"Death of Ford's SVT" (Update, Back From the Dead)
03-09-06, 07:58 PM
#1
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"Death of Ford's SVT" (Update, Back From the Dead)
"Death of Ford's SVT" ~ by Edmunds.com
http://www.edmunds.com/insidel...09512
Quote »
Team spiritless: Ford's SVT concept is history
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 *****-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.
http://www.edmunds.com/insidel...09512
Quote »
Team spiritless: Ford's SVT concept is history
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 *****-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.
03-09-06, 10:13 PM
#2
Super Moderator
I feel kind of sad for the SVT Ford vehicles that race at my local track. 
Though few, their owners were more dedicated to their vehicles than any other group I have met there (we also have a large Civic and SRT-4 bunch).
Though few, their owners were more dedicated to their vehicles than any other group I have met there (we also have a large Civic and SRT-4 bunch).
03-10-06, 02:12 AM
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That's pretty sad. Although Ford seems to go through in house tuners. First there was SVO (Specialty Vehicle Operations) who made the Mustang SVOs and they went away only after three years. SVT pretty much took over what SVO did and now that SVT is going away, there probably will be another one on the way although it may take a few years. It's just a matter of how soon, considering Ford's financial troubles as of late.
03-10-06, 04:29 AM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
The 1993 SVT Corba 5.0 is still a fav of mine.
I recall being in a SVT Lighting for the first time as well, that was fun
Not as fun as my freinds tiny ford ranger he decided to throw a blown 351 into, laugh.
I recall being in a SVT Lighting for the first time as well, that was fun
Not as fun as my freinds tiny ford ranger he decided to throw a blown 351 into, laugh.
03-10-06, 02:12 PM
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1SickLex, in another thread you said (with due apologies to Saab owners) that basically no one gives a rat's *** about Saab. I think that sentiment applies equally well to SVT.
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
I actually lost my respect for SVT back in 1996 when a Ford-loyalist coworker was looking at getting an SVT Contour. I did a little research and found out that an Integra GS-R was superior in absolutely every respect--it was faster and quicker, cornered better, braked better, had more interior space, got better gas mileage, had more amenities and features, had a longer warranty, and featured Acura-level customer service. To top it all off, it cost less! So I saw my buddy at work the next day and told him what I found out. He stormed away, pissed that I hadn't told him all this the day before. Yes, the day he bought his Contour SVT. The one that was in and out of the shop from the second day he owned it. He's not a Ford loyalist anymore...
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
I actually lost my respect for SVT back in 1996 when a Ford-loyalist coworker was looking at getting an SVT Contour. I did a little research and found out that an Integra GS-R was superior in absolutely every respect--it was faster and quicker, cornered better, braked better, had more interior space, got better gas mileage, had more amenities and features, had a longer warranty, and featured Acura-level customer service. To top it all off, it cost less! So I saw my buddy at work the next day and told him what I found out. He stormed away, pissed that I hadn't told him all this the day before. Yes, the day he bought his Contour SVT. The one that was in and out of the shop from the second day he owned it. He's not a Ford loyalist anymore...
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03-10-06, 03:33 PM
#8
Originally Posted by Iceman
1SickLex, in another thread you said (with due apologies to Saab owners) that basically no one gives a rat's *** about Saab. I think that sentiment applies equally well to SVT.
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
Originally Posted by Iceman
I actually lost my respect for SVT back in 1996 when a Ford-loyalist coworker was looking at getting an SVT Contour. I did a little research and found out that an Integra GS-R was superior in absolutely every respect--it was faster and quicker, cornered better, braked better, had more interior space, got better gas mileage, had more amenities and features, had a longer warranty, and featured Acura-level customer service. To top it all off, it cost less! So I saw my buddy at work the next day and told him what I found out. He stormed away, pissed that I hadn't told him all this the day before. Yes, the day he bought his Contour SVT. The one that was in and out of the shop from the second day he owned it. He's not a Ford loyalist anymore...
03-10-06, 05:15 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by Iceman
1SickLex, in another thread you said (with due apologies to Saab owners) that basically no one gives a rat's *** about Saab. I think that sentiment applies equally well to SVT.
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
I actually lost my respect for SVT back in 1996 when a Ford-loyalist coworker was looking at getting an SVT Contour. I did a little research and found out that an Integra GS-R was superior in absolutely every respect--it was faster and quicker, cornered better, braked better, had more interior space, got better gas mileage, had more amenities and features, had a longer warranty, and featured Acura-level customer service. To top it all off, it cost less! So I saw my buddy at work the next day and told him what I found out. He stormed away, pissed that I hadn't told him all this the day before. Yes, the day he bought his Contour SVT. The one that was in and out of the shop from the second day he owned it. He's not a Ford loyalist anymore...
It was never fully executed by Ford, although they did come close with the limited dealer network, special training, etc. But the SVT "mods" to existing cars were just that--even the Lightning and Cobra were just an F-150 and a Mustang with a body kit and a big engine (OK, I know there's a little more to it than that, but these aren't even ///M-level of enhancements we're talking about here).
I actually lost my respect for SVT back in 1996 when a Ford-loyalist coworker was looking at getting an SVT Contour. I did a little research and found out that an Integra GS-R was superior in absolutely every respect--it was faster and quicker, cornered better, braked better, had more interior space, got better gas mileage, had more amenities and features, had a longer warranty, and featured Acura-level customer service. To top it all off, it cost less! So I saw my buddy at work the next day and told him what I found out. He stormed away, pissed that I hadn't told him all this the day before. Yes, the day he bought his Contour SVT. The one that was in and out of the shop from the second day he owned it. He's not a Ford loyalist anymore...
