unique performance police bust

As I read this thread, I'm reminded that history repeats itself. Sixty years ago, Preston Tucker built three prototypes and then took deposits on cars he intended to build but was unable to deliver. The feds were involved in that one too.

Moral of the story? Buy a finished car instead of a bunch of promises.

 

Sounds like all those promises are "Gone in 60 sec" too! Ironic,they became popular,because of a movie about car theft.

 

Sunnovabitch, I think these suckers built my old 38, I still have the head sized 2" lump that fell out of the rear fender! Whaddya know? Used to have caddy bullet tailights and the holes were just bogged over!
Unique always seemed a little shady from what I heard, all the way over here in Oz, whats Year One like?

 

I have seen there cars here in DFW...I was amazed when I was told they were NOT done in someone's back yard. Poor paint worse body work, leaking fuel through the typical troublesome Holly needles. I SMELLED the a car out at Kennadale Speedway before I saw it! I am a hack, and had a nicer fake I built in highschool, in 1979! Just my opinion.

 

I agree with a previous poster that suggested that the guys buying these cars were probably former geeks in high school who would never have had a cool car. But if you'd of showed up in one of those Foose contraptions around my crowd, you would of still been considered a stroke.

Money and wealth is relative. Just because someone put the dough together to buy one of these cars doesn't mean they could afford to lose it. And it sure doesn't mean they could afford to double the loss paying an attorney to chase it. The customers of Unique who put down huge deposits were stupid for sure, but even a dumbass deserves a little compassion.

Getting rid of UP and it's ilk is good for hotrodding. They hadn't earned their status. It was all media hype. There are a lot of great shops out there building awesome rides for knowlegable customers. Maybe now they'll get a little acknowledgement for their talents.

I've found that you usually get back what you put into something. The UP crooks will certainly get theirs.

 

The news story has it wrong. They weren't restoring Shelby's.
Elenor isn't a Shelby either. We all know this and can tell the diff.
Man this stuff has far reaching implications that could affect all Hot Rodders across this country. How many of us have cars with "washed titles", "gennie" titles on scrap cars, titles on cars that don't match. WE need to watch where we throw stones.
I'm not defending these guys but we need to let the law deal with it and let it sort out in court. Carroll Shelby liscensed his name to put on these made over cars and he know it ans so did we and so did the new customers. They may have crossed the line by removing the original vin tags though.
Ever do that?

 

I'm curious, since so many HAMBers who've seen the cars in person say they're poorly assembled junk, why all the magazines who've done cover stories and big features on UP didn't notice how poorly done the cars were. I'd think if the magazine guys knew what they were doing, they'd have seen and smelled a rat.

Case in point: Popular Hotrodding, January 2006, cover story on UP. The cover shows a 69 Camaro and a Shelby Mustang with these words: "Factory Fresh! New Musclecars From Shelby & Foose (They Really Are New!)"

On the inside: "even more obvious for cars that involve Shelby and Foose are the six-figure-plus pricetags they command. Nonetheless, learn what goes into building one of these vehicles or spend some time experiencing them first-hand, and that sum seems way too cheap. So take out a second mortgage on the house, cash in on your 401K, and don't worry about your wife taking off. After rolling around in one of these, you'll be able to trade her in for a hotter, thinner replacement.

"The question of what makes some yokels from Northern Texas qualified to build high-end musclecars and justified in charging top dollar is a reasonable one to ask. If 10 pages of stunning photography isn't proof enough, here's a condensed version of the company's history..."

I guess that's the caveat with "stunning photography:" It doesn't always present an accurate picture.

I wonder what PHR and other mags who've gushed all over UP are gonna say now?

 

One difference is that Tucker was using his own product, not stolen cars. Sounds to me like like UP was just a chop shop.

 

Glad I Held Back On My 70K Deposit!

 

I've seen the cars at SEMA and Barrett-Jackson and the cars looked like shit to me.

They had grind marks in the inch thick paint, Beat-up re-used trim and just had a slapped together look.

I've seen some of the "overhaulin'" cars that were built in a week that were done much more nicely.

 

Here is the link to the news story from our local CBS affliate. You may have to sit through a "Prime Time" ad.

**Link Deleted**

Sorry repost

All it takes is one car and the customer to get suspicious and look in to it. It is a shame if these cars were "title washed" if that is the case. Anytime you get high visibility in the public eye you are bound to get negative attention. And if it's false the shame on the accuser, if not then shame on them. But the police usually have good cause before they take action. This will be pretty high profile in the auto community and will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

 

Now technically couldn't the Feds go after anyone that has bought a car from them and possible take their car? Doesn't matter if they paid for it, stolen is stolen

 

If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

While I certainly feel for you, why in the world weren't you watching your 401K account every paycheck when they were suppose to be depositing the money? You have to take some responsibilty for your own finances, not to mention your quality of workmanship.

I also feel bad for the customers who have lost thousands. They trusted the shop to be true to their word/contract, the employees to do a quality job, the media and hype, and got screwed in the end, and their annual income should have no bearing on the facts in this case.

 

Yet another shop run like a pyramid scheme..where did the seven million go? Ferraris? speedboats? homes in Colorado? we can pay this bill if we bring in just a few more customer deposits...You see it on a smaller scale everywhere, a guy starts a new business, powerwashing, framing,landscaping etc. and the first thing he does is go out and buy one of those giant Pickups......ever notice how many of the Foose cars are black and silver with a red pinstripe?...

 

Management had to be idiots. A company getting hefty deposits up front, and potentially big dollars for finished cars, not to mention having the FOOSE name attached, and they still screw that up? They should have had no problem finding and delivering legit cars and making a big profit. 150k for a mustang or camaro? they should have cleared $100K per car profit.

