CAV In provisional Liquidation

Hi Gary

I use to post quite regularly on this Forum, but was very disappointed in the way that you and Ian Clark responded to my posts informing the other members of the Forum regarding the situation with CAV.
It was up to the company to inform the Forum but unfortunately the didn't, people were asking questions for months, but they where met with silence.
It demonstrated the contempt in which the Factory held this Forum and its future customers and dealers.
I did not need a crystal ball to know that the factory was sold, that CAV had gone into Liquidation, to know that staff had all lost their jobs and were owed several months of back pay, or that suppliers were also owed money.

No CAV cars have been made in the last Six months so I would also say that I was right when I stated that production was at an end.

The fact that someone has now purchased the tooling from the receivers to start production of a GT40 calling it the CAV but being made by another company is not surprising.

I think that if six cars are under construction for a June delivery to the USA then great, but why has the new owner not made an announcement on this Forum regarding the start of his new enterprise?

I invite him to do so, I am sure our members would appreciate an update. It must help to promote his product and I for one hope that he sponsors a new CAV section in this Forum.

I hope that the CAV car as we know it comes back, I think that the more competition in the GT40 market is good for the consumer as improved competition always sorts out the good from the bad and helps to keep prices competitive.

Some times in life there is bad news but you should not shoot the messenger just because you don't like what he is saying, especially when it is the truth.…

This Forum is for the GT40 enthusiasts in my opinion and I think they deserve to know what is happening especially if their hard earned money is involved.

I have no axe to grind or affiliation with any other GT40 manufacturer, I am a realist and an enthusiast. I hope that members of this Forum want to here the truth and if they do then I will participate in bringing the news to this public domain, if not then let them say so and I will remain silent.

Regards
Chris.

 

Chris,

No disrepect to anyone else, but I think your posts have always been very even-keeled. How's your project coming along?

 

[Robert Logan]

I have the HIGHEST respect for Chris and all of his dealings with this forum. I can confirm his independance as I have on several occasions asked Chris to do things specifically for Roaring Forties and he has always declined and stated the "independance" reason. I no longer ask for anything but advise and this he gladly gives and I realy value this advise.

I supported Chris in this thread as I believed that he was right and I had also heard the news about CAV but he had confirmed that he had information from SA to verify the story.

Lets let sleeping dogs lie but Chris's contributions on this forum have been missed and I for one believe that a "sorry" is due from others.

This forum was started to "open" lines of communications and as the only manufacturer FULLY represented on the forum , I more than most understand the double edged sword that the forum can be and how important a quick response is. I therefore understand why other manufacturers are reluctant to be FULL members of the forum and have their own support area. I believe that this is their loss but it is also our loss and a little less aggression by some would be better.

As a final point , I have never had anyone tell me anything but good things about Garry Gibbs and his dealings with CAV and I also enjoyed Garry's informitave contributions to the forum.

Best wishes, especially to CAV,

Robert Logan

 

[Ian Clark]

Hi All,

Lets' agree to have a love-in and move on.

Corporate restructuring is seldom pretty and misinformation results from lack of disclosure. Those are facts of business life rather than caused by some chat rooms.

We all appreciate the open sharing of information for the betterment of ALL GT40 enthusiasts, be you an owner, builder, manufacturer or fan. That's the true purpose of open forums like GT40s.com.

In the spirit of sharing and helping others, CAV dealers and distributors alike have chipped in whenever possible and will certainly continue to do so.

Eventually and at their timing the new owners of CAV will make formal announcements. As it stands the biggest challenge is keeping up to demand, as interupted production and a leaner organization has delayed production.

It is important to note that NO CAV GT40 customers were affected by this chain of events.

Production has been under way for quite some time. We are accepting new orders now.

Posted here are photos of our next customer car being built at the new facilities. It will be right hand drive and also right hand shift. The paint scheme will match 1076 when done. The pics also reveal some of the CAV stainless steel monocoque. Enjoy

 

[Ian Clark]

Me Again, Here's the other picture

 

[Steve Toner]

OK folks, here's what I think I know about this situation. I picked up my car last Friday from Las Vegas (where it has been since last August, when I dropped it back there after the Monterey Historics to get the rest of the warranty work that was needed done on the car). I asked about the state of things. Was told that they (Finish Line Motorsports, the LV dealer) are not taking orders for new cars at this time. They have a couple of customers who want to buy, but won't take their money until they are certain of the situation. The new cars *will* be more expensive. And they, at least, expect the new operation to prove itself before they are going to take money from customers up front - i.e. ship the cars over & they will sell them, but the risk has to be on the factory rather than the customers until they prove themselves.

I believe everybody took a bath on my car - it was the first ZF build, and there were things that just weren't right. Finish Line made good on them, but they have a bunch of warranty claims that should have been reimbursed by the factory that they don't believe they'll ever get paid for. I'm pretty sure Bob Lacey footed the bill for some of it, so he took a bath on it as well. And it ended up costing me quite a bit more than I had planned (both in actual out-of-pocket expenses as well as lost "opportunity cost" since I've only been able to use it for 2 weeks so far since I initially ordered it 2+ years ago) as well.

It's my understanding that Bob Lacey will not be involved with the "new" CAV - they apparently will deal directly with the dealers. And they have not yet contacted the dealers, so that's not a given...

I think what happened here is typical of a lot of start-up operations: it ended up being a whole lot more involved than anyone expected. And by that I really mean the guys in South Africa. Everybody I dealt with on this side of the world (Bob Lacey & Finish Line) seemed to go out of their way to make things right.

Chris & Gary, I've met you both and I think you're both great guys. I don't want to see either of you go away, but I also don't want to see this continued bickering. Can you work out your differences (by PM perhaps, it doesn't have to be on public display here) and get back to making this the best forum on the web? Pretty please? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And if I've pissed anybody off with this post or let out some information that was supposed to have been kept under wraps, I apologize in advance...

 

[Hershal Byrd]

Ok,
I've held my tongue long enough. First of all this crap can be settled easily by anwering one simple question by the Dealers. Are any of you CAV dealers under contract and have you been notified of the liquadation of CAV ? As far as I know from articles in the South african News that CAV cut their losses and sold all assets to the GT40 part of their business. They now concentrate on the marine aspect of their company. They could care less about a forum dedicated to GT40s. If there is a company out there that has called all you CAV dealers and they have reassured you that they in fact will continue to supply these GTs as CAV did then say so for Gods sake! All this bikering and rumor crap sucks. Nobody on this board wishes bad one CAV owners. I have heard nothing from the Carcraft company who was supposedly the ones that picked up the torch. If they are making the new CAVs then let them say so .
As far as I'm concerned anything produced after December 1st ain't a CAV. You can call it what you like but it wasn't built by the same company that built the one before that.
It is too bad that this company was not able to make a go of it. What they had was an exellent product and added to the consumers list of choices. They are GONE. We now welcome any new company that wishes to carry on the Quality of CAV. But please be honest and tell it like it is. Either you are Carkraft or the "new CAV". Which is it ? That's all anybody here wants to know.


Hersh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

FYI, Ginetta did help CAV UK with the SVA process. The link however was that CAV were going to make the body for a new Ginetta. Unfortunately (for both Martin Phaff and CAV, it didn't happen for a variety of reasons.

I echo all of the above "moving on comments". I enjoyed my time with CAV and although it became difficult towards the end, the car was a quality product and I personally learnt a great deal about the industry and of course the 40 itself.

One of the first things I noticed about our shared passion, was the amount of politics that existed (for a multitude of reasons) and I really wish that it didn't. There is nothing wrong with a gentle pisstake and indeed it can be very healthy (JP and I have been doing it for ages!) but I think every now and then, things go too far.

Why can't we leave it like this:

People should feel free to make objective comments and to make the forum aware of the positive and negative aspects of the various products out there (this is surely one of the main reasons for the forum)

One should criticise the point not the person, (why on earth should someone like Chris Melia, with all his knowledge and experience, feel that he no longer wishes to contribute to the forum).

Lets leave the politics to Tony and George.

Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Malcolm]

[ QUOTE ]
Lets leave the politics to Tony and George.

Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Now that has to be the most controversial statement in this thread!

