Ford, Ford Flex and Auto Extremist

[Mark B. Morrow]

How about "Family Truckster"!

 

You think you hate it now... Wait till you drive it.

[BORG]

I haven't seen Silestone (haven't worked in an architect's office since 1998). Description makes me think of those old countertops with red pebbles embedded in lucite.

 

---

 

I don't like Corian because there's no depth to it. From an aesthetic standpoint it's no better than Formica--and these days laminates are more than equal to the abuse they're likely to see in most kitchens, and since you can get granite for the same price, why the heck wouldn't you?

 

Believe it or not, Silestone is more expensive than Granite. When designing my kitchen, I asked the designer why, and she told me it was related to the cost of petroleum. Indeed, why buy Silestone?

 

The only benefit of Corian is the finishing edge which doesn't have to cope with laminate joints, however Corian has a dreadful milky translucency that screams FAKE!

[ANTAUS]

Yeah I'm not too keen with Corian because it looks, and can pass for laminate Formica, except the edges as you stated. The only benefit of Corian is you can mold it, even make the sink from the same materials, you can get creative with the edges, you can cut and burn it, and you can easily sand it out, and you have no seams. Zodiac-Quartz I've used in a few properties and the results have been positive. Luckily one of my tenants ex-husband owns a countertop company, so to screw him over (she still works there, go figure) I get things at cost, and have been able to play around with a few options here and there. Supposedly Zodiac quartz makes it harder for microbes to form on it, and it's less porous. Silestone offers more choices and is almost as flexible.

 

And all three depending upon the design, are pretty much at the same pricepoints. I've seen some formica approach Granite like prices. And while some of the granite is "interesting", some of the "naturalness" can approach beyond ugly, but again...depends how it's done.

[Ford Jellymoulds]

When buying a car the name should not really matter, it's the car you are buying not the name. If names are important then we should be naming cars after insects based on sales, as the VW Beetle is the best selling car of all time. So maybe we should have the Ford Ant, Ford Cricket etc.

[EMDEE]

I don't pretend to know what the best name for the new vehicle is, but I sure think Auto Extremist is out to lunch on this one. Whatever it's limitations, I like Flex far better than Fairlane. Fairlane not only harkens back to the crude Fords of old, but to a model line that screamed, "cheap," "inexpensive," and "nothing special" all at once. Think vinyl bench seats, wheezy six cylinder engines, skinny tires and tacky trim. Sure, some people liked them, mostly people who couldn't afford something better. Had Ford put the Fairlane name on this vehicle, AE would have been leading the charge attacking them for never getting beyond mining the companies history. If he likes Fairlane so much, why not go all the way? Country Squire? El Camino? (yes, I know it was a different kind of vehicle, but so what?)

 

Flex at least says something, a word that conveys an image and tells you something significant about the vehicle. Maybe some other name would be sexier, but I haven't heard anyone suggest something clearly better. In any case, the name of a vehicle is never going to make or break it. Obsessing over the name is like staying up nights worrying about an extra cupholder.

Edited March 31, 2007 by EMDEE

[TomServo92]

El Camino? (yes, I know it was a different kind of vehicle, but so what?)

 

El Camino's are Chevy's. I think there might be a problem if Ford used that name!

 

I think you meant Ranchero.

[mkaresh]

I like Flex better than Fairlane, which sounds old, but I like Galaxy better than either. The problem with Galaxy might be that they use that name on a totally different vehicle in Europe, and might eventually want to bring that van to the U.S.

[RichardJensen]

IMO Galaxy has no meaning. It's heritage, but not quite. Starting with a clean slate with neither a history of cars called Galaxie, or history of MPVs called Galaxy, you would not pick this name.

 

One may as well go with the tried & true place names (Lucerne, Sien[n]a, Santa Fe, Tahoe, Yukon, Malibu, etc.), made up words (Camry, Elantra, etc.), or go with the ordinary word theme Ford has used thus far (Focus, Fusion, Edge) (also used by Honda: Element, Pilot, Civic, Accord).

 

Galaxy: It's like a place name. But it's an awfully big place.

Edited March 31, 2007 by RichardJensen

[FStephenMasek]

This is a minivan replacement for the children of minivan owners. The baby boomers didn't want their parents' kidmobile, and the echo boomers don't want their parents' kidmobile. Bearing in mind, therefore, that the target audience for this vehicle starts with 30-35 year old family heads, of what value is the use of a heritage name? No one in that age group can REMEMBER any new Ford vehicles before '80 at the EARLIEST, and anyone that knows about names like Fairlane, Galaxie, etc., is either (1) already inclined to buy a Ford anyway or (2) not in the target market.

