Originally Posted by Saleen Mike

Dear MustangForums Members,

First, let me start by saying thank you for allowing me to be part of your group here for a number of years to help spread the word about Saleens, and the Saleen Club of America.

I feel that some background information needs to be shared, as it seems not a month goes by where I do not get at least a couple calls from Saleen owners asking me why does the SOEC continue to do what they do, and nobody says anything about it.

About me. I am a multiple Saleen owner who has been a owner of one or more Saleens for almost 15 years. I own a 1985 Saleen, a 1989 Saleen and a 2000 Saleen. During those years of ownership I have met many fellow owners, and some of my best friends are fellow Saleen owners. Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of fellow owners.

Early on in my ownership experience I joined the SOEC, which was started by friends/people I know. That said, even in the'90s things were not perfect with them. As a new and excited owner I was willing to "look the other way" when I was shortchanged for what I paid for in my membership. I knew that this was the only "club", and while it was not as good as other car clubs I had belonged to, it was the only one. I offered to try and help, and so did others that I knew. It was with the rejection of help we got, combined with more time passing, and becomming better educated, did I learn about the "inner circle" workings of the SOEC.

In 2002 there was a recall effort to remove the SOEC president from the position by the SOEC Board of Directors due to incompetence. This person rejected the wishes of the BOD, as essentially put herself into the position "for life" based on personal freindships with the Saleens. It is my opinion, and others, that at that moment the SOEC was no longer a car club that supported the marque and followed their by-laws, but a Steve Saleen fan club.

It was due to this event that I began working on the formation of a new car club to support the marque known as "Saleen". Work continued into 2003, and with the help of others we launched the Saleen Club of America, a club dedicated to the marque known as Saleen.

The Saleen Club of America has started out as a small number of paid members, but has grown to several hundred paid members all over the USA and also in several other countries. We focus on putting out our Club magazine, PoweRRR as well as fostering events all across the USA. A couple examples of this are the Club's National Show which is usually the largest gathering of Saleens in any given year, with 84 Saleens at one of them. Another example is the work that a couple of our Charter Members have done with the Huntington Beach Concors d'Elegance. There was a time when there was no Saleen class at any nationally recognized Concors, but due to the work of a couple SCOA members with support from the SCOA, there is now a Saleen class at a national level Concors. This list could go on and on.

As you can tell, I am passionate about cars, including Saleens. I also care about my fellow owners, and have for years. I am part of the group that was involved with Saleenchat.com from day #1, an independent site that has promoted Saleens from the mid-90's. Through this online group we have helped a number of owners through various times and troubles. At Saleenchat we were always focused on the owners first, and that is how I still feel. The owners come first in my mind.

One thing that I can not stand is people or groups taking advantage of my friends, or fellow owners. At this time, I feel this is the main operation of SOEC. They have not delivered a full years worth of what they have promised those who have paid for memberships in a long time. They have been collecting money in the name of dues for years, and failing to deliver. I do not have a problem pointing this fact out. I do not have a problem helping keep a fellow Saleen owner from maining a check to somebody with the hope of getting something in return, when I know they will get shortchanged. The SOEC has collected tens of thousands of dollars from Saleen owners and shortchanged them. This is criminal. This is why they are being investigated by the Virginia DA office. When somebody is trying to get people to part with thier money by sending them to join a group like that, I do not have a problem pointing out what they are trying to do, steal from them. All I can think of is that people are afraid that if they say something bad about Steve, or the SOEC, they will no longer have access to Steve. I am not joining a Steve Saleen fan club ever in my lifetime. I do repect the efforts he put in, and the dream of making the cars come true, but I do not worship him like some sort of super-human. If you were to ask the court of New Jersey what they think of Steve based on a lawsuit he was involved with there, they would say that Steve Saleen is “Unjust, unfair and downright dishonest."

I read somewhere that Jim, one of the SOEC "internet guys" posted about leaving the show at the Queen Mary. This was a Saleen Show, and Jim was asked to leave by the President of SPV, as Jim was passing out SMS promotional items, and looking to "data mine" Saleen owners so that he could pass Saleen owners personal information on to Steve so that SMS could target them to buy SMS products. This is something that is clearly "Steve orriented" and not in the best interest of the owners, especially when he was trying to dupe them into giving up the information.

The lawsuits filed by Steve are another interesting story. Steve supporters accept on blind faith the word being spread by the SOEC, as it, like much that comes from them, is full of mis-information. They have chosen the side of Steve against SPV in the lawsuits. Steve has filed two, one of which is against SPV. If you knew what I did about these you would find them laughable!

In closing I would say that I agree that car clubs are not for everyone, and internet sites alone do not make a national car club.

I wish all my fellow Saleen owners the best.

Thank you and happy Saleening!