[Les Quam]

Gloria ,
Before you sell your kidney you should know that I observed with my own two eyes a Saleen GT badged as a Ford GT being disassembled at my local Ford dealer service area as they replaced all the control arms and the rear main seal. As for your assertion that "most at home mechanics" could work on the Saleen/Ford GT I observed with my own two eyes as the service manager at the Ford dealer a former Nascar racer and mechanic struggled with these two projects. As a matter of fact he discussed with me the complete and total lack of support from Ford on the problems and how he had asked for a factory rep to assist him or even a manual and received no help at all from Ford. Even for a former Nascar mechanic these were complex projects and each and every repair was completed at a Ford dealership not some high tech facilty as the Ford marketing guru's would have you believe.

I then observed again with my own two eyes as the owner of the Ford dealership who also owned the Saleen/Ford GT waited a couple of weeks to see how bad the rear main seal actually leaked because it required so much disassembly of the car and the lack of Ford tech support made him not want to replace the rear main seal unless their was no other choice. They finally had to replace it because of the amount of oil leakage.

I watched again with my own two eyes as the tow truck came to my neighbors house and picked up his Saleen/Ford GT to deliver it to the dealership where it sat for over a month until all the recalls could be resolved. This notion that Saleen/Ford GTs were picked up by enclosed carriers is just marketing nonsense. Perhaps some were picked up that way I don't know I didn't see them all get picked up but every owner I spoke to had a Flat bed come for the car or drove it into the dealership after waiting for a Ford pick up that never came.


I currently own a 2003 SVT cobra anniv. editon last time I looked it was supercharged and in stock configuration it's as big a dog as the Saleen built GT with a Ford badge on it. But AT LEAST THE FORD SVT TEAM BUILT THE CAR!!! I also own six Shelby's ,two Boss 429s, three Boss 302s, two 1969 428 CJ shaker convertibles, and two 1966 Mustang fastbacks. My daily driver is a Ford F350 dually crew cab , my wife's daily driver is an excursion.I have owned and driven a Ford on a daily basis since 1975. I have no problem at all with Fords I tend to collect them and was anxiously looking forward to buying a Ford GT. That was when I thought Ford would actually build the car instead of sub it out to Steve Saleen? Perhaps you can spoon feed me and explain why Ford didn't have enough confidence in their SVT team to have them build the car or engine?????? Perhaps you can discuss it with me at the next Ford sponsored national owners party. Ooops thats right thats Dodge who rewards their customer loyalty with million dollar national Viper owner events not Ford?

When I went for my first ride in the Saleen/Ford GT with my neighbor I was so disappointed with the performance of the car I went the next day to San Diego to Pioneer Porsche and bought a Porsche Carrera GT because the car delivered as promised all 605 actual HP without modifications that would void the warranty. I was so unhappy with the Saleen badged Ford GT I actually went out and spent 240K more to own a 605 HP Porsche.

I am a Ford blue oval guy right down to the tattoo on my buttocks but this Saleen/Ford GT was rushed into production for the Ford 100 year anniversary. It is built by Saleen with a Roush engine later installed at a Ford plant to pacify the Ford unions. Those are undisputed facts.

The car is more a marketing and hype kit car then a race proven track tested car like the Z06 Vette, Viper and Ferrari. When I wanted to learn about the Ford GT I went to dealers and owners not to a chat room where people may or may not actually own the car and the few owners who are on the forums are desperately trying to support the car because Ford ruined the distribution of the Ford GT and allowed dealers to grossly mark up the car to obscene levels.

It may interest you to know that Dodge did not allow dealers to screw customers like Ford did with these absurd markups and sent vouchers to prior Viper owners first who then brought the Voucher to any dodge dealer of their choice and paid no more than MSRP for the first 1996 GTS coupes and the 2003 SRT Vipers. In other words Dodge prevented the dealers from charging over MSRP and went straight to previous new Viper owners and rewarded them with first rights on the next generation Vipers to avoid massive dealer markup over MSRP as a reward them for their prior purchase of a Viper. Dodge different!

As someone who either personally purchased or referred my friends and was responsible for buying 48 Fords from my local dealer since the year 2000 it would have been a nice gesture if Ford had given us SVT owners a shot at the Saleen/Ford GT before dealers tried to mark them up.

I couldn't be any happier that most Ford dealers are buried in their 2005 Saleen/Ford GTs after greedily asking so much over MSRP for so long and now that the bottom has dropped out and the INFORMED public knows that Ford doesn't build the car or engine and has a host of quality and production problems.

Gloria my dear if your going to flame me on one of these forums in regard to the Ford GT you need to bring your "A" game because trying to defend this Saleen/Roush/Ford Frankensteins monster kit car is a losing proposition and I can supply all the documentation to support my statements.

About the only thing Ford is doing well these days is marketing. The 2007 Shelby for example has nothing to do with Shelby other than his name is on the car. Yet Ford's marketing department would have us all think Shelby is modifying these Mustangs like the 65,66,67 models. It's nothing more than an SVT cobra with a Shelby badge affixed to it for crying out loud. More Ford BS hype. But at least they built this car in house. And I am still waiting everyday by my mail box for my voucher being a previous SVT Cobra owner. Ooops got the wrong company again sorry. LOL

I enjoyed your post though.