Ford 'thrilled' it avoided Holden Commodore name drama

Ford has taken a veiled swipe at Holden’s decision to continue with the Commodore name, suggesting the controversy it has generated is evidence it made the right decision not to use the Territory badge for the all-new imported large SUV it launched this week, the Ford Endura.

Commodore was the name of the large car built by Holden for nearly 40 years in Australia. Production ceased when the Elizabeth plant closed in late 2017.

Holden chose to continue the badge for its replacement -- the German-made, Opel-sourced Insignia -- which isn’t available as a sedan, in rear-wheel drive or with a V8.

The decision has caused great controversy and debate among Commodore fans and been an ongoing theme in the motoring media.

Without naming Holden, Ford Australia marketing chief Danni Winter made it clear Holden’s experience with Commodore justified the Endura name.

“Having reflected on some other OEMs and what they have done I think that was definitely the right decision for us,” said Winter.

“Having not gone down that path and then watched someone else go down that path, I couldn’t feel more thrilled that I think we made the right decision.”

Ford built the Territory from 2004 to 2016 and it was the only SUV ever designed, engineered, developed and manufactured in Australia.

Ford considered using the Territory name for the Endura, but ruled it out because it judged the attributes of the new car too different to make the name relevant.

The Endura – which Ford Australia wanted to call Edge until Toyota Australia scuppered that plan, is a front- or all-wheel drive five-seat wagon powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine.

The Territory was rear- or all-wheel drive, available with five or seven seats and powered by a 4.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine or a 2.7-litre turbo-diesel V6.

“Our decision [on the Endura name] was based purely on the nomenclature research that we did,” Winter told carsales.com.au.

“Our view going in was we probably needed a new nomenclature given what the product was positioned as and what it represented to Australian consumers.

“And so we researched many names that we came up with. We definitely wanted it to be an E if we could make that happen, based on our existing SUV portfolio in Australia all starting with the letter E.”

Winter suggested that when it comes to trade-in time many Territory customers will gravitate to the Everest SUV rather than Endura, given it has superior braked towing capacity.

Ford Australia president Kay Hart confirmed the Territory name had been considered for reintroduction when the Edge badge became unavailable.

“When they [Ford Australia] went to market and tested a lot of names, Endura is the one which really resonated,” she said.