09/02/2011
NEWS STORY
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As Formula One attempts to get to grips with the fact that there are two teams determined to call themselves Lotus, the Ford Motor Company has launched a lawsuit against Ferrari over the naming rights of the F150.
In the hours following Ferrari's announcement on January 25 that the 2011 Maranello challenger had been designated the F150, wags were commenting that they hoped the car would perform better than Ford's pick-up truck of the same name.
Now having contacted, Ferrari regarding the matter, and claiming to have had no response, Ford has issued the following statement:
"F-150 is an established and important Ford trademark and the name of the best-seller in Ford's F-Series, America's best-selling trucks for 34 years and best-selling vehicles for 29 years. Through extensive sales and advertising and exclusive use, Ford has earned invaluable goodwill in the F-150 trademark. That hard-won goodwill is seriously threatened by Ferrari's adoption of F150.
"When Ferrari announced the name of its race car as F150, Ford asked Ferrari to change the name. Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights."
In 1963, Enzo Ferrari came close to selling his company to Ford, indeed, the American manufacturer spent a small fortune auditing the Italian company and carrying out the necessary legal negotiations.
However, adamant that the American company would have no say in the overall running of his racing operation, and angry that the deal would mean his cars couldn't contest the Indy 500, Ferrari vetoed the deal at the eleventh hour much to Henry Ford II's disgust.
The American subsequently began negotiations with a number of British manufacturers with a view to building a sport car to take on Ferrari at Le Mans. The Ford GT40, having made its Sports Car debut at the Nurburigng in 1964, went on to take the first three places at Le Mans just two years later. The drivers were Chris Amon and another New Zealander whose name was to become iconic in motorsport, Bruce McLaren.
When announcing its intention to name its 2011 car the F150, Ferrari stated that it was in honour of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy indeed, the car bears a number of small flags which mark the event. In 2003, Ferrari designated its car the F2003-GA in honour of FIAT's Gianni Agnelli, while 2009's F60 was in honour of the Italian outfit's 60th year in F1.
Any chance Ferrari might rename its new car Lotus.