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I found this on the mustang news 08-13-08: A little over a year ago, Steve Saleen left the company that he founded to seek greener pastures. The talk was that he had been forced out by the investor group Hancock Park, who had come to own Saleen Inc. The official announcement said he was simply “retiring”. Regardless of what you believe Steve had come to a point where he was no longer part of the legacy that he himself had built. Steve continues today with his new company SMS Limited. There he is working hard to start anew building the kind of cars that made him famous, perhaps even a Mustang again. Though Saleen Inc. had struggled off and on for a decade prior to Steve‘s departure, the company has seemingly flailed and fallen flat on its face since then. A number of watered down products have been hastily introduced that are a departure from what most feel Steve would have built, and have been met in the market with little excitement. Some very awkward press conferences have been given by new employees of the company, who seem to be overly defensive and apologetic about the brand. The company closed the Saleen Store in Irvine, shut down the Irvine factory and moved the whole company to Troy, MI. Then came the news that Saleen Inc and ASC Inc were being folded together into one company earlier this year. The two were supposed to create a new powerhouse manufacturer of top-end niche products. Instead this week some hastily compiled online fire-sale auctions were announced at the eleventh hour to liquidate Saleen Inc. parts, cars, factory and office equipment at both the Troy and Irvine facilities. Granted we are in tough times, but selling off everything including the desks, computers, and conference tables is not what a growing and prospering company that is poised to pounce on the market does. It has all the signs of a liquidation closeout, but the company says it is simply “restructuring”.
I was reading somewhere that he was suing to regain control of Saleen, kinda amazing since ASC has been around for awhile, they use to do all the convertible Mustangs in the 80's. He started builing Saleen Mustangs at Burch Ford in La Habra Ca. the same dealership my Maverick came from.
