IRVINE, Calif., July 31, 2003 — Steve Saleen, president of Saleen, Inc., announced today the formation of Saleen Canada. This company, set up under a special manufacturing and licensing agreement with Joe Visconti, president of Saleen Canada, will manufacture and sell Saleen automobiles through select Saleen-certified Ford dealers throughout Canada.
The manufacturing facility will be located in Montreal and will produce specific Canadian-certified Saleen models, including the S281 and S281 Supercharged Mustangs, the Saleen Thunderbird — Bonspeed Edition in both naturally aspirated and supercharged configurations, and a special version of the Focus.
“This is a natural “next step” in the growth of our company,” commented Saleen. “For a number of years we’ve had strong demand for Saleen products from our neighbors to the North,” he continued. “We’ve been considering this expansion for some time and Joe Visconti is a perfect partner for Saleen to expand its expertise in niche manufacturing and performance sales throughout Canada.”
“I am very proud and excited to be a part of Saleen Canada at the very beginning,” said Visconti. “As for the S281 – what can one possibly buy in the market place that gives the same performance numbers with a factory warranty to boot?”
“Our Canadian facility will build the same high quality products we turn out in our Irvine, California manufacturing plant.” Saleen stated. “And we’ll follow the same procedures and ‘best practices’ to manufacture Saleen vehicles in compliance with all Canadian regulations.”
This isn’t the first expansion for Saleen beyond its Southern California base of operations though. Last December, Saleen signed an agreement with Martin Josephi, former president of VW of Mexico, to sell the full product line of Saleen vehicles, including the S7 supercar, throughout Central America. And in March of this year, Saleen began assembling the first prototypes of the legendary Ford GT in a second manufacturing facility near Detroit.
During the past 20 years, Saleen has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to design, engineer, manufacture and market high performance specialty vehicles working closely with Tier 1 suppliers around the world.
“The experiences we gain by expanding throughout North America will hopefully lead to Saleen becoming a world player in niche vehicle manufacturing and sales,” Saleen commented.
About Saleen
Since the company’s inception in 1984, Saleen has produced over 8,000 vehicles, more than any other specialty manufacturer. An eight-time Manufacturers’ Champion in GT sports car racing, Saleen’s facilities include research, design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The company’s line of products and services also includes the Saleen S281 and S281-E, the exotic, mid-engine Saleen S7 supercar, Saleen Competition, Saleen Performance Parts, and Saleen Engineering and Certification.
Saleen has also been commissioned by Ford to help produce the legendary Ford GT in a second Saleen manufacturing facility near Detroit.
Contact Saleen at 949-597-4900, or for more information about Saleen – its people and products – visit the web site at www.Saleen.com.
Saleen Canada can be contacted through Umberto Bonfa, director sales & marketing, at 514 631-0071 or by email: ubonfa@saleencanada.com.