ALLEN PARK, MI (Feb., 2007) -- This is my very first communication as the "new" SVT Chief Vehicle Engineer, a move that became effective back on October 1, 2006, to replace the departing Jay O'Connell. Hau Thai-Tang had mentioned in last November's issue of Inside the Oval magazine that Jay had left Ford Motor Company to pursue his true passion with Rahal-Letterman Racing. I quickly assumed his challenges, and have already been working hard on future performance vehicle opportunities.
This is technically my fourth rotation as part of SVE / SVT in my 18-year career at Ford. I had the pleasure to work with many great Special Vehicle Engineering leaders and Special Vehicle Team programs over the past decade or so, beginning with Janine Bay (on the 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra) and then John Coletti (on the 1998 SVT Contour, the 1999 SVT F-150 Lightning, the 2000 SVT Cobra "R", as well as the 2001 SVT Focus). I have also worked with Hau on a couple of other assignments, including the 2005 Ford Mustang.
I have been very fortunate in my engineering career at Ford to have been given the opportunity to work every day on something that I have so much passion and drive for - performance vehicles. Some of that involved a two-year rotation with the Newman-Haas Racing team (following in Hau's footsteps), a three-year international assignment in Gothenburg, Sweden, working at Volvo Cars and being the Technical Project Leader for the Volvo S60 and V70R, and most recently being the Vehicle Engineering Manager from start to finish for the 2006 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr. It's true that my background and experience at Ford has been mainly in the vehicle dynamics (such as ride, handling, steering and brakes) and the vehicle engineering areas, but you should also know that I have a true love for horsepower and torque and enjoy burning rubber as well. My personal favorite has been (and still is) the 1960's and early '70s muscle cars, which by no means were fun to drive in anything other than a straight line, given today's performance standards and technology. I rebuilt my first small-block Chevy at age 16 and put it into a '71 Nova. The engine actually survived the Nova and made it into my first 1969 Camaro RS without blowing up!
As you may likely have realized by now, the domestic auto industry has changed drastically in many ways over the past two or three years, so doing things like we did before just will not be possible. But my goal is to use some of the knowledge and experience that I have gained to develop vehicle programs quickly, efficiently, and with great quality, albeit with a smaller group of people. My hope is to bring clear focus to the SVT engineering program so that we can again deliver vehicles that remain true to the original SVT hallmarks of, "Performance, Substance, Exclusivity, and Value."
I look forward to sharing whatever bits and pieces about our upcoming product plans that I can with you in the very near future.
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