Back in May 2007, Steve Saleen officially retired, but it was a short one. Less than a year later in March 2008, he found SMS Supercars and began launching his line of new vehicles.
For a while, Saleen, Inc. and SMS Supercars co-existed with no real issues – other than confusing the general public a tad – but when Saleen was sold to MJ Acquisitions in February 2009, Steve stepped in stating that the new owners didn’t have the right to use the Saleen name or brand. A few months later, Steve Saleen filed a lawsuit against them. It appears Steve Saleen has won that lawsuit or a settlement has been made.
Last year in March, Saleen Performance Vehicles announced it would stop producing Mustangs and focus on its parts line. But now Steve Saleen has reacquired the rights to use the Saleen name and SMS Supercars will be rebranded as Saleen with new vehicles being produced starting with the 2013 model year.
The SMS Super Cars website has already been rebranded with the Saleen logo.