Look Chaps I really do not like the title of this thread and enter the fray without enthusiasm, nor much hope of generating light rather than heat: Back to basics - the clue is in the name - A.C. Owners Club. We should and do cater for all A.C.s. This is so simple that it might be impossible to generate any further discussion.
In like manner The Shelby American Automobile Club caters for those cars which were brought in to existence with the participation of Carroll Shelby and successor companies.
In both cases production of vehicles has continued and it is entirely up to the S.A.A.C. and their membership, which of those cars they choose to encompass. I think I am correct in saying that there was no participation by Shelby American in the Mk. IV or any other A.C.s after ME161L (in any event this last was a tenuous connection, via Panter America.)
So why would there be any discussion about the S.A.A.C. taking an interest in A.C.s apart from those vehicles built by A.C. under Shelby contract ? Whether or not the S.A.A.C. might take an interest in subsequent Shelby enterprises involving, for example Dodge or Hi Tec Superperformance, or any other projects involving the Shelby name is not a topic for these pages, but for their Forum pages.
So far as the A.C.O.C. are concerned we should continue to concentrate on products legally entitled to bear the companies trademark of A.C. and products built by A.C. for other entities. We are correctly interested in the products of A.C. which ran on rails and carried the motif of British Rail. We should also maintain interest in current projects which may be built under contract in The Republic of South Africa for example, but which bear the company trademark. Of course with such a rich history stretching from the late 19th Century to the present day we can all pick and choose which A.C. we regard with affection and those which we find less attractive. We are all different in our tastes, but we should never, never look down on others because their taste differs from ours. If you feel that more modern A.C.s are somehow less worthy look here to see how much enthusiasm and joy has been generated:
https://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2555.180 I believe this applies not just within the A.C.O.C. but also to enthusiastic members of other Clubs. The cars which The S.A.A.C. regard as their interest is up to their members and it is impertinent for any A.C.O.C. member to presume to instruct others what those interests should be.
Sadly, as we all know, that magnificent cooperation between unlikely partners which brought one of the World's greatest sports cars into being has ever since been sullied by crude nationalism - one of the most evil of emotions. We should remember how two peoples, separated by an ocean, demonstrated how international teamwork was so vastly superior to petty nationalism.