who owns the rights to the "Yenko" name?

[Marc]

Hi all..great spot on the net you all have here! As the subject states..who owns the name?

Thanks,

Marc

[bkhpah]

To my knowledge Kim Mason of Yenko Honda still retains the real rights to Yenko. He had been with Yenko for years and was there during the hipo years and was developmental engineer on the 1981 Yenko Turbo Z. All other people that clame the name have no prior connection with the real Yenko Chevrolet as far as I know...BKH

[Marc]

Hmmm? Any other takes?

[Chevy454]

Brian's right. But, I think the 2 girls are partners with Kim, though. When dad gets around this morning, I will ask. Would this have anything to do with the newest issue of Super Chevy http://www.yenko.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/wink.gif?

[bowtie3168]

Brian is 100% right. I think that you might be making an inquiry about different people that have the rights to market the Yenko Logo for tee shirts and trim parts, I am not aware of that person's or persons' name(s). Brian is (like I said before)100% right, Kim Mason (who was Don Yenko's general manager) purchased Yenko's parent corporation with name from the Yenko family after Don's passing. I am sure that Don's daughters have some rights (and they should) but you must remember that when Don was killed (in 1987)that his name and cars had not yet reach the value that they have today, therefore "his name" did not have any significant value over those of any other car dealer of his corporate size.

Andrew

[sYc]

The rights to the R/W/B Yenko crest are owned by a person in Texas, who has allowed (sold) others to use it, such as Supercar Collectibles for diecast.
The use of the Yenko name, at least for profit, on such items as cars and/or related parts, is not as clear. The Yenko estate, which is Don's daughters, Terri and Lynn, had John Connolly court appointed to represent the estate. He in turn, with the blessings of the girls, gave the sYc (Tom Clary) written permission to use the Yenko name, including, but not limited to, matters pertaining to the club, reunion, museum, etc. Tom has become the chosen one to succeed John in Yenko affairs, as John moves on to other things of interest.
Now, to the tricky part. About a year ago, the sYc was contacted by a group of Don's former friends, who wanted to recreate Yenko supercars, 2001/2002 Camaros, Vettes, etc. As discussions were going on, John C. spoke with Kim Mason about the project. At this point, it was discovered that the original Yenko corporation was still intact, controlled by Kim, Terri and Lynn. Thus, the Yenko name is owned by two entities, the estate and corporation, but controlled by John and the sYc. Everyone involved is well aware of how/who is using the Yenko name without permission, but are undecided on how to proceed. Tom

[Edited by sYc (10-05-2001 at 11:25 AM).]

[bowtie3168]

It would be great to see a new Yenko Camaro or Corvette but, the car would have to have the right "pedigree" meaning it would have to have multiple ties to the original cars. A car prepped in Cannonsburg, MacMurry, or built with the supervision of Kim Mason would be some starting ideas. A car built somewhere else in the country and delivered to thru a dealer that has, or had NO ties to Yenko Chevrolet or the original dealer network would be an example of something that we do not need. Berger's new line of cars is an example of cars WITH pedigree, they are delivered to Berger and prepped by an outside supplier but final prep and delivery are handled by Berger. I think that this makes the cars legit. An example of what we don't need is a Yenko Camaro that is built in a state having no ties to the original progam and delivered by a dealer having NO original ties to the real deal. It takes more than stickers to make a Yenko, the car has to follow some of the original criteria.

Andrew

[Marc]

Yes Chevy454...Saw those SSBC calipers and almost jumped off the deep end...Thanks to all who replied.

Here is what they are doing.... www.raceandstreet.com (http://www.raceandstreet.com) ..any insights? $69k is out of my league...

Marc

[Belair62]

Someone explain this to me...were these shown at the Reunion as it says in the ad or what ? Is the Estate really part of this effort ? Man I must not be reading enough magazines cause this is the first I've seen of this.

[sixtiesmuscle]

See Bob, you should have attended. Everybody got to make a couple passes in the demo at the track. I thought low 11s were a little slow, but, maybe they're still working the bugs out.

[68l30]

As much as I would like to see a "New Yenko" ,I don't know how all this would be possible.Yenko is more than a name/decal on a car.Yenko was a man with a dream.He was a competitor/driver and salesman,and knew what the sportscar market was for and for whom.I believe the heritage lives on in what we do and what we collect. You have to ask yourself this,is the "New Yenko" to be built to capitalize on the Yenko name,or to continue the dream?If the answer is for money,fine go ahead,but please choose another name.


Steve

[sYc]

Just goes to show that you can not believe everything you read. A. they were not at the Supercar Reunion (which was in Sept., not July) B. The sYc has NEVER agreed to endorse the cars C. the Yenko estate has NEVER agreed to endorse the cars. Yes, the sYc did discuss some of the things mentioned, but that was the extent of things. We would considering endorsing a "new Yenko", but there would need to be certain criteria met before we would do so. A couple of weeks ago, I did have an informal discussion with part of the group that worked on the Berger project. They were interested in Yenko. The biggest hurdle is Chevrolet ceasing production of the Camaro at the end of 2002. Tom

[68l30]

Tom,with all due respect to Kim M.,doesn't Yenko sell Hondas?Would this not be some kind of hurdle?Or would this be a seperate corporation/entity not unlike a Span Inc.?


Steve

[Charley Lillard]

I will look for them at SEMA in a couple weeks...............

[Belair62]

Charlie,see if an autographed Yenko coffee cup comes with the car

[Chevy454]

Here ya go, Steve: Yenko Honda (http://www.yenkohonda.com/)

[JoeC]

There was a company called Yenko Motorsports in Vista, California that was selling Yenko items. They also did the 68 COPO 427 Yenko Camaro "One And Only On The Planet" Sweepstakes. I purchased some Yenko items from them years ago and at the time the person on the phone told me they had the rights to the Yenko name. I don't know what happened to the company or the car -- haven't heard anything about either one for a while. here is an old link

http://popularmechanics.mondosearch.com/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=8738032&host_id=1&page_id=7336&query=yenko&hiword=YENKO+YENKOS+