Ford made it very clear to Italian sports car maker Ferrari, that the name “F150” means a truck — not a racecar. Faced with a lawsuit over the matter, Ferrari backed down.
Ferrari had named its new Formula 1 racecar the F150, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. But the name tag already has a strong following on one of the best-selling vehicles in America — the Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Not wanting the Italian automaker messing with its name, Ford (F, Fortune 500) filed a lawsuit against Ferrari. And on Thursday, Ferrari was the first one to step away from the F150 fight.
The Italian automaker announced it was changing the way it referred to its racecar. … It will now be called the F150th Italia.
However, Ferrari still doesn’t understand what upset Ford so much.
“Ferrari believes its own contender in the upcoming F1 Championship cannot be confused with any other types of commercially available vehicle whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle,” Ferrari said in a statement.
“Therefore it is very difficult to understand Ford’s viewpoint on the matter.”
Peter Valdes-Dapena,CNN
