What part of ‘Enthusiast’ does Ford not understand?

Um, Ford, these guys LIKE your product. Way to dick them around.

Yeah Im a huge Ford fan but I disagree with this. They are promoting your product. Leave them be.

If this is how Ford treat their fans and loyal customers, I don’t see much future for their brand. They will eventually fold and be past history.

LOL Ford has enthusiasts ? I guess people love ****ty products and exploding cars

The two geniuses above me obviously didn’t read the entire thing before responding. Clearly, there appears perhaps there was something going on with the website in question that was likely the cause of the legal action. Ford’s not suing them because they’re an enthusiast site. They’re suing them because they probably did something illegal, users complained to Ford and Ford took action. I commend them if this in fact was the case. Anybody who knows anything about some of the Honda related websites, especially the one dedicated to the current Civic, knows what goes on there. I heard the owner of that site was arrested along with several other members after committing credit card fraud against some of the users.

Again, Ford should be commended for not bashed for this.

I sure as hell hope there’s more to this story. If they are just suing enthusiasts sites for money, they are going to lose a lot of potential owners of their product.

But RDS, there was nothing specified to applying to a certain type/group or individual site.

So please don’t assume, I replied based on the above article, not assumptions.

@rds130

“Clearly, there appears perhaps there was something going on”
“They’re suing them because they probably did something illegal..”
“I heard the owner of that site was arrested…”

Solid reasoning… So you don’t know anything, do you? Just spreading rumors.

“The letter also demands $5,000 for trademark infringements and threatens a law suit of $100,000 if demands are not met.”

Let’s hope $5000.00 or even $100,000.00 isn’t going to make that much difference to Ford’s bottom line. Because if it will make a difference, I’ll call the Detroit City Coroner to report Ford’s unfortunate demise and, we should all send flowers.

I’m with RDS. They only mention one site, and with the Lightning and Mustang, there should be a lot more reports of this happening. If it’s not something that the owners of that site, there should be a tonne of sites complaining. Until I hear that other sites are being sued, I’ll hold off slaming Ford for it.

When cant make cars, sue whoever you can. Seems logical.

I visited the site just now. It may have changed in past few days – who knows – but on a brief glance thru the pages and disclaimer I didnt see anything that looked like they are tying themselves to Ford, and infact they (now) make that clear at the bottom. The product offering also did not appear to have Ford or Renger emblems.

At any rate, I dont understand the claim to the domain name at all. If it were FordRanger.com then perhaps but http://www.therangerstation.com could be park rangers for all anyone knows. If there is more to it Ford should press release a few details.

However, Ford is now looking to for more interesting ways…

???

LLN: When are you going to hire a proof reader?

Also, I seriously doubt that Ford is trying to increase its revenue by suing owners of a tiny website. It’s all about protecting their brand and their trademarks. This is FAR more important to their business than any dollars they might get in court. The compensation they are seeking is only about punishment for those who stole their identity … and to serve as an example to those who might try the same thing.

(Not to add $$ to their bank account).

When is LLN going to stop the editorializing in their news stories? Seriously, you guys are putting your foot in your mouth by getting into stuff you know NOTHING about.

Ford’s probably uncomfortable having enthusiasts, as well they should be, because there’s a big disconnect between Ford products and motoring excellence.

They should change their name to TheRidgelineStation.

mayer_ray_nagin-

Let me start with the disclaimer that will keep me from never being able to get a bar card anywhere if I do not proffer it: I am NOT a lawyer. I am only a law student. Nothing I say carries ANY legal weight.

Despite what you see some prosecutors and defense lawyers do in criminal matters and opposing parties in civil matters do, it is technically not ethical for lawyers to reveal anything through the media about the specifics of a case. In general, lawyers are supposed to keep the facts in criminal matters very plain (e.g. name and charges). In a civil case, judges can get VERY testy if they find one side or the other is out giving press briefings that could taint jury pools. Cut Ford some slack until there is actually any legal action (which we all know can take years) that can lead to legitimate press briefings. I know you just want a “few details,” but those few details could be enough to blow Ford’s case or piss off a judge. I know you have no reason to trust what i am saying; but, Ford’s lawyers are acting very responsibly.

Just went to the website, and clicked around a little. Didn’t see anything wrong? Looks like they are shooting themselves in the foot with this one? Do they have a new generation in the works for the Ranger or are they just going to drop their small truck market share? I have seen pics of the Ranger Max Concept, is it legit?

