The Mustang aftermarket needs your help, opinions and honest views. Ford is currently suing companies using the word 'Mustang' in their name. And rumor has it 'stang' and 'pony' will be next... and it will not only be the aftermarket companies, but even Magazines and Websites. Catch up on it all here. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=635959
Tell us what to do EDIT: from the original thread, I signed it. Let em know how much that new Challenger or Camaro is peaking your interests....... http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?65must65&1
I can understand wanting to protect the name but dragging your customer base into legal action is way too extreme. If enough of us let them know that we would be inclined to move to other brands due to this action maybe they will back down and offer alternatives.
Seriously, I like the looks of the new Challenger and Camaro over the '05+ anyway, why give us more incentive to look somewhere else. And I'm sure if Ford wins parts will go up in price because of royalty fees and what not. Can't they think of a better way to make money? What a show. *edit* Signed.
Agreed, I havent liked the looks of any new Ford product/redesign for a few years now. All the Fords I like are from the recent past. An 03/04 Cobra will find its way into my garage someday, but as far as future vehicles go, I hate to say it but I will be looking elsewhere for a family car. I really like the new Chevy Tahoes, and I think Dodge is on the right track as well. I just dont get it; Fords in a financial crisis as it is, why alienate your most loyal customers who made the Mustang what it is today (most of whom own other fords as DD's and family cars)? If anything WE should be suing ford for lacking creativity and making the 05+'s so damn ugly! Hey, theres an idea *tiny gears in head start turning*
My 2 cents in the Classic section's thread: http://forums.stangnet.com/showpost.php?p=6197840&postcount=95
This is horrible. Why would they do this??? So stangnet becomes... artistformallyknownasstangnet.com thefordwithrunningponyingrillnet.com <=== they made MR T upset.
What is the world comming to? Maybe North American Aviation, Inc should sue Ford for using "Mustang" since they had them first. The P51D Mustang....
Is Ford going to sue all those ranches out west that breed horses called Mustangs too? Way to go Ford...good job being original than complaining someone else is using it too. I think maybe I'll sue Ford for using the word Cobra....I wrote it down in my notebook in 1st grade, way before they ever started using it. Why bother creating cars people actually want to buy to make money when they can just get sue happy to keep their books in the green. Douches.
On the surface this appears to be very short-sighted on Ford's part. You have to dig deeper to try to figure this out. $10K dollars? That would pay the law firm for ONE DAY, if that. Maybe less than a day. So they're obviously not in this for the money. The aftermarket, magazine, and internet community serve to enhance the experience for Mustang faithful. To go after these folks seems short-sighted in the extreme. The only benefit here might be if Ford wanted to enter this market themselves. They don't. They don't have the breadth,... it's not a great value for them (vs. staying with what they do, build cars). Having seen similar situations first hand, the only thing I can think of is that if companies don't "defend" their trademarks, then others can just take them. That is, maybe someday some Chinese company will make a car and start selling it as a "Mustang" (just a silly example to make the point..). I'm not defending this notion, just pointing out what Ford might be thinking. The only other thing I can think of is... in cases like this, lawyers win and everyone else looses. The law firm has worked up someone within Ford to get them to think that this is something they have to do... etc, etc...
I suspose you get desperate when you keep loosing to the Japanese.So instead of focusing there efforts on a better quality product they decide to sue everyone who has supported them and would continue to buy ford.I think the collapse of the American Auto Industry is on the horizon.I hope its not but unless something drastic is done it will be the end.
I guess Ford is really looking at their new slogan a little too seriously BOLD MOVES They are cutting off the hand that feeds them. Talk about a BAD MOVE, Ford.
Signed!!!!!!!!!!! Thats completely RETARDED! How much money does Ford need . Dont they realize that they are hurting themselves in the long run? Thats the problem with alot of companies...always thinking about right now. AND THEIR POCKET BOOK!
Yeh, that is pretty rediculous. With the advent of the new generation (05+) there has obviously been a spike in interest of Mustangs, and muscle cars in general across America. Ford thinks they can ride on the recent success and forget about the people that have been around for years making their product the true legend it is today. This will all be short lived when chevy gains the same interest when the camaro comes out which will probably be faster than the ol' pony and maybe even sell better too. I also heard that Carroll Shelby is doing something similar in reguards to people reproducing the racing stripes and badges seen on his cars to make clones. oh yeah and about that 20 k over sticker price GT 500...(but theres a whole thread devoted to that anyways!)
Well if they sue stangnet and mustangtuning etc. etc. then they're going to have to sue vanilla ice as well. I dont understand why they would want to give up free advertising. The name Mustang isn't a car name, its a legendary name. It would be ok for chevy to sue over names like camaro and firebird, those are just cars... but the Mustang is something else... The new mustangs should be called something along the lines of horse**** or "im-a-marketing-ploy". I can't believe they haven't sued the Calgary stampeders CFL football team which has the running pony as their logo... its actually pretty much identical to the mustang logo. I signed the petition and i can't believe that ford is actually thinking about doing this...
If Ford is going to try and sue for the word "pony," then why shouldn't I just sue everyone else with the name Cody? Obviously, that's pretty plausible.
