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Topic: When will they get to us..? (Read 1758 times) previous topic - next topic

When will they get to us..?

Reply #15 –
The name Mustang isn't really Ford's to begin with.  To get technical it's obviously the name of a type of horse.  But its also the name to an airplane.  The name Mustang was given to the WWII plane in 1941...so if anyone should be sueing, it should be North American for taking their name of their plane.

I think it's Ford's way of controling what they think is their market.  Dealerships are fighting over independent shops for service.  Ford is just taking that fight to the next step.  If someone is doing a service to or for, or is making parts for their cars....it's wrong.  They just want people to buy from them, service with them, and upgrade from them.  It's not just Mustang they are going after, its Focus, Falcon, Tbirds...the Mustang crowd is just the first on the radar.  Ford racing makes a Focus V8 RWD conversion, but gauranteed, they are going to go after the aftermarket companies making the same kits.  It's a matter of control.  If they can't see the market is thriving mostly because of the aftermarket potential, then they are just playing with a loaded gun.

It would be a sad day if I'd have to disown my Cougar and my girlfriend's TC from the Ford name because they are so uptight about their name that they won't allow anyone else to even refer to it in the aftermarket.
 

When will they get to us..?

Reply #16 –
Don't worry about all this too much. In 1999 BlueOvalNews.com won a major victory against Ford. That all came about when Ford employees would give the publisher (Robert Lane) internal Ford documents, and he in turn would put them on the site. Ford, of course, sued...but he won. It was a First Amendment issue all the way, and fortunately the judge made the correct decision.

It is a matter of control, that's for sure, and Ford wants as much of it as possible. Instead of helping the enthusiasts, though, they are going to alienate them, which is something Ford cannot afford to do at this point. They are losing way too many customers to begin with. But that's another issue. Again, I'm not worried. The first case will not fall to Ford's favor, they'll forget further action, and this will all be about nothing.

And really...if they try to go after the name of this board...how desperate are they?! ;)

When will they get to us..?

Reply #17 –
Quote from: CougarCoupe88
well i belive it all started over  that they dont want to lose the name mustang like they lost gt-40's copyright bc they didnt enforce that someone couldnt use gt-40 name on parts or cars. so like stated on another site thats why the New gt-40 is just the GT (lame) and the same goes with mustang if they let others use the name with out fords permission they can loose the name if some other  company wanted to use it.  if you look on the Corral in the clasic mustang section some good points were brought up.



they actually sold the name with the rights to the car after its initial run if I remember the stories correctly.

I don't see this being "completely" true, it could be that something else came up where this company was brought to suit, and Ford was dragged in with them.

When will they get to us..?

Reply #18 –
Haha, it makes me laugh that they are going to pursue this to the Thunderbird name as well.  I'm pretty  sure that the rest of the world could give a rat's ass about our cars, especially compared to the gobs and gobs of Mustang forums, clubs, groups, etc, etc... there's really only a handful of us that love these cars still.  So all in all it sounds like Ford is pretty much just going to screw the pooch with this whole thing.

When will they get to us..?

Reply #19 –
Quote from: Thunder Chicken
Don't worry, if this is true, enough bad publicity will come of it that Ford will backtrack, and likely blame it on the lawyers (No, WE didn't authorize this action, the legal department did it on their own). I believe it has happened with Ford before...


I'd agree, normally. But GM just got through doing the same thing to scores of their own. They're looking better than they have in years, and the public has had more than six months to react. One of my favorites was Chevyduty.com . If you had a frame and a cab skeleton, they could provide you with every other part on any GMC or Chevy pickup from 47-87 (other than powertrain). If only Fox cars were so lucky. But GM made them change their name, and now they're recovering fast.

Frickin' lawyers.:mad: