Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Ford
All in a Name: No end to the free advice for Ford, no need to rechange names
Click the image above for the Autoblog Five-Hundred gallery
In the news, at the water cooler, and in your favorite auto magagine, there is no shortage of advice for Ford Motor Company. Advice for new engines, better marketing, and rear drive architectures come flowing in at all angles. Most of the advice seems to center around the need to balance design, safety, horsepower, and business realities to make vehicles that you and I will want to buy. But vehicle names? A recent Detroit Free Press article is one of many that seems to think name recognition is perhaps more vital than it really is. As we reported today, it looks like Ford is listening to the calls for the recasting of the Taurus name, after all. In the end, do we really care what the vehicle is called? We probably care a lot more about what the vehicle can do and how it looks.
When Allan Mulally took over at Ford, he found himself wondering why the company would spend hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years to build the Taurus name only to drop it because it didn't start with an F. The Five Hundred very well could have been the Taurus from the start, but it wasn't. Lets be honest, the Taurus wasn't the Taurus for almost half its lifespan. We loved it, then we liked it, then finally, we rented it. The product was stale. The name got stale too, mostly because it became synonymous with Hertz, so Ford decided to drop it.
Keep reading for more thoughts on what's in a name.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
The Honda Accord name is nothing without great product
The Accord name has been around even longer than the Taurus. It's extremely successful too, mostly because the car has gotten better and better with each update, not necessarily because people recognize the name. The Audi A4 also has a name that people recognize. It works because many feel that "Audi" and "A4" stand for driving dynamics, quickness, quality materials, and good looks. No, not everybody likes the A4. Some would say that it has poor quality or an ugly grille, but the ones who actually purchase the A4 would probably disagree.
The Ford Freestar could have stayed the Windstar, as is argued in the linked article from the Detroit Free Press. Some here at Autoblog feel the Aerostar name should have never gone away in the firstplace. Would the Freestar still be selling right now if it stayed the Windstar, or even the Aerostar? Doubtful. The product just kept falling farther and farther behind the competition.
Good looks and competitive features will keep the Edge name valuable
Newer entries from Ford like the Five Hundred, Fusion, and Edge are very good vehicles. The Five Hundred is extremely safe, reliable (Consumer Reports has recommended it) and it's priced reasonably. The problem right now is that it just isn't good enough and as a result it's not selling in large volumes. Instead of relegating it to fleet duty like Ford has done in the past, they have decided to make the vehicle better. Gone is the benign 3.0L and the much improved 3.5L has taken its place for 2008. The more expensive Aisin transmission is replaced with an all-new six-speed that was co-developed with GM. It also takes more risk in the styling department with the new three-bar grille, updated headlights and taillights, and quite a bit more chrome. And, as already stated, a new (old) name, Taurus, looks like it will make its return in conjunction with the updates.
In the end, what's more important, a great name or a great product? History has proven that a name alone means nothing. New Coke still said Coke, but people didn't like the taste, so they quit buying it. Does that mean you can change the name of the F-150 to the Pink Tulip? Probably not. And you wouldn't want to change the Mustang to Asphalt or Azz-Kika, either. Those vehicles have consistency behind them that give Ford the luxury to use the same name for dozens of years. Will the Five Hundred sell better if it's indeed renamed Taurus tomorrow? It's doubtful. Would a better Five Hundred mean more value for either name? You bet.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt 2:43PM (2/06/2007)
While I agree that the car sells the car (not the name), many people have never even heard of a Five hundred and it's been out for years now! How can someone even consider buying a car if they've never even heard of it?
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dis_guy 2:56PM (2/06/2007)
I think names are important for recognition reasons. Its so much easier for the average person to know what a DeVille is than a DTS.
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Sean 2:58PM (2/06/2007)
I think it would be a good idea to bring back the Taurus and Mercury Sable nameplates ...
Because doing that would probably get people to come back into the Ford and Mercury Showrooms to check them out and would also probably bring in more sales.
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adelossa 3:20PM (2/06/2007)
So, they'll rename a car to the name that replaced it? They should have took care of the taurus in the first place!
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Infinihertz 3:22PM (2/06/2007)
I agree with #3. It might not get more Five Hundred / Taurus sales, but it could easily bring in more shoppers, which might result in more Fusion, Edge or other sales, any of which is good for Ford. I don't care much what the car is called myself, but I could imagine there being many collateral effects.
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Tool 3:38PM (2/06/2007)
Changing the name of the Five Hundred to "Taurus" is like putting lipstick on a pig.
The Taurus brand was tarnished a long time ago by years of mediocrity and sheer incompetence.
The Five Hundred is a competent enough vehicle. While renaming it Taurus may help ST, the LT problem of making it a top-notch franchise like Honda and Toyota has done with its iconic vehicles.
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Bob R. 3:47PM (2/06/2007)
I like the idea of a name change. Nobody knows what a 500 is. EVERBODY knows what a Ford Taurus is. As #3 said, it will help bring in customers, regardless if they like the car or not, people will go check it out. People will see on T.V commercials that there is a new Ford Taurus coming out and do to the dealer to take a look, because I think many people have good memories of the Taurus back in its' heyday. Even Conan O'Brian knew what a Ford Taurus is. Look how many people commented on the post about Ford thinking about changing the 500 name. Of course it is filled with the ususal Ford bashers, but other than that there sure were lots of comments about the name change.
