chuckstang95 said:
78 venom you sound like you maybe be right on. please be wrong, because honestly id be more than upset if they get rid of svt. i wanted to actually work with svt when i get out of school. working with colletti would be a dream come true
Here you go straight from Coletti.
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/sema2004/ford/lightning/page1.html
Ford SVT Lightning Update
By: Mike Magda Posted: 11-02-04 19:31
© 2004 PickupTruck.com
Page: [1]
The director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) steadfastly denied that the Lightning pickup has been killed.
John Coletti said some media and enthusiasts have interpreted the group's decision to postpone work on the next-generation truck as meaning the program is cancelled.
"That's simply not true," said Coletti, who spoke with PickupTruck.com at the Innovations Day luncheon, which kicked off Ford's participation in the 2004 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on Nov. 1.
"It was a business decision," continued Coletti, who was a panelist along with such legends as Parnelli Jones and Carroll Shelby to help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. "This was almost like a perfect storm. There were a lot of things that hit us simultaneously and now it's just a matter of us getting back in step."
Officials said that switching to next-generation platforms of the F-150 and Mustang hit too close together for engineering to proceed at a timely pace on both vehicles. Also, the plants where the vehicles are to be assembled have changed and acclimating the procedures and parts to a new workforce would have stretched the SVT team too thin.
"We're trying to find a slot that it [Lightning] makes sense in," continued Coletti. "The current slot just didn't make business sense so we're going to go back and reassess it."
"A lot of people are taking it to mean a stronger word than postponement, and we're here to say it's just a postponement. But the customers will get the truck they're looking for."