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When most people think of Maaco, a few words come to mind… accident, insurance, two-hundred dollar paint jobs, etc. Tony Martino, Maaco’s founder and CEO, wants to change that - and he’s off to a good start with their Medusa Mustang.

Ford tuner/supercar builder Saleen shut down a few Orange County streets and opened the doors to its headquarters for its 10th annual open house/car show.

Saleen (the company) let the Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club (SOEC) take over its manufacturing headquarters so that everyone could celebrate all things Saleen (the car). Though this car show was technically open to any and all cars, this event was pretty much dominated by all things Ford-powered and Saleen-tuned.

Though a few S7s and Saleen-tuned F150s were on hand, the car of the day was the Saleen Mustang. All generations of Saleen-tuned ‘Stangs were on hand, which is great for the Saleen Mustang fan, not-so-great for those looking for a bit of variety. Don’t get us wrong, we love Saleen Mustangs as much as the next certified gear-head. It just seems as if most of these cars are picked up by the type of guy that spends one too many hours watching the Barrett-Jackson auctions on TV and not-so-secretly hopes that his Saleen Mustang will be the next million-dollar car. Most of these Saleen Mustangs look as if they rarely come out of the garage, let alone see any sort of track time. Whatever happened to buying a race-ready car and taking it racing?

Steve Saleen, world renowned for his modded Mustangs (over 8,000 of them at press time) and other mass produced vehicles, has opened the doors to the companies first retail outlet - The Saleen Store. The store sells an array of Saleen-branded stuff, as well as technical displays on the company’s 750-hp S7 supercar and their supercharged Saleen Mustang, and S7 racing simulators.

If that’s not enough, The Saleen Store has a Saleen N2O Bar.  For people, menu items range from ice cream, water, soda, Red Bull and oxygen.  For their cars, nitrous oxide and hydrogen are available.  The store is sure to encompass a full-range, high-octane ambience for everyone.

According to their website, Saleen has created a unique shopping experience that will undoubtedly set a new standard in the automotive and the retail industry. The Saleen Store is so different that it has created a buzz, and that buzz has traveled almost as fast as the world’s fastest production car, the Saleen S7.

At the New York Auto Show April 13, 2006, performance and specialty designer Steve Saleen recently unveiled a special edition 2007 Saleen Mustang: the Parnelli Jones. For those who do not know, Parnelli Jones, as quoted by Saleen President and CEO Steve Saleen, “is an American racing icon. In the fifties, sixties, and seventies Parnelli won just about every race that he appeared in, including the Indy 500. 1970 was the year that the SCCA Trans Am Series boasted the most competitive field ever, and Parnelli Jones and his Boss 302 Mustang competed against the likes of Mark Donahue and Dan Gurney, and there he captured the championship. Our relationship began in 1987 when Parnelli raced for me on the Saleen team, and helped us win our first SCCA Manufacturer’s Championship at Sebring, Florida. I can’t think of any other individual that brings with him the unique connection between championship winning Mustangs and Saleen.”

Steve Saleen, an automotive entrepreneur among the ranks of Jack Roush and Carrol Shelby, has created some of the most powerfully equppied, styled, and performing Mustangs in history. Saleen graduated from the University of Southern California with a business degree, he later raced cars, and in 1984, started the company Saleen Autosport. His ultimate goal was to create performance cars with increased aesthetic styling, suspension performance, and drivetrain improvements. One of Saleen’s project cars was a Ford Mustang in 1984.