The Blue Oval is trying to get maximum marketing mileage out of the yet-to-be-released Ford GT. But will the 477-kW GT succeed in re-igniting Americans’ interest in Ford’s passenger cars?
The Blue Oval is trying to get maximum marketing mileage out of the yet-to-be-released Ford GT. But will the 477-kW GT succeed in re-igniting Americans’ interest in Ford’s passenger cars?
Although the Ford GT still has some way to go before it will be available on showroom floors, it has drawn much attention. But can the good coverage be in vain, considering the public’s lukewarm response to Ford’s new-generation saloon, the 500?
Ford plans to produce only 3 500 units of the 477-kW Ford GTs, which will cost R922 000 each, over two years. FMC’s chief executive Bill Ford admitted that that car would not be a money-spinner for the company. It was rather a way to enhance the image of its other products, he said. The print advertisements for the GT carry the tag line: “The pace car for an entire company.”
That’s why the punted the GT with a 60-second spot in the second quarter of the Super Bowl spending the equivalent of 165 million rand on the advertising time.
After the company’s focus had shifted to bakkies and SUVs over the past years, the sales in the car division had been slipping. The sports car’s return marks the start of a new model avalanche from Ford Motor Corporation in what it has labelled “the year of the car.”
It was inspired by the iconic original Ford GT40, which took the world by storm when it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans epic in 1966, 1967 and 1968. Some observers have stated that the reincarnation would not necessarily appeal to the largely conservative Ford buyers of today.