Ford v. Ferrari

[Forzfed]

I finally got around to watching the movie.  I really liked it!  What about those here that saw it?  What did you think?

[Steve Wood]

I remember the race from 1966 and real life was drama filled.  How could you not have characters like Henry Ford II, Shelby, and Enzo Ferrari going at it and not have drama?  In those days, technology had not yet taken its grip and the human factor was paramount.

I thought the movie was very well done and while it added plenty of human entertainment to make it interesting, it was not that far off of reality with the character interplay.

The worst part of both reality and the movie was that a-hole ordering them to cross the line side by side.  If AJ Foyt had been driving in '66, I guarantee he would have knocked that guy out.

There were some truly legendary drivers in the field in the last half of the Sixties.

[Grumpy]

I just saw it a month ago. Being a die hard Shelby guy I thought it was pretty good. Wish they would do one about the beginning of the Cobra. Lots of great story's to go with.

[The Radius Kid]

Excellent movie....loved every minute....and I'm not a Ford guy.

[Forzfed]

Steve...  I was going to say I have no idea how accurate the story is because I wasn't around back then.  How can you not like Shelby, he is an icon.  I enjoyed visiting his shop in Vegas when I went to see the drags!  I really like the movie but I do agree with Dan.

I just saw it a month ago. Being a die hard Shelby guy I thought it was pretty good. Wish they would do one about the beginning of the Cobra. Lots of great story's to go with.

I totally agree with you and wish they would have had more of the beginning of Cobra.  Maybe they can make another movie!

[Steve Wood]

I did not mean to imply that I did not like Shelby!  He was a crotchety, mean, tough force of nature.  He was a driver that was forced to quit due to his heart condition but his understanding and engineering ability made him the ideal man.

Beebe was the guy that I was calling an a-hole

The Ford guys were pissed because Shelby was brought in and they were further pissed because Shelby, the drivers, and the others he brought in basically told them to fuck off when they try to boss them around.  Henry was not too happy either but he had already lost twice if I recall correctly.

Beebe was pissed off at the race because he gave orders not to race each other and they did.  He then told them to line up and finish side by side which cost Miles the race...he later admitted that he made the call in spite of being told that in case of a tie, the guy that started behind would be the winner...or something like that

Some reports claim Henry II made the decision and Beebe took the fall.  Too far back for anyone to know.  Many people have claimed that Beebe was not that kinda guy, but, who really knows?

[ULYCYC]

Excellent movie. I remember the rivalry on TV and magazines back then. I don't recall any of the politics. I guess with both buying ads and being sponsors it was left out. 

[Forzfed]

I did not mean to imply that I did not like Shelby!  He was a crotchety, mean, tough force of nature.  He was a driver that was forced to quit due to his heart condition but his understanding and engineering ability made him the ideal man.

I did not mean to imply that.  I meant in general, regardless of manufacturer loyalty most every car guy has great respect for the man.

[Steve Wood]

He was absolutely great and he marched to his own drummer as did a number of his generation.

Shelby, McClaren, Jim Hall, Smokey Yunick, et al, were not afraid to take the unwalked path to try things and we saw a great number of innovations that worked as a result.

It is not always publicized just how successful of them were in several fields of racing and how much input factories took from them-nor just how unpopular they could be with big company engineers who did not liike being shown up.

Peer review is the bane of many a good idea.