MetaChat - Ford time warp

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22 April 2009

Ford time warp →[More:]The Ford Canada page for their Escape vehicle has the following:

If the bed you sleep in isn't yours alone, chances are neither is the decision about which vehicle you buy. We're here to help:
- Your lady friend would look soooo good in an Escape.
- Want an Escape? Convince him and the rest is easy.

These sentences on the site link to ideas to help convince your SO that it would be a good vehicle to buy. Click on the female link for this gem: "One of the great things about your relationship with your better half is that she is usually quite receptive to your ideas. Particularly when you woo her with, oh I don’t know, flowers and dinner."

The nav system apparently has different uses depending on your sex. It suggests for females that it will help find your way home from a new romantic getaway. On the other hand, for males it means sports-bar TVs are always mere moments from discovery (see the site for more).

I guess it's supposed to have a retro feel to it and is intended as tongue-in-cheek, but ... really?
Or maybe I'm just grouchy today.

post by: nelvana at: 22:21 | 6 comments

I agree with you, it's lousy. At first I was not sure - I read the version about guys first - but as soon as I looked at the version about women, yes. It hammers hard on the food, sex, and flowers as the main things that would make a woman support buying this car. Silly too because I'm very sure I've read that women car buyers care a lot about features, mileage, reliability, safety and long-term performance and not a whole lot about stuff like the purse holders and things that they tend to sell to women.

Also, it assume heterosexuality - the man symbol is next to the piece about "lady friend."

Lousy marketing. Nice-looking car, but really, pretty big for this economy.

posted by Miko 22 April | 22:49

Thanks Miko, your comment makes me feel a little less grouchy-for-no-reason. Lousy marketing is about the nicest that could be said for it.

The Escapes get decent gas mileage for what they are - about 26 mp(US)g city and the hybrid model comes in at about 40 mpg city.

posted by nelvana 22 April | 23:08

Seems like pretty poor marketing for lots of reasons, but not quite in the objectionable category, from my perspective.

posted by dg 23 April | 04:18

26mpg? wow, that really isn't bad. My old cavalier got about that. I always figured they'd be in the high teens.

And that marketing is out of date doubly so... first for the sexist nonsense, second for assuming the average couple shares a single car. I know maybe two couples who do that, and it's HARD to manage. The only really feasible way is to either not have kids, or have one person be a full time stay at home parent. (excluding situations where one partner can't drive for medical reasons or whatever, in which case it's a pain but you make do)

If my SO ever asked my permission to buy himself a specific model car I would giggle.[1]

[1]well, in general. in specific, I would say "since when can you drive?!?!" since my boyfriend has epilepsy and no license.

posted by kellydamnit 23 April | 08:12

The Bronco's been discontinued after the whole O.J. Simpson thing. This, here, is the Escape.

Also, doesn't the Obama family own an Escape hybrid? That's just gossip, though.

posted by box 23 April | 11:15

They do have one. The only union hybrid available at the time, I think. t

posted by kellydamnit 23 April | 11:52

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