Mondeo....Bad name choice?

[LTDmonger]

Let's face it...the first generation Mondeo was crap.
Bland,overpriced and uninspiring.
Now that most have been recycled into more useful things such as zippers and beer cans one has to take into account the latest model.

From all reports the latest Mondeo is great, but despite the favorable reviews and generous advertising by Ford it's not exactly setting the showroom floors on fire.
Would Ford have been better erasing the public's image of the previous model by going with a nameplate from the past....Telstar....Meteor....Corsair....?
Or perhaps a fresh name?
Telstar springs to mind as it was a reasonably good seller in it's day and still fresh in the memory.
Any thoughts?

[BDA074]

Ford Fusion.
Great reputation overseas and fits the old school 'everything starts with F'.
Falcon, Fairlane, Fairmont...
Perhaps next year will be Falcon, Fusion, Focus???

[Bossxr8]

Who even remembers the first gen Mondeo?

For quite a long time the Mondeo was no 2 in medium car sales behind the Camry, so in my eyes it does ok. Just need to sort out supply issues from Europe and get the new one on sale here as soon as possible IMO.

[Fordman]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Who even remembers the first gen Mondeo?

For quite a long time the Mondeo was no 2 in medium car sales behind the Camry, so in my eyes it does ok. Just need to sort out supply issues from Europe and get the new one on sale here as soon as possible IMO.

Suprisingly a large portion of people remember it and not much good has been said to me.

I rekon they should name it the Fusion. The only problem is people will then rag on it for being an American product, and lots of aussies are fairly anti-US.

Not a fan of the old telstar and space associated names, perhaps it's time for a new name to be made?

OR perhaps the falcon will become this medium-large car in the future.

[flappist]

Well I actually bought one, a hatchback, back in about 2000 for my wife and she drove it for 4 years and then we gave it to our daughter.

No, it was not good at traffic light grand prix and was not overly represented in any maccas car park on Saturday night but they both liked it and between them did well over 100,000km with no mechanical issues.

[Nikked]

A bloke at work bought a MK2 Ford Mondeo ST24 for his daoughter to drive on her P's...


Now, his only car at this point in time was a HQ tonner (mainly rides bikes) with a worked 350 etc...and liked to pile crap on fords...

But, before she got her P's, he drove this mondeo quite alot, he actually liked it. So after he gave up the mondeo to his daughter...

He rushed out and bought another one...just for himself.

So much for something the should be a "beer can"

[FERG_51]

I would have called it Telstar. The Telstar was a great car in its day and sold like hot cakes, it also had a very good reputation for reliability and cheap to run.

[RSgerry]

you think the Mondeo nameplate is tarnished and suggest replacing it with Corsair? I am assuming you arent referring to the 1960's English Ford, rather the ultra-exciting 1990's Pintara?????? Usually beige.

[Auslandau]

LOL ..... the 90's Corsair was about as inspiring as a brick! Don't know how that one got thrown in the mix

I think the Mondeo name is fine and those who did have them back in the day like them for what they were .... Camry with a Ford badge. I see it as the big problem is there's the Fiesta (small) Focus (midish) Mondeo (mid) Falcon (large). It is lost in the line up. Almost 1 to many models. Apart from that, supply is also an issue ..... as has been with Focus. Those 2 are always going to battle it out and the Focus seems like it will win. Want mid size, grab a Focus .... want large, grab a Falcon .... ? The name is fine. Mondeo was never a Taurus. Now THAT had issues!

[NX74205]

I also think that Mondeo is a great name. Sure, the first generation model is probably better forgotten, but the current generation are fantastic and look fantastic, and has won numerous awards in Europe when it was launched in 2006.

I think renaming it would be a terrible idea. The Fusion has no reputation here whatsoever, whereas Mondeo has a relatively good one. I thought the previous generation Fusion was fugly to boot.

[mik]

Maybe i`m wrong but perhaps it just has`nt been on many peoples radar, just looking at my own knowledge of the mondeo, prior to joining ford forums i`d barely new anything about euro fords or mondao,
the closet thing to a mondeo i knew about was telstar, not a single person i know owns one/has ever owned a mondeo, and even though i have sat in a couple in recent years, it`s still not on my radar, maybe i`m old fashioned but i like conventional rwd sedans with a bit more power, and i`d say a big percentage of my friends are the same.

[Joe5619]

It is easy to kick a model when it is down. Until the last 6 or so months, the Mondeo was 2nd in market for about 18 months. Supply & an aging model is the only problem with Mondeo!! There is no problem with the name & NO-ONE gives a stuff about a series that was here 20 years ago. When people talk Mondeo they talk & think about the current model or the next model yet to go on sale!!

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

It is easy to kick a model when it is down.

Well, at least its a change from Falcon bashing...

[clevoman]

Everyone that I've talked to about the current mondeo's thinks there great. The comments I here mostly are there nice to drive and get very good fuel ecconomy. There also suprised at how roomy they are.

[BrisVegas]

My opinion is that Mondeo is a well respected name, especially among those who follow UK/European models. "Mondeo Man" is not a bad thing. It's respectable, middle ground, no nonsense. They're like Camries for people with souls. ;-)

I don't think we need to rename it Fusion, unless Falcon is going to be killed off and the Mondeo/Fusion is to become the large car.

While Falcon still exists as a sporty large RWD, there is enough differentiation. At least you can get a diesel and a wagon in Mondeo.

[GUNXR6T]

Telstar
Telstar tx5 titanium
Telstar tx5 turbo

Cant believe this car is gone.... One of the best small fords in its time, unbreakable

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by LTDmonger

Let's face it...the first generation Mondeo was crap. Bland,overpriced and uninspiring.

Not as bad as the first Taurus. hopefully locals forget how bad it was before they bring they new one out here.

[ryeman]

Interesting to note that the winning car in the latest doughnut race in the US was a FUSION faced vehicle....seems like a Ford US domestic message there.

[ryeman]

Hope the Mondeo sight gets a link, what do they think?

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by GUNXR6T

Telstar
Telstar tx5 titanium
Telstar tx5 turbo

Cant believe this car is gone.... One of the best small fords in its time, unbreakable

Telstar is too old... They are better off going with a new fresh name, like Fusion.

Mondeo will always be let down by supply, like every other imported Ford.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by ryeman

Hope the Mondeo sight gets a link, what do they think?

Huh..??

As far as the Mondeo goes, I'm not entirely convinced that the Mondeo name is "damaged goods", they just can't get enough of them. If it were to change to Fusion, then it would be a change for change's sake IMO. Buyers may go for the new name (and an all-new car) but my first point still stands - there's nothing wrong with it and as for a supposed historical stigma attached to the name - I've yet to see proof.

[GUNXR6T]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Telstar is too old... They are better off going with a new fresh name, like Fusion.

Mondeo will always be let down by supply, like every other imported Ford.

Originally Posted by kempy311

Great stuff mate the burnout pad wont stand a chance.

Yeah u right Fusion does sound better

[Zedjay]

call it cortina ??

[LTDmonger]

Originally Posted by Zedjay

call it cortina ??

I was actually going to list Cortina....
Didn't want to get shot down!

[LTDHO]

My folks bought a Mondeo. I natually assumed they bought a new POS off Ford. But it's a very nice car. So I see what the OP means.

IMO, Cortina would have been better (why not, FoMoCo bought back GT, Cobra from 70's).

[greenfoam]

What's wrong with Mondeo? Hell of a lot better name than Cortina which means nothing to anyone these days other than a craper full of rust, talk about damaged names. At least the Mondeo is a really good car, the only defective thing is Ford AU not selling any. It sells like hot cakes in more intelligent societies. You guys realise the Telstar wasn't even a Ford right?

[Ducati888]

Originally Posted by GUNXR6T

Telstar
Telstar tx5 titanium
Telstar tx5 turbo

Cant believe this car is gone.... One of the best small fords in its time, unbreakable

So good and reliable because it was a Mazda 626 with Ford badges?

[Riksta]

The current model Mondeo is an amazing car.

The general consensus, even of the Ford dealer when I bought mine, is that they're not advertised or pushed enough. I don't know whether its because Ford Australia don't want to take sales away from Falcon or what, but if they advertised these things and pushed some of the features available in them in short tv ads (rather than just include them for 1.5 seconds on a general Ford ad) then I'm sure a lot more people would actually look at them.

[ryeman]

Originally Posted by Riksta

The current model Mondeo is an amazing car.

The general consensus, even of the Ford dealer when I bought mine, is that they're not advertised or pushed enough. I don't know whether its because Ford Australia don't want to take sales away from Falcon or what, but if they advertised these things and pushed some of the features available in them in short tv ads (rather than just include them for 1.5 seconds on a general Ford ad) then I'm sure a lot more people would actually look at them.

The reason is quite simple, the features are so advanced to be an embarrassment to even the FG Falcon series.
That, plus the fact that supply is a continuing problem, and engines are in transition to EcoBoost it seems and they are in great international demand.
Then Oz has so many other problems/issues on its plate.
Management must be burning the midnight oil big time.

[Maka]

I'm on the fence - imo maybe Mondeo = fwd range, Fusion = 4wd range? Each way bet lol!

cheers, Maka