Ford and SVT **Renewed Focus (page 2)**
11-23-2003, 05:36 PM
#1
Kabachitare!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ford and SVT **Renewed Focus (page 2)**
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Ford to drop SVT Focus, suspend performance lineup
By Eric Mayne / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. is killing its high performance SVT Focus coupe next year and suspending production of the entire Special Vehicle Team lineup for the 2005 model year, the company said Friday.
"It will hurt us," said Dean Sellers, general manager of Dean Sellers Ford in Troy. "But it won't be devastating."
Ford's next scheduled model year for SVT products will be 2006. But its lineup - the Mustang Cobra and F-150 Lightning - will be based on new platforms and offer increased levels of performance.
John Coletti, SVT's chief engineer, said the 2006 Lightning will be powered by an engine similar to the one featured in the 500-horsepower Ford GT, which debuts next year.
Other possibilities include supercharged versions of the Mercury Marauder and Lincoln Navigator, a Mustang with a V-10 and a turbocharged Focus.
In 2005, Ford plans to introduce the Focus ST, which stands for street tuned. It offers slightly less horsepower than the SVT Focus -- 155 compared with 170. But it will have more torque and likely cost less.
Angelo Giordimaina, general sales manager of McLaughlin Ford in Royal Oak, said lease and insurance rates on the SVT Focus were alienating some buyers.
Since its introduction as a 2002 model, about 4,500 units a year have been sold. Tom Scarpello, SVT marketing and sales manager, hinted Ford expected more.
"Did it meet all its objectives? No," Scarpello said. "But the majority of them."
Since the first Cobra debuted in 1993, Ford has sold more than 135,000 SVT products.
You can reach Staff Writer Eric Mayne at emayne@detnews.com.
Ford to drop SVT Focus, suspend performance lineup
By Eric Mayne / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. is killing its high performance SVT Focus coupe next year and suspending production of the entire Special Vehicle Team lineup for the 2005 model year, the company said Friday.
"It will hurt us," said Dean Sellers, general manager of Dean Sellers Ford in Troy. "But it won't be devastating."
Ford's next scheduled model year for SVT products will be 2006. But its lineup - the Mustang Cobra and F-150 Lightning - will be based on new platforms and offer increased levels of performance.
John Coletti, SVT's chief engineer, said the 2006 Lightning will be powered by an engine similar to the one featured in the 500-horsepower Ford GT, which debuts next year.
Other possibilities include supercharged versions of the Mercury Marauder and Lincoln Navigator, a Mustang with a V-10 and a turbocharged Focus.
In 2005, Ford plans to introduce the Focus ST, which stands for street tuned. It offers slightly less horsepower than the SVT Focus -- 155 compared with 170. But it will have more torque and likely cost less.
Angelo Giordimaina, general sales manager of McLaughlin Ford in Royal Oak, said lease and insurance rates on the SVT Focus were alienating some buyers.
Since its introduction as a 2002 model, about 4,500 units a year have been sold. Tom Scarpello, SVT marketing and sales manager, hinted Ford expected more.
"Did it meet all its objectives? No," Scarpello said. "But the majority of them."
Since the first Cobra debuted in 1993, Ford has sold more than 135,000 SVT products.
You can reach Staff Writer Eric Mayne at emayne@detnews.com.
11-23-2003, 06:23 PM
#3
Suzuka Master
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Age: 45
Posts: 7,083
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
1 year. I guess cause they spent all the money on a 100k plus GT no one but millionaires want or can afford.
1 year. I guess cause they spent all the money on a 100k plus GT no one but millionaires want or can afford.
New Mustang is coming and the new F150 just arrived, but it takes time for the new SVT model to come out.
The Focus really wasn't selling that well, so I guess it makes sense to drop it and spend the $$ and time developing kick-ass SVT models of the Lightning and Mustang
11-23-2003, 08:06 PM
#5
Safety Car
i think the svt focus is too tame...so no biggie
personally I wouldnt get the Ford ST or whatever...for 155 hp I would rather get a civic (non-si), but maybe it will be REALLY cheap (<$10000).
personally I wouldnt get the Ford ST or whatever...for 155 hp I would rather get a civic (non-si), but maybe it will be REALLY cheap (<$10000).
