For the second year in a row, the annual Shelby Show at the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, IL (which should not be confused with Volvo Cars who recently sued the Volo museum because of its similar sounding name) was to have featured a guest appearance by Carroll Shelby , the creator of the original AC Cobra performance car. But as was the case last year, Mr. Shelby was nowhere to be seen at the June 2, 2006 event. He was unable to attend because of "health reasons." The news was announced as people were lining up to fork over $15 a head to see the car show and Mr. Shelby.
One disappointed fan grumbled that he had driven 200 miles to see Mr. Shelby. He said he wanted Mr. Shelby to autograph his car. Another said "Yeah, that's the same story you gave us last year!" Others voiced the same skepticism that Mr. Shelby never had any intention of attending the event regardless of how he might have been feeling.
True, Mr. Shelby isn't the healthiest man alive. He is 85 years old and had a heart transplant a number of years ago.
Maybe the people in charge of the Volo event should have set up a life-size cardboard photo of Mr. Shelby by the main entrance so as not to disappoint his fans. Trouble is, Shelby would probably want $100 to have your picture taken with the photo image of himself. He is that kind of guy.
I think the real reason why Mr. Shelby was a no show is because it probably makes him mad as hell to see so many knock-off Cobra kit cars that people have built. Shelby is extremely protective of his name and its perceived cash value. His lawyers have filed numerous lawsuits against companies selling non-licensed "Shelby" products. He has even gone so far as to demand that ebay to drop any car ad that is not a genuine licensed and approved "Shelby" product. So ebay sellers now have to say "NOT SHELBY" if they are selling a Cobra kit car or replica of some type.
In spite of Mr. Shelby's absence, the show went on. I'm a Cobra fan and enjoy seeing Cobra cars regardless of who built them or who's name is on them or who gets royalties or who doesn't. The Cobra kit car, replica car or whatever you choose to call it, is a cult unto itself. Some owners want an exact duplicate of the original and insist on having that silly backward floor shifter and awkward placement of the gauges and speedometer on the dash. Others are much more creative and use a variety of modern powerplants in their vehicles. One kit car I saw had a V-10 Viper engine under the hood.
Color schemes, graphics, wheel and tire combinations and other accessories make these cars very individualistic -- which is as they should be. To me, these cars are more about what their owners wanted and built than about what me Mr. Shelby crated back in the 1960s. Sure, the cars are a legend, and I'd love to build one myself one of these days. By I'd build the car my way, not Mr. Shelby's way. After all, I'm the guy who would be driving it, not Mr. Shelby.
As for the Volo event, there were dozens of Cobra kits cars on display, but not a "real" Shelby Cobra was to be seen (if there was one there, I missed it). The original cars are far too valuable to be driven on the street or a racetrack. They are museum pieces. The easiest way to tell an original from a copy is to see what the body is made of. All the kit cars are fiberglass. The original cars were aluminum-bodied.
There were also quite a few Shelby Mustangs (including a lot of "replica" cars complete with fake Shelby fender tags), and assorted Dodge Shelby products. Frankly, I'd be rather embarrassed to have my name associated with a souped up Dodge Omni, but to each their own.
Maybe I should hire Shelby's lawyers to start suing everybody who calls a motor vehicle as a 'car" or uses the word "car" in their business name because it sounds like by last name. General Motors has gone after a lot of people for misusing Corvette and name derivatives thereof, and now Ford is doing the same with Mustang (and "Pony car" and "Stang"). For more info on Ford's legal crusade from Mustang Monthly, Click Here.
I think the real problem is too much greed, to damn many trial lawyers and not enough common sense.
That's my opinion.
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