Ford Motor Company has settled a lawsuit with Ferrari over the naming issues of the race car originally known as the Ferrari F150, with the Italian supercar maker changing the official name of the car to the Ferrari 150 Italia.
This is the second time that Ferrari has changed the name of the new F1 race car that was designed and named to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. When the car was introduced, it was known simply as the Ferrari F150 and Ford Motor Company was quick to speak up, claiming that Ferrari was infringing on the F-150 nameplate long-found on the company’s bestselling pickup truck. When Ford showed their displeasure in the way of a pretty hefty lawsuit, Ferrari responded by renaming the new race car the Ferrari F150th Italia. Ford once again gave the “thumbs down” to this name, still bothered by the fact that Ferrari was using the “F150” name along with using a logo that Ford considered was too close to the current Ford F-150 emblem.
On Friday, Ford Motor Company officially announced that they had dropped the suit against Ferrari, after Ferrari made another name change, this time losing the “F” in favor of the Ferrari 150 Italia. Ferrari made the announcement of the second name change in less than a month on their company website with the following witty reply:
"In order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula 1 car with a pick-up truck, for their part, the men from Maranello have decided that the car will lose the F. Therefore the name will now read as the Ferrari 150 Italia, which should make it clear even to the thickest of people."
Burn!!!
Ford has stated that they were pleased that the two parties were able to come to an agreement but judging by Ferrari’s reaction to the whole situation, it sounds like they aren’t as please with the outcome as Ford.
Source: Reuters
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