<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 69hurstSC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Wow!! It appears your blanket statement should be reconsidered. From the sounds of it he's been a hero to many.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: old5.0</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Good for him and all, but let's not pretend he's some sort of hero. </div></div> </div></div>
You're right, that was a very broad statement. I have no intention to retract it, but I will clarify it.
I have not and will not speak to Shelby's charity efforts because, simply, I know nothing about them. Others have raised concerns, and that's their prerogative. I do, on the other hand, have strong opinions on his treatment of enthusiast groups (i.e. SAAC), to whom the man owes at least a modicum of gratitude.
Eber and Kopec worked for years creating the sort of documentation framework that most owner groups ask Santa to bring them for Christmas. But the efforts of the club with regard to the vintage cars is well documented, and won't be repeated here. There is, however, more to the story.
I feel with absolute conviction that the current horsepower race, as well as the state of modern "street car" drag racing is directly attributable to the 5.0 Mustang. I'm sure many will disagree, and that's fine, but I feel the facts back it up. In it's heyday, it was a grassroots movement without equal, before or since, and it was nurtured to life by a relatively small group of street racers, magazine writers, and factory engineers, a few of whom had cut their teeth street racing on Woodward Ave. And, whether by extraordinary foresight or sheer dumb luck, SAAC was right in the middle of the growing maelstrom. I remember, as a car obsessed high schooler, recognizing and appreciating the connection between Shelby and the SAAC cars. And I have no doubt that more than a handful of young guys like myself were drawn to learn more about SAAC, and by extension Shelby, after watching SAAC XD-1 make yet another 8 second, 170+ mph pass in Pro5.0 competition.
While all of the above was happening, Carroll was... doing what, exactly? And now, 20 years later, we seem to have come full circle. Shelby is selling cars whose existence is due, in large part, to a very small group of individuals with the vision to know a good thing when they saw it, of whom Eber and Kopec were were two. The 2005-present Shelby GT500s are incredible cars, but they would have been equally incredible had they simply remained SVT Cobras.
I'll reiterate my statement. Carroll never cared about cars; Carroll cared about making money. I don't begrudge the man a dime of it; indeed, if I can achieve a quarter of what he has in the world of business, I'll consider my life a success. In the 60's, he saw an opportunity and struck while the iron was hot, and I admire him for that. But, insofar as we all love cars for what they are (even though we all have our favorites), I don't believe Carroll was ever "one of us".
Bergy was correct in his observation that there are two sides to every story. My side is that Shelby's treatment of SAAC was shabby at best. Carroll built the cars, but SAAC kept his legacy and name relevant years after the last vintage Shelby Mustang was sold, much as this club has done for the Yenko cars. And we haven't even delved into the "lost" CSX4000 cars.
No, I'll stand by my statement. As far as his automotive exploits go, particularly over the past quarter century, he's no hero.