<p****Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/aftermarket/" rel="tag"****Aftermarket</a****, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/coupes/" rel="tag"****Coupe</a****, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag"****Performance</a****, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag"****Ford</a****, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/earnings-financials/" rel="tag"****Earnings/Financials</a>*****/p>*****div align="center">*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/#16">*****img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/09/gt500krdrive2_15_opt.jpg" alt="" />*****/a>*****br /****
<em>*****strong>*****small****Shelby GT500KR - Click above for high-res image gallery</small>*****/strong>*****/em>*****/div****
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When we drove the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/01/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/"****Shelby GT500KR at Miller Motorsports Park</a**** last May, we were impressed with the steps that Ford and Shelby had taken to make its new King of the Road a special vehicle. Not only was the KR a huge improvement over the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/shelby+gt500"****GT500</a**** (which led to the development of the 2010 GT500), but the car featured trick items like a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/#16"****carbon fiber hood</a**** and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/#22"****lightweight wheels</a**** wrapped with R-compound tires. At that time, Shelby also proudly told us that none of the KR-specific parts would be available for sale separately to ensure that owners of lesser Mustangs could not make shadetree replicas that might compromise the KR's image. Of course, all of this exclusivity and performance came at a price: $79,995 to be exact. <br /****
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<div style="border: 0px dotted black; margin: 5px; padding: 2px 3px; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; font-size: 1.5em; float: right; width: 220px; text-align: center;">*****strong****$18,400 for a new hood, $3,392.50 for a front spoiler, and $632.50 for a set of hood pins</strong>*****/div****
Unfortunately, as one GT500KR owner has learned the hard way, replacement parts for this pony car can be surprisingly dear. After an unfortunate incident with a critter on the road resulted in a modestly damaged front end, the owner in question was shocked to learn about the high cost of his vehicle's replacement parts. And as is increasingly the way these days, he aired his displeasure on the web. That initial report has since touched off a firestorm in the online Shelby community, with the issue spreading to numerous forums and chat rooms. <br /****
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So just why were these replacement parts such a contentious issue? In the main, it's a numbers thing. As in $18,400 for a new hood, $3,392.50 for a front spoiler, and even $632.50 for a set of hood pins, among other things. Further, the disgruntled owner informed a forum member that Shelby requires any damaged KR parts to be returned to their facility in Las Vegas before new replacements can be sent out. <br /****
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Obviously, a bit of due diligence was needed to verify the claimed replacement pricing and parts return policy, so we got on the phone with Jim Owens, vice president of marketing and communications at Shelby to get the straight scoop. Click through to the jump to hear what we learned.<br /****
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<div class="postgallery">*****p>*****strong****Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/"****First Drive: 2008 Shelby GT500KR Part 2</a>*****/strong>*****/p>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/">*****img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/gt500krdrive2_01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" />*****/a>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/">*****img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/gt500krdrive2_02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" />*****/a>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/">*****img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/gt500krdrive2_03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" />*****/a>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/">*****img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/gt500krdrive2_04_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" />*****/a>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/first-drive-2008-shelby-gt500kr-part-2/low/">*****img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/gt500krdrive2_05_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" />*****/a>*****/div>*****br /****
<em>*****strong>*****small****Photos copyright (C)2009 <a href="http://www.drewphillipsphotography.com/"****Drew Phillips</a**** / Weblogs, Inc.</small>*****/strong>*****/em>*****br /****
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[Sources: <a href="http://www.spokentorque.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1517"****Spokentorque.com</a****, <a href="http://www.teamshelby.com/"****Team Shelby</a****]<p>*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/11/shelby-lowering-price-of-20k-gt500kr-hood-after-web-outrage-eru/" rel="bookmark"****Continue reading <em****Shelby lowering price of $20k GT500KR hood after web outrage erupts</em>*****/a>*****/p>*****p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;">*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/11/shelby-lowering-price-of-20k-gt500kr-hood-after-web-outrage-eru/"****Shelby lowering price of $20k GT500KR hood after web outrage erupts</a**** originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com"****Autoblog</a**** on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/"****terms for use of feeds</a****.</p>*****h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">*****/h6>*****a href=http://www.spokentorque.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1517****Read</a****&nbsp;|&nbsp*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/11/shelby-lowering-price-of-20k-gt500kr-hood-after-web-outrage-eru/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry"****Permalink</a****&nbsp;|&nbsp*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19144079/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email"****Email this</a****&nbsp;|&nbsp*****a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/11/shelby-lowering-price-of-20k-gt500kr-hood-after-web-outrage-eru/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry"****Comments</a****

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