Why wont Ford help?

[akirby]

I was referring to drivers who do ALL the work on their cars, not corporate sponsored multi-million dollar teams.

 

How many guys who drag race Mustangs actually buy new vehicles from Ford? The actual drag vehicles are used cars which doesn't help Ford at all. Maybe they're buying new Fusions or F150s, maybe not.

 

Look no further than the Panther mafia for passionate Ford fans who almost NEVER bought a new one. Fan does not necessarily equal new vehicle customer and that's all that matters.

 

Let's just agree to disagree on this one. The only reason for Ford to support racing is advertising or R&D. There is very little R&D with NHRA and NASCAR that can be applied to production vehicles. And there is very little demonstrated advertising benefit.

 

Ford isn't a charity.

[coupe3w]

With the price of today's cars it is all most impossible to buy a new car and race it too, (all though some do) plus maybe void the warranty LOL. The older race cars are constantly being upgraded with new racing parts, hopefully from Ford racing. And believe me ALL these grass roots guys build their own stuff. Most learn as they go. Why do you think ecoboost was brought to Ford cars? I think it had a lot to due with grass roots racing. These guys were putting turbos and supercharges on their cars long before a mass produced car had them, not including exotics. You say very little R&D. What about reliability, endurance, aerodynamics, and safety? You don't think that Ford gets any data from that? I do agree that very little advertising benefit but only because Ford doesn't win as much as it use to. If you watched the drag race on TV yesterday you would have seen that the GM (Chevy) teams got a lot more exposure than the Ford teams because they win more. That's just the way it is. More wins more face time, more free advertising for the mark.

[akirby]

Why do you think ecoboost was brought to Ford cars? I think it had a lot to due with grass roots racing.

 

It had NOTHING whatsoever to do with grass roots racing. It had to do with CAFE and fuel savings. Period.

 

I do agree that very little advertising benefit but only because Ford doesn't win as much as it use to. If you watched the drag race on TV yesterday you would have seen that the GM (Chevy) teams got a lot more exposure than the Ford teams because they win more. That's just the way it is. More wins more face time, more free advertising for the mark.

 

So if a "Chevy" wins on Sunday does that make you want to go out and buy a Chevy? Of course not! You're a Ford guy. And Chevy guys are Chevy guys. Dodge/Toyota/etc - all the same. None of those guys are changing brands because of a NHRA win. What good does it do to advertise to folks that either will never buy your brand or will never buy anything else?

 

Also - you're overestimating the number of people who follow NHRA or watch it on TV.

 

There is no compelling business case to fund NHRA teams. There is no ROI. There is very little R&D benefit. Bragging rights don't pay the bills.

 

 

I get disappointed all the time when things I like aren't viable or companies I like don't support things I like. But I understand it's a business decision.

[akirby]

BTW - I think it would be completely appropriate for Ford Racing Parts to fund something like this because that would be relevant advertising that could help them sell their products.

[NickF1011]

With the price of today's cars it is all most impossible to buy a new car and race it too, (all though some do) plus maybe void the warranty LOL. The older race cars are constantly being upgraded with new racing parts, hopefully from Ford racing. And believe me ALL these grass roots guys build their own stuff. Most learn as they go. Why do you think ecoboost was brought to Ford cars? I think it had a lot to due with grass roots racing. These guys were putting turbos and supercharges on their cars long before a mass produced car had them, not including exotics. You say very little R&D. What about reliability, endurance, aerodynamics, and safety? You don't think that Ford gets any data from that? I do agree that very little advertising benefit but only because Ford doesn't win as much as it use to. If you watched the drag race on TV yesterday you would have seen that the GM (Chevy) teams got a lot more exposure than the Ford teams because they win more. That's just the way it is. More wins more face time, more free advertising for the mark.

 

Unfortunately, for many Ford vehicles, the parts available from Ford Racing are limited at best. Hardly anything I've done to modify my Cobra has come from Ford Racing. Brake rotors is the only big one I can think of off-hand. Oh, and the aluminum driveshaft, which I don't think they make for it anymore either.