Is it actually possible to be a Ranger enthusiast? Enthusiast of what? 1980’s pickups sold in 2008?

Its free advertising,
They’re only getting $100k at the most from this,
And they’re screwing over the only people who actually like their products.
Ford is the dumbest company to have ever called itself public.
And to think, 100 years ago, Ford was know for its mass assembly line revolution and everybody drove their cars.
Now, they’re desperate enough to go attack their remaining fans for about $100k.
Its sad to see how low these once great American companies have sunk

@AnonymousCoward & Struggle,

I actually do know the owner of the Honda website was arrested as I was one of the many, many people affected. We were all notified when it happened. This was about a year ago. Based on my experience and others experiences with Honda-specific forums (I don’t own a Ford, nor do I own the Honda any longer, but I’ve frequented all types of forums), I can logically surmise a manufacturer doesn’t target a specific enthusiast website because “it’s desperate for money”, as LLN put it. THAT is the baseless rumor. A forum is free advertising and forum enthusiasts are often your most loyal customers. It doesn’t matter if you have a Geo Metro or an F430, people commute to web forums to congregate and communicate with others with similar interests. As someone in the auto industry who’s worked with forums before, I know for a fact, these are the hardest core of customers; they recommend your product to friends, family, random users looking for information, etc. I could go on and on about the benefits of a web forum in the favor of the automaker, but all this boils down to is, someone “likely” did something they weren’t supposed to do which had an effect on forum users, those users notified Ford, and Ford decided to take action. Mr. Scott’s second statement pretty much tells you everything you need to know without actually telling you anything that hurts Ford’s case.

@2kPlymouthNeonLX,

The stuff on the Honda-related site, you couldn’t see at all. Moderators and the webmaster were stealing user’s credit card numbers from people purchasing stuff from the website itself. They were also getting the numbers from people using their credit cards to purchase “VIP” access to areas of the site hidden from “non-VIP” members. All the VIP members really got for their money was access to deleted threads and conversations about porn. Aside from conversations about porn not having anything to do with a Civic or Fit, part of the legal issue was the website didn’t have a disclaimer for potential users under the age of 18 (it’s a Honda site, there were a lot of them). There were some other major legal problems which escalated to a Federal level (those are still on-going) and that’s what led to the arrests, but you could go on that site now and not know there was anything wrong with it. Again, as Mr. Scott said, often times in cases like this, “there’s more than meets the eye”. It’s unlikely Ford is seeking legal action against a likely perpetrator, it sounds like they just want a ceast-and-desist against the website so Ford doesn’t look like the bad guy for not taking action against the webmaster.

Again, this is speculation, but having dealt with something similar before and knowing others who’ve dealt with similar situations, it’s my educated guess, so don’t put too much weight into it. Nothing, obviously has been confirmed.

thats when you know they are getting desperate they turn on their own people

OK, the latest thought: Ford is actually does not own the logo. Everything Ford owned was mortgaged last year for 23 billion loan. Ford is suing for something they don’t own. One step behind O.J. he was robbing for something he didn’t own.

What a bunch of idiots. Who doesn’t know that you can’t just slap other companies’ logos on your products and call it yours?

^Borat, you are mistaken. Ford still retain legal title over its own intellectual property even though it is put up as a collateral for a loan. So it is actionable for Ford to sue for trademark infringement. If Ford defaults on the loan, then that’s a different story.

Borat, that last thought of yours is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard! If they don’t seek legal action against TRS, for unlawfully using the trademarked names, they can’t seek legal action against anyone later for doing it! You can’t go after one group for doing it illegaly and not the next group! They do own the name and the trademarks! Just because they have a business loan doesn’t make the trademark name any less theirs! Do you call the car you drive “yours” or do you call it the banks car?

LLN: It’s “pull a fast one”, or “put one over”. Not only are you mixing metaphors, you’re not even using the right words. Is this site run by a bunch of 18 year-olds?

And what’s with this “kind of like the Ranger itself” business? These cheapshots are rather juvenile and unprofessional, regardless of how behind-the-times the Ranger is.

You said it inline6

agreed inline6, i thought ‘news’ sites were supposed to be nuetral…and seriously, how do you ‘fool a fast one’.

RDS,

Thanks for clearing it up for me.

