How Does Ford Come Up With Vehicle Names?

A Mustang by any other name might drive as sweet, but it’s hard to imagine feeling quite as cool in, say, a Ford Moose. There’s magic behind a car’s moniker, as Rick Novak, Ford global cross vehicle marketing strategy manager, explains.

Several key members of our global-marketing team, our advertising agency team and Ford senior management work together on the naming process. The brainstorming sessions can be a lot of fun! We do it not just for Ford vehicles but also for new technologies, such as SYNC® with MyFord Touch®.

We go through several rounds of reviews, including one with customers. Our customers today are globally connected, so we want to ensure that the name has global appeal. Fiesta and SYNC are two recent examples of names that went through this global process.

We want the name to be easy to say and understand, and we want it to communicate the right message. For example, the name Explorer conveys a “can do” attitude: It communicates that the vehicle is fully capable of handling whatever you throw at it. And the name EcoBoost™ says it is a smart innovation that gives the customer the perfect “and” solution—power plus fuel economy.

The bottom line: A name is only as good as the product and features behind it. The name helps deliver the right message, but in the end it’s the product that makes the name a success or turns the vehicle into an icon.

Source: Ford