Edited April 14, 2014 by NickF1011

[coupe3w]

Looks like GM is rubbing the ROI in Ford's face.......

 

 

May 14 2014

CHEVROLET NAMED OFFICIAL TRUCK OF NHRA

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has signed a multi-year agreement with Chevrolet, designating the U.S. vehicle manufacturer as the Official Truck of NHRA.

As the Official Truck of NHRA, Chevrolet will have a major on-site presence at all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. Most notably, the all-new Chevrolet Silverados and Suburbans will be used by the legendary NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA for emergency response and track preparation. The dependability and capability of these trucks are paramount to the legendary safety team performing its trackside duties.

“Chevrolet is proud to partner with the series as the Official Truck of NHRA, and are honored that our Silverados and Suburbans will be utilized by the NHRA Safety Safari,” said Jim Campbell, vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Our involvement in NHRA allows us to showcase the most dependable, longest-lasting trucks in America to our customers and fans, and to fans of NHRA drag racing.”

The sponsorship increases Chevrolet’s involvement in NHRA Drag Racing. The Chevrolet Performance brand is the title sponsor for the world’s most prestigious drag race, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, held each Labor Day weekend near Indianapolis.

Additionally, several drivers race Chevrolet Camaros in the Pro Stock class including Greg Anderson, Dave Connolly, Erica Enders-Stevens, Shane Gray and Jason Line, and Chevrolet is the preferred choice of many Sportsman racers.

“NHRA provides a unique platform for Chevrolet to reach out in a very personal way to our very loyal fan base,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Chevrolet will have a great opportunity to expose its products to NHRA fans and, at the same time, share its connection with NHRA through its extensive dealer network.”

During a span of 24 years (from 1985-2008), GM partnered with NHRA as an official sponsor through various brands.

“Chevrolet has a tremendous history of involvement with NHRA at the series level, event level and team level,” Darcy added. “Chevrolet’s expansion of its NHRA sponsorship reaffirms the fact that the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series provides a great return-on-investment.”

Edited May 18, 2014 by coupe3w

[akirby]

Yeah, because we should just take the word of the company that recently went bankrupt and has continued to make poor decisions.

 

Chevy - official truck of NHRA (a sport that has nothing to do with trucks)

Ford - official sponsor of American Idol

 

Which one do you think reaches more consumers?

[mustangchief]

Back in the day when it was predominately Men who shopped for cars,any racing was good advertising. This century more women work, shop and buy cars. Also, there are more pretty boy guys who think gap is a place to shop. I really don't mind the decrease in sponsorship as long as they keep making faster cars to sell to me, back woods dirt tracks are still more fun, and red light drags are a blast.

[Hemiman]

Been a motorhead all my life....restored a 1976 Mercury Montego MX and am throughly enjoying the heck out of a 1983 Mustang GLX convertible (The Ford Motorsport spring set just arrived today...) in my youth and growing up, my neighbor when I was a kid was Jerry Cook, 6 time open wheel modified (Now called Whelen series) NASCAR champ in the 70's AND Richie Evans (The Rapid Roman) was close personal friends with my father as both Jerry and Richie were from Rome NY...so yeah....I have been deeply involved with motorsports ALL my life....that being said, Ford is doing the right thing by wisely investing selectively in various motorsports...but just to blindly open the cash register and start flinging money around because some guy poured a TON of his own money into his project and is not getting a good return does not need Fords' help, he needs to talk to a financial planner so that he doesn't make that mistake again......

 

Personally, I put WAY more money into my Montego than I will ever get out of it...but you don't see me running to FoMoCo asking for a hand out "because I am making them look good"....it was my investment, with my money, my time and my my loss if I decide to sell it.....or, I can just keep it and enjoy it for myself.....just like the guy in the article with the car he put too much money into...

Spent nearly every Friday night in the 70's watching the Modifieds at Spencer Speedway. Evans/Troyer battles were legendary! Those were great times!