Adrenaline.

 

Well, I have done some looking, calling, and talking to "buddies", and I really don't like what I'm hearing.

Apparently, the group presently known as "SVT" is going to be absorbed into a larger, more encompassing group that will probably take the name Team Ford Racing - or TFR. TFR already exists, and will simply expand to encompass the 4 other groups Ford has operating independently.

The "new" TFR group will contain SVT entirely, and will also incorporate Ford Racing Performance Parts (FRPP), SVTOA (Owners Association), and Ford Racing (the oval track boys).

I'm not to sure this is a good thing in it's own right.
SVT has created an incredibly loyal following over the years, and their reputation for service is second to none. WHY RISK IT? Why drop this brand (it essentially is a brand within Ford) at a time when everyone else is trying to copy it?!?! (SRT, PAG, AMG, etc.) In my opinion, Ford would be better off to leave SVT alone and let them start releasing new product ASAP (like an SVT Fusion, another Lightning, and another Mustang), and consolidate the other 3 racing groups into TFR - at least in the short term. I'd be willing to bet that SVT generates more public sales and "public fanfare"/"image" for Ford than the other 4 groups combined.

There is an announcement expected on or about July1 of this year regarding this "consolidation". In the mean time, Ford has already begun to realign the SVTOA club with the TFR club. Magazine subscriptions to "SVT Enthusiast" are being reallocated to "Inside The Oval".

A letter written by Mickey Matus, Ford Performance Group Marketing Manager, is published on the SVTOA website that explains some of the proposed details. SVTOA Letter
In the mean time, there are numerous calls for email and snail mail to Ford asking them NOT to do this. I've put in my .02.

I'm the first to admit that I am not the best in the world when it comes to marketing and/or sales, but for the life of me I can't see why Ford feels the need to implode their best-performing (speed and money) American brand?
If all they are wanting to do is eliminate some duplicated positions (like managers, directors, etc) that occur across all 5 groups, why not consolidate the other ones under SVT and keep that highly regarded nameplate out in the public's eye?

I'm about to just give up on them...

 

Hey Proud,

Where do you think SVT is going? What do you think of Hau? And do you think Coletti would have executed the GT500 differently?

EDIT: We posted at the same time, seems that you answered the most important question.

 

Colletti did the GT500. They were working on it when I did my 1st interview with him back in early 2003 and were finishing up on what turned out to be the stillborn "Supercooled" supercharged new Lightning. My interview was mainly about (ironically) SVT being adsorbed into Ford Performance.

He was pretty excited (and pretty colorful) about SVT's future at the time. He saw it as a way to get even more resources available, and have more items at his disposal. SVT was so small, they had enough engineers to only really work on one product at a time.

Hau was the guy who was developing the Mustang at the time. He moved to SVT after the Mustang was done. The GT500 was under final development, and he was too late to have any real influence on the car. He would have had more influence on the Adrenialine.

The SVT Fusion and Five Hundred would have been the 1st cars that were all his.

His influence seems limited to getting the all but done GT500 out, and overseeing the adsorbtion (or dismantiling) of the SVT network into FPD.

Kind of fitting moving out an accomplished drag racer & trash talker like Colletti as head of SVT, and replacing him with an very excellent, but low keyed and dispassionate engineer like Hau.

 

I liked it when Coletti and that guy from GM (can't remember his name) had a rivalry. SVT built that orange Boss 429 and GM built that black Camaro. This was years back.

 

Actually, I understand that he and Jon Moss were good friends and lived not too far from each other.

 

You would describe Hau as dispassionate? You might be right if you meant relative to Coletti.

 

That too bad ford removing the svt line. I wonder what type of car the cougar would had be if svt would had work on it.

 

Thats what I heard. Wouldnt surprise me at all. I'll never forget that C&D shootout between the ZL1 Camaro and that badass mustang (in 98ish if i remember correctly). I remember the cover of the magazine and my blood gets a little pumped up even now just thinking about it. I wish we could go back and do things like that. have ford and chevy (and maybe even throw in dodge) each make one bad *** version of their respective ponycars and have an all out competition. arround different types of tracks and everything else. Im

 

Charlie, I think Colletti would be disheartened - period. He put his heart and soul into SVT when he took over, and most of what SVT is known for happened under his watch.

I think Hau is very passionate about his work - but I also think he is a "company man". He will do whatever he is told to do, unlike Colletti who would demonstrate a maverick quality when his gut told him it was the right thing to do. Honestly, I can't see Hau fighting hard against company policy to keep SVT alive under it's own name. If he is promised a high position in the restructuring - he'll go along with it. Can't blame a guy for self-preservation... he simply doesn't have the history, experience, or stature that Colletti carried.

Regarding the GT500 - Colletti would be all for it - he loves fast Mustangs and had a good view and respect for Shelby's past. Would he have dropped the Cobra name? I doubt it. Would he have allowed SVT to be Cobra-less for 3 years - no way... it's the car that started it all for SVT in 1993. Bottom line is - Colletti probably knew what was coming, and decided to get out while the getting was good - "out on top" so to speak. I'm sure it's hard for him to see all his hard work being rolled up into a bigger, less personal, and less-known corporate acronym. That's what ails me too.

Everyone should understand clearly that Ford is NOT moving away from high-performance niche vehicles - in fact, they are trying to consolidate resources and channel more positive work into better (and more) products. That's why they are going to offer the new units through all Ford dealers. The issue I have with that is that the exclusivity and higher standard of service and attention to detail is exactly what set SVT apart from the typical Ford dealer. They risk losing the "special" factor, and the market itself, if they take their exclusive products into general marketing and service sectors. But I digress... I feel like I am stating the obvious.

Well, it's a sucky time to be out of the loop, but I have been VERY busy lately getting equipment through customs in China. I just can't keep up with it all...
I leave in the morning for my first 3-week trip to China to set-up the new machines in a new plant outside of Shanghai. 4 days in Taiwan, then 2 weeks in China. I return again in late April for production start-up.

I'll be trying to access the internet from time to time, but it's hard to get "surf-time" in China (for me anyways). I'll try to keep up with what's going on with SVT and hit this board from time to time.

If it matters to any of you - hit the SVTOA website and send a note to Ford on their behalf. Even a note from someone that doesn't own an SVT but respects their position says alot - namely that the exclusive performance and refinement "reached" you, even if you didn't buy, and THAT is what the marketing plot was all about from the beginning. Mails and letters worked for the Mustang back in 1988...

Be good fellas!

 

just found out! die little sucky ford die lol j/k but they never had anything for me anyway

 

The obviously were.

Just to give an idea what Coletti-Moss rivalry was like, After I interviewed him for nearly an hour, he gave me a message to give to Jon Moss (Colletti returned my request for an interview before GM did).

Involving Pontiac's upcoming LS1 GTO, the knowledge it would be eaten alive by the supercharged SVT Cobra, and the fact that the GTO would have an LS2 the 2nd year (there's few secrets in Detroit):

"Remind him he gets only 1 chance to make a 1st impression...... and be sure you tell him I said it!!"

He then essentially made me promise I'd tell him.

(both have been retired awhile, so I think it's safe to post this. )