The F key is so far from the P key ROFL XD

inline6: Face it, the Ranger was slated to die after ‘08, so the fact that it’s alive in ‘09, or that it will exist until 2011, really is a joke, and an anomaly due only to the financial crisis. Keep a cheap, fuel efficient truck around that happens to suck in every single department. Whine about cheap shots all you like, but it’s true.

True or not, the cheap shots shouldn’t be coming from a news source that we are supposed to be able to trust!

pzimet, youre absolutely right but, the point is news is reserved for news and comments are reserved for us….another thing is im surprised some folks here are in disbelief that there’s a Ranger club…hell, theres a club for every crap car out there—-even for pontiac aztecs! aztekfanclub.com

They’re willing to do anything these days to grab a few bucks.

First they cause trouble for the Mustang owners… now the Ranger owners… sheesh. Ford has no clue how to handle its loyal customers.

Wow, a company on the ropes willing to piss off one of the few fan clubs they have. How dumb can they be? And a name like Ranger…what are they going to sue the army next for calling their guys “Rangers”. Or how about the Park Service? Or how about Marvel Comics? Get a life, Ford. Now I can’t wait till GM and Cryco drag you down the toilet with them.

wow. it amazing me everyday I come to this site for two reasons. #1 is the way LLN is being handled lately. The amount of bias, underhanded statements and just terrible reporting is astonishing from what could be and used to be a good source for those of us in the auto business or those who have nothing better to do with their time .

LLN Please have your writers use spell and grammer check. I am just a simple man originally from the Ozarks and I think I can do better! Also, lets keep the comments on the companies well being and cheap shots to the knuckleheads who respond in the comment section.

The other thing that I don’t understand is some of you who just make stupid and unfound comments on here day in and day out. While I get a good laugh at most of them, I truly wonder if it is just ignorance, stupidity or if you really get off on being dicks. Grow up and if your going to comment, please read more then the headlines.

btw, Gofl4me and others: if YOU had your own business with a logo and namesake, wouldn’t you want to protect it? Or are you willing to give me several thousands of dollars also because your just so generous you don’t care if soemone is STEALING FROM YOU!!!!! If someone owns something, whether it be material, logos, copywrited names, etc, it is their right to protect and earn a profit from it. Using something without someones permision is called stealing.

Make it a great day!!!!!!

^couldn’t have said it better myself, bradleygt. All of it.

HURHURHRUHR KIND OF LIKE THE RANGER ITSELF AHHAHHAH FUNNY LLN
idiots

**** Ford. I was considering a Navigator at one point, but now they can go **** themselves. Godspeed to financial hell you chode-licking guttersluts!

Ford has an enthusiast website?!?!? im guessing is in need of money and badly that they have to turn on the only people that like them.. seriously it might be illegal but that was a dick move. right now u need people to like you and buy ur cars not sue them cuz they sold something with ur logo on it.. goes to show how messed up the world is getting

I think what we have here is clearly a case of some people in Ford’s legal department trying far too hard to justify their existence.

So you spend billions on advertising, creating and building your brand name so you in the end can profit. Thats normal big business. you should be able to defend your logos, trademarks, and nameplates from being used without your consent…this is all normal. I;m sure they also received other emails, phonecalls, or letters instructing them to stop…they did not, so the legal dept. got involved. I imagine this stuff happens daily at a company like Ford. So try this one…Go paint a big Honda emblem on a repair shop across from a Honda dealership and say “we service Honds”…see how long it takes to get a letter from Honda. Happened in my town, and they decided that it was cheaper to remove the Honda logo than go to the poor farm.

you were considering a navigator? wtf is wrong with you

is LLN going to be sued , too??? LLN uses the name “Ford” so many times!

This amazes me!

Ranger has a fan site?

There’s a sticky on that forum showing a response from Ford. It indicates that TRS was selling counterfeit Ford brand merchandise, thus all the hoopla. So there you have it. It looks as if both parties have come to some kind of an agreement.

The emphasis of the story is misplaced. The real story should not be that Ford sued the Ranger fan site. As Mutant@DCX and a few others have pointed out, the real story should be that there IS a Ranger fan site. That’s the story LLN should have reported.

Bradley…don’t you think it’s a little too ironic that Ford is suing a site that is basically PROMOTING THE RANGER NAME? For FREE no less? If that’s the case, then what’s next for them? That was the point I was making.

If I make up a clever name and someone used it, sure I’d be upset. If I took a generic word and made it a brand name, then no, and I’d have no reason to. I’d also be happy if a fan-site used it.

