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Ford Forum Shutdown

Gz0707

By Gz0707,
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Gz0707

Gz0707

4th Gear
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(edited)

I believe this is the first "official" report and statement (from agent) on this issue. This matter concerns various issues to the virtual community such as freedom, forum integrity, behaviour of so called "anonymous" forummers online, privacy of forummers and last but not least the understanding of the virtual community by commercial companies.

Edited by Gz0707
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Apollo

Apollo

1st Gear

all becos of one person???

 

all this would hv if they bother to post a reply thread to the person to goto their office meet with the GM to resolve matters.

 

a double edge sword in the hands of a moron will b deadly to himself only.

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Gz0707

Gz0707

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agreed ... think they may have learnt the hard way on this. why? Ford alone as a brand is not that exciting or enticing ... imo. but there was a lot of technical info and expertise available on the forum (on any forum for that matter) that demonstrated to potential buyers that the a Ford is a driver's car and provided an excellent drive. they have now lost that avenue which u could not even build in a month with a fully paid staff. so now its back to price promotions i guess ...

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Porche

Porche

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any way this brand is not that big in local market, with this it only turn off the ppl more. think existing owners may not think of the brand next time if they are going to replace their ride.

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Miketow

Miketow

Neutral Newbie

Ford cars are a tough sell in Singapore.

 

The average potential buyer is usually quite aware of the merits of owning a Ford and the satisfaction others get from owning and driving one, but for many, they rather buy Jap to be safe and forgo a dream of affordable driving nirvana.

 

However, people who stumble upon the FordClubSG website, are always heartened to find a large and active community ( I say one of the best!) of Ford owners (and ex owners) providing all kinds of advice and tips to Ford Ownership and it always gives people sitting of a fence, REAL confidence to buy that Ford!

 

With Vantage doing this super drama legal suit against one of its own - I say - Good Luck Vantage. Ford is a tough sell in Singapore, and you just shot one of your own allies.

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Tribeca

Tribeca

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"any way this brand is not that big in local market, with this it only turn off the ppl more. think existing owners may not think of the brand next time if they are going to replace their ride. "

 

 

Its a great drive but...seems its going that way for me.

Sure leaves a sour taste in the mouth this whole episode.

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Miles

Miles

4th Gear

dont believe too much in what you read in the papers. i know their version are rather watered down.

 

the real truth and nothing but the truth will usually only be known to the people who are involved. the rest will be hearsay.

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Porche

Porche

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i like the mondeo best...! one of my kaki drove a focus before, i must say a solid build. but not many ppl appreciate this brand, and the resale value for the car is also not that good. only for die hard fan.

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Gz0707

Gz0707

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Another article below from Asiaone. i think now the agent must realise that the current fiasco does not benefit the brand in anyway and they now have to come in and show support for the local club if they are serious about reaching out to the owner community. imo, the club now calls the shots, current admin can choose not to re-open if they so decide, there's no legal or commercial obligation to.

 

Ford online forum may reopen after meeting with local distributor

- Mar 2, 2007 AsiaOne

 

The local Ford discussion forum (FordClubSG), which was shut down recently, could reopen soon "if given enough support," said its administator, following a meeting with the local distributor for Ford.

 

FordClubSG shut down its forum in February after Regent Motors threatened to take legal action against it for letting through defamatory comments from one of its disgruntled members on Regent's handling of the Ford brand.

 

The Straits Times reported today that the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address has been given to Regent Motors, which will be consulting its lawyers on the next course of action.

 

IP addresses are a string of numbers that may identify where the user is logging on from.

 

Mr Say Kwee Neng, managing director of Vantage Automotive which manages Regent Motors, denied that it had asked for the site to be closed.

 

While not against the notion of fair comment per se, he told The Straits Times that "whatever you say, wherever you say it, you have to be able to stand up for it'.

 

When AsiaOne logged on to the site this afternoon, the administrator of the FordClubSG site posted this update saying that he has "met the management of Vantage Automotive (i.e. formerly known as Regent Motors)," and has "resolved the differences

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Miketow

Miketow

Neutral Newbie

Perosnally, I think shutting down the Ford Forum is not going to affect sales per say - especially if the product is good.

 

"Why should I deprive myself the enjoyment of driving a Ford, just b/c the distributors are not free speech friendly?" - I may stop buying the brand if the support for aftersales is astronomically expensive (READ C&C)

 

However, it can be a huge turnoff for people who have never owned a Ford, and was contemplating buying one.

 

Ford sells on Passion for the Drive - much like BMW, but BMW has got a huge prestige factor, that Ford does not have.

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Mojoe

Mojoe

Neutral Newbie

"Perosnally, I think shutting down the Ford Forum is not going to affect sales per say - especially if the product is good."

 

much as I want to comment or say something on this... but I think I better not since i may get a letter telling me to MYOB... rolleyes.giflaugh.gif and especially when I'm not paid to do so... good intentions can sometimes be misconstrued...

 

Better state fact: Creative's MP3 players are acclaimed to be technically a better product than the Ipod... hell, they even won the legal battle with Apple.

 

well, what do I know about marketing... unsure.gif

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