RE: Ford dresses for success: Time For Tea?
Discussion
radio man said:
if ford are desperate for a higher quality sub-brand they could always buy Vauxhall or just sit there crying into their beer just how good JAGUAR and even ASTON have become once the got rid of them.
Wake up ford the public know you can't do luxury and the idea will never be accepted by them. Stick to what you do best great handling , good looking cars for the masses. Save yourselves trillions of dollars and leave well alone.
thing is though, it costs as much to develop and build a new Mondeo as it does a BMW 3 series, and yet a middling 3er is about 30k and a top of the range Mondeo is 30k - list, but more likely 25k with a bit of haggling. 5 k isn't much on it's own but multiply that by 40,000 units sold in the uk in 2012 and you have lost out on £200m in the UK alone. That's why they are doing a vignale edition, to get some money back into the brand.Wake up ford the public know you can't do luxury and the idea will never be accepted by them. Stick to what you do best great handling , good looking cars for the masses. Save yourselves trillions of dollars and leave well alone.
As an aside I think the car looks great, it's just that the engines are hopeless.
I miss the days of "posh" Fords, when it was more than OK to aspire to a Granada Ghia. It was good enough for George Cowley.
I am just as guilty of brand snobbery. Not a good thing, I wish I wasn't.
I would love this to succeed. I would love to stop in the street to marvel at a modern day Sierra Ghia or XR4. Well equipped "luxury" cars within reach of the slightly better off Joe Public.
The UK is not the states where a new brand can make its mark. More than 20 years after it arrived on these shores, Lexus is still seen as a posh Toyota.
The Ford here to me looks pretty nice. That blue oval.......well it means I'd need a massive discount to part with hard earned cash for one.
Its what I think. I wish I was wrong.
And the bird in the Ad is hot.. As sad above, just the S Line of its day.
I am just as guilty of brand snobbery. Not a good thing, I wish I wasn't.
I would love this to succeed. I would love to stop in the street to marvel at a modern day Sierra Ghia or XR4. Well equipped "luxury" cars within reach of the slightly better off Joe Public.
The UK is not the states where a new brand can make its mark. More than 20 years after it arrived on these shores, Lexus is still seen as a posh Toyota.
The Ford here to me looks pretty nice. That blue oval.......well it means I'd need a massive discount to part with hard earned cash for one.
Its what I think. I wish I was wrong.
And the bird in the Ad is hot.. As sad above, just the S Line of its day.
il sole said:
the problem ford have is that the actual ford badge and logo are just so ugly - why haven't they ever updated it?? the interior shots look nice, until you happen across the blue oval, which just looks cheap.
Interesting point - whilst other companies keep the same logo, they do 'update' it from time to time - Ford have kept that logo for so long now that they probably don't dare do it tho..."We shall see, but we can't help but look back to previous attempts by Ford to do posh and think of Ghia badged Escorts, Orions and Sierras and their grey dashes, velour seats and fake wood."
The good old generic comment.
I for one believe that the now largely unavailable old-school velour is much better than what you get in modern cars - yes, even better than the common leather.
As for the fake wood, one day day today's fake silver/aluminum interior bits will be considered as bad, or even worse.
The good old generic comment.
I for one believe that the now largely unavailable old-school velour is much better than what you get in modern cars - yes, even better than the common leather.
As for the fake wood, one day day today's fake silver/aluminum interior bits will be considered as bad, or even worse.
405dogvan said:
il sole said:
the problem ford have is that the actual ford badge and logo are just so ugly - why haven't they ever updated it?? the interior shots look nice, until you happen across the blue oval, which just looks cheap.
Interesting point - whilst other companies keep the same logo, they do 'update' it from time to time - Ford have kept that logo for so long now that they probably don't dare do it tho...Thing is, the new Mondeo is a nice enough place to be and coupled to a 2.2 Tdci, more than capable enough day to day. I much prefer the interior of the Ford than new a BMW and the new Mercs tbh.
I am biased and I don't care.
In an all round ownership view (3 years?) taking into account servicing/ running cost etc I think the Mondeo is a better car, especially in Titanium X spec. They don't even depreciate like a rock.. well not too much, anyway
I am biased and I don't care.
In an all round ownership view (3 years?) taking into account servicing/ running cost etc I think the Mondeo is a better car, especially in Titanium X spec. They don't even depreciate like a rock.. well not too much, anyway
Ford lost their way branding wise a long time ago and opened the door for BMW & Audi to clean up.
Back in the 80's Ford had a brand range we all understood and mostly aspired to. In the early 80's a brand survey was carried out by motoring press and the car most wanted but would unlikely ever own was a Porsche 911.The car most wanted and would most likely to own was an XR3 Escort (Not a 3 series BMW note).
In the early 80's most would consider and most likely buy a 2.8 Granada Ghia X Pack in preference to a top of the range BMW 5 series and as for Audi well they were for accountants or architects (No offence meant).
The Ford range was easy to understand: Fiesta, Escort, Cortina, Capri & Granada. The aspirational versions being the Ghia's, XR's or S (becoming injection) in the Capri.
The standard cars were available in levels of trim, luxury and sportiness we all understood.
Pop Plus: The Basic.
L: Next up the ladder.
GL: A bit more luxury but not all the way.
Ghia: The full on luxury only surpassed on the Granada with the Ghia X Pack.
RS: Basic Rally Sport for the boy racer inside us all.
XR or S: Sportiness with a bit of luxury.
