I responded to a complaint that Tigers aren’t listed in the Shelby
Registry, and I think my position was misunderstood.
Let me lay out some background information.I have a home office with
three pictures on the wall. As someone who writes about the automotive
business, I've gotten about 20 posters sent to me by manufacturers for
public relations purposes.
I've only framed and mounted one of them. It's Robert Hubbach color
drawing sent to me by Dodge. Yes, the lower half of it is a big red
Viper. The reason that it's on the wall is because of the upper half.
There's a Daytona Cobra edging out a Chevy-powered Cheetah, and a Shelby
Cobra 427 leading a Cunningham and a Lotus Seven.
Next to it is the Automobile Quarterly poster THE NOW AND FOREVER COBRA.
I grew up near the Shelby dealer Galpin Ford and 20 miles from West
Imperial Highway during Cobra and GT350 production.
I worked for a dealer that sold the production Ford GT40.
My serious interest in Tigers only goes back to about 1988. I've been a
student of Shelby and his productions since 1963.
I like to be historically correct. Shelby wants his Cobra's referred to
as Shelby Cobras. For historical and current reference purposes, I'm
adopting that standard. You have to know that in England, they like to
call them AC Cobras, which is what a lot us called them until recently.
According to all reliable printed sources, Shelbys company was asked to
build one of the Tiger prototypes. It was the one shipped to England to
first sell the idea to Rootes. The $5/car fee notwithstanding, that
alone wouldn't make it a Shelby, and more than the Viper should be
called a Shelby. Are they part of Shelbys history? You bet.
As for the tradition of Tiger people having him autograph their cars, a
lot of Tiger folks have a great affection for Carroll, and I understand
the signing usually is held on behalf of a charity. While he hasn't
signed my car, he did sign my copy of THE COBRA STORY in 1965.
Auto history is not too black and white. Just as the Jensen name is not
used on Tigers, their assembly is part of Jensen history. Just as the
Michigan company A.O.Smith assembled GT350's and GT500's during part of
1967 and thereafter, the cars are still considered and called Shelbys,
not Smiths.
When thinking of the Shelby / Tiger relationship and propensity of Tiger
owners to play up the Shelby connection, I recalled a road test of the
first smaller Cadillac, Seville, in 1975. As you know, the popularity of
Mercedes was very big then, and the Seville was an upfront attempt to
take customers from M-B. The magazine ended the article by saying while
the Seville wasn't a Mercedes, it was a very good Cadillac. I think
Tigers owners need to respect their cars for what they actually are.
There's a little envy thing going on in the Tiger community with some
owners, and I don't think we have anything to be ashamed of.
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