Best Muscle Cars
Ford Shelby Bragging Rights
By Mark Weisseg
Okay for all you Shelby lovers I need to fill your cup so it runs over.
I told all of you I finally took the plunge and bought a 2013 Shelby with 662 hp. But, until yesterday I never had it on the open highway. But, duty calls and off to Cleveland via the never finished Ohio Turnpike was the way to go. Now, Momma didn’t raise no fool and I knew this car was fast. How fast surprised even me. I had the cruise control on at 75 miles an hour and it felt like I was doing 20 mph.
Suddenly I see a newer Camaro coming up on me and it looks really nice. I can tell he is sniffing me out so I mind my own business. Then, I noticed he darts up closer as if he wants to go for it. I am more than ready at this point so I move to fifth gear just in case the need arises. The driver of the Camaro gets close enough to see my tail lights and such and he sees the word Shelby on the back. He hangs back there a bit and I can tell he is looking me over. I turn to my beloved passenger and said it might be go time so be ready. Suddenly the nice Camaro backs off and falls in line about five car lengths behind me. I just smiled as I knew that he knew it was a lost cause. I would have smoked that good old boy and he knew it.
I bought this car knowing full well it was fast and had unbelievable torque. There are faster and quicker stock cars out there but if looks could kill they did on Saturday. Sure enough I move ion down the road and I come up on a Challenger with a Hellcat. My thoughts are circling like a caged tiger. Do I get close enough to let him know I am lurking? The answer was yes, why not. So,I get close enough to let him know I am there to see what if any reaction I would get. I like the Challenger and like the Hellcat enough that I almost bought one so I want to be clear. The other driver sees me and acknowledges me but stays the course on the road. A few miles later he exits and I continue on down the line. I wanted to try him on as that car is fast but so is mine. It would have been fun unless we all died in a terrible fire ball but…..
I got to thinking as I was rolling home that I am grateful to have my car and grateful that so many great brands exist. The three of us on such a short span of time was encouraging in that all three of us were way past our teenage years. Better put, three old guys loving life. The other two cars have my complete respect and I would not mind at all to have them under my tent. But, for you Shelby lovers I am here to attest that even in sixth gear my car has pulling power. MotorWeek TV did a show back in 2013 that is still on You Tube and it’s my exact car. Same colors , everything. The test driver that day loved the car and did not rip anything. In fact, he was surprised you could buy such an amazing car for under 60 k back then. I encourage you to go to the web site and watch the short video. Shelby lovers will soak it all in while the competitors will of course hate it. I came so very close to buying a Hellcat I can still visualize what it would have looked like in my garage. There were two things that held me back. One, it’s bulky looking and the biggest of the three. Cornering was a concern. Two, I was concerned about how many were already out there and what would happen to resale values. Well, I watched a Mecum auctions last month and three Hellcat Challengers crossed the block. Two did not meet the reserve at 65k and the third finally sold at $71,500. So much for my theory on resale values huh. So, I remain a fan of all three new hot rods. The newest Camaro offering will have 640 hp right out of the gate here soon so add another great car to our list. It’s very interesting to me because I own a 69 Road Runner hot rod when back in the day the 383 was a terror on the streets. Today, anyone of these new hot rods will run circles around that Road Runner without even breaking a sweat. Amazing!
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