11-24-2003, 06:53 AM
#6
Fahrvergnügen'd
The SVT Focus was really about how the regular 3-dr should have been ... at least in terms of performance. It was definitely not what we had expected.
Now, if the Focus RS comes here with 220hp, then we're talkin
Now, if the Focus RS comes here with 220hp, then we're talkin
Trending Topics
11-24-2003, 07:20 AM
#8
Moderator Alumnus
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Washington DC (NOVA)
Age: 52
Posts: 16,399
Likes: 0
Received 8 Likes
on
8 Posts
Autoweek reports that the move is due to the fact that the SVT brand is moved upwards:
(08:38 Nov. 24, 2003)
Ford to drop SVT Focus, put entire SVT lineup on hiatus
By RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
DETROIT -- Ford Division, planning to take the SVT performance brand to a more premium position, will drop the SVT Focus after the 2004 model year, the company says.
Dropping the car is part of an overhaul of the SVT lineup. No SVT models, including the SVT F-150 Lightning and the SVT Mustang Cobra, will be produced for about 18 months starting in the spring.
Ford will still sell a performance Focus, called the Focus ST, a four-door sedan. That car will debut in the 2005 model year.
Source: Autoweek
(08:38 Nov. 24, 2003)
Ford to drop SVT Focus, put entire SVT lineup on hiatus
By RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
DETROIT -- Ford Division, planning to take the SVT performance brand to a more premium position, will drop the SVT Focus after the 2004 model year, the company says.
Dropping the car is part of an overhaul of the SVT lineup. No SVT models, including the SVT F-150 Lightning and the SVT Mustang Cobra, will be produced for about 18 months starting in the spring.
Ford will still sell a performance Focus, called the Focus ST, a four-door sedan. That car will debut in the 2005 model year.
Source: Autoweek
11-24-2003, 07:34 AM
#9
Kabachitare!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Could the fact that Ford recently hired Caroll Shelby as a performance consultant have something to do with this?
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
Didn't some dude even create a "Shelby" Focus on the riceboy website? It may come true....
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
Didn't some dude even create a "Shelby" Focus on the riceboy website? It may come true....
11-24-2003, 07:40 AM
#10
Moderator Alumnus
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Washington DC (NOVA)
Age: 52
Posts: 16,399
Likes: 0
Received 8 Likes
on
8 Posts
Originally posted by kansaiwalker1
Could the fact that Ford recently hired Caroll Shelby as a performance consultant have something to do with this?
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
Didn't some dude even create a "Shelby" Focus on the riceboy website? It may come true....
Could the fact that Ford recently hired Caroll Shelby as a performance consultant have something to do with this?
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
Didn't some dude even create a "Shelby" Focus on the riceboy website? It may come true....
11-24-2003, 03:01 PM
#11
Suzuka Master
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Age: 45
Posts: 7,083
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Again as I said before the Mustang and F150 are brand new models very soon. It takes time to develop a performance model, so they are going on a haitus. The Mustang Cobra and Lightning didn't come out the year the new models were released. It took some time. They will return soon
11-24-2003, 04:23 PM
#12
Safety Car
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: philly
Posts: 4,426
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
that doesn't make sense to move it upwards. its a performance line, not a luxury line. there should be something for everyone like what srt/mopar has done. i can see dropping the focus, its a piece and is probably hurting the svt name since its on like its 13th recall now. needs more power too, cough rs.
11-26-2003, 12:33 AM
#13
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 1,192
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by kansaiwalker1
Could the fact that Ford recently hired Caroll Shelby as a performance consultant have something to do with this?
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
Could the fact that Ford recently hired Caroll Shelby as a performance consultant have something to do with this?
Perhaps they want to re-name their performance line from SVT to "Shelby ______" as in the old Shelby Mustangs, Shelby Cobras, etc.
blueovalnews.com confirmed Ford is bring back the Shelby name for the Mustang
11-26-2003, 04:54 AM
#14
Suzuka Master
Originally posted by cusdaddy
Again as I said before the Mustang and F150 are brand new models very soon. It takes time to develop a performance model, so they are going on a haitus. The Mustang Cobra and Lightning didn't come out the year the new models were released. It took some time. They will return soon
Again as I said before the Mustang and F150 are brand new models very soon. It takes time to develop a performance model, so they are going on a haitus. The Mustang Cobra and Lightning didn't come out the year the new models were released. It took some time. They will return soon
11-26-2003, 11:46 AM
#15
Race Director
Originally posted by Red Nj-s
Doesn't really seem to matter as they are comin back in a year.....
