Ford must be getting desperate.

[MeFryRice]

It appears that Ford is in desperate need of money when they are going after forums to get money. :rolleyes:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32801

[metalman]

Its really stupid for companies that are sucking wind to begin with (or any for that matter)to go after a group that actually stimulates interest/business for them. How retarded.

[Sawyer]

That's just terrible...

[Synthmob]

Well the center of the controversy appears to be that TheRangerStation.com was in the business of selling Ford logo'd vinyl cut decals...

But I agree - it is nit-picky. Ford was desperate enough to sell off a huge chunk of its Mazda holdings (http://www.mazdausamedia.com/content/ford-change-ownership-stake-mazda) as well recently.

[MeFryRice]

I'm surprised that Ford did not come after all Mazda related forums when they owned most of Mazda.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Agreed Synthmob, it seems that most cases that I've seen like this is when the forum or site sells something with the logo on it. The last huge case I saw made was when one of the Mustang sites sold a monthly calendar with the Ford and Mustang emblems/logos on it. The case was against making a profit by utilizing the company's emblem and reputation. However, it is usually always Ford going after a site, they truly must be trying everything to find an income.

Another website I saw when I was reading articles concerning cases like these proved that the lawfirms that were supposedly representing the large auto manufacturer were in fact making these cases on their own in order to scare people into sending in a settlement $ amount. Not good stuff there.

[Doppelgänger]

I still think they should just have to tought it out....and the bailout money should go directly to the suppliers who are the innocent bystanders to the big 3's fluckups. What urks me is that i'm still seeing ads for new model Hummers. Screw GM, that's the stuff that's causing them to sink.

[Sawyer]

I think the H3T was already in the process of being produced when the whole economy went to ****. So what are they going to do with a bunch of half built trucks? I think they kind of had to finish and sell them.

[MeFryRice]

Sawyer is correct. The H3T was already in development before all this happened so they had no choice but to release the vehicle. Same goes for the new Dodge Ram, the new model has been ready to release for a while now but because there are so many '08 models left in dealership's inventory, they've had to post-pone the release.

I see that the congress has passed the bailout bail for $14 billion. We'll see how this goes. I know at the end of March, they will review the big 3's status and will determine if future financial help will be needed, which I'm sure they it will unless for some odd reason the economy makes a drastic turn-around within the next couple months.

[MeFryRice]

I also think it's retarded that Tesla is requesting $350 million to inject into the development of the new Model S. They will also need $200 million to produce Lithium-Ion batteries as well. so they need $550 million to release the Model S.

If you can't develop a vehicle on your own, a vehicle we certainly don't need at this time nor will it produce enough revenue, then obviously this isn't where their money should be going right now.

[jester911]

As for GM the fact is the problem isn't how many cars they are selling as much as how much money they are losing.

In 2007 Toyota and GM each sold 9.3 million cars world wide. Toyota made 17.7 billion.
GM lost 38.7 billion. Granted the economy has tanked since then so the sales are worse but if they are losing that much money then selling more cars isn't going to fix it.

[MeFryRice]

We are just in a bind no matter how you look at it. Dealerships can't sell cars due to the banks being more strict on who they hand out loans due to all the previous unfulfilled loans by customers that can't afford the monthly payment. This is how we are here today. If we were to loosen the credit again, sure, we'd probably sell more cars but we'd end back up where we are now so it's a lose-lose situation unfortunately.

[Doppelgänger]

Well, they may have already started producing the pile of **** before, the economy tanked, but they can still pull it back out and NOT spend all the money on building ****boxed they aren't going to be able to profit from.

[jester911]

I agree that we don't need more Hummers but they are not going to profit anyway. If they can't make a profit selling over 9 million cars then it simply isn't going to help selling another line of cars. The present business model for the American car companies just doesn't add up until they find a way to cut away from the unions. If you sell 9 million of anything thing and still lose billions then you will never profit until you cut expenses.

[metalman]

I'm surprised that Ford did not come after all Mazda related forums when they owned most of Mazda.

There was a 'crack down' by Mazda on many small vendors. I have a set of leather Miata seats with Miata embroidered script...you can no longer get them. Knobmeister had issues with them too.
Most of the attention was given to anyone using Mazda names etc on their dinky little aftermarket business products. I view this much the same as music...the smart artists encourage sharing of their 'product' as it only serves to build interest. Others function more on greed...they demand a penny for everything with their name on it...and with regard to automotive items I think this approach is self defeating for the most part.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

I think I remember the forum succeeding with the Mustang calender on the grounds that the people owned the cars and it was their right to photograph and sell them.

[RotorNutFD3S]

They did succeed. But only after they removed all of the logos and mention of the Ford brand name in the pictures...

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

petty bastards!

they're like the metallica of the automotive world

[jester911]

You think they are bad. Try selling something with Porsche on it.

[jesseealexander]

^^ there was a lawsuit against a guy in europe who cut a ferrari 360 in half and made a limo out of it, using carbon fiber and racing seats. it was actually a very good job and a very nice finished product. ferrari sued him for keeping it labeled as a ferrari but i think that he won the suit after he agreed to take the emblems off of the car.

[MeFryRice]

I remember that, Ferrari claimed that he destroyed the vehicle or some BS.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Yup. I recall that case too.

[Doppelgänger]

Jag also went off the deep end on some people for a similar situation.

[MeFryRice]

I guess they've all done. :( Pretty ****ty.

[mustangtomiata]

debadged ferrari limo FTW!

[metalman]

lolz.....

[RotorNutFD3S]

Got that in an email today. :lol:

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

God I wish that wasn't true :cry:

[Sawyer]

I've never seen that before.. Sad, but true.

[jester911]

Aw yes, our tax dollars hard at work once again.

[MeFryRice]

wonderful. That's exactly where I wanted my taxes to go. :rolleyes: