Why did Ford..........................................

[Mitch 4]

Do away with the old spec letters like L,XL.GXL,E,GT,S etc? Instead we have LX,GLX,Titanium etc etc. I know which ones i prefer, but often wondered why they were done away with. Can anyone shed any light?

[the-ford-cortina.com 226]

Do away with the old spec letters like L,XL.GXL,E,GT,S etc? Instead we have LX,GLX,Titanium etc etc. I know which ones i prefer, but often wondered why they were done away with. Can anyone shed any light?

 

Somebody in " marketing " will have decided that thinkig " out of the box " would give a " blue sky " aproach to facilitating better remuneration offsets .

[Cosmicnick 1]

Somebody in " marketing " will have decided that thinkig " out of the box " would give a " blue sky " aproach to facilitating better remuneration offsets .

 

Well put dave a management answer if ever their was one :lol:

[Kenworth W900 43]

I can't shed anymore light on the change, other than to point out that such a change seems to be perfectly normal.

 

I would find it more odd if Ford were still using the same model designations now as they were in the 70s. Every other manufacturer has updated their model naming systems since then, some more than once.

 

You need new trim specs every now and then just like you need new models (KA) because times change and consumers want something new. Only certain names are kept, usually those which have the best marketing power. That's why 'Ghia' is still a thing amongst the Ford range - due to the history of the term it immediately evokes positive associations and luxurious connotations.

[wolfrace 116]

I guess these things change with fashion. Like these-days notice how many "eco" cars have blue badges. Like someone in marketing has made that become the new fashion "We cant have an eco car without a blue badge"... Not convinced?? Well for starters.. VW "bluemotion" Honda "pure drive" (blue logo) Hyundai "Blue Drive" Kia "ecodynamics" (blue logo) Mercedes "BlueEfficiency".

 

GT is about the only one which seems to be fairly popular still with manufacturers but Ford have either RS or ST as their sports designated badging now.

Edited June 12, 2015 by wolfrace

[Kenworth W900 43]

I've noticed that same trend.

 

IMHO that is because the marketeers wanted a colour which is the polar opposite of the sporty gas guzzling models which all seem to have have red badges (RS, GTI, VXR, ST, Turbo models, etc). I think they didn't choose green because it goes too far in the consumers' along the lines of eco, green, environmentalism whereby the car will have no power whatsoever. The obvious happy medium was a crisp shade of blue which has eco connotations (water) and has links to the electricity which a lot of hybrids use.

 

It now has self perpetuating relevance, because all cars of that same ilk use blue badges the idea has been reinforced to the point where everyone knows what a blue badge means even before they read it.

[mk4ste 43]

Do away with the old spec letters like L,XL.GXL,E,GT,S etc? Instead we have LX,GLX,Titanium etc etc. I know which ones i prefer, but often wondered why they were done away with. Can anyone shed any light?

its proberbly the politicly correct brigade saying that its class warfare. skint folk have L model gaffer has ghia, gl for manager etc. socialist's sticking there nose's in again i reckon :lol: by the way is there any difference between cars now,never mind spec, all these modern cars are the same with different badges ar'nt they yawn. :thumbdown:

Edited June 12, 2015 by mk4ste

[V6Ghia 37]

its proberbly the politicly correct brigade saying that its class warfare. skint folk have L model gaffer has ghia, gl for manager etc. socialist's sticking there nose's in again i reckon :lol: by the way is there any difference between cars now,never mind spec, all these modern cars are the same with different badges ar'nt they yawn. :thumbdown:

 

The last time I had to have a dismal new car for work the models had changed as follows: Base model=Edge, L=Zetec, GL=Titanium, Ghia=Titanium X. Even when ford made decent cars the model designations changed ie. Super to XL to GL, E to GXL, back to E then Ghia. From what I see things have changed a lot more with how cars are being bought, I used to think the majority of new cars were company cars now a lot of people seem to drive new cars and pay weekly or monthly but never own them, this seems crazy to me but I seem to be in the minority. Lower management and Reps used to have a Cortina L, middle management a GL and senior management a Ghia, now it seems to be Passat, BMW 3 series and BMW 5 series instead, I find choosing a modern car is like choosing a new fridge or washing machine, it doesn't hold the same excitement as it would have 33+ years ago :(

[wolfrace 116]

The euro market sucks, mostly always has. You can buy an exciting Camaro, Challenger, mustang, charger in the states new or only a few years old for the same price as a blandmobile euro box.

 

Makes me wonder why people get hung up on what the car is, based on a badge though. You can see a bit of badge snobbery when someone sticks an M badge on the back of a low end 3 series and gets stick over it.

The GXL GT and XL and L models all had enough trim etc differentiating them from each other to tell the difference but I struggle with later marks.

[olosteve 0]

I took all the badges off my 2000e and got an extra mile a gallon.

[wreckers771 4]

I always de badge my cars as I find they tend to rip my sponge as I wash the car!!!!!!!!

[RomanBronze 0]

Interesting one but I remember the Sierra LX when it came out hit a sweet spot between L and GL and Ford have loved it ever since. There's been talk of them dropping Ghia for years.

 

Most manufacturers take the subtle approach now. Trim and even engine size are rarely badged. You might get diesel or petrol indicated and the rest is down to spotters to work it out from things like alloys, seats, bright work and other body features.

[Danish 294]

Do away with the old spec letters like L,XL.GXL,E,GT,S etc? Instead we have LX,GLX,Titanium etc etc. I know which ones i prefer, but often wondered why they were done away with. Can anyone shed any light?

 

Didn't it happen about the same time as they dropped the X, L and R packs too?

[CorKtina 17]

They were Old fashioned, but I'm not keen on Titanium and the like, all you get is a few bits of chrome extra. My new Focus is supposed to be an ST....(well an STyle actually...... :-) ) but isn't badged. You'd be hard pushed to name something the Titanium or Zetec have in addition to what's on mine, other than useless trim items..

[stevewes 16]

...There's been talk of them dropping Ghia for years...

They dropped Ghia (in the UK market) some time ago in favour of Titanium X, which I think is dead naff :ph34r: