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View Full Version : MR. SALEEN GOING TO IMPORTS


Stanghungry
08-23-2007, 11:38 AM
I was told by someone that Mr. Saleen has crossed to the dark side with the imports. I was also told that they will not be building anymore saleens.

Can someone confirm of deny this? Please......... :roll:

Jim D.
08-23-2007, 07:29 PM
Steve Saleen did indeed resign from Saleen Inc. back in May. While Steve still holds a strong interest in the company, due to some investment strategies, the management was left to Hancock Park Associates as the controlling partner.

A lot of this developed during the time of the Troy facility being established, along with the preparations for the Ford GT program.

Over the few short years, you could say that Steve and the HP people did not see eye-to-eye, and unfortunately, none of the HP people had any substantial automotive experience.

So Steve left, taking a few key people with him, to work on a project which will initially bring Chinese-built pickups and SUVs into Mexico, establish a factory in Mexico, and help build and distribute Mexican-made vehicles (with a fair amount of Chinese content) into North America.

You can read a little more about this turn of events here...

http://www.saleenclub.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=985

SOEC Members will be getting some related information mailed to them in the next editions of Saleen Alley, two of which should be in the mail next week.

Jim D.
08-23-2007, 07:35 PM
Oh, and there will be more "Saleens," depending on how you look at it.

I've seen the information on the 2008 Saleen Mustang and S331 line-up, and there's a lot of carryover -- not surprising.

New for 2008 is the H302, which looks very cool. If you liked the PJ car, you'll like the H302 (though the PJ is a better value because it was fully-optioned as a base car). Though you can get a supercharger on the H302, it's very similar with the exception of Grabber Orange not being available in that model in respect to the PJ cars. There will be some neat optional colors from the 1970 palette.

The Extreme will have a new engine, and based on the 302 platform.

All of the 2008s will be coming late in '07 or early '08.

When Ford changes the body of the Mustang in a year or two, it'll be interesting to see what Saleen Inc. comes up with, and if Steve and designer Phil Frank are invited to come back and assist with the stylings.

Ponypinoy
08-24-2007, 01:21 AM
Hi Jim,

Where are they building H302? Irvine or Troy?

I would like to check them out if they're in Irvine

Ben

Jim D.
08-24-2007, 01:27 AM
I'm not sure, but my instinct is telling me it'll be in Troy.