Chapter Four · Ford performance · Late 1960s
The Shelby Era
Family accounts connect Monty's Ford years to the orbit of Carroll Shelby — the era when Ford's performance ambitions were at their most audacious.
No name defined Ford performance in the 1960s like Carroll Shelby. Cobras, GT40s, and Shelby Mustangs gave Ford a swagger that no advertising budget alone could buy, and the marketing teams around Ford's performance programs worked in the glow of those machines.
Family accounts credit Monty with involvement in Ford's performance marketing during this era — the years when racing success at Le Mans and on American circuits was being converted, deliberately and brilliantly, into brand mythology.
For a young marketer convinced that people buy heroes and experiences, there was no better classroom in the world.