Then the last Cobra got embarresed by being way off with their hp numbers, they listed 320 but they were making under 300. It took a year+ to sort out.
Then the Firestone issue happenened and Ford kinda lost its way. The GT is INCREDIBLE but I don' t think it was the right time. I said here before, they should invest in cars people can BUY.
Then the competiion caught up and SVT is now an afterthought.
What I DO NOT GET is in Europe, the RS cars from ford and hardcore Modeo/Focus/Festiva get RAVE reviews and we get 200hp Ford 500s in return.
06-16-06, 03:37 AM
#10
G35x - RWD/AWD goodness
Back From the Dead: Officials Say Ford SVT Lives On
DEARBORN, Mich. — As Ford has wrestled with a restructuring forced by dwindling market share, and internal politics that saw the departure of longtime Special Vehicle Team boss John Coletti, observers have feared the worst for the SVT team of hot-rod builders.
In March, an Inside Line column "Team spiritless: Ford's SVT concept is history" shook the automotive world as sources inside Ford said the SVT team would be dismantled by April.
But after some apparent deliberation, upper management counted the beans and concluded that SVT is pulling its own weight, reports Hau Thai-Tang, director of Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team.
"They have concluded that SVT still fits; it is not an odd duck," Thai-Tang said.
The question was not whether SVT's engineers should keep tuning cars and trucks, but whether they should have their own label on the cars, he said.
"At the Mark Fields level, you have to ask, 'How many primary brands do I keep?'" Thai-Tang said. "We are having those types of discussions, and SVT, as a brand, gets thrown into that discussion."
The conclusion is that, yes, SVT holds value as a label, so it will be retained, though it may not be as prominent as it has been in the past.
"The SVT name is taking a less prominent stage," Thai-Tang said. "It is on the engine on the cam covers, on the scuff plates in the door jambs and on the wheel center caps."
But SVT is not building as many vehicles as it has done in the past, Thai-Tang acknowledged. "We are not going to do everything we want to do," he said. "We've scaled back our ambitions a bit." For the near term, SVT will concentrate on launching the Shelby Mustang GT500 and a truck-based product, he explained.
That is about all the work that SVT's team of 100 engineers can handle without expanding the staff or outsourcing more work to Roush Enterprises, Inc., which has helped on past projects. That team still has autonomy when devising feature lists for proposed projects, Thai-Tang said.
What This Means to You: Fast car (and truck) enthusiasts can still expect to be able to find Blue Oval vehicles with the superb handling and response we've come to expect from SVT vehicles, even if there are fewer of those vehicles and the SVT badging is more subtle than in the past.
Source: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=115772
In March, an Inside Line column "Team spiritless: Ford's SVT concept is history" shook the automotive world as sources inside Ford said the SVT team would be dismantled by April.
But after some apparent deliberation, upper management counted the beans and concluded that SVT is pulling its own weight, reports Hau Thai-Tang, director of Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team.
"They have concluded that SVT still fits; it is not an odd duck," Thai-Tang said.
The question was not whether SVT's engineers should keep tuning cars and trucks, but whether they should have their own label on the cars, he said.
"At the Mark Fields level, you have to ask, 'How many primary brands do I keep?'" Thai-Tang said. "We are having those types of discussions, and SVT, as a brand, gets thrown into that discussion."
The conclusion is that, yes, SVT holds value as a label, so it will be retained, though it may not be as prominent as it has been in the past.
"The SVT name is taking a less prominent stage," Thai-Tang said. "It is on the engine on the cam covers, on the scuff plates in the door jambs and on the wheel center caps."
But SVT is not building as many vehicles as it has done in the past, Thai-Tang acknowledged. "We are not going to do everything we want to do," he said. "We've scaled back our ambitions a bit." For the near term, SVT will concentrate on launching the Shelby Mustang GT500 and a truck-based product, he explained.
That is about all the work that SVT's team of 100 engineers can handle without expanding the staff or outsourcing more work to Roush Enterprises, Inc., which has helped on past projects. That team still has autonomy when devising feature lists for proposed projects, Thai-Tang said.
What This Means to You: Fast car (and truck) enthusiasts can still expect to be able to find Blue Oval vehicles with the superb handling and response we've come to expect from SVT vehicles, even if there are fewer of those vehicles and the SVT badging is more subtle than in the past.
Source: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=115772
06-16-06, 04:43 AM
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
What I DO NOT GET is in Europe, the RS cars from ford and hardcore Modeo/Focus/Festiva get RAVE reviews and we get 200hp Ford 500s in return.
Meanwhile the Thunderbird has steadily declining sales. That's why we don't get neat cars from Ford. Ford looks at them as a complication in the US market because they use cars like the Thunderbird as a bellwether. I agree the Euro Mondeo and Focus are good cars but they're also very different than cars the American market normally sees. For instance the Mondeo has 10 different engines available. Even if Ford just chose one or two to introduce in North America - they're new to this market and they'd be an absolute disaster to service.
Also, the top of the line Mondeo ST220 costs 24,500GBP which, at the current exchange rate, is over 45,000 in USD - nobody here would pay that kind of money for this car. Even the base LX trim sells for 16,000GBP which is close to 30,000USD. AND the dollar continues to weaken against the GBP introducing significant exchange rate risk which would be a hazard to pricing. That's why lots of companies build subsidiaries in local markets. The Mondeo is currently built in Germany and Belgium.
M.
06-17-06, 04:17 PM
#13
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Well, they need to hurry, its not like the competiton is standing still
06-17-06, 06:20 PM
#14
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Well, they need to hurry, its not like the competiton is standing still
I agree!! They need to hurry and put out the new Lightning. But on the other hand I really don't what to think about the GT 500 yet......
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