Doesn't really seem to matter as they are comin back in a year.....
Can't wait to see what the Lightning will be putting out then.
12-10-2003, 04:37 PM
#17
Kabachitare!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ford strives to give SVT models upscale image
(10:09 Dec. 09, 2003)
Ford strives to give SVT models upscale image
By RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. will take its SVT high-performance brand upscale and drop the SVT Focus.
The demise of the SVT Focus is part of Ford Motor's revision of its performance strategy. The company will create a performance series for the Ford brand and likely will add a high-performance Lincoln SUV and a supercharged Mercury sedan.
"I want to see product and performance across the range," said Phil Martens, group vice president of product creation for North America, at a press event here last month.
SVT stands for Special Vehicle Team.
The Ford Performance Group, formed in September 2002, is directing the strategy. The group develops performance vehicles and handles performance parts and services for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
Martens said the group will concentrate on three vehicle types beginning in the 2005 model year.
1. High-end vehicles, including the two-passenger 2005 Ford GT and the Ford brand's limited-edition SVT models.
2. Turbocharged and supercharged vehicles.
3. Mainstream performance, including the new ST label for the Ford brand's high-volume performance vehicles below SVT.
With the SVT brand going to a more premium position, the low-end Focus no longer fits. Production of the 2004 SVT Focus will end in the spring. Ford sells about 5,500 SVT Focus models annually.
"We are moving SVT upmarket in terms of performance, content, craftsmanship," said Tom Scarpello, SVT marketing and sales manager. "And obviously, going along with that will be price."
The three-door 2004 SVT Focus has a $19,205 sticker price, including $545 destination. The five-door is $19,705 with destination.
The two other vehicles in the SVT line, the SVT Lightning and the Mustang SVT Cobra, also end production in the spring, leaving dealers with an 18-month gap until new models arrive.
The next-generation SVT Lightning, based on the F-150 pickup, will go into production in late 2005 or early 2006. That will be followed by the next SVT Cobra, which will be based on the redesigned Mustang.
Ford Division is creating high-performance models by using previous-generation SVT engines. For example, the Mustang Mach 1 is equipped with the previous-generation Cobra V-8. The Lightning V-8 also is used in the Harley-Davidson Edition F-150.
John Coletti, director of Ford Special Vehicle Team Programs, wants to do the same thing at Lincoln Mercury.
Coletti said 65 percent of the cost of developing an SVT vehicle is the powertrain - emissions, packaging, hardware and other considerations.
"We are being forced to go up to a much higher level, and what is left behind is a boost for the mainstream products," Coletti said. "It makes sense to trickle that stuff down."
The Ford Performance Group has developed a 2004 Lincoln Navigator equipped with the supercharged 380-hp SVT Lightning V-8, although no decision has been made on production.
Turbocharging and supercharging also are expected to have a wider role in the automaker's powertrains.
A turbocharged 200-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine soon will be approved for the 2005 or 2006 Focus. If produced, it would be a mass-market engine, available to all Ford dealers. The SVT Focus is available only to qualified SVT dealerships.
A supercharged Mercury Marauder also is under consideration.
With the decision to drop the SVT Focus, Focus owners are being targeted with performance parts and accessories authorized by the Ford Performance Group.
The Ford brand will use the ST designation for a range of high-volume performance vehicles with horsepower and suspension and enhancements. The first Ford to carry that badge will be the 2005 Focus ST, a sedan with a 150-hp, 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
Martens said the ST designation will be used where appropriate. The mid-sized Futura sedan, due in 2005, is a likely candidate, possibly with all-wheel drive. He said the Taurus is not a candidate.
Ford strives to give SVT models upscale image
By RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. will take its SVT high-performance brand upscale and drop the SVT Focus.
The demise of the SVT Focus is part of Ford Motor's revision of its performance strategy. The company will create a performance series for the Ford brand and likely will add a high-performance Lincoln SUV and a supercharged Mercury sedan.
