June 19, 2009 — Irvine, California — After more than four months into the ownership of Saleen Performance Vehicles, President and CEO Mike Shields updates Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club members on the status of the company and its future plans in a statement released today.
Since the time Shield’s MJ Acquisitions purchased the assets of the production car and aftermarket divisions of Saleen from then-majority owner Hancock Park Associates, an extensive review process of the team, the company’s products and future direction has been undertaken. Certainly a challenge hard to ignore is how the brand will differentiate itself from Steve Saleen’s SMS Supercars, a business Saleen founded after leaving Saleen Inc. in 2007.
Part of this transition process for the new Saleen Performance Vehicles has been to integrate it with its new affiliates as a result of its relationship with MJ Acquisitions’s sister companies — Cyltec, LLC; Power-Tec Engineering LLC; Arrow Racing Engines LLC and Control-Tec LLC.
Shields, who now drives a S281 Supercharged Saleen Mustang in Lizstick, previously told SOEC that they will now be utilizing the resources of their sister companies to bring Saleen’s supercharger manufacturing in-house, as the company previously Saleen outsourced key components, such as the screws, from Europe. Other such consolidation and utilization of the companies is expected in the future.
“We will use the engineering, design and manufacturing resources of all the affiliated companies to take the Saleen brand forward, and are very pleased with the progress being made,” said Shields in today’s statement. “As we stated. . . when we acquired Saleen [on February 2, 2009], our intention is to ensure the process of delivering high-quality automobiles and components to consumers is not disrupted and the promise of ‘Power in the Hands of a Few’ continues.”
Certainly a heated topic among owners of newer models is a lack of a new-car warranty on the Saleen portion of the vehicle which is not covered by Ford. Shields further explained, “there has been some discussion and misperception about our decision not to honor warranty costs before our February 2, 2009 purchase. We are actively investigating warranty options for vehicles in dealers’ inventories and sold units still under their original warranty coverage. We are committed to resolving this issue and expect to make further announcements about this soon.”
For repairs that would normally be in-warranty or that require Saleen-provided parts, to assist owners, the company does continue to offer replacement parts to dealers at a discounted rate, in addition to a 1-year/12,000-mile warranty on eligible parts sold after February 2, 2009.
In a bold move in April, Steve Saleen stepped-up in a big way with the following statement:
“If any Saleen customer in the United States who purchased a Saleen Inc. product up until February 2, 2009, has a warranty claim, they can directly contact my new company, SMS Supercars. We will honor their remaining warranties as if they were SMS Supercars warranties.
Owners should contact SMS before visiting their dealer, and more details can be found at http://saleenwarranty.org.
Of course, individuals wishing to purchase Saleen-branded repair or replacement parts, graphics, letters of authentication or other services can continue to call Saleen Speedlab in Michigan at 1-800-888-8945 .
Shields emphasized, “The most important thing I want to stress is there will be a Saleen going forward, including new performance vehicles we will begin to unveil as early as this July in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Although it’s a challenging time to be in the automotive business, those challenges create great opportunities, and we’re excited about the future of Saleen, our loyal customers and dealers going forward. We want to enhance the image of the Saleen brand by bringing out the best products in the company’s history.”
Shields also promises us some exciting news in the coming weeks, and certainly Saleen owners and enthusiasts are going to be on the edge of their seats!