Saleen Autosport has a nice story.
I know there is a great story behind the evolution of saleen as an aftermarket mustang parts manufacturer. Your going to have to do your research though and this might be your biggest obstacle. Aight here is what I know. Oh and you can use the saleen book for info as well as videos, car sales info, internet sales, parts sales, innovation, marketing. There is a lot of info out there but it is a great story how a small company can grow into the company it has become today. Started by Steve Saleen former winning race driver. Some talking points.
-Steve started off as a race team member.
-started off by doing research into performance enhancement for mustangs and I think Ford Rangers.
-Sold aftermarket parts
-Sold cars out of warehouse
-Made deal with Ford to sell out of their dealerships.
-Developed new vehicles. S351 S281, Extreme Edition, Focus, S7 and a couple saleen Contours and maybe a Thunderbird.
-Begin with Mustangs and grew large enough to develop a supercar, the S7.
-Made deal with Ford to make FordGT.
-Made the car for Chevy for Transformers.
-Saleen approached Micheal Bay first to put car in movie as good guy, but then chevy butted in with their checkbook and made their new Camero the good guy and saleen E the bad guy Barricade. Other saleen vehicles have been featured in movies like Bruce Almighty, 2Fast2Furious, 50Cents music video and Hollywood Homicide, etc.
-Saleen has a following like Shelby did for the previous generation.
-Saleen grew company too big where too many investors had their hands in the pot. Of course little by little Steve lost control of the company where most of the decisions were made by the Execs with the money. Strong advertising and new markets allowed for the company to grow at the stake of holding onto the heritage of working with exclusively mustangs. Saleen has hold of a mustang market, as well as Sport Tuning with the Focus, as well as the Super car market with the S7 and the Ford GT.
-Great history but now will probably set its eyes on new markets beginning with Chevy.
-With its history there was changes of location, multiple facilities, a new retail store. I mean they are trying to sell saleen shoes which I think is crazy. Advertising with mustang websites, movies oh and they did a skit on The Bachelor TV show showcasing the vehicles.
-But yeah as of now, Saleen doesn't even belong to Steve Saleen anymore, he is just a poster boy now. But I do respect him because he re-ignited this new mustang fever.
-Market competition came about with Roush, Boyd Coddington, Foose Etc. which is probably why Saleen is headed into the direction they are headed in. To get an early stronghold before the others catch on.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. there is a ton of literature out there and contacts. But yeah like I said its a great story of innovation, growth, target marketing, but also a loss of heritage. There is a lot to focus on, but if you pick a couple things to get into im sure their is a lot of info out there to get you started. Good Luck.