Think of it this way - if it is a good vehicle and you are old enough to know the old Ford names, will the name Flex stop you from buying one?

[Mark B. Morrow]

Whenever I hear a new car name, my first reaction is whether I would tell someone "I just bought a ____", without feeling silly. Flex is only OK neither inspiring nor embarassing. I think Cadillac and Pontiac made a mistake in going to letter/number names. Unfortunately, Lincoln seems destined to follow the trend. It can make the whole thing confusing. STS,SLS, CTS, DTS, MKZ,MKS, MKX, which one is which? Pontiac's scheme makes a little more sense with the number corresponding to size. They tried this before with the T1000, J2000 and 6000, only to revert back to LeMans (with unfortunate results), Sunbird and Bonneville.

 

The reason I hate alpha-numeric naming schemes is that they don't have any emotional component to them. If you attach a bland name to a great car it may work. GT 350 had no meaning in '65 but the car made the name worth something. The same could be said for Z28, 240 Z and 442. These were specific cars in a line with names like Mustang, Camaro and Cutlass. There were less choices back in the '60s and brand loyalty was stronger so these cars had a chance to build a reputation. Now the market is very cluttered and a good name can garner attention for a new product. Did anyone ever aspire to own a Ford Aspire or increase their self-esteem by driving a Suzuki Esteem?

[Roadrunner]

I think Petey D is wayyyyy off on this one.

 

This is a minivan replacement for the children of minivan owners. The baby boomers didn't want their parents' kidmobile, and the echo boomers don't want their parents' kidmobile.

 

Bearing in mind, therefore, that the target audience for this vehicle starts with 30-35 year old family heads, of what value is the use of a heritage name? No one in that age group can REMEMBER any new Ford vehicles before '80 at the EARLIEST, and anyone that knows about names like Fairlane, Galaxie, etc., is either (1) already inclined to buy a Ford anyway or (2) not in the target market.

 

Bingo.

[Roadrunner]

The only alphanumeric car that has any connection today is the Pontiac G6.

 

"I drive a G6"

"Oh, okay"

 

"I drive a MKZ"

"A what?"

"Um, it's a Lincoln"

 

"I drive a Grand Am"

"And you were hoping to take me on a date in that thing?"

 

"I don't chew Big Red"

"Then f--- you!"

[Ford Jellymoulds]

It does not matter what the name is, and just having a number does not bother me either, many very good cars have got buy with just a number, if the cars any good it will shine even if its just a number.

 

Ford GT40

 

Ford GT

 

Shelby GT500 (I want one, l know it's a Mustang)

 

Porsche 911

 

Ferrari 355

 

McLaren F1

 

Pontaic GTO

 

Boeing 737 747 777

 

You could go on an on and on. If it's any good folk won,t be to bothered about the name game.

[Blue II]

I'm not sure what name would suit this vehicle and it's potential owners. I am certainly glad that they did not call it Fairlane. I owned a 427 Fairlane once upon a time and have fond memories of that car and I do not think calling the people mover a Fairlane would somehow create some lineage to the Fairlane brand.

 

The origin of Fairlane is county Cork in Ireland. This is the ancestrel home of the Ford family. Maybe that is the link that someone in the family wanted to use?

[blksn8k2]

You have if you've seen National Lampoon's Family Vacation.

 

Uh, actually the vehicle in the movie was called the Family Truckster. Hey, that starts with an F. Maybe Ford should buy the rights to that name. On second thought that movie is too old. None of the target customers would remember what a Family Truckster is either. Good grief. You people apparently have too much free time if you can sit around and argue about crap like this. :boring:

[RichardJensen]

Uh, actually the vehicle in the movie was called the Family Truckster. Hey, that starts with an F. Maybe Ford should buy the rights to that name. On second thought that movie is too old. None of the target customers would remember what a Family Truckster is either. Good grief. You people apparently have too much free time if you can sit around and argue about crap like this. :boring:

Oh GEEZ, how much time did you spend READING this before you came across that comment?

 

And you complain about us having too much free time?

 

Man, that's totally the pot calling the kettle black.

[mkaresh]

The target market would totally remember the Family Truckster. However, since that wagon was a parody of Detroit's exterior trim excesses, it might not be the image they're going for.