april fool's - 2008 Ford Escort - Auto Shows

[NINETY_EIGHT_REGENCY]

Ford’s Bold Move in New York: Escort service to the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
BY JARED GALL, April 2007

Ford’s Way Forward is apparently Facing Backwards, as the company is planning on “introducing” the 2008 Ford Escort at the New York auto show, according to a press release that slipped out a few days earlier than intended. Many here at Car and Driver have been hoping for a variation of the Mazda 2 to appear on our shores and in our parking lot, but this is unfortunately not that car.

Just as the 2008 Taurus bowed at the Chicago auto show less than a month after its first unveil as the refreshed 2008 Five Hundred in Detroit, the Escort “news” is really just the letters on the trunklid. Escort is the new name for the old, but facelifted Focus that was also shown in Detroit. What’s next? Can we expect the Fusion to be renamed Galaxy?

Said Mark Fields, Ford President of the Americas: “I can’t tell you how many thousands of letters we have received asking us why we would ever walk away from such an iconic brand. Quite frankly, our customers miss the car many fondly called their ’Scort. We left them scratching their heads, because Escort once represented everything that made Ford a great brand. It was safe, reliable, and innovative transportation for young Americans. It will stand for all of these things and more in the future, because this car has earned the right to carry the Escort name.”

Ford is also reviving the ZX2 nameplate for coupe versions of the Escort, promising a sport-tuned suspension and a “substantial” catalog of ZX2-specific parts available through Ford Racing.

Interestingly, the Focus will remain the Focus in Europe, where the 300-hp Focus RS competes with the likes of the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evolution and lends serious credibility to the Focus name. Just as Ford has never seriously considered the U.S. for Focus RS consumption—or even the second-generation base Focus that is on sale in every global market except North America—we foresee no hope of ever seeing an Escort RS, or of the ZX2 ever approaching that performance stratosphere.


The rest is here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/autoshow...rd-escort.html

[CrunkedRL]

How ridiculous the Focus was Ford's first breakthrough compact in recent years. However, Ford just let it rot on the vine over the past several years. Now there going to change the name of such of an iconic car back to it's less than adequate predecessor. The Focus has gained some creditability over the years and IMO their has been too much time that has past for most to identify with the Escort name.

[montrealvue]

Ford is good to have around, they make GM look good! GM has seems to stepped back a from regurgitating old, defunct names and it is paying off. Go ahead Ford, dig the hole deeper!

[69Firebird400]

Boys, this is an April fool's joke. No mention of the Escort anywhere on Ford's media site about the New York show:
http://media.ford.com/events/07_new_york.cfm

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by 69Firebird400

Boys, this is an April fool's joke. No mention of the Escort anywhere on Ford's media site about the New York show:
http://media.ford.com/events/07_new_york.cfm

Dear God it better be. The Focus name has been around for some time now and the name is established. To go back to an old name like Escort is just plain stupid.

April Fools indeed.

[igor]

IT IS APRIL FOOL'S ....

period ..

Igor

[pkd87]

While it is probably and April Fools joke, I like the Escort name a lot (maybe because I used to own one). While the Focus name has been established for a while now, I never really liked the Focus.

[igor]

Escort might be revived for a B-car .. but that has not been inplicated yet - for now the chances are 50/50 between Fiesta and Escort.

Igor

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by igor

Escort might be revived for a B-car .. but that has not been inplicated yet - for now the chances are 50/50 between Fiesta and Escort.

Igor

I would think that for the sake of commonality and keeping names consistent throughout the world, Ford would stick to the Fiesta name for the North American market's B-segment vehicles.

However, VW replaced an established name such as Golf with a retro name like Rabbit and Toyota dumped the Carolla name in Europe in favor of Auris --- so maybe NOT having moniker commonality between world-wide products isn't such a big deal?

Nevertheless, if memory serves, Mark Fields said that he wanted as many as 3 B-segment vehicles in Ford's North American lineup, all built on the same set of components. If this is the case, maybe one of those products could be dubbed Fiesta, another Escort and the last _______ ? Perhaps the hatchback version could be the Fiesta while the sedan/coupe veresion could be the Escort?