"I want to see product and performance across the range," said Phil Martens, group vice president of product creation for North America, at a press event here last month.
SVT stands for Special Vehicle Team.
The Ford Performance Group, formed in September 2002, is directing the strategy. The group develops performance vehicles and handles performance parts and services for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
Martens said the group will concentrate on three vehicle types beginning in the 2005 model year.
1. High-end vehicles, including the two-passenger 2005 Ford GT and the Ford brand's limited-edition SVT models.
2. Turbocharged and supercharged vehicles.
3. Mainstream performance, including the new ST label for the Ford brand's high-volume performance vehicles below SVT.
With the SVT brand going to a more premium position, the low-end Focus no longer fits. Production of the 2004 SVT Focus will end in the spring. Ford sells about 5,500 SVT Focus models annually.
"We are moving SVT upmarket in terms of performance, content, craftsmanship," said Tom Scarpello, SVT marketing and sales manager. "And obviously, going along with that will be price."
The three-door 2004 SVT Focus has a $19,205 sticker price, including $545 destination. The five-door is $19,705 with destination.
The two other vehicles in the SVT line, the SVT Lightning and the Mustang SVT Cobra, also end production in the spring, leaving dealers with an 18-month gap until new models arrive.
The next-generation SVT Lightning, based on the F-150 pickup, will go into production in late 2005 or early 2006. That will be followed by the next SVT Cobra, which will be based on the redesigned Mustang.
Ford Division is creating high-performance models by using previous-generation SVT engines. For example, the Mustang Mach 1 is equipped with the previous-generation Cobra V-8. The Lightning V-8 also is used in the Harley-Davidson Edition F-150.
John Coletti, director of Ford Special Vehicle Team Programs, wants to do the same thing at Lincoln Mercury.
Coletti said 65 percent of the cost of developing an SVT vehicle is the powertrain - emissions, packaging, hardware and other considerations.
"We are being forced to go up to a much higher level, and what is left behind is a boost for the mainstream products," Coletti said. "It makes sense to trickle that stuff down."
The Ford Performance Group has developed a 2004 Lincoln Navigator equipped with the supercharged 380-hp SVT Lightning V-8, although no decision has been made on production.
Turbocharging and supercharging also are expected to have a wider role in the automaker's powertrains.
A turbocharged 200-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine soon will be approved for the 2005 or 2006 Focus. If produced, it would be a mass-market engine, available to all Ford dealers. The SVT Focus is available only to qualified SVT dealerships.
A supercharged Mercury Marauder also is under consideration.
With the decision to drop the SVT Focus, Focus owners are being targeted with performance parts and accessories authorized by the Ford Performance Group.
The Ford brand will use the ST designation for a range of high-volume performance vehicles with horsepower and suspension and enhancements. The first Ford to carry that badge will be the 2005 Focus ST, a sedan with a 150-hp, 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
Martens said the ST designation will be used where appropriate. The mid-sized Futura sedan, due in 2005, is a likely candidate, possibly with all-wheel drive. He said the Taurus is not a candidate.
12-11-2003, 06:59 AM
#18
'Big Daddy Diggler'
They are going to do what dodge has been doing for a couple of years. Dodge slapped on suspension and soem minor visual upgrades and called their cars the sxt line.
12-12-2003, 03:07 PM
#19
Senior Moderator
Sounds interesting. When I first heard that the SVT's were going away I thought maybe it was another name change (used to be SVO for special vehicle operations).
Looks like the redesigned SVT Cobra won't be out till 2006-2007 then
Might be time for me to go back to driving a Ford (I miss rear wheel drive) 
Looks like the redesigned SVT Cobra won't be out till 2006-2007 then
Might be time for me to go back to driving a Ford (I miss rear wheel drive)
12-12-2003, 04:18 PM
#20
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Everywhere
Age: 46
Posts: 12,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is an oxymoron. Ford/Lincoln is not upmarket. WTF are they thinking???? I guess they mean in price.....
Jeez, drop the awesome Focus SVT to make a Lincoln Navigator SVT. How silly...
Jeez, drop the awesome Focus SVT to make a Lincoln Navigator SVT. How silly...
