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Ford Motor Company: September 2007 Sales


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If Chrysler could manage anything properly, they wouldn't have had a need for the LX as a saviour to begin with.

 

Ford's future doesn't live or die on the success of a RWD platform. It relies on solid product planning ACROSS THE BOARD. Would a RWD sedan be nice? Sure. Is it necessary to give them a competitive across-the-board lineup? Not in the least.

 

You are completely missing the point. I never said Ford HAD TO HAVE a RWD killer car like Chrysler. You said "Would a RWD sedan make THAT much of a difference?" I pointed out that a RWD sedan HAS made that much of a difference.

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Why not? the 1976(?)-1982 Fiesta sold pretty good...the varations on the name like Fesitva that came later...well they suck

 

 

I find nothing wrong at all with the Fiesta name. Sure rings better in my ears than other suggestions I've heard like "Escort". :eek5:

 

The Fiesta is a terrible name.

A) If you base anything on how a 1976-1982 vehicle with the same name sold then you shouldn't be talking. Ford has no interest in people comparing its new B-class car to its late 70s early 80s small car.

B) It's too much like Festiva, which was a disaster here. (Was the Festiva the same as the Aspire?)

C) Believe it or not, there are racists that wouldn't buy it because they'd think "That's a Mexican car". Completely sad, but Ford needs to sell cars, doesn't matter who buys them really, no point in shrinking the market.

D)And finally, who here hears "Fiesta" and thinks "Pinata"?

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I find nothing wrong at all with the Fiesta name. Sure rings better in my ears than other suggestions I've heard like "Escort". :eek5:

 

Actually, I may be in the minority but I would MUCH rather then recycle the name "Escort" rather than "Fiesta".

 

Not so much because the name "Escort" is all that positive (we could argue that elsewhere), but, when I see "Fiesta" on a car, I remember all those other classic "spanish-fad" names from the time like

 

Nova (what it was at the time)

El Camino

Ranchero

Cordoba

Volare

Mirada

and yes... even my beloved Granada.

 

All of those names hark back to dark dark days for this country's domestic auto industry. Why anyone would want to resurrect those memories is beyond me. The Feista was not that much better than the Escort, but at least Escort doesn't sound like a fad replete with leisure suits and hai karate.

 

And anyone in the target who could remember and care about any bad press with "Escort" is not so far removed from those other names, either.

Edited by goingincirclez
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Actually, I may be in the minority but I would MUCH rather then recycle the name "Escort" rather than "Fiesta".

 

Not so much because the name "Escort" is all that positive (we could argue that elsewhere), but, when I see "Fiesta" on a car, I remember all those other classic "spanish-fad" names from the time like

 

 

Fiesta, Festiva, and Aspire are names that should never return. Escort would be ok, but I don't think it has much more cachet than Tempo, and I don't think anyone would argue for that name to be revived. Ford has many quality vintage names which it could and should resurrect.

 

I'd vote for Maverick.

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Ford Fiesta has always been very much a car geriatrics go for in the UK on a limited budget, apart from the hot XR2, sales are up in Europe it’s a nice little earner for Ford in Europe as most get sold to the higher profit margin private buyers, unlike the Focus and nearly all Mondeo’s that end up as fleet/rental cars so don’t knock it. It has always been in Europes to 10 best sellers chart, unlike the Mondeo that is a complete sales disaster that has never made it into the top 10, Fords old Cortina & Escort never left these charts.

Edited by Ford Jellymoulds
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Fiesta, Festiva, and Aspire are names that should never return. Escort would be ok, but I don't think it has much more cachet than Tempo, and I don't think anyone would argue for that name to be revived. Ford has many quality vintage names which it could and should resurrect.

 

I'd vote for Maverick.

 

From dictionary.com

 

Maverick:

1. a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates.

 

2. One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter.

 

adj. Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence: maverick politicians; a maverick decision.

 

This is exactly the type of name Ford needs. I endorse it completely.

Who doesn't want to be associated with a Maverick? Remember the target class for this car is young, but it's still likely that older people would be the ones to buy it up and make it a huge success.

 

PS. Ford, stop pulling stuff from the past. If the past was so great you wouldn't be in this shape now. Lincoln has DECADES of History, Lexus has less than 20 years, enough said.

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Actually, I may be in the minority but I would MUCH rather then recycle the name "Escort" rather than "Fiesta".

