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.



www.f1-geeks.com

We're going to miss you , Robert...

So if you haven't been keeping up with things, I need to break some bad news to you.  Robert Kubica, great talent, straight shooter, likable and all around good guy will probably never race in F1 again.

The man who single-handedly got my Father In Law to watch a Formula 1 race* was severely injured in a rally accident on Sunday.   Here's how it happened:



As he was coming around a corner he lost control of the car and ended up with a guardrail coming through the front of the vehicle and exiting out the back.   Although they are trying to paint as positive a picture as possible, at the press conference after the crash they are describing how they will have to reconstruct bone, then the vascular systems, then nerve systems on his right hand, arm, and leg.   They also say they will not know the extent of his recovery until a year from now.

This is a big loss as Kubica was one of those drivers that sat in a special class, almost everyone liked him and of those that weren't fans, most harbored no ill will against him.

He helped Renault regain their credibility after the Nelson Piquet scandal and looked like he was going to be faster than ever this year.   From a purely selfish perspective, I would have loved to see him contend this year for the championship.

I am relieved he will survive.  Saddened that we won't see him in his prime.

Let's hope it's not as bad as it sounds.


 *My wife is Polish