Not planning on it myself, but I was just wondering how the owners of real Saleens view the guys who put together Saleens from stock GT's? I mean it does not make it a real Saleen, but they are putting money out to Saleen to mod their stang whether for performance, appearance or both. How do you guys feel about it?

Id think as long as they don't lie about the car what is the big deal - just another mod. But heard one guy who had a Saleen ranting about it. Just started thinking what others thought? Is it really a big deal in the Saleen world or just one guy over-reacting?

 

Oh no.... you're going to open a can of worms here. Mention the same topic on any Shelby site, and you will get 10 replies with minutes. I can't tell you how another person is going to feel, but I can give you some key information. There seems to be a few common points that keep coming up.

1) When it comes to clones, the biggest problem is trying to pass if off as a real one. You'll make a ton of enemies that way, and possibly cause some legal trouble.

2) The guys that bought the real deal, often do it for exclusivity. Making a cheap copy only upsets those guys (whether they're overly sensitive or not).

3) I honestly believe the biggest reason clones exist is because of cost. If someone could afford a brand new Saleen or Shelby, they would just get one. However, I am aware that sometimes it's not the cost, but availability. I mean, look at how many 1965 GT350 clones exist.

Take care and happy building!

 

In my area we have a lot of saleen clone V6 mustangs. I think if I owned a saleen I would probably just laugh. As far as guys converting their GT mustangs to saleens...if they do the full conversion....wouldn't it be just as cost effective to sell their car and buy a used saleen?

 

Its your car and your money so do as you please and dont mind the handful of the same guys who talk $hit. Thats what they do.

 

Imitation is the best form a flattery.

Just don't claim it's real, and I'm cool with it. It goes for a lot of the 'high end' Mustangs: Saleen, Roush, SVT, Steeda etc.... As long as it's not misbadged, it's ok.

 

I don't have a problem with it as long as it's done right. For instance, I saw a gt500 clone at a dealership the other day. It had the decals and badges, but they put the cobra emblems above the GT emblems they left on. Why!? Since most people won't know what a saleen is here in NE I would rather not have them seeing a hacked car. If it's done right then I would really like it.

 

I don't have a problem with it,but you can probably buy a Saleen for the price of creating a clone.

 

People are always going to clone cars (Faleen = fake Saleen). I've always thought the cost of creating a Faleen, you could go buy the real deal. I had an '03 281SC and I was the only one with a newer style Saleen in my area. Within a few months there was 2 or 3 Faleens running aorund.

 

I'm perfectly fine with a full body kit from a company such as roush saleen or shelby. The issue is when the fake badges start popping up. I think most people would agree it's flattering to have an imitation "look". I drive a stage 3 roush and if i saw a mustang GT with a full body kit a stage 3 badge and the roushcharger sticker I would have no respect for that. I couldn't argue with the body kits though the saleen looks badass, along with the shelby and roush.

 

Totally agree.. IMO the best looking mustang ever is the Terminator (once again my opinion). I had the Mach 1 grill set up on my ride and was contemplating buying the shaker setup.. but one day I saw this termi parked in a parking lot and fell in love with the stance, and of course the front bumper. Will I ever put Cobra badges on my car.. He** no! It's not a Cobra. I do take offense to guys badging their cars to be something that it's not. Just me though..