December 5, 2007 autoextremist.com
RANTS by Peter M. De Lorenzo
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It looks like "Ol' Shel" is back to his ol' tricks again.
Detroit. There's no doubt that Carroll Shelby, the free-wheeling Texan and ex-race driver behind the famous Ford-powered Cobra from the 60s - a brilliant blend of California hot-rod know-how and a light but fragile AC cars-built sports car chassis from England - made history. The magnificent Cobra, probably the most seductive combination of visceral all-American V-8 power and brute speed ever unleashed on the American landscape, is still the iconic sports cars of that once golden era, or for any era, for that matter.
Shelby and his band of California hot-rodder cohorts - made up of some of the most naturally-gifted talent ever assembled on a racing team - stood the racing world on its ear in one of the most glorious chapters of American racing history. His team's achievements will survive for all time, and the legend surrounding those cars and the talented individuals who were part of that fleeting moment in racing history will live on too.
But there was always another side to Shelby - the one that didn't endear him to many and ultimately pissed-off quite a few over the years - and that was his mercenary mentality that seemed to infect everything he did. This was a man who spent virtually his entire career never really appreciating the moment because he was so wrapped-up in wrangling his next buck.
When the insurance industry began to clamp-down on the muscle car mania in the U.S. in the late 60s, Shelby sensed that the Cobra's time had passed. Racing had changed too. His Cobra roadsters were replaced by the beautiful Peter Brock-designed "Daytona" Cobra coupes, which were eventually replaced by the Ford GT during the mid-engine racing car revolution, so he cut a deal with Ford and sold his name, so they could continue building "Shelby" Mustangs, even though the later models bore no resemblance to the raucous and unruly early versions that tore-up race tracks all across the country.
But as always Shelby didn't care, it was the deal he was most interested in.
He looked upon his iconic Cobra as so much dead weight and scrap by then, and he sold-off most of the remnants of that era without flinching - because there was no action in busted-up old race cars or yesterday's street cars. And he was ready to move on to other things.
He would have a falling out with Ford shortly after, a situation that wouldn't be resolved for nearly 30 years, and not long after he moved on to his next project - lending his name and reputation to Lee Iacocca - so that he could help the cigar-chomping ex-Ford sales guru inject some life into a decidedly moribund product lineup at Chrysler. The resulting "Shelby"-branded front-wheel-drive "K-car"-based cars made the Cobra faithful cringe, but it didn't surprise those who knew Shelby well, because after all, it was always about the deal for Shelby, and his Chrysler adventure was just another example of that.
Meanwhile, a phenomenon was building all over the country. Even though Shelby couldn't care less about his Cobra, there were plenty of people who did, including a hard-core group of Cobra enthusiasts who formed the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). These folks were dedicated to the preservation and complete documentation of Shelby's vehicles - from Cobras to Mustangs - and basically kept the flame going for Shelby.
But there was something else happening with the whole Cobra "thing" too, because entrepreneurs were starting to come out of the woodwork to build "replica" Shelby Cobras. And it became a booming business. People were making some serious dough building excellent and in some cases outstanding Cobra replicas.
Slowly, but surely, Shelby began to acknowledge his history and started to appear at SAAC events, autographing the glove boxes and trunk lids of his cars - both real and replicas - and enjoying all of the back-slapping and the boot polishing being directed toward him as he was treated like a king.
Then, as if right on cue, Shelby, the guy who couldn't have been bothered about history when he sold the remnants of the Cobra adventure for scrap, started to get pissed-off that so many people were making serious money off of his Cobra. And that was absolutely the last straw. Shelby hated anyone getting between him and making a buck, and even though he was the one who decided long before that his "old" sports cars didn't amount to squat in value, all of a sudden the "legacy" of his car became of paramount concern to him, and he went on a binge suing everybody in sight in order to "protect" his name and his Cobra from these interlopers.
He even tried to copyright the body design of the Cobra, even though its design lineage could be traced back through at least two Italian sports cars before the AC Bristol, the car the Cobra was based on. Fortunately, the courts told him to go pound sand on that last point.
Of course, there were other Shelby adventures that occupied his time too. He tried to resurrect the spirit of the Cobra with the Dodge Viper, and even though the real car never equaled the concept, it still survives today, albeit with no real connection to Shelby whatsoever.
He tried to cash in on his legacy one more time with an ill-fated sports car project using Oldsmobile Aurora power, with the whole project running out of juice long before anyone cared. He even reconciled with Ford, more for the money than for any of the other noble reasons (tradition, history, etc.) bandied about at the time when the announcement was made. And Ford now uses the Shelby name every chance it gets today.
And, as of late, since he's on borrowed time health-wise (he's a heart transplant recipient) and he's in his 80s, and while in the course of doing heart-related charity work through his foundation, he's been on a crusade to consolidate all of his interests and solidify his reputation and legacy once and for all.
His latest target? The Shelby American Automobile Club.
