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)
samiurato 2:26PM (2/08/2009)
i have an 1998 ford expedition 233K when i going up a long hill in OD the truck should gear down and take off ,but when i give it gas the truck feels like its pulling back and somtimes the check engine light flashes until i let off on the gas i will take it out of OD and its fine. now could this be that the truck is misfiring
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matador300 12:52PM (2/08/2007)
While they're at it they should dump "Fusion" and bring back the Torino, to match the Charger and Malibu. That was a great name. Starsky and Hutch would approve. What a stupid name.
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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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jon 3:44PM (2/07/2007)
At the same time, many people have a bad impression of the Taurus given the last 10 years. So is it better to use a highly recognized but poorly regarded name, or a new name with little recognition?
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Nr9 7:20PM (2/06/2007)
am i the only one who thinks the old grille looks way better than the three bar?
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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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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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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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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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Robert 8:01PM (2/06/2007)
Name changes are dangerous, but names and branding are HUGELY important.
Take my parents who have had 5 Fords in the their last 8 vehicles. They know what the Explorer, Escort, Taurus, F-series, Mustang, Ranger and Focus are. They've only ever owned F-series, Focus and Escort, but those others are big names for Ford. They have no idea what the Fusion is or what the Five Hundred is. They just started looking for a new mid-size type car, and I told them to look at the Fusion... their response was a negative reflection on Ford's marketing efforts.
Then, take my friend who has owned mostly Hondas and Toyotas. Currently drives a Camry (which he actually dislikes). Even he knows the Explorer, F-series and Taurus. He's kind of familiar with the Focus, since I own one, but he can never remember its name unless he hears it. And although he is one of the blind "American vehicles suck, Asian vehicles are good" followers, he still knows those names. His bias normally would prevent him from considering any Ford car, but if he ever decided to purchase a domestic car, Ford would have to drop a lot more into the Five Hundred name for it to hit his radar than the Taurus name. Start advertising the "new" Taurus well, and it would probably change his rental car perception (and perhaps improve his Ford BRAND perception) even if he would not buy that specific Ford car.
With the Taurus name, Ford has already made a billion dollar investment, and that name is tied to its brand. Why do people think the Ford brand is generally negative? Quality and rental dumping. Both of those have changed, but no one has a benchmark because they've changed names on their models so many times.
By upgrading the car under the Taurus name (even if it means renaming the Five Hundred), that's a billion dollars they don't have to spend educating my parents or others like them. Now, their investment is in making the "new" Taurus high quality, a good performer and a desirable car for their target audience (not all the RWD performance nuts who complain that this new Five Hundred that will go to 60 in 6.5 seconds quieter than a Lexus ES350 just isn't good enough), something this 2008 Five Hundred/Taurus probably is.
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Fred 10:23PM (2/08/2007)
Taurus has a negative connotation to me. I think of rental cars, and the car you'd get if you weren't smart enough to get a Camry or Accord, or had too much American pride to get an import.
By the way, Mustang does not start with an F.
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Ray 4:10PM (2/06/2007)
How about a Taurus 500?
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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 4:16PM (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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L3 4:17PM (2/06/2007)
oh, I LIKE the TAURUS 500!
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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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