Of course, seeing how nothing is more ‘Murican than a modded pony car, I secretly wish they had gone with “Shelby ‘Murican,” but I digress. Why “Shelby American?” Because now that Shelby has gone public, Shelby American is the division that actually modifies cars. In case you didn’t know, Shelby American tunes Mustangs. Fortunately, my cousin, a rabid collector of classic Shelbys swore he’d saw my nuts off convinced me to fly to Vegas to check out Shelby’s latest wares. My V70R is a tale for a different time, but I mention it because when I got an email invitation from Shelby, I almost deleted it.

I kept the factory exhaust tips but jammed in a racing cat, different muffler and I fiddled with the suspension. It’s not that I don’t like extra power, or a different suspension tune, I just prefer parts made by the company that made my car and I like the car to look “stock.”Ī case in point was my 2006 Volvo V70R.