Colors

Blue Oval

"Blue oval" is a nickname for the Ford Motor Company. The nickname comes from the company's logo, which is a blue oval with the word "Ford" written in script in the middle.

How It's Used

"Ford, a firm believer in multiple brands, spent a poultice grabbing Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, much of Mazda and Aston Martin. The Blue Oval is now struggling with steady losses, but maintains these are 'short-term financial issues'."

"[Semon E. (Bunkie)] Knudsen's influence lived on in the '71 Mustangs, which grew again to what we now consider gargantuan proportions. He wanted to move the brand upscale, as a high-performance car with enough rear-seat room for young families. Hence the biggest, most ungainly Mustang ever, sporting a huge, full-width grille and a vast, near-flat roof on fastback models.

"It was the wrong car for the time: safety, emissions and insurance concerns had effectively put the brakes on the high-performance market. So it would remain for the rest of the decade. With sales down to less than a third of their mid-'60s peak, the Blue Oval's pony car struggled on almost unchanged through '72 and '73, but with fewer models and engine options. It seemed doomed."

"A combination of incompetent management, chaotic product development and lax cost control plunged Ford into a record $12.6bn loss in 2006. The financial dire straits prompted Ford to raise $23.4bn by mortgaging most of its assets, down to the Blue Oval logo—meaning in the event of default Ford would lose the rights to the famous symbol. The company also put up for sale some of its non-core brands such as Jaguar and Land Rover in order to raise much-needed funds."

“Moreover, the Ford brand and its 'blue oval' badge have lost their appeal to American consumers. Ford’s own research shows that while nearly 90 percent of vehicle buyers have a favorable view of Ford as a company, less than 50 percent actually consider shopping for its products.”

The "[n]umber two [biggest automobile recall in United States history] also belongs to the blue oval as Ford is called. It's another Ford one and that was in the 90's for some ignition systems that also caused fires. Fires seemed to be a recurring problem for Ford. Number three was all the way back to 1971 and that had to do with failing engine mounts, which among other things could cause unexpected acceleration of all things. And that was the General Motors problem. And number four belonged to General Motors as well and that was suspension bolt that could fall loose, which led to steering problems."

Also Known As (AKA)

Blue Oval Badge

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