[DeTomaso] Pantera on Speed Channel

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/1/09 20 02 11, grayjim at att.net writes:


> I too found it to be a positive piece.  The sales numbers they quoted were
> new to me, however.  They stated that only 700 odd cars were sold the first
> year and slightly in excess of 2,000 the second year of importation.  Anyone
> hear these numbers before?
> 

Not exactly, but it wouldn't surprise me.   Remember, when the cars first hit 
our shores, they were riddled with flaws.   Initially the cars were being 
sold to the public, but then Ford stopped this and recalled them to fix them; 
hundreds more that were unsold were warehoused until they could be fixed.

I actually have Ford documentation at home that shows a month-by-month 
listing of Pantera inventory and sales--it shows that in a given month, there were X 
cars in this region, Y cars in that region, Z cars awaiting repairs in the 
warehouse.   It also shows monthly sales by region, and total sales to date.

I don't remember the figures exactly, but generally I'd feel fairly confident 
in saying that the numbers you mentioned above are probably right.   I do 
know one original owner who placed his orders right away (April 1971) and didn't 
actually receive their cars until January 1972...he had to wait nine months to 
get his car.   And even then, he wasn't offered the choice of color!   Three 
cars finally came in to the dealership, and the dealer called the first three 
people on the list and said 'first come, first served'.   This guy raced down 
there, but he had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge etc. since he lived in Marin 
County.   By the time he got there, the red and yellow cars had been spoken 
for, and all that was left was the slime green one.   He paid extra to have the 
car repainted red before he even took delivery....

Mike


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