No More SVT?????

[Doubt Incarnate]

svt is cool and all, or was. what probly killed it was the tuners buying the base modle cars and saving for the big wazoo turbo and customizing mods and getting comparable performance and a personalized look for less than what an svt car costs.

 

[chriswells78]

Not nescessarily. To hook a V6 mustang up and be as fast as an 03/04 SVT cobra, it would cost you more than the 18 grand sticker differnence. Not to say that it coudn't be done, but you still have a V6 mustang according to the VIN number when it comes time to trade it in or Total it.

The SVT Focus was a JOKE. It was something to appease the tuner magazines. The europeans got a turbocharged version, we couldn't even get a supercharged version.

Ford has been slowly taking away all of it's high performance cars, the GT is going away, the LS is bye bye, the Cobra has been gone for 2 model years now as well as the Lightning. The SHO went bye bye with the 99 model year, the SVT Contour didn't last long, the Cougar was a wash...I can go on.

Man cars are about history in the Ford lineup, face it and forget it. It's not because of tuners, imports, democrats or republicans etc. It's becasue women are the ones buying new cars. After seeing the research that I have seen, GM is about to follow suit. What man in their right mind would buy an HHR for christ sake. That has baby boom woman written all over it. I bet the camaro concept never makes it to production and you won't be able to get a V8 in the Impala within 2 years or the next body change at the latest.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Our "real" cars and trucks still exist, just not in the United States.

Like in the Philippines. My aunt and family there have an '05 Toyota Innova. Exclusive to that part of Asia. Think of a Highlander, a little longer, and cross it with a Sienna. They got a deluxe version with leather, nice wheels, etc. It has the "D4D" 4 banger turbo diesel, rear wheel drive, and a manual tranny. Actually, we went to the Toyota dealer, and except for one, all the vehicles in the showroom there (Corolla, couple Innovas, and a Hi-Ace) had manual transmissions. Half were diesel.

Look up Holden sometime. GM's down under brand, I think like Chevrolet. You'll probably cry when you see the stuff they have and that will never be driven in the United States of America. Diesels, manual transmissions, 2 range 4x4...

 

[BeauJ]

Not so fast...

Article in Autoweek Updated 04/17/06, 8:22 am et

SVT lives
Ford says performance brand scaled back, but new truck is coming
By AMY WILSON | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
8:16 am, April 17, 2006


NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co.'s Special Vehicle Team will survive, Ford executive Mark Fields says. But the performance brand has been scaled back.

Going forward, Ford will offer one high-performance Mustang and one high-performance truck in its lineup, Fields said last week here at the New York auto show.

Ford expects to sell 5,000 to 10,000 units of each SVT vehicle annually, he said.

Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, wouldn't say what kind of truck is in the works or when it would debut. The Shelby GT500, the latest Mustang developed by SVT, is scheduled to go on sale this summer.

A two-vehicle stable is a departure from a year ago, when Ford said SVT eventually would have as many as five products, more than ever before. One of those was to have been the Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin in 2007. It later was canceled as part of the automaker's Way Forward restructuring plan.

That cancellation, plus other changes for SVT, had triggered apprehension over the performance brand's future. Fields tried to put those fears to rest.

"SVT isn't dying," he said. "Would I like to do more? Sure. But at the same time, we've got to balance our resources."

Fields acknowledged that SVT and Ford Racing's marketing groups have been combined. He described Ford's performance strategy as a three-pronged approach encompassing SVT, Ford Racing and "personalized performance" aimed at the tuner crowd.

Although SVT has been scaled back, Fields said he is "from the school that says performance vehicles make brands stronger."

"I believe they have a critical role in our Way Forward because they challenge our designers and engineers to excel, they excite our marketers, and they make a strong emotional connection to customers."

 

['97 V8]

Thank God. At least they arent totally stupid. I hope its a lightning

 

[Stic-o]

I heard this the other day too.

So this tells me it will be Mustang and the Sport Trac.

The only reason I say Sport Trac, is because the SVT version is ready for production, another Lighting is a ways off still. The Sport Trac is more sellable anyway, being a 4 door

 

[BeauJ]

Yes, it will be the Shelby Cobra and the Sport Trac Adrenalin

 

[techieman33]

The current f-150 would make a crappy lightning anyway.

 

[MoabB2]

Praise the Lord! SVT needs to stay around!

 

[TTG]

It's probably gonna be that Lightning to compete with the SRT-10. Rich guys like big fast trucks, not midsize fast SUV/Truck hybrids.

As I recall they did finish the Lightning before they got "downsized"

 

[BeauJ]

Did you even read this????

Yes, it will be the Shelby Cobra and the Sport Trac Adrenalin

They WILL NOT be doing the Lightning now. They had plans for 2008/09, but who knows now....

 

[dmasini]

It'll be interesting to see them back-track from saying they wouldn't be making the Sport Trac Adrenalin. Mr. Ford is going to be the downfall of that company...

 

[jimcom]

Yeah Dave I totally agree, I just read an article on a pickuptruck site where they interviewed the head honcho in charge of the new 2007 ST, and he said there wouldn't be an adrenaline, then 2 days later this?
Sounds like the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing?
Or do they just like keeping consumers in the dark?
Don't they see how people are clamoring for things like the Grand Cherokee SRT8?
You'd think they would put out some press if they are keeping the Adrenaline.
I'll believe they are making it when that sumbitch hits the showroom floor of my local dealer, until then, I have no faith in Ford.
And it kills me to say that, but it's the truth.