems, and they never get fixed right, and the service department is full of a-holes, you are going to move on to the next dealer. And the next. And the next. QUALITY. That's what it is all about. QUALITY.

My 2 cents again.

 

hey... thing about back up cameras.. if any of you ahve ever driven an SUV or minivan... you know you just simply can't see stuff out of the rear of the car!! They are so high taht you can't see small cars, children, etc. behind you.. but on the Shelby, I do questin it's need (but its a top of the line car...


btw, do you guys remember drivers ed when the teacher said to put your right hand no the drivers seat and head looking over your right shoulder? how are you supposed to see that rear view mirrors dash monitor then!?! ?

 

Is the image on that Rear-View Screen in color so you can enjoy the Reds and Blues of the roof-rack and grill-lights of the Police Cruiser that will be stopping you? They ought to bag the Rear-View Camera and install a Stealth-located Radar Detector or High-tech microwave pulse transducer to fool the Radar.

 

If you want American cars to sell better

Do what we did in the 70's

PUT IMPORT TAXES ON ALL THE IMPORTS......

But then again I guess that would include about 80 percent of American cars since most parts or cars are assy. somewhere else