Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General New head of SVT engineering

I got the November/December issue of SVT ENTHUSIAST today, and there's a column by the guy who's replacing the famed John Coletti as chief of engineering at SVT.

He says a lot of things, but one thing in particular, and his picture, really caught my interest.

His last job was working with Land Rover on the Defender replacement, which means he was living in England.
"Though I drove everything from Range Rovers to Jag XJs, one of my favorite "fun-to-drive" rides was the Ford Mondeo (SVT Contour, anyone?)." His words.

His picture is even better, I think. It shows him leaning on a Duratec on an engine stand. It doesn't have the plastic IMRC cover, but it does have the SVT plate on the front of the UIM, and the UIM looks like it's powdercoated, not black, but silver. Looks real good.

I haven't seen that engine before. Has anyone else? Are they going to shove it in a focus or something? I'd love to get my UIM powdercoated silver like that.

Peace.

Jed

Sounds promising. We'll see if Ford lets him run with it.

scan and post!

-dan

A UIM like this?



I've always wondered about this CEG banner. The image looks intentionally faded, so the UIM could be black and just look silver. However, I can't help but notice the glossy look to it which I have never seen on an SVT UIM.

There is a rumor of an SVT Ford Fusion, but I will believe it when it's for sale.

If you don't know what a Ford Fusion is by now, do some research.

Don't know if this is the same article, probably not.. but here's some info on the guy (I think)

Hau Thai-Tang Appointed New SVT Director

Nov 19, 2004
By: Ford Motor Company


Email this article | Printer friendly page


Chris Theodore, vice president, Advanced Product Creation, will retire from the company, effective Dec. 1, 2004.

-- Effective Dec. 1, Hau Thai-Tang is appointed Director, Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team (SVT). Previously, Thai-Tang was Chief Nameplate Engineer for the Ford Mustang program.

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company today announced the following personnel and organizational realignments: Chris Theodore, vice president, Advanced Product Creation, will retire from the company, effective Dec. 1, 2004. Theodore has spent more than 30 years in the automotive industry, starting at Ford as a college intern and an engineer in the heavy truck group. Theodore also spent time at General Motors, American Motors and Chrysler, before returning to Ford in 1999 as vice president, North America Car, where he played a role in re-energizing the company's car line-up with vehicles such as the Ford GT.

"Since re-joining the company in 1999, Chris made significant
contributions to product creation at Ford, including many key product programs and, most recently, through his leadership of Advanced Product Creation," said Phil Martens, group vice president, Product Creation. "Chris brought a wealth of engineering experience and a personal passion for the product that made a real difference in every program in which he was involved."

Also effective Dec. 1, Hau Thai-Tang will assume the responsibilities of
Director, Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team (SVT). In his new role, Thai-Tang will be responsible for directing the operations of Ford's Special Vehicle Team and Advanced Product Creation team. Previous to his new appointment, Thai-Tang was Chief Nameplate Engineer for the 2005 Ford Mustang and led the development and launch of the 2001 Mustang GT, Mustang Cobra, and
Bullitt Mustang GT models. He was the vehicle dynamics supervisor and vehicle engineering manager for the 2000 LS, that won Motor Trend magazine's "Car of the Year" award. Thai-Tang's Ford experience also includes an assignment in Germany, as well as working with Ford Racing. He joined Ford in 1988 as a Ford College Graduate trainee.

To further strengthen SVT's role in the company, Thai-Tang will report
directly to Martens. John Coletti continues as director of the Special Vehicle Team and will report to Thai-Tang.

"The appointment of Hau to this role further cements the importance of SVT to Ford," Martens said. "As Mustang fans now know, Hau and his team did a fabulous job bringing the all-new 2005 Mustang to life," Martens added. "As a youngster, Hau dreamed of one day owning a Mustang. Not only did his wildest dreams come true, but Hau also brought to life the dreams of Mustang fans everywhere with the rebirth of the original Pony Car."

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 326,000 employees worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company and Hertz.

The new SVT chief program engineer is Tom Jones (not the aging pop singer as he states). He reports directly to John Coletti who is the director of the SVT and GT programs. I can put the article up here if anyone is still interested.

Sure. I got that article from SVTmustangs.com. I just copy and paste... oh well... But yeah, please post, sounds liek teh new jack will do some good things for the SVT label.

like this?