Just thinking out loud.

But if FoMoCo is really on this kick to reuse what has worked in the past, then perhaps it isn't far fetched to think that the Escort name could grace the trunklid of some FoMoCo product one day soon.

[igor]

^^^I think it will hinge on whether the Name recognition of Escort is negative or not .. if in peoples minds Escort=P.O.S. like echo" then a new name will be chosen as Ford will be able to start from ZERO there, instead of NEGATIVE .. if the Escort has a neutral or positive recognition - Mulally will say "screw commonality" and call it the recognized name.

and you are right - recently Automakers have been eliminating name commonality ... Fit is Jazz in Europe, Corolla is going away in Europe, Nissan still has Almera (Sentra) in Europe, and the Vera will be Tiida in Europ ( Versa's Japanese name).

Hoverver GM did bring the Astra .. and that might be a precedents - we are talkig about cars where the general public has no preferrence, but the enthusiasts have been salivating over these Euro models for a long time - so keeping the name is one more satisfaction given to the enthusiasts ...

I personally would prefer the Fiesta (for the Astra reasons), but we shall see .. ford needs to do it the most efficient way.

Igor

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by igor

^^^I think it will hinge on whether the Name recognition of Escort is negative or not .. if in peoples minds Escort=P.O.S. like echo" then a new name will be chosen as Ford will be able to start from ZERO there, instead of NEGATIVE .. if the Escort has a neutral or positive recognition - Mulally will say "screw commonality" and call it the recognized name.

and you are right - recently Automakers have been eliminating name commonality ... Fit is Jazz in Europe, Corolla is going away in Europe, Nissan still has Almera (Sentra) in Europe, and the Vera will be Tiida in Europ ( Versa's Japanese name).

Hoverver GM did bring the Astra .. and that might be a precedents - we are talkig about cars where the general public has no preferrence, but the enthusiasts have been salivating over these Euro models for a long time - so keeping the name is one more satisfaction given to the enthusiasts ...

I personally would prefer the Fiesta (for the Astra reasons), but we shall see .. ford needs to do it the most efficient way.

Igor

Good points all around as usual Igor. You're right in that it depends on how the Escort name is perceived...that's a key point. Nevertheless, listening to Mulally and Fields, you'd never know that the Taurus and Sable names weren't really all that well regarded before the products were originally axed. Don't get me wrong, I think the new versions will do much better and are better-total-vehicles overall than the Five Hundred and Montego they replace, but still the point remains: when is a moniker "damaged"?

Still I agree with you and would rather see commonality; having a Fiesta here would be rather nice. Just like you piont out with the Astra, etc. I'd much rather see one-name/one-product to build a greater sense of awarness for a brand's lineup.

But if they decide to split the names per the vehicle type (as I suggested) or just reuse a known moniker to save money (as you suggested) the product needs to be done right. No more excuses.

[igor]

Confirmed from inside - Focus remains a Focus - it was a C&D Joke.

Igor

[jon21]

Originally Posted by igor

IT IS APRIL FOOL'S ....

period ..

Igor

Huh...April Fools’ on April 2nd? Kinda weak April Fools’ joke since it is posted on the 2nd of April. I dislike the ford escort name. It keep reminds of the Escort Service.

[igor]

Originally Posted by jon21

Huh...April Fools’ on April 2nd? Kinda weak April Fools’ joke since it is posted on the 2nd of April. I dislike the ford escort name. It keep reminds of the Escort Service.

the article was posted yesterday ... and it was an April Fools joke.

Igor

[jon21]

Originally Posted by igor

the article was posted yesterday ... and it was an April Fools joke.

Igor

I know that the article was posted on April 1st. Nevertheless, this thread should have not posted on April 2, if it was intended to be April Fools' Day joke. It should be posted on April Fools' Day (April 1). For an example: I cannot come do you today April 2 and do an April Fools' prank on you. It is not the same.
Kinda like saying Happy Fourth of July on July 5. Alternatively, Have a Merry Christmas on December 26. It is just not the same. There are many other April Fools’ jokes that I would like to post on here but I am too late in the game. I will have to wait until next year to do an April Fools’ prank.