Shelby is not renewing the licensing agreement with the club, figuring there has to be money to be made in there somewhere, and he's demanding - through his lawyers - that the club turn over all of its research data and other information (its Shelby American World Registry published every ten years is the "bible" for anything and everything having to do with the documentation, authentication and owner history of Shelby cars) accumulated since January 1, 1996, and anything to do with their business, including their financial statements (which Shelby has no right to), so he can start his own Shelby club, which will replace the SAAC. Just like that.
Nice.
The SAAC has been Shelby's champion for 33 years, literally making an icon out of the guy. Back in the dark days when Shelby was pissing away his time on his latest money-generating idea of the week, the SAAC kept the Shelby legacy alive. It could even be argued that without the SAAC, Shelby's stature in this business would be seriously diminished from the lofty perch he occupies today.
But that really doesn't matter much at this point because with this move, Shelby has once again confirmed for everyone what he's been about since Day One. And it's not about the legacy of the Cobra or "protecting" his name or anything like that. It's not about the championships or the men and women who helped him achieve racing history. No, it's about the money, pure and simple.
Which could be a problem in this case, because it is seriously doubtful that any of Shelby's new hired hands could ever create or run a club as well as the SAAC has been run up to this point (a club that's considered to be one of the finest of its kind in the world).
Not to mention the fact that Shelby probably should have been paying the SAAC all of these years for the job they've done in protecting and perpetuating his legacy and the legacy of the Cobra. Ah, but that's notgonnahappen.com, because as we all know Shelby never pays for anything if he can possibly avoid doing so.
Needless to say, this move isn't going over well with the Cobra faithful at the SAAC who long ago figured out that there was more than a little something to all those tales about the "other" side of Shelby. Inside sources tell me that Shelby personally called every SAAC registrar who currently works for the club and requested that they all come and work for him at his "new" club. Every one of them said, "No, thanks." Ouch. And other SAAC officials are being steadfast in their belief that after more than three decades, the information that the SAAC has worked so hard to accumulate is proprietary, and that Shelby has no right or claim to it, and to make its point, the SAAC is gathering proper legal representation.
It is said that all of the maneuvering that Shelby is doing now is being done in the name of protecting his legacy after he's gone. But other than the magnificent original cars themselves, that legacy has been left in tatters by one too many schemes, one too many quick-buck deals, and turning his back one too many times on the people who helped create that legacy in the first place.
Yes, a "new" Shelby club will get created somehow, but the damage has already been done, and the value of this new organization will be dubious, at best. Meanwhile, a lot of the people who kept the Shelby flame alive all these years will now be walking away from him - for good. "
Detroit. There's no doubt that Carroll Shelby, the free-wheeling Texan and ex-race driver behind the famous Ford-powered Cobra from the 60s - a brilliant blend of California hot-rod know-how and a light but fragile AC cars-built sports car chassis from England - made history. The magnificent Cobra, probably the most seductive combination of visceral all-American V-8 power and brute speed ever unleashed on the American landscape, is still the iconic sports cars of that once golden era, or for any era, for that matter.
Shelby and his band of California hot-rodder cohorts - made up of some of the most naturally-gifted talent ever assembled on a racing team - stood the racing world on its ear in one of the most glorious chapters of American racing history. His team's achievements will survive for all time, and the legend surrounding those cars and the talented individuals who were part of that fleeting moment in racing history will live on too.
But there was always another side to Shelby - the one that didn't endear him to many and ultimately pissed-off quite a few over the years - and that was his mercenary mentality that seemed to infect everything he did. This was a man who spent virtually his entire career never really appreciating the moment because he was so wrapped-up in wrangling his next buck.
When the insurance industry began to clamp-down on the muscle car mania in the U.S. in the late 60s, Shelby sensed that the Cobra's time had passed. Racing had changed too. His Cobra roadsters were replaced by the beautiful Peter Brock-designed "Daytona" Cobra coupes, which were eventually replaced by the Ford GT during the mid-engine racing car revolution, so he cut a deal with Ford and sold his name, so they could continue building "Shelby" Mustangs, even though the later models bore no resemblance to the raucous and unruly early versions that tore-up race tracks all across the country.
But as always Shelby didn't care, it was the deal he was most interested in.
He looked upon his iconic Cobra as so much dead weight and scrap by then, and he sold-off most of the remnants of that era without flinching - because there was no action in busted-up old race cars or yesterday's street cars. And he was ready to move on to other things.
He would have a falling out with Ford shortly after, a situation that wouldn't be resolved for nearly 30 years, and not long after he moved on to his next project - lending his name and reputation to Lee Iacocca - so that he could help the cigar-chomping ex-Ford sales guru inject some life into a decidedly moribund product lineup at Chrysler. The resulting "Shelby"-branded front-wheel-drive "K-car"-based cars made the Cobra faithful cringe, but it didn't surprise those who knew Shelby well, because after all, it was always about the deal for Shelby, and his Chrysler adventure was just another example of that.
