[ZTWsquared]

OAC_Sparky,Feb 9 2006, 07:36 AM Wrote:Depends on what you mean by mistake. That you don't like the name? The Zephyr is the best selling Lincoln at the moment,the sales are way better than projected. [right][snapback]169249[/snapback][/right]

I think you're missing my point .... which might actually mean we're in violent agreement.

Launching a vehicle and then changing its name the next model year is indicative of some sort of mistake being made -- and IMO Ford came to believe that the name Zephyr wasn't getting the response and recognition they first thought it would. Zephyr by the way means “light wind” or “gentle wind” and IIRC the reference was with respect to the original Zephyr’s ground breaking aero look.

But I've sat in enough product planning meetings at COB and CHQ to know that nobody plans on launching a vehicle with a new nameplate only to change the name the very next model year. In my 15 years working with Ford I can't recall it ever happening or even being contemplated.

That Ford is doing this now, and especially considering the sales success of the Zephyr as you point out, is indicative of a mistake.

I think the mistake was made when they named the Zephyr in the first place, as I pointed out in my first post ... because those consumers that even recognize the name associate it with the mid-80s Granada-based vehicle and not the work of art you showed in your post. And those consumers that don't recognize the name find it funny looking and sounding and some.people aren’t sure how to pronounce it – none of these things make for good marketing

I for one did like the name but only because I was familiar with the 30's Zephyr for which it was named.

My point was this: if you're going to change the name of a vehicle after one model year, linking that change with a substantial product upgrade is a good way to mask the real reason for the name change.

But any way you look at it, this name change is indicative of some sort of mistake and IMO it was naming it Zephyr in the first place. And even though I don’t like the new naming standard, I do think it makes sense from a consumer recognition point of view.