03-02-2006, 03:27 PM
#22
That was uncalled for...
Ford axes SVT
Some great cars came out of SVT, and soon it will be over...Ford doesn't see a way forward for SVT
Posted March 2, 2006
Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT -- the Special Vehicle Team -- and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT, as we've known it since 1992, will cease to exist.
SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the Sport Trac, called the Adrenalin, was shown at the New York Auto Show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenalin "is going to turn the performance-vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenalin was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.
A new Shelby Cobra GT 500 Mustang is due later this year as a 2007 model. But it will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, instead of SVT's network of roughly 600 dealers.
SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford to build and sell high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers that had an interest in selling performance products.
In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: The 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup, and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went on sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.
It's likely that Ford will continue to produce special-edition models of several vehicles, but they will not be sold through SVT channels.
Original Article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/class...tive-headlines
03-02-2006, 04:57 PM
#25
The sizzle in the Steak
sux
03-02-2006, 05:59 PM
#26
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by M TYPE X
The 'SVT' Sport Trac won't happen?
What about the SVT Five Hundred?
What about the SVT Five Hundred?
With 203hp and 207 lb-ft why go SVT; the thing's obviously a beast in stock form.
03-02-2006, 10:20 PM
#29
Suzuka Master
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Chicago Suburbs
Age: 43
Posts: 5,579
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by S A CHO
But Fords decision
03-03-2006, 12:59 AM
#34
fap fap fap
Originally Posted by Maximized
It's a great decision on Ford's part. First, Ford doesn't have the cash right now to be producing specialty vehicles. Secondly, Ford needs to restructure SVT. SVT's latest product isn't their best work.
i think its a good decision also. they havent released anything in a few yrs anyway. what they shouldve done was work on getting that new 3.5 in the fivehundred at launch
03-03-2006, 08:17 AM
#35
Aaaarrrggghhhh!
They should take a look at how the boys over at DaimlerChrysler are doing it. The SRT program there seems to be great for business. The higher-profile SRT models help sell the lower models of the same cars as well...
I guess Ford can't figure out the magic balance.
I guess Ford can't figure out the magic balance.
03-03-2006, 10:43 AM
#36
Suzuka Master
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Chicago Suburbs
Age: 43
Posts: 5,579
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Scribesoft
They should take a look at how the boys over at DaimlerChrysler are doing it. The SRT program there seems to be great for business. The higher-profile SRT models help sell the lower models of the same cars as well...
I guess Ford can't figure out the magic balance.
I guess Ford can't figure out the magic balance.
03-03-2006, 10:58 AM
#37
Team Owner
It doesn't make sense to have a hop-up division when you have sh*t to hop up. The Mustang is the only thing they have going right now.
Mike
Mike
03-03-2006, 08:51 PM
#38
Senior Moderator
Maybe it's time to bring back the SVO... Ford will have some type of special vehicles, it just won't distribute them the same way it has since 1992...
03-03-2006, 09:44 PM
#39
Safety Car
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: philly
Posts: 4,426
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't think a company needs a performance label to build performance cars( zo6 ), pretty much this means the end of a lot of BS jobs that lived off the SVT name, but with an equal result of fast vehicles. This isn't specialty, its performance.
03-07-2006, 07:57 AM
#40
Burning Brakes
Team spiritless: Ford's SVT concept is history
Date posted: 03-06-2006
Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT — the Special Vehicle Team — and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT as we've known it since 1992 will cease to exist.
Just over a year ago, I wrote a column titled "SVT: A near-death experience?" It was more prophetic than I'd hoped. SVT, responsible for such products as the SVT Cobra Mustang, the SVT Lightning pickup, the SVT Contour and the SVT Focus, no longer has a dedicated marketing staff, a dedicated public relations staff, an independent engineering team, a press fleet or an events trailer. The dealer network that was painstakingly assembled among Ford's top dealers has crumbled, and some dealers reportedly are talking about a class-action lawsuit.
SVT's longtime executive staff is gone, and, oddly enough, so are the Ford executives who developed and executed SVT's demise.
Yes, the 2007 Mustang in Shelby Cobra trim is still coming, and yes, it was developed by SVT. And yes, it'll have SVT badges, because it's too late to take them off. But it is the last genuine SVT product.
