Ferrari F150 - definitely not a pickup truck.
A simmering dispute between U.S. automaker Ford and Italy’s Ferrari has bubbled into public view and could soon land the two makers in court.
Ford plans to seek an injunction, this week against Ferrari over the use of the F150 name for the Italian maker’s latest Formula 1 racecar, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Similar disputes have occurred over the years, though were usually settled without going to court – or even appearing in public.
Toyota, for example, once planned to adopt the 150 designation for its full-size pickups, an upgrade of the earlier T-100. Facing Ford’s wrath, the Japanese maker eventually went with Tundra.
The Italian sports car maker chose the F150 name to pay tribute to this year’s 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, but it’s also the well-known and longtime name of Ford’s half-ton pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in Ford’s U.S. lineup.
“When Ferrari announced the name of its race car as ‘F150,’ Ford asked Ferrari to change the name,” the U.S. maker explains. “Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights.”
The decision to challenge Ferrari is no surprise considering the importance of the truck to Ford. The F-Series, overall, has been the best-selling pickup in the U.S. for 34 years, and the top-selling vehicle of any type for 29 years.
So far, Ferrari has issued no public response to Ford’s threatened lawsuit.
Mike Levine is editor of PickupTrucks.com, you can read their piece on the Ford/Ferrari dispute by Clicking Here.