SVT is in trouble.....

hillie16

Founding Member
Nov 29, 1999
6,002
8
108
SVT needs your support. I'm going to keep this message short and to the point. It appears that there are some people within Ford that feel that the SVT brand is no longer needed and is a waste of Ford's resources. I ask that each one of you take 5 minutes out of your life write a letter similar to the one below to let Ford know what SVT means to you. This is not a chain letter and is not an internet rumor. I can’t really prove it but your going to have to trust your gut on this one.



Example Letter:



To Whom It May Concern,

My name is and I’ve recently been informed that the upcoming release of the SVT Lightning and SVT Cobra have been postponed. I am very upset by this news, as I intended to purchase these new vehicles promptly following their release. I currently own a 2003 SVT Cobra and have been a loyal Ford customer for many years.

However, if SVT will not pledge ongoing support for its customers then I will take my business to one of the competing auto manufacturers.

Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do to combat these unfortunate circumstances.

Sincerely,





And fax it to the SVT Fax line: 313-621-2500.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Well I have talked to SVT a couple of times about this.

Basically they tell me they have postponed the Lightning to concentrate efforts on the 2007 SVT Mustang.

There are obviously many rumors floating around, but to say the Mustang SVT is going to be postponed also, is going over the top.

Show proof or you shouldn't be posting this on a respectable board as Stangnet...All you are doing is adding to this mess in a non positive way and will be having SVT spend time and energy responding to the false rumors instead of concentrating on doing what actually needs to be done...

Ken
 
SVT is in trouble. And trust me, unless who you've been talking to are accountants or executives.. they will be the last to know.

Ford is considering canning SVT because its 1) unprofitable and 2) no longer fitting into their global EPA compliance efforts. basically ford is hamstrung because of all the trucks they sell and will need to cut gas guzzlers where they can.

Don't worry.. there will be a Cobra. Just that Ford is thinking of outsourcing the high performance work to Roush, from what I've heard. That means we could all expect a hideous and very expensive Cobra for '07.
 
This is stupid...Ford sunk alot of money into the GT and the Shelby. They needed to cut costs some so the postponed the lightning. I was told that they will be concentrating thier efforts on the new 07 Cobra and to just wait SVT is't going away. my source is extremely reliable
 
One2Gamble. The Ford power lease for the Lightning is for 2 years. The Lighning was supposed to be released in mid 2006, followed 6 months later by the Mustang SVT.

I seriously doubt the Lightning is ready now....
 
Chupacabras said:
Show proof or you shouldn't be posting this on a respectable board as Stangnet...

This comes from inside SVT itself. I'm well aware of how respectable this site is as I've been an admin here for a while, and a member a lot longer. My proof does not wish to reveal his name.
 
hillie16 said:
This comes from inside SVT itself. I'm well aware of how respectable this site is as I've been an admin here for a while, and a member a lot longer. My proof does not wish to reveal his name.


Your proof is not in the know.

The real proof will be to some extent reported in Ford's 10Q release next week, and moreso by the 10k release next March.

SVT does not control its own destiny!!! Any of you people talking to SVT guys are simply not getting reliable information. The call on whether to can the group will be based on financial results, nothing more. If Ford is unhappy with the profitability of the group, which I assume they are... and also unhappy with SVT's impact on their global EPA efforts.. then you can bet something is going down.

I personally think that Ford will do the following (which I have posted before)

1. Build the Ford GT
2. Build the Ford Cobra (80-100k version, detuned GT motor)
3. Outsource the Mustang Cobra to Roush
4. Can the Focus
5. Can the Lightning

You guys can hold me to that.
 
BTW my point is that I believe Ford will shift thier strategy to making much fewer, very high priced, very profitable sports cars.. as opposed to mass producing focuses and cobras that fill up dealer lots and hurt average fleet fuel economy numbers.
 
Jpjr said:
Your proof is not in the know.

The real proof will be to some extent reported in Ford's 10Q release next week, and moreso by the 10k release next March.

SVT does not control its own destiny!!! Any of you people talking to SVT guys are simply not getting reliable information. The call on whether to can the group will be based on financial results, nothing more. If Ford is unhappy with the profitability of the group, which I assume they are... and also unhappy with SVT's impact on their global EPA efforts.. then you can bet something is going down.

I personally think that Ford will do the following (which I have posted before)

1. Build the Ford GT
2. Build the Ford Cobra (80-100k version, detuned GT motor)
3. Outsource the Mustang Cobra to Roush
4. Can the Focus
5. Can the Lightning

You guys can hold me to that.

who is yours and why should we believe you.
 
GTPlus said:
who is yours and why should we believe you.

My source is logic. Actually you could call it an applied logic as I am in a unique position.. and yes, I am an accountant.

Like I said, I have made my prediction and we can all see what really happens. I would be more than happy to hear you guys say you told me so for the sake of SVT.
 
hillie16 said:
Exactly why this person is asking for public outcry as help. It saved the Mustang before.

I sent in my fax!!

I want SVT to stick around. I would love to see a fair priced 400+hp SVT in '07...

But in reality the real petition is sales. If they are not selling SVT's like they thought they would.. then it makes sense to outsource. Who knows..
 
The number of SVT units is small compared to the total Ford production units BTW = high cost. This is a quantity / excess capacity game - the shrinking demand, continued production of vehicles and the continued rebates and/or low financing initiatives are not helping Ford. In order for Ford to survive, they will have to do what is financially viable for them.

I agree with Jpjr – SVT’s days are numbered and it has nothing to do with inside information, it has all to do with public financial disclosure which is public information.
 
Jpjr said:
Your proof is not in the know.

The real proof will be to some extent reported in Ford's 10Q release next week, and moreso by the 10k release next March.

SVT does not control its own destiny!!! Any of you people talking to SVT guys are simply not getting reliable information. The call on whether to can the group will be based on financial results, nothing more. If Ford is unhappy with the profitability of the group, which I assume they are... and also unhappy with SVT's impact on their global EPA efforts.. then you can bet something is going down.

If that is the case, there are a lot of other parts of Ford that should see heads roll first.

"PAG reported a pre-tax loss of $171 million for the third quarter, excluding special items, compared with a pre-tax loss of $24 million for the third quarter of 2003."

Maybe they should fire the people running Jaguar and Rover, since they seem to be having a hard time finding people who actually want to buy what they are producing, contrary to SVT.

The Premier group's results would have been MUCH worse if Volvo wasn't selling every XC90 they can make. And I can tell you as an owner that XC90s are not going to help Ford's EPA or CAFE efforts. The things gets much worse milage than my Cobra.