Ford sold more 1.6 and 2.0 Capris than 3.0 but we bought the 1.6 proudly but still lusting after the 3.0 S. The dream of the sporting and luxury variants of each model help sell the more basic versions.
Now what the hell is a titanium X business 2.0 tdci or a zetec navigator eco-boost.
To say the modern world is different and that a simple product understanding is not what the public wants has got to be rubbish as BMW and Merc still lets everyone know where your car sits in their range.
BMW understood the range identity like Ford used to. You totally know what level of car you are seeing or driving with BMW 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 series and X3, 5 or 6 for the 4x4's with the engine size tacked on the end. This was exactly how we all understood Ford's it seems that Ford are now frightened to give the car its correct identity.
Ford need to get this brand understanding back if they are to have a chance to bring any aspirational purchasing back into their products.
I think most Ford's are now purchased by companies to get sales people from A to B or by the general public as just a car that fits a purpose.
I associate most Ford products today as just a car to get from A to B. If I owned a Ford now I would not be ashamed of it but I also would not be particularly proud of it.
This was not the case before I was very proud when I owned an Escort Van, XR2, XR3 and a Capri. When I purchased these Ford's I would not have considered or bought any other car at the time for my budget spend. Back in the day I can remember the builders merchants reps turning up in their new Ford's and being proud at the time any rep that did not have a Ford was thought less of because they did not have a new Ford. I do not believe that this is the case now.
Before Ford start playing silly sods with posh names for ordinary cars with quilted leather they need to get an understanding for their current products and how to make them aspirational once again.
Back in the 80's Ford had a brand range we all understood and mostly aspired to. In the early 80's a brand survey was carried out by motoring press and the car most wanted but would unlikely ever own was a Porsche 911.The car most wanted and would most likely to own was an XR3 Escort (Not a 3 series BMW note).
In the early 80's most would consider and most likely buy a 2.8 Granada Ghia X Pack in preference to a top of the range BMW 5 series and as for Audi well they were for accountants or architects (No offence meant).
The Ford range was easy to understand: Fiesta, Escort, Cortina, Capri & Granada. The aspirational versions being the Ghia's, XR's or S (becoming injection) in the Capri.
The standard cars were available in levels of trim, luxury and sportiness we all understood.
Pop Plus: The Basic.
L: Next up the ladder.
GL: A bit more luxury but not all the way.
Ghia: The full on luxury only surpassed on the Granada with the Ghia X Pack.
RS: Basic Rally Sport for the boy racer inside us all.
XR or S: Sportiness with a bit of luxury.
Ford sold more 1.6 and 2.0 Capris than 3.0 but we bought the 1.6 proudly but still lusting after the 3.0 S. The dream of the sporting and luxury variants of each model help sell the more basic versions.
Now what the hell is a titanium X business 2.0 tdci or a zetec navigator eco-boost.
To say the modern world is different and that a simple product understanding is not what the public wants has got to be rubbish as BMW and Merc still lets everyone know where your car sits in their range.
BMW understood the range identity like Ford used to. You totally know what level of car you are seeing or driving with BMW 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 series and X3, 5 or 6 for the 4x4's with the engine size tacked on the end. This was exactly how we all understood Ford's it seems that Ford are now frightened to give the car its correct identity.
Ford need to get this brand understanding back if they are to have a chance to bring any aspirational purchasing back into their products.
I think most Ford's are now purchased by companies to get sales people from A to B or by the general public as just a car that fits a purpose.
I associate most Ford products today as just a car to get from A to B. If I owned a Ford now I would not be ashamed of it but I also would not be particularly proud of it.
This was not the case before I was very proud when I owned an Escort Van, XR2, XR3 and a Capri. When I purchased these Ford's I would not have considered or bought any other car at the time for my budget spend. Back in the day I can remember the builders merchants reps turning up in their new Ford's and being proud at the time any rep that did not have a Ford was thought less of because they did not have a new Ford. I do not believe that this is the case now.
Before Ford start playing silly sods with posh names for ordinary cars with quilted leather they need to get an understanding for their current products and how to make them aspirational once again.
Article said:
It'll be doing this via its new Vignale (vin-ya-lay, 'case you were wondering) sub-brand, which will roll out with the new Mondeo and is previewed at Frankfurt with ... an old one with quilted leather.
This is the new Mondeo though? Or have I missed the point of that bit?Loved the advert, very funny and a nice looking lady even if she pulled in to the dealer wearing her dads jacket and handed her keys over to Bill Gates!
As for Luxury Fords, not a brilliant idea from Ford. I think they will sell in tiny numbers. They should have just come up with a new brand without the ford badge or re-invented an old name like Lincoln?? that would be better than the blue oval, or at least badge like this.... F-O-R-D... as they used to many years ago in the USA.. the little blue oval just looks odd an a 'luxury' car
As for Luxury Fords, not a brilliant idea from Ford. I think they will sell in tiny numbers. They should have just come up with a new brand without the ford badge or re-invented an old name like Lincoln?? that would be better than the blue oval, or at least badge like this.... F-O-R-D... as they used to many years ago in the USA.. the little blue oval just looks odd an a 'luxury' car
DanBMW said:
Can't see how its going to work as well as Lexus/Infiniti as they have no reference to Toyota/Nissan on them. Where as this still has the standard Ford badge and just has Vignale written on it, so it's just a ford with some expensive options.
That's what I was thinking, it sounds more like a trim level than a different brand.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff