Memorable Quotes from Tracy Letts
9 quotesReady for the Challenge
Carroll Shelby
You ready?
[about to take Ford on a drive in the GT40]
Henry Ford II
The name on the middle of that steering wheel should tell you that I was born ready, Shelby. Hit it.
Carroll Shelby
Attaboy.
Carroll Shelby
...Mr. Ford...you okay? Mr. Ford, you alright?
Henry Ford II
I had no idea...I had no idea. I wish ]...he were alive to see this...to feel this.
[through sobs; [w:Edsel Ford|my daddy]
Carroll Shelby
Now, this is not a machine just anybody can get in and easily control.
Henry Ford II
Absolutely not. I had no idea.
[still gently sobbing]
Carroll Shelby
Now, you wanna win Le Mans, if you really wanna take first place, Ken Miles is the man to do it. Now he knows this car, because he helped me build it.
[Ford finally calms down]
Henry Ford II
Shelby, you know I've already appointed Leo Beebe Director of Racing.
Carroll Shelby
Which is exactly why I'm talking to you. Now, you let Ken Miles race at ]. If he wins, he gets to drive Le Mans.
[[w:24 Hours of Daytona|Daytona]
Henry Ford II
And if he doesn't?
Carroll Shelby
Ford Motor Company gets full ownership of Shelby American. Lock, stock, and brand...forever.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Contemplating Legal Risks Before Publication
Roger Clark
What if we wait? What if we hold off on printing today. Instead we call the Attorney General and we tell them that we intend to print on Sunday. That way we give them and us time to figure out the legality of all of it, while the Court in New York decides the Times case.
Ben Bradlee
Are you suggesting we alert the Attorney General to the fact that we have these documents, that we're going to print, in a few days?
Roger Clark
Well, yes, that is the idea.
Ben Bagdikian
Yeah, well, outside of landing the Hindenburg in a lightning storm, that's about the shittiest idea I've ever heard.
Fritz Beebe
Oh boy!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Betrayal and Insults in Business Negotiations
Leo Beebe
He played us. Old Man Enzo had no intention of selling to us. He used us to up his price, embarrass our company and insult your leadership. It was a bad idea from the start.
Henry Ford II
What exactly did he say?
Lee Iacocca
He said Ford makes ugly little cars, and we make em... in an ugly factory. He said our executives are sons of whores.
Henry Ford II
About me.
Lee Iacocca
He called you fat, sir. Pigheaded.
Henry Ford II
Go on.
Lee Iacocca
He said you're not Henry Ford. You're Henry Ford II.
Henry Ford II
I want the best engineers. The best drivers. I don't care what it costs. We're gonna build a race car...
Henry Ford II
And we're gonna bury that goddamn greasy wop 100 feet deep under the finish line at Le Mans. And I will be there to watch it.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Consequences of Government Control on Media
Fritz Beebe
If the government wins and we're convicted, the Washington Post as we know it will cease to exist.
Ben Bradlee
Well, if we live in a world where the government could tell us what we can and cannot print, then the Washington Post as we know it has already ceased to exist.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Contentment in Being Present
Larry McPherson
Hey, I'm like ]. I'm just happy to be anywhere.
[[Keith Richards]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Questioning Choices in Relationships
Larry McPherson
You're not gonna get in a car with a guy that honks, are ya?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Consequences of Power and Control
Katharine Graham
The Nixon White House is nothing if not vindictive. Just this morning they barred us from covering Trisha Nixon's wedding.
Fritz Beebe
Somehow, I doubt that will rise to the level of catastrophe.
Katharine Graham
No. Probably not. Although, when Ben sets his mind to plunder, its not hard to imagine something more serious. Catastrophic events - do occur, you know.
[laughs]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Legacy and Competition in the Auto Industry
Henry Ford II
Shut it down, Mr. Beebe
Leo Beebe
John!
Henry Ford II
Hear that? That's the sound of the Ford Motor Company out of business.
Henry Ford II
In 1899, my grandfather, Henry "By God" Ford, was walking home from Edison Illumination after working a double shift. He was ruminating. That morning, he had himself an idea that changed the world. Sixty-five years, and 47 million automobiles later, what shall be his legacy? Getting it in the tail pipe from a Chevy Impala!
Henry Ford II
Here's what I want you to do. Walk home.
Henry Ford II
While you're walking, I want you to ruminate. Man comes to my office with an idea, that man keeps his job. Rest of you, second-best losers... stay home. You don't belong at Ford.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Ford and Bond: A Clash of Ideals
Lee Iacocca
James Bond does not drive a Ford, sir.
Henry Ford II
That's because he's a degenerate.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.