Over 40 Years Later, Ford Beats Ferrari Again!

[TrainTrac]

Henry Ford II has to be smiling down upon this. Ford triumphs over Ferrari again!:driving::banana::supercool:

Ferrari bows to Ford legal pressure, renames F1 car F150th Italia



by Chris Paukert (RSS feed) on Feb 10th 2011 at 10:45AM



Ferrari is bowing to a freshly filed Ford lawsuit, renaming its new Formula One racer the F150th Italia.



Originally dubbed 'F150,' the name quickly raised the hackles of the Blue Oval's legal team, which has a longstanding claim to that alphanumeric naming convention thanks to its F-150 full-size pickup line. Ferrari had itself chosen the F150 moniker in observance of 150 years of Italian unity.



AutoWeek notes that the revised name was first revealed today on a new story published about the car's testing in Jerez, Spain on Ferrari's official website.



Thus far, Ferrari has made no official comment on the name change, or the lawsuit that Ford attorneys filed on Wednesday in Detroit.

 

[Rick Kent]

Thank God. Just yesterday I stumbled into my local Ferrari dealer and was questioning how I was going to haul mulch in the back of my F150 Ferrari. :banana:

 

[Jerry Gerner 2]

Ford F150's just don't like Ferrari's. If you don't belive me here's the proof.

:driving::rofl::bwahaha::driving::banana:

[Broken External Image]:

[Broken External Image]:

 

[gary s]

i was never a ferrari fan.

good job ford :supercool:

 

[TrainTrac]

For some historical perspective on the Ford vs. Ferrari feud of the '60's:



<A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Go-Like-Hell-Ferrari-Battle/dp/0618822194">Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans</A>

 

[H D]

Silly lawsuit, IMO. Nobody will ever confuse a Ford pickup with a Ferrari. Ferrari should have used better judgment, though, and should have had more respect for Ford.



Ford may have been able to seize on this market opportunity, though, and marketed to the Ferrari owners that the only way to tow their Ferrari to the track would be behind another F150.



Really, though, I think Porsche and Ferrari are the two greatest automobile makers in the world, hands down.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Hugh,



It is not about confusing the two. Ford said in USA Today (yesterday) that they were concerned that Ferrari would tarnish their name. Since the F-150 was the highest volume selling vehicle since 1983 I think Ford had a leg to stand on...

 

[H D]

Ford is worried about Ferrari tarnishing their name? I love Ford, but come on now...



It's a Formula car anyway. Few people in the U.S. can even tell you what Formula 1 is, let alone name the cars that race in it, or even the brands for that matter. Without google, can anyone here name the previous Ferrari F1 car? Would you have even known about the existence of a Ferrari F150 had it not been for this lawsuit? I doubt it. I watch Formula when I can catch it, but I rarely hear mention (or pay attention) to the names of the cars. Its a Ferrari, that's what I see. And I would never hear a broadcaster say F150 and immediately start looking for a Ford pickup on the track. These two vehicles are so dis-alike in use and common language that I would throw this out if I was a judge.



And be realistic, they may have renamed it F150th Italia, but in common speak, it will still be referred to as the Ferrari F150.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Hugh,



I hear ya and agree. But if we look at it from Fords perspective, I can see where they are coming from.



The article was interesting enough to read it. And I also agree that I would not know the Ferrari F 150 existed if not for the article..

 

[WILL E]

Ford has to be aggressive in each case so that someone else doesn't start using F150.



They should have licensed the F150 name to Ferrari for like $1.



Remember when Chevy came out with the Baretta?

 

[H D]

I just hope they made a kind request to Ferrari before bringing suit. It's not even a vehicle that will be for sale to the public. Ford had little to worry about in copyright infringement, IMO.



Ferrari also has an F250 concept.



fftopic:I think the best way Ford could have gotten back at Ferrari is to create a Formula car of their own. Please, Ford! If we could just get 1/4 of the excitement of Nascar in the U.S. for Formula, I'd be so incredibly happy. What a joy it would be to see real professional racing in the states again. The Sports Car Series and rally races are exciting, but nothing beats the pinnacle of racing, F1. Especially not Nascar. But that's a whole 'nother topic. Sorry to digress.