Ford is suing companies for use of Mustang name?

Y'know, I read the article; and I wonder what The Freep's "unofficial" stance truly is. The Free Press has regularly positioned it's editorial stance as being "anti-Big Auto"; and the article certainly didn't present FoMoCo in its best light. On the other hand, reporter really should have included somebody from the Mustang enthusiast sector.

I almost get the impression that the Freep was only filing this article in order to be "on the bandwagon"; and that they just wanted to be on record as covering news that concerned a local company.

May I also suggest that nobody holds their breath waiting to hear from Dearborn. I'm thinking that the Ivory Tower has realized that they realized thier Pooch has been well and truly scr**ed in this debacle; but they just can't stand to admit it. Corporate pride -vs- corporate common sense; which way will they go? :shrug:
 
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I know we are all pissed at Ford for all this but Bill Ford said himself that no one has any idea how hard it is to go after the people that keep his company afloat. The share holders are the ones pushing Ford to go after the ones using their trademarked names. Like other Ford owners and enthuists, I am unhappy it has come to this but Ford executives had to keep their paying share holders happy due to the share holders threatening to sue Ford. Either way, Ford loses. Instead of being pissed at Ford, be pissed at the stupid rich bastards that only care about big business, numbers, and not public loyalty towards ones company.
 
So by your reasoning, the defendants (who've been supporting our hobby for decades) are the reason for Ford's recent financial troubles and if Ford gets them to change their names (and hand over some cash) then Ford will once again be in the black? Wow, I always thought it was because they churned out crap that nobody wanted to buy like the Lincoln Blackwood (super expensive, sold less than 500 units) and the Mercury Marauder (the answer to the question nobody asked) as well as other cars littering the used car lots. Instead Ford attacks the people involved in keeping it's one sales success alive for generations. Hmmmm...shrewd business people those Ford guys...
 
No. I'm saying dumb, rich, SHARE HOLDERS, business tycoons are the ones to blame and not the companies that sell Mustang parts. The share holders some how think that these companies use the Ford name and trademarks to take away profits from Ford. Since they see their investments in threat, they take action on Ford excutives which was you do something or we will. Which is very silly cause last time I checked Ford no longer makes Mustang parts for old mustangs. Yes, Ford has made some not so wise choices in making cars that were not very popular. If Ford didn't care about the people keeping it's "one sales success" alive then why did Ford send out new 05 Mustangs to major aftermarket companies to get a head start on aftermarket goodies for its new owners to buy? Maybe it's just me but to me it seems that Ford wants its "one sales success" to be the thoroughbred it is. (no pun intended) Yes it seems stupid and we should all go on riot to burn them all but look at the day and age we live in now..... the legal thing is just not always the logical thing.
 
Lets all be honest about one thing here. It is not in the direct business interest of any carmaker to see people keeping 12+ year-old cars on the roads. They all want to see old cars crushed, EVERYONE should be driving new cars, at least for the sake of their profits.

From my point of view it is in the long-term interest of FoMoCo to have a strong hobby of faithful followers. But very few shareholders even vote, and most are only interested in the quarter's return.
 
RFMustangGT said:
No. I'm saying dumb, rich, SHARE HOLDERS, business tycoons are the ones to blame and not the companies that sell Mustang parts. The share holders some how think that these companies use the Ford name and trademarks to take away profits from Ford. Since they see their investments in threat, they take action on Ford excutives which was you do something or we will. Which is very silly cause last time I checked Ford no longer makes Mustang parts for old mustangs. Yes, Ford has made some not so wise choices in making cars that were not very popular. If Ford didn't care about the people keeping it's "one sales success" alive then why did Ford send out new 05 Mustangs to major aftermarket companies to get a head start on aftermarket goodies for its new owners to buy? Maybe it's just me but to me it seems that Ford wants its "one sales success" to be the thoroughbred it is. (no pun intended) Yes it seems stupid and we should all go on riot to burn them all but look at the day and age we live in now..... the legal thing is just not always the logical thing.
Right up front, I'll tell you I'm no investment wizard. However I do own a few shares of various companies as well as invest in mutual funds that own shares in various companies, such as Harley Davidson, Coke and Ford. Shareholders in any company do not determine the actions of that company. They do not send out questionaires seeking opinions on how to make the company more profitable, or which legal actions to take. That is the job of the board of directors. Most traded companies are controlled by board decisions so that no one person holds control over the direction of that company. Who initiated this current legal fiasco within Ford? I don't know and honestly don't care. But it is Ford's name on the building and Ford's name on the court documents, that makes it Ford's lawsuit, not John Q. Stockholder.
 