By "genuine," I mean it was developed by SVT, from concept to execution, then sold through the network of 600 dedicated Ford SVT dealers, who paid to be part of SVT, sent employees to SVT training and stocked SVT parts. Any future Ford products that carry an SVT badge, and it is unlikely any will, will be more of a "suspension tuned by SVT"-type vehicle. And the 7,500 Shelby Cobra Mustangs sold for 2007 — more, if they can get enough transmissions — will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, not just SVT participants.
SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the new Sport Trac, called the Adrenalin, was shown at the New York auto show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT Director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenalin "is going to turn the performance vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenalin was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. "As part of our way forward, we are adjusting our product plan and decided not to produce the Sport Trac Adrenalin," said Ford spokesman Jon Harmon. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.
If you check the official SVT Web site, there remains a glowing story about the Adrenalin, and when it's coming to market. "I guess we're a little behind on that Web site," said one Ford executive. Yes, I guess.
This is the second such embarrassment for SVT: The company showed a concept version of a new 500-horsepower Lightning in 2003 and promised to produce it, but in late 2004, pulled the plug.
SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford, charged with building and selling high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers who had an interest in selling performance products.
In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: the 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went in sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.
So what went wrong?
It appears that the balls-out effort to build the Ford GT by the company's 100th anniversary took its toll on the SVT staff, slowing development of more mainstream future products, such as the next-generation Lightning, an updated SVT Focus and an SVT version of the Fusion. The Ford executives who oversaw SVT, group vice presidents Steve Lyons and Phil Martens, didn't give SVT the resources it needed to rebuild.
Martens is gone; he's running Plastech, a company that supplies spoilers and scuff plates and other bits and pieces to the manufacturers. And Lyons retired March 1 to move to Arizona and run a Ford dealership. Reportedly Lyon's replacement, Cisco Codina, likes SVT, but it's too late.
Why? Because SVT's top executives are gone, too. John Coletti, the bulldog engineer who was the heart and soul of SVT, retired at the end of 2004. Tom Scarpello, Coletti's counterpart on the marketing side, moved to Jaguar. Chris Theodore, a Ford vice president who spearheaded the Ford GT, is gone. This leaves the talented, personable Hau Thai-Tang to run SVT. Essentially, he's a captain without a ship.
It's painful to see what has happened to SVT, especially when you look at the success of Chrysler's SRT program, which in many ways mirrors what SVT was. In the grand scheme of Ford's problems, botching SVT is a small one. But to enthusiasts, it speaks volumes.
Nearly 10 years ago I was in Las Vegas, the first to drive the upcoming SVT Contour. John Coletti and I, en route to some all-you-can-eat buffet at a casino, were talking about GM's current strategy of hiring brand managers for each model. It was not a successful program, but I was playing devil's advocate.
"Maybe it's a good thing," I told Coletti, "to have someone whose job it is to be excited about the Chevrolet Cavalier."
Coletti thought for a moment. "But wouldn't it be better to just build cars that you didn't have to pay someone to be excited about?"
Yes, John, it would. And you and your team always did.
-----------------
this is pretty much the same article, but it is longer
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=109512
Date posted: 03-06-2006
Quietly, Ford Motor Co. has been dismantling SVT — the Special Vehicle Team — and sources inside the company suggest that as of April 1, SVT as we've known it since 1992 will cease to exist.
Just over a year ago, I wrote a column titled "SVT: A near-death experience?" It was more prophetic than I'd hoped. SVT, responsible for such products as the SVT Cobra Mustang, the SVT Lightning pickup, the SVT Contour and the SVT Focus, no longer has a dedicated marketing staff, a dedicated public relations staff, an independent engineering team, a press fleet or an events trailer. The dealer network that was painstakingly assembled among Ford's top dealers has crumbled, and some dealers reportedly are talking about a class-action lawsuit.
SVT's longtime executive staff is gone, and, oddly enough, so are the Ford executives who developed and executed SVT's demise.
Yes, the 2007 Mustang in Shelby Cobra trim is still coming, and yes, it was developed by SVT. And yes, it'll have SVT badges, because it's too late to take them off. But it is the last genuine SVT product.
By "genuine," I mean it was developed by SVT, from concept to execution, then sold through the network of 600 dedicated Ford SVT dealers, who paid to be part of SVT, sent employees to SVT training and stocked SVT parts. Any future Ford products that carry an SVT badge, and it is unlikely any will, will be more of a "suspension tuned by SVT"-type vehicle. And the 7,500 Shelby Cobra Mustangs sold for 2007 — more, if they can get enough transmissions — will be offered to all 3,900 Ford dealers, not just SVT participants.
SVT has had no dedicated products since 2004. A high-performance version of the new Sport Trac, called the Adrenalin, was shown at the New York auto show in March 2005. At a preview for journalists, SVT Director Hau Thai-Tang said that the Adrenalin "is going to turn the performance vehicle market upside down" when it goes on sale as a 2007 model. Then, last month, the Adrenalin was canceled as part of Ford's "Way Forward" restructuring campaign. "As part of our way forward, we are adjusting our product plan and decided not to produce the Sport Trac Adrenalin," said Ford spokesman Jon Harmon. The Ford GT supercar, which was developed largely by SVT engineers but was not called an SVT model, will end production later this year.
If you check the official SVT Web site, there remains a glowing story about the Adrenalin, and when it's coming to market. "I guess we're a little behind on that Web site," said one Ford executive. Yes, I guess.
This is the second such embarrassment for SVT: The company showed a concept version of a new 500-horsepower Lightning in 2003 and promised to produce it, but in late 2004, pulled the plug.
SVT was founded in 1991 by Robert Rewey, Ford's vice president for marketing and sales, and Neil Ressler, Ford's chief technical officer. The idea was that SVT would consist of a small group of engineers, designers and marketing professionals who would work inside Ford, charged with building and selling high-performance versions of existing products. SVT also set up a separate dealer network, signing up Ford dealers who had an interest in selling performance products.
In 1992, the first two SVT products were launched: the 1993 F-150 Lightning pickup and the 1993 Mustang Cobra. In 1997, the SVT Contour was introduced, and in 1999, the second-generation Lightning went in sale. In late 2001, the '02 SVT Focus went on sale. By 2004, when production of the Lightning, Mustang Cobra and SVT Focus ended, the company had sold about 145,000 SVT products.
So what went wrong?
It appears that the balls-out effort to build the Ford GT by the company's 100th anniversary took its toll on the SVT staff, slowing development of more mainstream future products, such as the next-generation Lightning, an updated SVT Focus and an SVT version of the Fusion. The Ford executives who oversaw SVT, group vice presidents Steve Lyons and Phil Martens, didn't give SVT the resources it needed to rebuild.
Martens is gone; he's running Plastech, a company that supplies spoilers and scuff plates and other bits and pieces to the manufacturers. And Lyons retired March 1 to move to Arizona and run a Ford dealership. Reportedly Lyon's replacement, Cisco Codina, likes SVT, but it's too late.
Why? Because SVT's top executives are gone, too. John Coletti, the bulldog engineer who was the heart and soul of SVT, retired at the end of 2004. Tom Scarpello, Coletti's counterpart on the marketing side, moved to Jaguar. Chris Theodore, a Ford vice president who spearheaded the Ford GT, is gone. This leaves the talented, personable Hau Thai-Tang to run SVT. Essentially, he's a captain without a ship.
It's painful to see what has happened to SVT, especially when you look at the success of Chrysler's SRT program, which in many ways mirrors what SVT was. In the grand scheme of Ford's problems, botching SVT is a small one. But to enthusiasts, it speaks volumes.
Nearly 10 years ago I was in Las Vegas, the first to drive the upcoming SVT Contour. John Coletti and I, en route to some all-you-can-eat buffet at a casino, were talking about GM's current strategy of hiring brand managers for each model. It was not a successful program, but I was playing devil's advocate.
"Maybe it's a good thing," I told Coletti, "to have someone whose job it is to be excited about the Chevrolet Cavalier."
Coletti thought for a moment. "But wouldn't it be better to just build cars that you didn't have to pay someone to be excited about?"
Yes, John, it would. And you and your team always did.
-----------------
this is pretty much the same article, but it is longer
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=109512