Ford dresses for success: Time For Tea?

Ford's Vignale range promises a new age of posh Fords - Time For Tea? finds earlier inspiration

So Ford has announced its intention to offer do what Infiniti and Lexus have for Nissan and Toyota respectively. Basically offer a way for badge snobs who don't want to mix with the supermini buying masses to enjoy what it calls an 'exclusive ownership experience' for real-world prices.

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. Will this be enough to tempt those too brand conscious to be seen in a Ford but fearful of an options-list rinsing from a fat-tied BMW or Audi salesman?

It's what we've been crying out for says Ford

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. More recently Ghia sealed its reputation as the grey slip-on of trim levels, as evidenced by this delightful Fern Green Focus four-door, complete with the ultimate Sunday driver combo of a slovenly 2.0-litre petrol and four-speed auto. Yum.

Understandable why Ford may wish its new luxury sub-brand to have a new identity then, Vignale apparently encompassing lots of everyday services to which 'exclusive' has been added as a prefix to offer some sense of glamour. So you'll get Vignale assisted air travel with fast-track check-in, chauffeur services and offers through partnered travel, entertainment and accommodation providers.

Demonstrating there's nothing new in this business we went searching and found this little ditty about a young lady wanting her boring old Escort to be 'dressed for success' via another Ford sub-brand. Back then Vignale was called RS, it'd seem, the end result an 80s TOWIE vision of loveliness. Possibly.

See here.