[Dougxbr]

I got my 2007 Shelby GT500 - Performance White w/ Vista Blue stripes - yesterday. It was shipped from Ohio (I live in MA) and I met the shipper in a local grocery store parking lot. He was worried his truck size would cause problems getting near my house.

It was 4pm and about 15 degrees outside when I arrived at the parking lot and he was just rolling the Shelby out of the trailer. What a sight to behold. My wife and boys tagged along with me. The boys (ages 9 & 11) were fighting over touching it first. I checked it over, saw no problems, signed the paper and off he went. The boys jumped in and I fired it up. If you haven't heard the pipes on one of these beasts - what a sweet sound. I was a teenager in the 70's, owned a 69 Chevelle convertible, 327 Vette motor, 4-speed in high school and its been a while since a new car sounded so throaty and eager to holeshot. As I pulled away, I noticed at the Midas shop across the street all eyes were fixed on my car. I pulled into their parking lot and immediately one of the bay doors was flung up and 8 guys spilled around my car. Cellphone cameras came out from every pocket and the guys just drooled eager to discuss horsepower, torque, etc.

I drove it to the gas station and back - put a total of 6 miles on it since yesterday. It snowed today so it sat in the garage, although I have fired it up a few times for friends and neighbors. It arrived without any dealer-prep. All stickers were still on it, the floor mats were in the trunk, and plastic covering was everywhere. I spent the day carefully peeling off stickers (my son has already claimed them as part of his inheritance) and wiping down gooey windows.

I bought a PT Cruiser in 2001 - the first year. I put my order in around June 2000 and was 24th on the list at a dealership in NH about 50 miles away. Local dealers were maintaining lists in the 40's. I waited 9 months to take delivery. In the early months there were some PT Cruisers available at $5-10K above MSRP. I refused to pay the add'l $$ because I read that Chrysler was planning on manufacturing 120,000 Cruisers/year. I knew there would be a glut at some point, and dealers would have inventory, etc.

I did pay over MSRP for the Shelby GT500 though. I don't think there's any way that supply can outstrip demand for these cars. My local Ford dealer has a list of 43 people waiting for the next GT500 due in the March/April timeframe. Ford is not building 10's of thousands of these. Companies can not ramp up production from 1000's to 100000's in a flash. Component and supply manufacturers can only build so many parts/major components/etc over a given timeframe without risking huge losses and even bankruptcy due to overstock. Its the free market at its best/worst, and in a few months time I'll find out if I hedged properly.

I have been wanting to own a Shelby Mustang since 1983. Unfortunately their value has escalated far faster than my income. When I had $2K to spend, someone wanted $4K. I got married, bought a house and had zero discretionary funds. Shelby's went to $10K. I had $20K they were at $40K, so I almost bought another Chevelle - but didn't. Now the 67GT500 are upwards of $200-300K. A 2007 GT500 can be had for 1/4 of that price - and I'm in. I have since registered the car with SAAC, SVTOA, and Shelby American - something I've always wanted to do and am now able to.

So you ask .... was it worth it? You betcha sweet a.. it was!!!!!