BigD

Hello all,

As many of you know, I had a meeting with SVT at SEMA last month concerning the 06 Gen 3 Lightning, and lack thereof.

I had an appointment to meet with both Tom Scarpello and John Coletti on Wednesday morning (3rd) at the Ford display. Tom was on time, but John did not make the meeting due to other commitments. Tom was cordial and we discussed the Gen 3 Lightning and SVT's future for ~45 minutes, as Tom delayed his next appointment.

Here is a synopsis of the meeting:

• There will be no 06 Gen 3 Lightning
• There may be a Gen 3 Lightning in 2008. Currently the "bean counters"
  want all products to "pay their own way" and the Lightning probably does not recoup development and warranty costs?! I argued that the value to Ford of most SVT products is intangible, but of real value to the corporation as a whole.
• Another reason there will not be a 06 Gen 3 Lightning is that Ford will make major changes to the "new" current F-150 platform, and Ford did not want to release a new Lightning on a changing platform.
• All the SVT people are happy with the email and faxes they are receiving, as it gives SVT ammunition to "beat up" the bean counter with. They want the flood of emails and faxes to continue!
• I shamed Tom and SVT for not helping the NLOC and LightningFest. Other than sending the SVT truck and selling their shirts at our event, NLOC and the event does not receive one dollar from Ford. I asked Tom to support the NLOC and LightningFest with just a portion of the cost of one NASCAR TV ad for the Lightning. Tom agreed that Ford has not helped and should, so we may get monetary support from Ford for the 2005 event.
• I was asked by Tom about an interim Lightning to keep the name alive in the short term, thus the poll on the board concerning an interim Lightning.

I came away from the meeting with the following impressions:

• There will be a Gen 3 Lightning, but not until 2008.
• Much of the development work is already done, but has stopped due to the platform changes coming.
• It seems that the next Lightning will have the Whipple SC rather than the Eaton.
• SVT wants us to continue to bombard Ford with emails and faxes...with well thought comments.
• We will just have to wait and see what happens.

Roy Richards (Super Cab L) and I also talked to many potential LightningFest Sponsors at SEMA. We handed out 20 Sponsor packs and mailed another 10 additional packs after the show....thanks Roy!

__________________
Dwight Dolliver, NLOC, Inc. President
NLOC #583 BigD@nloc.net
Old Man just having fun! 12.58@108

matt351

well thats good to hear, it at least sounds as though ford is thinking this thing through the right way

o1harleydude

i wonder what the major changes to the new f150 are going to be, did he elaborate on that at all??

todd abbott

Big D, Very cool post and some great info.

svtbarry

Thanks for all the work Dwight.

Lightning Dude

Im very interested about the new F-150 changes. When do you think they will happen?

TruBlu02

Yeah i second that.

vortechlightnin

Good Job on all the work and research you did. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

quote:
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Originally posted by Lightning Dude
Im very interested about the new F-150 changes. When do you think they will happen?


Im curious about these changes too. Wonder what they entail.

Silver_2000

Colleti's retirement may screw things up a bit

http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins.../D01-30684.htm

Grumpy_Bob

The next F-150 will be lighter, but the main reason for it is that Ford will be able to use a common platform for both the F-150 and the next Expedition. Even though many parts of the current models appear similar, the fundamental platforms are different. The new model will allow development of many more common components for both truck lines and therefore eliminate some considerable waste, without reducing content or performance. It's called the "T1".

nags

Just gives me more time to save for one

I still say they need to do an extended cab lightning. Thats the only thing that kept me away from getting one before. Ended up with a Supercharged Tacoma instead

PFA

You should have bought a SC HD then!! I'd be willing to bet it take that TOY down hard!

nags

I dunno too much about the HD's.. A S/C tacoma when done right is pretty quick though. I got the S/C on mine, pulley, fuel injectors, fuel pump, thermostat, intake, exhaust, electric fans, piggyback computer, etc.. it's not too shabby. I'd still rather have a lightning though

PFA

The SC HD has the Lightning engine in it, with a different pulley. Can use same mods as a Lightning.

inteller

no offense, but Ford already has an organization that it funds. In fact, its the only enthusiast organization funded by any car manufacturer.

.....its SVTOA.