 

Not so much because the name "Escort" is all that positive (we could argue that elsewhere), but, when I see "Fiesta" on a car, I remember all those other classic "spanish-fad" names from the time like

 

Nova (what it was at the time)

El Camino

Ranchero

Cordoba

Volare

Mirada

and yes... even my beloved Granada.

 

All of those names hark back to dark dark days for this country's domestic auto industry. Why anyone would want to resurrect those memories is beyond me. The Feista was not that much better than the Escort, but at least Escort doesn't sound like a fad replete with leisure suits and hai karate.

 

And anyone in the target who could remember and care about any bad press with "Escort" is not so far removed from those other names, either.

 

Fortunately, the target demographic for B-cars are usually buyers who are FAR too young to remember the original Fiesta. They wouldn't be too young to remember all the crappy Escorts driving around though.

 

Here in lies the problem with giving it a new name -- you end up with another Fusion: a name on two entirely unrelated vehicles in different parts of the world. It's one thing to have the same car show up with two different names, but to use the same name on two different vehicles is ridiculous. Certainly it's not definite that this would happen with the Fiesta-Escort-Whatever, but I doubt FoE's brand managers imagined a midsize sedan called "Fusion" showing up in the US a couple years after their Fusion debuted in Europe. If FoNA gives the B-car some cool hip new name in the US, there's a good chance that FoE will cannibalize its name for something else completely unrelated in Europe. That's just ludicrous to even give management a chance to make that mistake.

 

Fiesta is a solid name with GLOBAL recognition. Keep it as it is already. Why complicate things that aren't complicated at all to begin with?

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Maverick

 

This is exactly the type of name Ford needs. I endorse it completely.

Who doesn't want to be associated with a Maverick? Remember the target class for this car is young, but it's still likely that older people would be the ones to buy it up and make it a huge success.

 

PS. Ford, stop pulling stuff from the past. If the past was so great you wouldn't be in this shape now. Lincoln has DECADES of History, Lexus has less than 20 years, enough said.

 

Dude, you just contradicted yourself thar.

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You are completely missing the point. I never said Ford HAD TO HAVE a RWD killer car like Chrysler. You said "Would a RWD sedan make THAT much of a difference?" I pointed out that a RWD sedan HAS made that much of a difference.

 

What difference did the LX platform make to Chrysler? Really? They got a lot of magazine headlines, but has it really done ANYTHING to contribute to the overall health of the company? Is there ANY tangible evidence to indicate it has helped Chrysler's bottom line in any meaningful way?

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What difference did the LX platform make to Chrysler? Really? They got a lot of magazine headlines, but has it really done ANYTHING to contribute to the overall health of the company? Is there ANY tangible evidence to indicate it has helped Chrysler's bottom line in any meaningful way?

 

You're kidding right? They sold a ton of them, it was a media darling, and sales of other Chrysler products benefited. It also hurt the Five Hundred. I'm not going to bother to provide proof if you can't believe it is possible when it's a commonly accepted fact. Just because after the 300 came out Chrysler stopped doing anything worthwhile doesn't mean the 300 did not have a huge impact.

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Fiesta, Festiva, and Aspire are names that should never return. Escort would be ok, but I don't think it has much more cachet than Tempo, and I don't think anyone would argue for that name to be revived. Ford has many quality vintage names which it could and should resurrect.

 

I'd vote for Maverick.

 

How about an Addams Family model? The Ford Fester. Visit your Ford dealer and be a Fester tester!

 

affest1.jpg

 

Then again, they could hook up with Don Martin's estate and licence Fester Bestertester

 

FesterBestertester.jpg

 

Be a Ford Fester Bestertester!

 

http://tcj.com/3_online/n_010700.html

 

Don Martin, noted MAD cartoonist and creators' rights advocate, dies at 68

Edited by Edstock
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You're kidding right? They sold a ton of them, it was a media darling, and sales of other Chrysler products benefited. It also hurt the Five Hundred. I'm not going to bother to provide proof if you can't believe it is possible when it's a commonly accepted fact. Just because after the 300 came out Chrysler stopped doing anything worthwhile doesn't mean the 300 did not have a huge impact.