You, sir, are an idiot.

golf4me
Bradley…don’t you think it’s a little too ironic that Ford is suing a site that is basically PROMOTING THE RANGER NAME? For FREE no less? If that’s the case, then what’s next for them? That was the point I was making.

If I make up a clever name and someone used it, sure I’d be upset. If I took a generic word and made it a brand name, then no, and I’d have no reason to. I’d also be happy if a fan-site used it.

You, sir, are an idiot.”

****

So your idea of an idiot is someone who understands what copyright infrigment and stealing means? Great, you must be on GOV Blagojevich Office staff which also had a very clear idea of what the law means in certain areas!

I don’t think that Ford would have had a problem with the domain name. There are many domain names out there with brand names in them. BUT since they were also selling items with the FORD Logo and the Ranger name on it they are not only ’stealing’ but they could be, by some looking to make an easy buck off of Ford, be thought of as acting as if they represent Ford. If someone had an issue with the website and/or the merchandice they bought from there, they could easily claim they thought it was a FORD website and authorized merchant, right? Who do you think the lawyers would try and go after? A little website with little capital, or a huge multi-billion $ company, who they would figure would settle out of court just to keep it quite, making lawyer and plaintiff some quick money???

And who said it was free? Most merchandise cost money, right? I don’t think that ‘RangerStation’ was selling its merchandice for free, do you? So have fun acting like a fifth grader again and calling names, because that is really productive as an adult right

You see, THAT was my point. You obviously did not read the article and instead get defencive and retort with something that has nothing to do with what the original discusion was about. Good job Golf

Not only were they selling items with a trademarked logo, but the site had rotating ad banners which sometimes featured ads from Chevrolet, etc.

I think Ford did the right thing.

Bradley, I DO understand what copyright infringement is, as my company obtained copyrights to several pieces of software I developed for automotive testing. As a matter of fact, one of our customers tried to use said software without our consent, and we threatened to sue them. The difference here is that they were going to cost us revenue by keeping us out of the money-making portion of the task, which is the testing itself. And I’m talking millions. What is going on here is that there is an ENTHUSIAST (Pro-Ford) site PROMOTING the brand. Sure, you could get technical and say they did it without permission and that Ford may have lost DIRECT compensation for the use of the copyrighted material. But, I will say that if they were logical, they would realize that they are getting FREE PUBLICITY and ADVERTISING worth multiples more than they could possibly gain by collecting measly royalties. That’s what doesn’t make sense to me or really anyone here but you. I could see if they were a company dedicated to making millions off counterfiet merchandise intentionally labeled as “Genuine Ford” products or something, but c’mon they were selling novelty T-shirts to a captive audience. I’m not saying it’s right, but I think Ford has bigger fish to fry, and it looks like in other stories I’ve read that they finally took a more reasonable stance.

Oh, and at least I know how to spell defensive…

Golf,

I do not think I was the only one on here who had an issue with the Ford bashing. Also we are basing this disagreement on a LLN story, not the most reliable. All my point was that it seems stupid and unreasonable to bash FORD for protecting their property rights and asking for “TRS” to do the right thing based on the law. Again, we as car people may not see it as a bad thing because of the promotional aspect, but obviously something was going on at that site that seperated it from other enthusiast sites using a Ford model name. And with the way LLN posted the story on here, it made it look a lot worse, I think the article originally mentioned ” going after enthusiast sites to make money” or something to that non-sence.

I do see your point and I think we can both agree its not legal what “TRS” did. I was just tired of seeing the usual bashing of a car maker because they did something in their legal right and you were the last post to do it, I was not trying to just single you out.

and btw, I never claimed to be a good speeller . WIthout spellcheck and grammercheck for my job work and school work I have daily, I would be up **** creek!

Wow! People really are freaking stupid!

1. Attacking Ford for things that were not a problem in the first place
2. Attacking Ford for taking legal action when they are supposed to
3. Disregarding the fact that other enthusiast websites for other brands have had legal action taken towards them as well.
4. Thinking that Mortgaging means lack of ownership. (I guess people making payments on their cars means that they should not have to fix the car once the warranty runs out since they do not own it)
RDS thank you for bringing thoughtful intelligent comments
Borat it is obvious you are truly an idiot.
And the thing about these quotes is Ford is known to protect people from being exposed without the need. Ford has protected a lot of people in the past because they care. You guys are assuming that the information that is given is THE WORST. I am assuming that Ford is protecting these people that obviously did a BOOBOO