Cars you didn't know existed...
Discussion
Blown2CV said:
mabosh said:
HTP99 said:
I've never seen a Vignale of any description out on the road and believe me I look if I see a newish Mondeo that looks a bit nicer than a standard one.
Vignale is one of those launches where you just know, that some head honcho in head office decided that it would be a fantastic idea, hit the Germans head on, it will work, we'll show them etc etc, loads of money would have been spent, dealers would have been told that they have to invest many £thousands
in branding and dedicated sections of the showroom and meanwhile all the dealers would have been going "oh no, this has no chance what have head office been smoking?!"
I've seen quite a few actually, Mondeos and Kugas mainly but I did see a new shape Fiesta Vignale. It was white so looked a little lost and bland, they seem to work better with a strong, bright/unusual metallic colour. The brown/bronze colour suits them well I think.Vignale is one of those launches where you just know, that some head honcho in head office decided that it would be a fantastic idea, hit the Germans head on, it will work, we'll show them etc etc, loads of money would have been spent, dealers would have been told that they have to invest many £thousands
in branding and dedicated sections of the showroom and meanwhile all the dealers would have been going "oh no, this has no chance what have head office been smoking?!"
There is no Focus Vignale for some reason.
jamiebae said:
wildcat45 said:
LuS1fer said:
Built in the old Dad factor in Holland, I think.
Yes NedCar which was as far asi can recall a bit like a Franchise.We as a family had a lot of cars from there starting with DAF thrn Volvo 360s the 440 and V40s.
I dont recall the others being badly built but that 440s build quality wouldhave shamed a 10 year-old Airfix moddler
JJ
mabosh said:
HTP99 said:
I've never seen a Vignale of any description out on the road and believe me I look if I see a newish Mondeo that looks a bit nicer than a standard one.
Vignale is one of those launches where you just know, that some head honcho in head office decided that it would be a fantastic idea, hit the Germans head on, it will work, we'll show them etc etc, loads of money would have been spent, dealers would have been told that they have to invest many £thousands
in branding and dedicated sections of the showroom and meanwhile all the dealers would have been going "oh no, this has no chance what have head office been smoking?!"
I've seen quite a few actually, Mondeos and Kugas mainly but I did see a new shape Fiesta Vignale. It was white so looked a little lost and bland, they seem to work better with a strong, bright/unusual metallic colour. The brown/bronze colour suits them well I think.Vignale is one of those launches where you just know, that some head honcho in head office decided that it would be a fantastic idea, hit the Germans head on, it will work, we'll show them etc etc, loads of money would have been spent, dealers would have been told that they have to invest many £thousands
in branding and dedicated sections of the showroom and meanwhile all the dealers would have been going "oh no, this has no chance what have head office been smoking?!"
There is no Focus Vignale for some reason.
The Vignale brand came about mainly due to demand, I'm just not convinced about the execution. Something like 2/3s or so of Kuga and mk4 Mondeo models were the top "Titanium X Sport " spec, and Ford wanted to give buyers the option to go beyond that as there seemed to be a market for it. There is also the added prestige of a separate area in Ford Stores and a direct contact at the dealership etc to make the customer feel a bit more special.
The Vignale name was a bit of a mistake though I think, as car enthusiasts know the name to be associated with bespoke coachwork and special Fiats etc, and Joe public don't even know how to pronounce it, never mind what it's meant to represent. Then there's the cars themselves, and whilst the interiors are a bit nicer with the leather dash and other bits and bobs, the outer styling is a bit of an abortion. Blingy chrome wheels and eggcrate grilles don't necessarily translate to "luxury", and none of the Vignale range is that much better than the base cars, not enough to make them truly special anyway. Sometimes you can even have a "normal" Mondeo or S-Max with a higher spec and cheaper price than the base Vignale version!
They probably would've been better off resurrecting the Ghia X badge, at least there'd have been some form of recognition.
The Vignale name was a bit of a mistake though I think, as car enthusiasts know the name to be associated with bespoke coachwork and special Fiats etc, and Joe public don't even know how to pronounce it, never mind what it's meant to represent. Then there's the cars themselves, and whilst the interiors are a bit nicer with the leather dash and other bits and bobs, the outer styling is a bit of an abortion. Blingy chrome wheels and eggcrate grilles don't necessarily translate to "luxury", and none of the Vignale range is that much better than the base cars, not enough to make them truly special anyway. Sometimes you can even have a "normal" Mondeo or S-Max with a higher spec and cheaper price than the base Vignale version!
They probably would've been better off resurrecting the Ghia X badge, at least there'd have been some form of recognition.
Rat_Fink_67 said:
They probably would've been better off resurrecting the Ghia X badge, at least there'd have been some form of recognition.
For us target market 30 - 40 somethings, "Ghia" was the trim level of your dad's boss's Cortina. It's lost the polish. The Vignale concept is far too contrived and twee - either give us a proper top end trim level like "Titanium X Sport Spunk Fest" with every toy in the book which you can tell apart from the rest of the range, or set up a separate luxury brand like Lexus or Infiniti. This halfway house is neither here nor there. You still have to push past the Fiesta's and Ka's to get to it in the showroom, and still tell your neighbours you drive a Ford.Dapster said:
For us target market 30 - 40 somethings, "Ghia" was the trim level of your dad's boss's Cortina. It's lost the polish. The Vignale concept is far too contrived and twee - either give us a proper top end trim level like "Titanium X Sport Spunk Fest" with every toy in the book which you can tell apart from the rest of the range, or set up a separate luxury brand like Lexus or Infiniti. This halfway house is neither here nor there. You still have to push past the Fiesta's and Ka's to get to it in the showroom, and still tell your neighbours you drive a Ford.
Or ford could buy a luxury brand themselves such as jaguar........ oh hang on ?mr alan said:
Dapster said:
For us target market 30 - 40 somethings, "Ghia" was the trim level of your dad's boss's Cortina. It's lost the polish. The Vignale concept is far too contrived and twee - either give us a proper top end trim level like "Titanium X Sport Spunk Fest" with every toy in the book which you can tell apart from the rest of the range, or set up a separate luxury brand like Lexus or Infiniti. This halfway house is neither here nor there. You still have to push past the Fiesta's and Ka's to get to it in the showroom, and still tell your neighbours you drive a Ford.
Or ford could buy a luxury brand themselves such as jaguar........ oh hang on ?I'd very happily have bought an S Max Vignale was it not for the catastrophic depreciation. I like the idea of the concierge stuff and better dealer service but the car itself was more expensive than my 2 Series GT, the BMW has better residual value and comes with free servicing for 10 years so the cost of ownership ends up a few K a year less than the Ford.
Quickmoose said:
No-one mentioning the wonderfully 80's British marque?
PAnther!
60% of the time it worked...
Started in the 70s...PAnther!
60% of the time it worked...
Don't forget the DeVille and the Rio - Jag and Triumph based creations.
The Lima had a Vauxhall engine but when it became the Kallista, got a Ford engine IIRC, which the Solo also used.
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