Steve Saleen to the rescue!

That’s right, Steve Saleen, the former owner of Mustang-tuner and manufacturer Saleen Inc. has announced that his new company SMS Supercars will honor the warranty on any Saleen product purchased before February 2nd, 2009. Now that’s standing behind your product!

“The ones who have been left out in the cold are the loyal customers of Saleen products,” said Steve Saleen in a statement. “While my new company, SMS Supercars, has no legal or moral obligation to take up any of the warranty claims against Saleen Inc. or MJ Acquisitions, Inc., I would like to make a bold statement on the right way to treat customers.”

The news comes roughly a month after Saleen Inc.’s new owner, MJ Acquisitions, announced that it would not support the warranties on Saleen vehicles and parts sold before the Feb. 2nd date.

We predicted in that story that the new Saleen Inc., wouldn’t be long for this world and that prophesy seems to be playing out. First MJ Acquisitions scared off all it’s customers (and infuriated the Mustang community) and now Steve Saleen has made a move that will likely see all current Saleen product owners driving their American muscle straight into his open arms.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Saleen’s new owner, MJ Acquisitions, will not be honoring any outstanding warranties on Saleen Inc. products, services, or vehicles.

That’s right, MJ Acquisitions recently sent a letter to all certified Saleen and Racecraft dealers stating that customers will have to pay for any repair costs because Saleen Inc. has ceased operations. It clearly states that, “MJ Acquisitions, Inc. is not responsible or obligated to cover warranties and/or any financial liabilities of Saleen, Inc.” The bad news applies to all Saleen products sold prior to February 2, 2009.

That’s bad news for the customers, but there is also bad news for the retailers. Saleen Inc. will also no longer be able to cover parts or labor on any vehicle with a Saleen warranty – including unsold vehicles currently sitting on showroom floors. This will certainly make those vehicles a lot harder to move.

MJ Acquisitions says in the letter that it feels sorry for the outcome and wants to reassure customers and retailers that the Saleen brand will continue.

Now, we can’t see the future, but it’s not a stretch to predict that Saleen might just fade away after this news. The Mustang community is a tight-knit one and trying to sell Saleen cars and car parts to that same customer base after this news could be damn-near impossible.

[Source: www.soec.org]

MJ Acquisitions, which recently purchased most of Saleen Inc., has made it clear that purchasing Viper from Dodge/Chrysler is of interest to the company.

Automotive News reports that MJ Acquisitions co-owner Mike Shields states that, “We’ve considered a purchase of Viper.” Shields and his bothers own several auto-industry related subsidiaries including Cyltec, LLC, Power-Tec Engineering, LLC, Arrow Racing Engines, LLC, and Control-Tec, LLC.

Chrysler has publicly stated its interest in selling off the successful Viper brand, and recently announced that it is currently looking over three proposals – although the company would not say if one of those proposals is from MJ Acquisitions.

In news relating back to Saleen, Shields stated that the continuation of the Racecraft brand and S-Line are not certain.

As for the continued uncertainty of the S7 and S5 Raptor supercars, former Saleen president Chris Theodore is still on the hunt for a buyer.

Read the AutoGuide review of the Viper ACR here:

Dodge Viper ACR

[Source: AutoNews]

Three months after Saleen Incorporated announced it was looking for a buyer the company has just released news that MJ Acquistions has purchased a significant portion of the automakers assets.

The deal puts all supercharger, after market and high performance assets in the hands of MJ Acquisitions. Saleen Inc.  will retain ownership of everything relating to the S7 Supercar and upcoming S5 Raptor – although the move certainly puts the development of the Saleen exotic in jeapordy as it is more than likety the supercar department shares both staff and resources with the departments that have changed hands. And considering how small the volume of sales for the S7 project have been it’s unlikely MJ Acquistions will want to dedicate staff and resources to areas other than the high volume, high profit aftermarket and high performance segments.

On a positive note MJ Acquisitions is a developed and successful automotive company that owns four subsidiaries: Cyltec, LLC, Power-Tec Engineering, LLC, Arrow Racing Engines, LLC, and Control-Tec, LLC. These companies comprise a network that currently facilitates full service enginering, design, manufacturing, assembly and control systems for sectors of the automotive industry.

“We moved on this purchase quickly to ensure that the process of delivering high-quality automobiles and components to the consumers is not disrupted,” said Mike Shields, President and CEO of MJ Acquisitions. “We are working with the talented team from Saleen and our own experts to continue the quality, delivery, and performance the customer base and delalership network have come to expect from the Saleen brand.”

One point of note is that employees of the Saleen departments that were sold were let go, however, many (if not all) of them are expected to be rehired – including Saleen Inc. CEO Chris Theodore, who said that, “MJ Acquisitions and its affiliates are a group of true car professionals with vast experience in the engineering, production, assembly and distribution of performance and racing vehicles. This influx of new life into the Saleen, RaceCraft and SpeedLab brands is a win-win situation.

MJ Acquisitions doesn’t plan to waste any time bringing product to market and the company is expected to forge ahead with a redesign of the flagship S-Line brand, due out in late 2009, as well as the realse of a 2010 Racecraft Mustang – with develpment beging on that project as soon as Ford delviers the new model to Saleen HQ.

[Source: Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club]

Official release after the jump:

Breaking News: SOEC/Saleen Forums News Exclusive — Irvine, California, February 2, 2009 – After announcing it was looking for a buyer in early November, Saleen Incorporated announced today that MJ Acquistions has acquired certain assets of America’s premier automotive lifestyle brand, relating to Saleen’s supercharger, aftermarket and high performance street vehicle businesses.

MJ Acquistions does plan to work with the dealer network and others to establish the future product line. A company spokesperson told SOEC that more announcements will be forthcoming, so stay tuned.