Saleen "Going Into the Hands of Good People," Says CEO

Saleen "Going Into the Hands of Good People," Says CEO Chris Theodore TROY, Michigan — Outgoing Saleen, Inc., CEO Chris Theodore confirmed for Inside Line on Tuesday that MJ Acquisitions has acquired some of Saleen's assets, including the supercharger, aftermarket and high-performance street vehicle business. "It means that the Saleen brand will be alive, products are going forward and people will be employed," Theodore said. He also said that he will be leaving the company. "I have to go on [to other things]," Theodore said. "I just wanted them to survive. It's going into the hands of good people. Two of the guys at MJ Acquisitions used to work with me at Chrysler." He declined to say who those two were. He also would not disclose the terms of the deal, saying it is "a private transaction." The ownership of MJ Acquisitions controls a family of companies that provide full service engineering, design, manufacturing, assembly and control systems for the automotive industry, according to a company statement. The affiliated companies include Cyltec LLC, Power-Tec Engineering LLC, Arrow Racing Engines LLC and Control-Tec LLC. Some bloggers reacted with anger to the sale. "Every time Saleen gets sold, the product is further diluted," wrote one on Saleenforums. "The last true Saleens that were produced were when Steve was with the company. You don't see Jack Roush or Carol [sic] Shelby seperated [sic] from their cars." Theodore fired back at that comment by saying: "There's a group of fanatics that stick with the old Steve name. Do you even know if Steve wrote that?" He added: "The best Saleens that ever went out were the Dark Horse model and the Sterling Edition. Those were the Extremes in 2009 — 620 horsepower and the best performing. With the Sterling Edition, we did 25 at $100,000 apiece and sold them out in 90 days. They have become a collector's item. The Dark Horse we're finishing off with 25 total, and it costs $90,000. It's got the supercharger with a Shaker scoop which is a future item for Saleen products. You'll see that on the 2010 Mustangs." MJ Acquisitions said that "immediate plans are to roll out the 2010 version of the newly designed Mustang for the Racecraft brand and commence other Racecraft designs for additional vehicles. The new Mustang is shipping from Ford later this month. Additionally, the Saleen brand will have a new design of the flagship S-Line that is already in the works and scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2009. Theodore said there is a good fit between the two companies. "They are developing superchargers for the future," he said of MJ Acquisitions. Theodore also confirmed that the purchase by MJ Acquisitions does not include the assets associated with the S7 and S5 Raptor vehicles or the paint operations. "The S7 and S5 Raptor are being actively marketed," he said. "I can't say who is interested." Theodore said that despite the fact that he is out of a job, "It's OK with me. "I just took the job to save the company and sell it and that's what we did," he said. "I'm actually quite happy. I took over last August and figured out how to keep the place alive and find fresh capital. It was my primary motivation for getting involved and coming back. I'm happy with the outcome. In this climate, it's fantastic." Source : www.edmunds.com (2/3/2009)