Meanwhile, a phenomenon was building all over the country. Even though Shelby couldn't care less about his Cobra, there were plenty of people who did, including a hard-core group of Cobra enthusiasts who formed the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). These folks were dedicated to the preservation and complete documentation of Shelby's vehicles - from Cobras to Mustangs - and basically kept the flame going for Shelby.
But there was something else happening with the whole Cobra "thing" too, because entrepreneurs were starting to come out of the woodwork to build "replica" Shelby Cobras. And it became a booming business. People were making some serious dough building excellent and in some cases outstanding Cobra replicas.
Slowly, but surely, Shelby began to acknowledge his history and started to appear at SAAC events, autographing the glove boxes and trunk lids of his cars - both real and replicas - and enjoying all of the back-slapping and the boot polishing being directed toward him as he was treated like a king.
Then, as if right on cue, Shelby, the guy who couldn't have been bothered about history when he sold the remnants of the Cobra adventure for scrap, started to get pissed-off that so many people were making serious money off of his Cobra. And that was absolutely the last straw. Shelby hated anyone getting between him and making a buck, and even though he was the one who decided long before that his "old" sports cars didn't amount to squat in value, all of a sudden the "legacy" of his car became of paramount concern to him, and he went on a binge suing everybody in sight in order to "protect" his name and his Cobra from these interlopers.
He even tried to copyright the body design of the Cobra, even though its design lineage could be traced back through at least two Italian sports cars before the AC Bristol, the car the Cobra was based on. Fortunately, the courts told him to go pound sand on that last point.
Of course, there were other Shelby adventures that occupied his time too. He tried to resurrect the spirit of the Cobra with the Dodge Viper, and even though the real car never equaled the concept, it still survives today, albeit with no real connection to Shelby whatsoever.
He tried to cash in on his legacy one more time with an ill-fated sports car project using Oldsmobile Aurora power, with the whole project running out of juice long before anyone cared. He even reconciled with Ford, more for the money than for any of the other noble reasons (tradition, history, etc.) bandied about at the time when the announcement was made. And Ford now uses the Shelby name every chance it gets today.
And, as of late, since he's on borrowed time health-wise (he's a heart transplant recipient) and he's in his 80s, and while in the course of doing heart-related charity work through his foundation, he's been on a crusade to consolidate all of his interests and solidify his reputation and legacy once and for all.
His latest target? The Shelby American Automobile Club.
Shelby is not renewing the licensing agreement with the club, figuring there has to be money to be made in there somewhere, and he's demanding - through his lawyers - that the club turn over all of its research data and other information (its Shelby American World Registry published every ten years is the "bible" for anything and everything having to do with the documentation, authentication and owner history of Shelby cars) accumulated since January 1, 1996, and anything to do with their business, including their financial statements (which Shelby has no right to), so he can start his own Shelby club, which will replace the SAAC. Just like that.
Nice.
The SAAC has been Shelby's champion for 33 years, literally making an icon out of the guy. Back in the dark days when Shelby was pissing away his time on his latest money-generating idea of the week, the SAAC kept the Shelby legacy alive. It could even be argued that without the SAAC, Shelby's stature in this business would be seriously diminished from the lofty perch he occupies today.
But that really doesn't matter much at this point because with this move, Shelby has once again confirmed for everyone what he's been about since Day One. And it's not about the legacy of the Cobra or "protecting" his name or anything like that. It's not about the championships or the men and women who helped him achieve racing history. No, it's about the money, pure and simple.
Which could be a problem in this case, because it is seriously doubtful that any of Shelby's new hired hands could ever create or run a club as well as the SAAC has been run up to this point (a club that's considered to be one of the finest of its kind in the world).
Not to mention the fact that Shelby probably should have been paying the SAAC all of these years for the job they've done in protecting and perpetuating his legacy and the legacy of the Cobra. Ah, but that's notgonnahappen.com, because as we all know Shelby never pays for anything if he can possibly avoid doing so.
Needless to say, this move isn't going over well with the Cobra faithful at the SAAC who long ago figured out that there was more than a little something to all those tales about the "other" side of Shelby. Inside sources tell me that Shelby personally called every SAAC registrar who currently works for the club and requested that they all come and work for him at his "new" club. Every one of them said, "No, thanks." Ouch. And other SAAC officials are being steadfast in their belief that after more than three decades, the information that the SAAC has worked so hard to accumulate is proprietary, and that Shelby has no right or claim to it, and to make its point, the SAAC is gathering proper legal representation.
It is said that all of the maneuvering that Shelby is doing now is being done in the name of protecting his legacy after he's gone. But other than the magnificent original cars themselves, that legacy has been left in tatters by one too many schemes, one too many quick-buck deals, and turning his back one too many times on the people who helped create that legacy in the first place.
Yes, a "new" Shelby club will get created somehow, but the damage has already been done, and the value of this new organization will be dubious, at best. Meanwhile, a lot of the people who kept the Shelby flame alive all these years will now be walking away from him - for good. "