 

It sold well. No doubt. For awhile at least. Did it actually make money? Will it continue to sell well? What are Chrysler's plans to update/replace it? If you don't have the answers to these questions, you can in no way tell me with a straight face that it positively impacted Chrysler's fortunes. It was a drop in the bucket. A flash in the pan. Basically like every other "highly-acclaimed" hit by Chrysler in recent years. Just like Chrysler's other hits, I see no indication of the initial strength being developed continuously to make sure it doesn't become another flash in the pan. The 300 is overdue for a refresh. Where is it? The Magnum is likely being discontinued. No success there. The Challenger is a huge question mark right now. And what did Chrysler neglect to build the LX cars in the first place? Was the investment in the LX cars responsible for the lackluster reception of their other new vehicles? There are far too many questions without answers to say that the LX was a good, properly-executed decision by Chrysler.

Edited by NickF1011
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Maverick IS an old name from Ford's past. :shades:

 

I was about to say..... :hysterical:

 

Yeah, back when they were profitable. :stirpot:

 

Actually, didn't Igor tell us a while back that Ford had reregistered their trademark

on names like Maverick, Galaxie and Territory amongst others?

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Fortunately, the target demographic for B-cars are usually buyers who are FAR too young to remember the original Fiesta. They wouldn't be too young to remember all the crappy Escorts driving around though.

The target demographic is not the highest percentage that buy the car though. Element sales are higher because old people buy them. Mom and dad buying junior a new car remember the old Fiesta. Junior doesn't want something that his parents had.

Here in lies the problem with giving it a new name -- you end up with another Fusion: a name on two entirely unrelated vehicles in different parts of the world. It's one thing to have the same car show up with two different names, but to use the same name on two different vehicles is ridiculous. Certainly it's not definite that this would happen with the Fiesta-Escort-Whatever, but I doubt FoE's brand managers imagined a midsize sedan called "Fusion" showing up in the US a couple years after their Fusion debuted in Europe. If FoNA gives the B-car some cool hip new name in the US, there's a good chance that FoE will cannibalize its name for something else completely unrelated in Europe. That's just ludicrous to even give management a chance to make that mistake.

 

Fiesta is a solid name with GLOBAL recognition. Keep it as it is already. Why complicate things that aren't complicated at all to begin with?

 

The majority of the US buying public is completely unaware that other countries get different cars. Ford could bring the Mondeo or Territory here and people would have no idea that it has past history. And besides, the Fusion was supposed to be the Futura. I don't care what GLOBAL recognition the Fiesta name has. 99% of Americans have NO GLOBAL sense.

 

I realize I did contradict myself with the Maverick name. However, my point is that Ford shouldn't use stuff from the past just cause, but if it fits with how they want to portray a car (and the car doesn't have well known negatives like the Pinto) then they should use it. Escort, Tempo, Galaxy, Granada, LTD, etc do not mean anything to today's buyer. Galaxy made sense when the space race was on everyone's mind. Tempo made sense in the aerobic fad 80s. Maverick makes 100% sense in today's market and actually fits the Bold Moves campaign.

 

Ford needs to distance itself from it's recent past. They need to play the media/perception game a bit better as well.

 

And once again, when I hear "Fiesta" I think "Pinata".

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The target demographic is not the highest percentage that buy the car though. Element sales are higher because old people buy them. Mom and dad buying junior a new car remember the old Fiesta. Junior doesn't want something that his parents had.

 

If you miss your target demographic as much as Honda did with the Element, they obviously didn't market the car properly. Lackluster sales of the Element overall kind of support that theory. A properly-marketed car will hit its target demographic right between the eyes.

 

 

The majority of the US buying public is completely unaware that other countries get different cars. Ford could bring the Mondeo or Territory here and people would have no idea that it has past history. And besides, the Fusion was supposed to be the Futura. I don't care what GLOBAL recognition the Fiesta name has. 99% of Americans have NO GLOBAL sense.

 

I realize I did contradict myself with the Maverick name. However, my point is that Ford shouldn't use stuff from the past just cause, but if it fits with how they want to portray a car (and the car doesn't have well known negatives like the Pinto) then they should use it. Escort, Tempo, Galaxy, Granada, LTD, etc do not mean anything to today's buyer. Galaxy made sense when the space race was on everyone's mind. Tempo made sense in the aerobic fad 80s. Maverick makes 100% sense in today's market and actually fits the Bold Moves campaign.

 

Ford needs to distance itself from it's recent past. They need to play the media/perception game a bit better as well.

 

And once again, when I hear "Fiesta" I think "Pinata".

