Caroll Shelby - Motorsport Legend

Usually we write about monthly industry sales and updates along with the new car launches and since we are quite young in the business we never really got a chance to write about all time classic cars. Then on a Sunday morning we decided to go back to history write about cars that made the difference. Interestingly though we wrote about something else, someone who was behind such cars, someone who made cars with just one mission which is brutal power and till now his cars carry forward his legacy. The most renowned name in the automotive space, He is Caroll Shelby.

Born in texas, Shelby suffered heart valve leakage problems at the age of 7 and spent most of his childhood in bed depending largely on nitro glycerin pills. That’s probably why one day he decided to become a racing driver and in a decade long career as a racing driver he was driver of the year for 1956-57 by sports illustrated and also competed in 8 world championship races. And he is very well known as a co-driver in Aston martin DBR and took it to victory in 24 hours of le Mans racing. In fact Carroll Shelby is the only man to have won the prestigious Le Mans race as a driver, team owner and automotive manufacturer. Later on he found out that a small company called AC was struggling to find an engine for its racing car the ACE. Shelby strikes a deal with ford to supply the mighty V8 and that spermed to what we know as the ACE cobra and at that time it become the fastest road car for a while in England. And In America the success with cobra paved the way for many great cars in partnership among ford and Shelby.

Remember the GT40! Going further back when in 1963 Ferrari pulled back of the deal at the last minute Henry ford actually ordered his designers to built a car that could snatch the prancing horse. And in 1966, 1967, 1968 GT40 did exactly what it was born to do. Moreover what made GT40 “The GT40” Shelby had a big role to play after its suspension failure at the Nurburgring 1000km race. And since GT40 was a landmark in the lives of carol Shelby, Henry Ford and everyone associated with it, rather every auto enthusiast.

That was just the beginning for carol Shelby, Then started the era of Shelby 350 and since then GT’s have been ruling hearts from a school going kid with the poster in his bedroom to the movie producers and GT350 was itself a style statement and that is why from Jim Morrison to Bill Clinton almost every famous icon bought this masterpiece.

Further came the GT500 powered by another mighty V8 which delivered 540 brake horses of power also embarked 40^th anniversary editions later on with scoops and vents, twist-lock hood pins. These additions were so popular that every car modification had it. It was a common rage to see the flamboyance characteristics of Shelby GT500. last  may 2012 at the age of 89 when he died, Just before he passed away he got to see the all new GT500 powered by the supercharged V8 engine  which produces 662 bhp and 631 lb-ft of torque, and a claimed top speed of 325 km/h. It is in fact the most powerful going V8 ever made in the history.

 And carrying foreword a little bit of his legacy as he said  "Yesterday's History, Tomorrow's a Mystery, So live for today."  As an auto lover we expect carol Shelby international to take foreword the legacy.

(Author - Anshul Chawla - Is an automobile enthusiast who love and live cars! Can be ignited at anshul_chawla@live.com)

Indian Car Sales Figures - May 2013

May 2013 Sales Figures - Pan India

HIGHLIGHTS:

·        1) It was a “May Day” mode for all Auto OEMs last month. The offtake figures projected heavy stock corrections done by both dealer and OEMs to save on the inventory cost. Toyota's deputy MD & chief operating officer Sandeep Singh was found quoting - "The domestic market continues to be sluggish. We have corrected the dealer's inventory levels and have been able to bring it down to less than 30 days." The trend seems discouraging and the market seems to require great pull for the targeted sale. The slowdown has impacted dealer profitability as well and in a recent survey was found that one in five dealers in India are expected to take a financial loss in 2013 more than the double the number of dealers in 2012. The survey conducted by JD Power had this to say - "Declining profitability for dealerships in India not only highlights the impact that the slowdown in new-vehicles sales has on the viability of a growing number of dealers, but also underlines the importance placed on automakers to provide adequate support to their respective networks"

·         2) It is said that when Maruti sneezes, Indian Auto Indutsry catches cold. The situation is similar for Alto as well – when the highest contributor of the OEM defaults, the overall numbers take a hit. The top performer fell short of over 8k numbers from its average – Is it the Alto customers are upgrading to Swift/Dzire? However, Dzire dethroned Alto and rose to become the new numero Uno selling brand. Surprisingly the LUV (Ertiga) is falling short of the love from its prospects – the numbers have taken a steep fall to 4306 units from an average of 6k figures. However, Wagon R has supported well with 12952 offtake – proof that petrol-only models are giving a fight to sustain. Also the launch of Amaze did not bother the supremacy of Dzire – so, where did Amaze gather its numbers from? High-end hatchbacks I believe!

·         3) Need to appreciate the Korean Major – Hyundai on its attempts to continuously maintain its offtake. The OEM has strongly occupied the second slot and is the only automaker in the current times which has the potential to challenge the leader – Maruti. Eon, Santro and i10 maintain its average figures and re-instate that petrol cars are here for a very long run! It is extremely difficult to understand the reason on how Sonata is consistently faring 20 numbers from the past 9 months! I believe the Brand Manager has a target of 20 nos/month and is just doing his job well J Verna delivers again and emerge segment-best with over 4.7k figures.

           4) M&M is successful in achieving a positive growth in tough times. The SUV maker is backed by its old work horses Bolero & Scorpio. Scorpio proves its mettle by overtaking Duster volumes (Scorpio - 5165, Duster – 5146). No wonder it has started giving nightmare to other cars! (as depicted in the ad). However, the newer entrants XUV, Quanto & Xylo disappoint with its falling numbers. The company would be in a trouble if either Scorpio / Bolero falters. However, Verito shows significant growth in its volume over last month – 1371 numbers vis-à-vis 568 – all thanks to the Vibe shipped under Verito brand at the end of  May.

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      5) Honda AMAZEs all with its all time highest offtake figures and pips Toyota the FOURTH spot. Honda’s first diesel offering contributed to over 53% of Honda’s sales and shows-up as the awaited SAVIOR for the Japanese major. The company is now focusing to ramp up its production capacity to gradually increase its volumes.

Source: ET

·         6) Even Tata overtakes Toyota in May – however, the Indian manufacturer degrew by an hefty 46%. With no new products in pipeline, revamp of sales seems unattainable at the moment.

·         Toyota with its intention of rationalizing the stocks takes a hit on its volumes. However, Fortuner maintains its dominance with over 1300 units billed in May.

·         7) GM seems to be “ENJOY’ing the moment – the extremely value for money MUV has pumped volumes to the brand with its younger sibling Sail sedan – and has made the US giant grow by 40% in the month.

Source - ET

·         8) Ford registers a degrowth of 34% and the OEM seems unshaken by that – no wonder when you have the most awaited launch of the year – ECOSPORT to be launched in June’13.

Kindly find mentioned the sales figure for the month of May'13 –

TOP 20 Selling Cars