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jon 4:00PM (2/06/2007)
While I do think the Taurus was a good car that Ford killed in the end, I really don't think it would be a good idea to bring back the Taurus name. Many people associate the car with old, bland, and slow. The Five Hundred may not be well known, but that isn't any reason to give up on it. It is getting a nice refresh this year with a better engine. Both of these should help the car's sales. However, what would even help the car more would be some good marketing. Good luck Ford.
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Ray 4:10PM (2/06/2007)
How about a Taurus 500?
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L3 4:16PM (2/06/2007)
Names ARE important. Lincoln is struggling with their alphanumeric name changes. My truck is a Mark LT. I think we should call all Lincolns 'Marks.' Mark X, Mark Z, Mark TC, Mark NG... Jump on the bandwagon!
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Sean 4:16PM (2/06/2007)
#9 Thats A Good Idea .
Make it like a Package..
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L3 4:17PM (2/06/2007)
oh, I LIKE the TAURUS 500!
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Doc Lucas 4:21PM (2/06/2007)
Who will be the first to remove the 3 bar grill and replace it with a lit-up grill from an 87 Mercury Sable?
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ryan 4:22PM (2/06/2007)
I think this blog has been badge engineered
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beken 4:47PM (2/06/2007)
I'd like to see a new Ford Taurus SHO with a 5 ltr or 500 cu in. V8 driving the rear wheels. Then they should call it the Ford Taurus SHO 500.
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jb 4:50PM (2/06/2007)
I think they should call it the Ford Taurus 500 (and maybe add cool leeters like XLT and maybe ZZ or something for a sporty model). It all sounds super racy and would pass the boardroom vote easily since it's pretty clear that the Ford boardroom members obviously think American consumers are complete idiots.
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Derek Kreindler 4:57PM (2/06/2007)
The Five Hundred is an abomination. I rented one this year in Florida, and it's an insult to the workers of the UAW, and the car buying public.
The Way Forward for this product is to strike it dead. It's astonishing that the product meant to save Ford could be so lacklustre. If the 300C/Charger dealt it a death blow, then hopefully the G8 and Holden based sedans will be it's pallbearers.
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antrow 5:08PM (2/06/2007)
I think the Taurus was an ugly car once it adopted the egg shape and was really boring to drive. Since I feel the same is true of the 500, even a little more so after that bland LTDish front end was grafted on, I think the name change to Taurus is appropriate.
I really like the idea of lighting up the three bar grill as an early post suggested. Throw some white wall tires, wire wheel covers and a luggage rack and it is 1980 all over again.
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laserwizard 5:09PM (2/06/2007)
Okay, let's cut the historical revisionism and Monday Morning Quarterbacking on Ford.
Mulally knows and thinks the same thing about how poorly and stupidly Ford has been run for decades.
He gets it. You get it.
So, if the problem was changing names arbitrarily and to cast aside names with some positive quality, then why not get those names back, however positive, on current Ford cars and trucks? Is it better to keep the current names and allow the model to languish or to put the name of a car that was great when it first came out and hope that maybe there is still some mojo in the name?
Ford's problem has always been to launch a new vehicle (and under a new name) and to advertise it for a year and then to let the model stagnate without significant upgrades or media attention.
That is Ford's problem in a nutshell - abandonment.
And while we can point to Accord or Camry as shining examples of success, let's not forget they weren't when they came out. Accords were small, cramped cars the size of a new Civic of today. The Camry was a putrid, awkwardly styled albatross that wasn't a particularly good car even while it was screwed together tightly.
But each company with each iteration adapted the car to the changing marketplace (and upsizing the car like Ford and GM did in the 1950's and 1960's) until the two nameplates went from head-gasket blowing timebomb (Accord) to engine-sludging (Camry) sales success. Seriously, as Toyota and Honda mainstreamed their once niche vehicles, the fact that they were PERCEIVED as quality vehicles has help them sell lots of them even if reality on quality is a different thing.
So, if Mulally is going to start to correct the dumb things Ford did in the past, get off his damned back! Finally someone in Detroit has a clue and is trying desperately to right wrongs from archiac management systems. And if the first or second step in Ford's recovery is to bring sanity back to model naming, then let's cut Ford some slack and just get over it.
And just remember that there is no longer a Toyota Tercel or Paeso or Honda CRX or Prelude. Even the snobbish ones have to cut their losses on turds they've left in the marketplace! And when they had as few models as they were selling, Carina's, Corona's, Crown Royals, and Celicas are forgotten even if they were replaced by something with a different name. Hence, name changing isn't a Detroit phenom. Even the great Toyota has a few dingleberries on its hind quarters it isn't proud of.
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Dan 5:52PM (2/06/2007)
Ford should bring their european line here, end of story, Ford sales increase 35%. I'll expect my paycheck in the mail, Ford.
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