 

When I hear Fiesta I just think small car. I was far too young when they were around to remember how good they were. This from a nearly-thirty-year-old. How many people over 30 are going to be buying B-cars? Not a whole heck of a lot. And those who will, name is hardly their priority. Things like quality, fuel economy, and price will dictate what they buy -- not image.

 

Like I said before. It's already called Fiesta everywhere else and seems to work pretty well. Why fix what ain't broke?

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It sold well. No doubt. For awhile at least. Did it actually make money? Will it continue to sell well? What are Chrysler's plans to update/replace it? If you don't have the answers to these questions, you can in no way tell me with a straight face that it positively impacted Chrysler's fortunes. It was a drop in the bucket. A flash in the pan. Basically like every other "highly-acclaimed" hit by Chrysler in recent years. Just like Chrysler's other hits, I see no indication of the initial strength being developed continuously to make sure it doesn't become another flash in the pan. The 300 is overdue for a refresh. Where is it? The Magnum is likely being discontinued. No success there. The Challenger is a huge question mark right now. And what did Chrysler neglect to build the LX cars in the first place? Was the investment in the LX cars responsible for the lackluster reception of their other new vehicles? There are far too many questions without answers to say that the LX was a good, properly-executed decision by Chrysler.

 

It was a Flash in the pan. But guess what, EVERYONE SAW IT! Ford needs to make itself relevant again.

 

Besides, you are completely ignoring what I'm saying. I acknowledge that the 300 wasn't properly taken care of and neither were other cars.

"Just like Chrysler's other hits, I see no indication of the initial strength being developed continuously to make sure it doesn't become another flash in the pan. "

 

Hey, guess what, Ford completely lacks initial strength, but now has plans that encourage continuous development and build even more strength. Ergo, whether the car is RWD/AWD/FWD/CanFly, Ford needs something like the 300.

 

Ford needs a flash in the pan it can turn into a steady glow Nick. The 300 made money, sold well, and everyone saw it. Can you give me one example of a Ford product that meets those 3 criterion?

 

PS. How much worse would Chrysler's future be without the LX line?

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Chrysler 300 and its impact. Proof that a little thing COULD make a huge difference.

 

 

Here's where everybody's right:

 

 

1. When the LX cars came out, they made a huge impact and Chrysler was once agains a media darling.

 

 

2. Gas is more expensive now, "green" is more fashionable every day, and the LX cars faded from their peak numbers very dramatically.

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Actually, didn't Igor tell us a while back that Ford had reregistered their trademark

on names like Maverick, Galaxie and Territory amongst others?

 

I just did a search of the PTO trademark database and yes, Ford still owns the name "Maverick" in regard to automobiles and related goods & services.

Edited by TomServo92
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I just did a search of the PTO trademark database and yes, Ford still owns the name "Maverick" in regard to automobiles and related goods & services.

Maverick aka Escape was on sale only a couple years back in Europe .. Ford owns the name alright

 

Igor

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It was a Flash in the pan. But guess what, EVERYONE SAW IT! Ford needs to make itself relevant again.

 

Besides, you are completely ignoring what I'm saying. I acknowledge that the 300 wasn't properly taken care of and neither were other cars.

"Just like Chrysler's other hits, I see no indication of the initial strength being developed continuously to make sure it doesn't become another flash in the pan. "

 

Hey, guess what, Ford completely lacks initial strength, but now has plans that encourage continuous development and build even more strength. Ergo, whether the car is RWD/AWD/FWD/CanFly, Ford needs something like the 300.

 

Ford needs a flash in the pan it can turn into a steady glow Nick. The 300 made money, sold well, and everyone saw it. Can you give me one example of a Ford product that meets those 3 criterion?

 

PS. How much worse would Chrysler's future be without the LX line?

 

The Mustang made money, sold well, and everyone saw it. There's your Ford example. The only difference is -- Ford has managed to do it even better than Chrysler, and more sustainably -- which should make it an even more resounding overall success for the company, but it simply does not work that way. It takes more than one flash (or even repeated flashes in the Mustang's case) to turn around the fortunes of an entire company.

 

How much worse would Chrysler be without the LX line? Unless you can tell me for certain that the LX cars didn't suck R&D funds away from other programs which may have been more important, there's no way to tell. I wonder how much more competitive the Sebring and Avenger would be if all the money spent on fanciful LX cars was spent on making those two products better? Of course, there's no way of knowing how that money would have been spent instead, so that's an impossible question to answer.

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