 

[David Morton]

All,
I would like to be associated with many of the positive remarks about Chris Melia's postings on this thread. Mid way through, Steve Toner put it succinctly "CAV have gone bust" and Hershals last comments some it up 100%. Gary, I thinks there is a ground swell of opinion here that seems in Chris's favour. I cannot find anywhere at all where he was 'presumptuos' ( Latin = failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate) or indeed defamatory.
I, personally, would like to see Chris returning to the forum (full time instead of just limiting himself to defence from IMHO unfounded remarks) as many of his comments and remarks contributed to all sorts of topics and were a valid and very welcome part of this forum.
I would like this CAV thing to eventually go away but I also feel that some sort of climb down, one way or another, should be aired. But what do I know anyway............
Dave M

 

It's a great pity that some excellent contributors to this forum have to end up defending themselves. Andre and Chris Melia are two prime examples. This degrades the forum that many of us get a lot of enjoyment and knowledge from. Let's clean up our act. Regards

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Right, Norman, I agree. On the one hand I'm in favor of free speech, on the other hand I'm tired as well of potshots taken at people that I know have integrity as well as the best interest of this hobby at heart. Unfortunately for Chris, who deserved none of what he had to endure, being the bearer of ill tidings seldom draws favorable attention. But, if you believe that he has the best interest of the hobby at heart, and he knew of problems with CAVs GT40 production, he was justified in telling us about it. I have no neutrality on this; Chris is a friend of mine. But I think he was right in this instance.
I also feel we have a lot more in common, all of us, than matters on which we differ, and I would vote, as would others, to declare that this disagreement or whatever you wish to call it is over and get back to talking about cars. There's abundant bad news elsewhere, regrettably. I come here to feel better.

 

[Robert Logan]

I agree with Norman and Jim above and request that Ron Earp close down this thread regarding contributions.

We have had enough side swipes and all other contributions can be made through private messages.

Best wishes,

Robert

 

[Peter Delaney]

Ian, all the political BS aside, are you going to clue us in on the secret aerofoils fitted to the lower rear a-arms of the car in your last pic ?

If so, can you also tell us if the ancient runic symbols inscribed thereon have any additional secret powers ?

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

 

Announcement

Monday, May 17, 2004

This announcement is to confirm that Autofutura and Carcraft have joined forces and are now the sole manufacturer and exporter of the CAV Ford GT40 Replica.

Cape Town Motor Vehicle Corporation, who traded as CAV, has been liquidated. All the moulds, jigs and intellectual property needed to manufacture the CAV GT were purchased by the Autofutura enterprise. Autofutra has no association what so ever with the old CAV, Cape Town Motor Vehicle Corporation or any of the holding companies it may have traded from.

We are happy to announce that we are in production again and will be shipping the first of our new generation cars in July 2004. Although the CAV GT is rated as one of the best GT 40 replicas available, we have ourselves implemented at least 30 improvements to the previous model. A racecar version is currently under development.

We encourage anyone interested in the CAV GT to contact us. Our details follow and we look forward to hearing from you!

Jean Fourie & John Spence


Autofutura
Unit 4 Tifosa Park
5 Bell Crescent
Westlake Business Park
Westlake
7945

Tel: +27 21 702 3307
Fax: +27 21 702 2419
e-mail: [email protected]
www.cav.co.za (in the process of being updated)



Dealers

VIP Classics.San Diego, Californi Roy Sayles Phone /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif619) 232 6864E-mail : [email protected]

HRE Motorcars.Long Island, New York Bill Andrews Phone: (516) 378 5461E-mail : [email protected]

CAV Canada MotorSports Inc. Ian Clark - President Phone: 905 637 9362Mobile Tel: 905 320 6309Fax: 905 637 8123

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

At last!! Best wishes Jean and John on your new venture.
I wish you well.

 

Yes, Good luck guys.

Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bill Bayard]

Thank you for putting an end to the speculation

and bickering! Please keep us up to date on any new

developments.

Best of luck!

Bill

 

Yes Guys

I hope the new venture goes well and wish you every success.
I understand Ken is making your bodies for you, look after him, he is extremely good at what he does. This along with the other 30 improvements should be really good news and only add to what was already a good product.
Chris Melia.

 

[40 Bud]

Now that wasn't so hard was it guys?