I agree, it has nothing to do with the shareholders. The most likely senario is that the law firm made a pitch to probably the CFO and the Law dept. telling them how Ford was being ripped off and their brand name was being stolen. Then they pitched how they could shut down all of these "pirates" and generate millions of dollars of income through penalties royalties. Being short-sighted people, they saw no down side and authorized the law firm to go do it. The lawyers got a lot of momentum going before what they were doing got widely known. Bill Ford likely knew nothing of this action until the protest letters started rolling in. That is why it is important to keep the letters coming. Once the people at the top understand that this is costing Ford far more than they will ever recover, they will reign in the lawyers and try to stop the bleeding.:flag:
 
Holy crap! I was just on Canadian Mustang's website and they changed their name to Canadian Classic Auto Parts! I was down at their store twice last week and the graphics on the side of the building are still the same as is the name on my reciepts, but I guess Ford must have got to them about their website.

I mean how is somebody looking for a store specializing in mustang parts going to know from that ambiguous name to go there?
 
krash kendall said:
I mean how is somebody looking for a store specializing in mustang parts going to know from that ambiguous name to go there?
I think that is the point...at least from the POV of the beancounters.

Speaking of American companies in general (particularly the fortune-500 types) their long-term life-blood is being sucked out of them by the HR, Accounting, and Legal departments getting too much power with the board. All of the great companies got there by their product developement and engineering departments excelling, not because they had the best pencil pushers and beurocrats.

They also had a lot of help from the enthusiasm of their customers, not by chitting on their loyal followers.
 
Vertical integration and innovation is no way to run a business at least that is what the books will tell you. Just look at companies like Ford in its hay day “total failure”, or Toyota or the Hyundai Group. Or any of the other “off shore” companies that are handing us our lunch using the techniques we developed to grow a might nation, while we destroy that same nation one “Think outside of the box” book at a time. Our long term plan is the end of the week while there short term plan is 10 years. But we have to have to have double returns on investment on everything.
 
Did you guys see Larry Jewett's article in Mustang Enthusiast? He doesn't come out and say Ford is trying to shut down the aftermarket, but he really goes into what would happen if it did.
 
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Ford is really cracking the whip...:(

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I guess scratch the Shelby Mustang off my list I was planning on getting in a yr. GM and Ford can kiss my ass, Ill just buy a damn import. Sorry to say, but these US automakers really need to get thier **** together.

M+ and ppl like them are what keeps intrest in cars like the new Mustangs, without the aftermarket I'm sure that quite a few owners would of bought something else that they could mod. I know myself thats why I like certain cars, cause I know I can do mods to them to make it "my" car. I guess new Fords just wont be one of them.
 
A couple months ago, I zipped off an email to Ford about their pursuit of this lawsuit. I got this canned email today and thought you guys might be interested in reading it, and was wondering if anyone else got one or if anyone might be able to translate it or interpret what it means. Are they loosening their grip on the throat of the parts vendors? Are they telling me to mind my own business? Anyway, here it is:


Hello,

Thank you for being a loyal and valued customer of Ford Motor Company.

Ford is currently reviewing its enforcement practice regarding
companies which have 'Mustang' in their names, to determine what accommodation
can be made which still allows Ford to protect its trademarks, which
are among its most valuable assets.

We hope you will appreciate that Ford can never compromise when it
comes to keeping counterfeit parts and counterfeit part dealers out of the
marketplace. It is vital to the value of our brand and the loyalty of
our customers that all parts which bear Ford branding be legitimately
authorized.

Thank you for taking the time to express your views.


Sincerely,

Colleen Rose Coventry
Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center
 
Colleen Rose Coventry said:
We hope you will appreciate that Ford can never compromise when it
comes to keeping counterfeit parts and counterfeit part dealers out of the
marketplace. It is vital to the value of our brand and the loyalty of
our customers that all parts which bear Ford branding be legitimately
authorized.

Sincerely,

Colleen Rose Coventry
Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center

When did this bull **** enter the debate... Ford doesn't have a clue about damage control...

Counterfeit parts aren't what this debate is about... Hell the LEGITIMATE parts that WE as Mustang (Hope I don't get sued for that last one there) enthusiasts are buying through LEGITIMATE businesses have more to do with what this issue is about.

I wouldn't buy parts from a crap company anyways, because they don't have the recognition that 50resto, CJponyparts, Jegs, Summit have.

I think Ford, or at least the sub par skills of the PR damage control team, are just missing the mark altogether.