Cloned styling will hurt sales?

Katoomba · 09-03-2008, 02:18 PM

I was at my local Ford dealer last week and was surprised at the almost identical styling of the new Ford model range including the new Falcon (from the now-available brochures). You really have to look two or three times to distinguish the models especially from the front and side view looking forward.

I wonder if this will hurt sales of particular models? I used to buy Fairlanes (starting with a ZD back in the early 70s) but stopped when they changed to being elongated Falcons. My thinking was that if you were going to pay double the price of a Falcon, you wanted something different for the dough (nothing against Falcons: I've plenty of them as well as Lasers).

(I'm new to this forum as a Mondeo owner and hope it's OK to post this kind of a topic here.)

Tj-zetec · 10-03-2008, 05:59 PM

Ford has done this before and it hasn't been overly noticed by anyone other than motoring journalists.

About 6-7 years ago they did it with the AU falcon, the LR focus, the KA and i think the Cougar came out at about the same time.

They called it "edge" design or something to a similar effect and called the similarities between them all "kinetic design". What the hell triangular head and tail lights have to do with kinetics i don't know. then again i failed science all through high school.

Funnily enough the Focus was the only car out of that bunch that was a sales success AND didn't turn out to be a lemon.
The KA speaks for itself, i don't know a lot about the cougar but they didn't sell to well. and the AU falcon....
Put it this way, i work in a timber yard. I get a lot of utes come into the yard. All the AU's that come in sound close to death.

I don't think it will worry people much. i think the mondeo, and the new (as yet unreleased) focus look pretty schmick. So if the Falcon is going to share a few design points, i think it'll look ok too.
I think it will help people recognise the cars on the road too. They may not know what model it is, but they'll go "hey that's one of them new fords!" (the grammar in that sentence IS correct, at least in my neck of the woods)
By having a recognisable product on the market, it helps peoples awareness of it.

Katoomba · 10-03-2008, 07:29 PM

My dealer did say the Ford Aust will also be releasing a similar-looking sports car this year. I'm pretty sure it was the Cougar (or at least one of the other Ford US sports cars).

MeestaNob! · 12-03-2008, 07:20 PM

I don't know what that car could possibly be.

Nothing American has that styling, and looking at the UK website there isn't really anything sporty there (that we don't already have).