Albeeno

OK, very good point about Chally #2 only being available at auction to dealerships and not to individual end-users. I did not take that in to account previously. Still a pretty sizeable gap in price though, any way you want to slice it.

To answer your question earlier - there were a total of 10,844 2007 Shelby GT500s (coupe & convertible) sold. Thus, the vehicle will still be considered "exclusive" in most circles. I do agree that we have seen Shelbys in (too) many trims lately, but I have to believe that the geniusses over at Blue Oval wouldn't be building all these varying trims if there wasn't a real demand for them. Ford's marketing strategy for the Mustang is to offer their customers a "steed for every need". This philosophy could be the reason why the Challenger went out of business after 1974 or why there hasn't been a Chevy Camaro produced since 2002. I also have a famous quote that i would like to share with you: "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door," (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Think about that...not only does it apply to the GT500 or any other Shelby derivative for that matter; it also applies to the Challenger. Which we all agree will be stealing market share from the Ford Mustang.

Other production numbers that I'm aware of are as follows: Shelby GT - approx. 6,000 units; Shelby GT-H - 500 units; Shelby GT500 Super Snake (which is a post-production title given to the GT500 after receiving enhancements to its handling, styling and power; tuning options will range from a warranted 600 HP V8 to over 725 HP (unwarranted). Only a limited number of Super Snakes (I'm guessing approx. 1,000) will be built per model year at the Shelby Automobiles facility in Las Vegas beginning in late 2007. And then there is my all-time favorite, the Shelby GT500KR. Shelby GT500KR arrives in spring 2008 in an exclusive run of only 1,000 units. In getting back to your earlier point that we are seeing Shelbys "ad nauseum", at the end of the day they are most certainly NOT being mass-produced. And do I think it's fair that Ford is marking them up? I guess my response would be...define "fair." The day any auto maker, let alone FoMoCo, decides they've stopped liking money, that's the same day you or I could walk in to a dealership and get our favorite model for FREE! Point being, if you are a for-profit company and revenue matters, you're going to capitalize on any opportunity to make money. If not, you're not making sound business decisions. And another thing - if you don't like paying markups, that's fine...step aside and let the big boys play. To answer your other question about people being aware of these other variants at the time of the GT500 auction (2006) - I would say NO, they were likely unaware of these future trims at the time. That could certainly be another reason for the huge discrepancy in what the Challenger went for at auction versus what the Shelby GT500 went for, but that would be speculation onmy part.

In Ford's defense - I believe they were very up front with the general public when they initially said that they planned on building approximately 30,000 Shelby units over the course of three years (starting in 2007). Compare that to the confusion/frustration some of us have on a whole host of issues ranging from...how many units of the Challenger do they plan on building; whether it will be a 5 speed or 6 speed manual; will a convertible really be offered in 2009 or not; how much the Challenger will REALLY cost us; will there be a V6 available....all the way to when will they FINALLY be available at our local dealership! Lots of questions not too many straight answers! And by the way, if you don't think Dodge is gonna markup the Challenger once it finally does arrive, three years too late I might add, then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell ya! In all fairness to Dodge though, I respect their desire stay hush on a number of th