CTHD - Someone thinks a little too highly of themselves...

Welcome dear reader to our first installment of what we hope will be a regular feature we like to call

Calm The Hell Down

In a move demonstrating an astoundingly weak grasp of reality, Ford Motor Company has filed a federal complaint asking the federal court to bar Ferrari from using the name of their new 2011 F1 Racer.

According to the complaint, "Ferrari has misappropriated the F-150 trademark in naming its new racing vehicle the 'F150' in order to capitalize on and profit from the substantial goodwill that Ford has developed in the F-150 trademark,"

I'm going to give you a few minutes to let that sink in.

I'm no Ferrari fanboy. I also really like Ford, but to arrive at the conclusion that one of the premier brands in the world (including racing, manufacturing, style, design, engineering, and advertising brands) has decided that they need to improve the image of their 1000 Horsepower, 18,000 RPM $200 million racing machine by fooling the public into thinking it is related to Ford's 350 horsepower pickup truck, is beyond delusional.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great vehicle, but do we really think that this damages Ford in any way? They're asking for unspecified damages including $100,000 under the anti-cybersquating act.

Really?

Are Jim and Martha going to go out looking for a Ford F-150 and end up going home with a 2011 season F1 car?

"Ferrari's F150 logo bears a striking resemblance to the one on Ford's F-150" said Ford in the complaint.

It's a good thing someone invented the hyphen because I don't know how it would be possible to tell them apart.

Look, Phineas Gage, you need to calm the hell down.

If Ford was smart they'd put out ads thanking Ferrari for their tribute to the Ford F-150 and wish them well.

When asked if they intended to capitalize on the success of Ford's vehicle, Ferrari engineers said, "We like-a truck-a.  Vasto grosso truck-a." After about 7 minutes of uncontrollable laughter a spokesman for the group said simply, "No."

Check out the new Ferrari here. Check out the Ford F-150 here. Please try to remember they are actually different. If you end up accidentally buying a Ferrari F150, try to remember it has a very small towing capacity.



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