 

I don't think it's cool to dump on one of the workers over the quality of the cars.
You aren't responsible if someone gives you shit to work with and screams "faster, cheaper" at you the whole time you're working.

It wasn't his decision to re-use scratched old drip rail trim on a $150k car.

 

please dont tell me, chip is knee deep in this shit hole too?

 

Tucker did in fact build cars. They were just to a head of their time and the US Govt. Was taking money from the Big Three to put him out of business because of the huge loos they would take by having to put all those features on their cars. He did produce 48 cars not just the prototypes. He had every intention of building the product and had the assembly line and everything. The entire mess was just Govt. Intervention.

 

Your owed WAGES, 401K money, AND YOUR OWN TOOLS and your still not sure if these poeple are theives!! Theres one born every minute!

 

If you read the fine print they way I read it it says they are pretty much owed a last weeks work. Shit happens man give the guy a fucking break. As far as the 401 k the stock market has been so up and down how can you really follow it . Sometimes it just looks like you took another beating.. I havent really followed mine intill recently and ive got reasons to follow it now. Christ how many places crash nowdays and no one on the floor sees it. My kid worked for a place makin 20 bucks an hour and went to work on friday and was told to hit the unemployment office as they were pretty much done. Does that make him a dumb ass too... I feel sorry for this guy cause he cant even get his tools. Hopefully the other money will be recouped but remember with jobs the way they are now days in our fucked up goverment give him a break.. Go look in the mirror befor you tell people how stupid they are..
Have A nice day too.
Dave

 

Ya me too. I was smart, I put mine into So. Cal. real estate!
Oh, wait......


Kurt O.

 

Im not slammin the guy for losing his 401K, or not getting his tools or the last check thats owed him...hell, we've all been there. But I sure as hell aint gonna defend the crooks that took it from me!!!

 

Gee whiz.
All the guy said was not to exaggerate or add on things that might not have happened except in third hand rumors-only.

I believe he knows they didn't pay him and that his tools will probably stay impounded for a long long time.

All he was saying is that people shouldn't blame them for the neighbors dirty diapers, or the cat having kittens just because people hate them now.

As they say on Dragnet- "just the facts..."

It is much too easy to add up all the rumors and end up with a story that is not even close to what actually happened.

Let him state what happened to him without demanding that he build it up bigger than what he actually saw.

 

Once again, im not DEMANDING anything.
Man keeps my money = CROOK
Man keeps doesnt pay me my 401k = CROOK
Man keeps my tools = CROOK

like you said...just the facts, nothing more...nothing less

 

sounds like you got ripped off too lesaber 59..shady buisness..what a bummer..gone in 60 seconds

 

I didn't read this entire thread, but I just got some inside news about the deal. They were not stolen, they got busted for swapping VINs. This is VERY BAD for the whole hobby. With this kind of stuff in the news it hurts the reputation of all hot rodders and gives crappy politicians ammo for their campaigns.

Stick by our buddies at SEMA SAN.

 

I find it hard to believe they have 61 stolen cars in thier yard. Doesn't anyone think that someone would have noticed if all of a sudden 67-68 Fastback Mustangs suddenly started disapearing? Now retittle/rebadged and not having proper paperwork is probably what happened, but in the eyes of the courts they would consider that posession of stolen property since they had no legal rights to them, just a bill of sale and no title. Everyone knows they were out buying up evey fastback hulk they could find. What if a customer leaglly had one and gave it to them to refurish? It's not stolen at all, but now it's going to be crushed? Not sticking up for them one bit, but the media hype is just that and everyone is believing it.

 

What's the difference from welding a VIN tag in from a junker, and stamping a 32 frame rail?

The end of hot rodding is near.

 

I am sorry if I make enemies but ---


Man keeps my money(fact) = CROOK (conclusion)

Man keeps doesnt pay me my 401k (probably a fact, but unknown cause) = CROOK (speculation at this time)

Man keeps my tools (speculation; most likely impounded by the authorities, shop's owners probably have no interest in the tools at this point, but lawyers and gov't probably want every last piece and will make it very difficult to reclaim them)
= CROOK (speculation, but NOT established fact)

conclusions are not facts.

They do indeed sound very much like crooks, and that should be dealt with, and I agree that people like that give everybody a bad name, and I also agree that in the eye of the public hot rodders may again have the image of chop-shop "never-do-wells", but let's not
jump to conclusions yet about who did what when we still don't know all of what happened.

Let's find out what they did do and didn't do first.

I hope the guy gets his tools back, but it is more likely to be Government Red Tape and lawyers fighting to the very last drop of money that will determine what happens to them.

It's a sad thing all around. It will be interesting reading all the way to the end.

 

Dave, you don't follow the stock market to make sure your employer stuck YOUR money into YOUR 401K account. YOU look online to make sure the deposit was made in a timely and regular fashion to your 401k ACCOUNT. Mine is made into my acct every two weeks and I can go to the Fidelity website and make sure my employer deposited MY money and the matching money from him.

Trust me, if the money wasn't there even one time I'd be marching into the Presidents office demanding an explanation.


As far as an employee doing crappy workmanship, it's not a grey line here, you either do the job right and have pride in something that has your name on it OR you find another place to work that has vaules similiar to yours. You do a shitty job/workmanship and it will haunt you. Any shop owners in TX going to hire a guy from that shop that cut corners on workmanship?

I'm sorry, crappy, rushed work for high pay.....the writing was on the wall but the employees chose to ignore it.

One more thing, as far a social security, FICA and all those other pesky taxes that come out of your paycheck.... here's a hint to you and anyone else that has worked for someone on the shady side. Just because it shows that the taxes were taken out of your paycheck does not mean that your boss or owner of the company actually paid those taxes to the government. You need to follow thru and make sure they were paid or it could haunt you later.