GT or not GT, is that the question?

[geckoGT]

To me the GT name does not apply to a ute, GT stands for Grand Touring and in the automotive world the idea of touring does not apply to commercial vehicles.

Try to find another Grand Touring car that has two doors and a tray instead of a boot.

Leave the GT name off the ute, it has no place there and never will.

[pottery beige]

my head is starting to hurt......

[66 STANG]

I currently own a BAII SP Ute, and get sick of pronouncing the name of it, let alone explaining what it is (the GT-P equivilant, but in a ute). I would much rather call it a GT (or GT-P) Ute and be done with it. If FPV bought out a new ute with a decent Kw Coyote "supercharged" engine with a proud "GT" badge on it, I would buy one straight away. Bring on the "GT" Utes!!

[Iggypoppin']

good thread, ive been wanting to say this for a while.

Ok so people whinge "waah waah the current GT isnt a real GT it has no heritage waah waah my knickers are in a knot" well, what exactly can ford do about it? so they dont race GT's anymore, so what?? thats not fords fault, V8 SC rules changed, it doesnt mean the badge has to dissapear, and it also doesnt make a BA GT any less of a Grand Tourer. ok so it has stripes, different wheels, 30kw more power than standard V8, different(slightly) interior...isnt this essentially what the old GT's had over their standard brother models? maybe the cars have changed a bit(a lot!!) but that doesnt mean people have to hate on the current GT(P, E). if it isnt your cuppa tea, don't buy one, but don't bag out the company your supposed to love, they are damn well trying, its hard enough for them to make a car people like, that sells well and still carries with it some level of refinement over the base model.

all this being said, the GT's of the day never had a Ute as a GT, for whatever reasons(never raced, more of a workhorse, whatever). would you Grand(ly) Tour in a Ute? i don't know. i see them as a workhorse, albeit a flashy one in Pursuit guise. im guessing itll never happen, but just to shake things up for the GT whingers who seem to be stuck in 1971 on race day, heres my vote to a GT ute for today.

[TRUBLU4DS]

Originally Posted by flappist

Ah so your GT has the boring grey interior then.
I did not like the interior in my 3rd one (F6) so I put GT-P seats in it.

Mine were Blueprint and then a couple of Lightning Strikes what color is yours?

I've had venom,narooma & shockwave.

[Bearman]

Originally Posted by peeds13

I like the idea of a GS ute

YES!! That would be good but I thing the Pursuit nameplate has suited the performance ute well. I wouldn't change.

There has never been a GT Ute and nor should there be. Stick to the Pursuit.

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

To me the GT name does not apply to a ute, GT stands for Grand Touring and in the automotive world the idea of touring does not apply to commercial vehicles.

Try to find another Grand Touring car that has two doors and a tray instead of a boot.

Leave the GT name off the ute, it has no place there and never will.

My thoughts exactly. There are some nameplates that are for certain types of car and seeing those on a ute would be wrong.

[MAGPIE]

Two models only (as mentioned they don't sell enough of anything other than GT anyway)

FPV V8 Ute = Super Pursuit or Pursuit
FPV V8 Sedan = GT

Get rid of all the P's and E's and replace with Option Packs for Luxury/Handling/Performance.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by TRUBLU4DS

I've had venom,narooma & shockwave.

In that there were never actually any FPVs made in Narooma blue would you like to try again...... (Yes I know the records show one but it was never actually delivered, it got cancelled).

[BOSHOG]

Originally Posted by mik

perhaps not a gt ute. gs would be grouse though.

you do know that there was a FPV GS ute released?

[BluepearlXH]

Originally Posted by 66 STANG

I currently own a BAII SP Ute, and get sick of pronouncing the name of it, let alone explaining what it is (the GT-P equivilant, but in a ute). I would much rather call it a GT (or GT-P) Ute and be done with it. If FPV bought out a new ute with a decent Kw Coyote "supercharged" engine with a proud "GT" badge on it, I would buy one straight away. Bring on the "GT" Utes!!

I have this problem aswel but i would never change the name of my ute or should they in the future.
Super Pursuit imo is cooler sounding than a GT.
When you say GT, people go "oh yea".....but when you say Super Pursuit they say "ohhhh whats that?" makes it more unique.
A ute is an entirely different cup of tea to a sedan so leave it with a different name, coupe's are acceptable in my book.

[Donny]

I think the better idea is to make the branding and naming more simple.

Drop the GT-P and GT-E naming, call them ALL GT's and just offer them to the market as....
GT option 1 = equivalent to current GT spec.
GT option 2 = equivalent to GT-P current spec.
GT option 3 = GT-E spec level.
Then have the regular options available that are available in these cars today...aka sat nav, rev cam etc etc.

Simplify the utes too, call em all Pursuits or Super Pursuits, offer em in option 1 or 2 as above. Just have the 1 name for the utes.
IMHO, callin the utes GT's as well is wrong, they never made GT utes until the Cobra, and all that did was cloud and confuse some as to the logic behind that call.
IMHO, there is a place for a sporty ute today, and these cars can be used as a ute or nice driver for 2.

Leave the F6 namesake alone, but also offer a few levels of options here too, like for those who want brembos and GT/GTP style seating etc..

My overall idea is to simplify things, but keep the seperate namesakes. GT is GT and will always be so.
The F6, Pursuit and SP are relativly new, they have their own place in the FPV scheme of things IMHO, so dont mess with that, bar choosing 1 name for utes.

[BluepearlXH]

instead of options you chould call them phases

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

To me the GT name does not apply to a ute, GT stands for Grand Touring and in the automotive world the idea of touring does not apply to commercial vehicles.

Try to find another Grand Touring car that has two doors and a tray instead of a boot.

Leave the GT name off the ute, it has no place there and never will.

Perfectly said and could not agree more. Thread can now be closed. Not much more needs to be discussed really.

[FTE217]

Poll says it all - clear leader XR8/Pursuit are the Ute names and add the Burn the Witch numbers we have even more agreed GT is for the 4doors.

The old Pursuit and Super Pursuit have no identity to the average consumer - Ford/FPV have sucked what they can out of the traditional Blue Oval enthusiast who would make the majority of buyers I would think and now as we know have chopped it off due to lacking of sales and lack of investment (old rear end etcetc).
Heck I would do the same thing in my business but I'd loath just giving more market share to my main opposition.....
Such a pity as it shows the lack of market understanding and marketing investment but they are good at band aid selling - stripes - limited stripe packages - use and abuse of the GT name (ie GTP GTE GTH ? G this G that ?) to sell more cars......

[04redxr8]

Who cares about the name??? Its a V8 ute. Is there anything better?

[4Vman]

FPV could allways bring in the "GW" badge: "Grand Workhorse"

[motorcycles4eva]

i went to ford in parramatta nsw the other day to enquire about the v8 ute.. they advised that the will be no v8 ute next model, so would the gt be badged with a turbo 6?? i personally don't think so but your opinions may be interesting too...

[jixel 78]

Originally Posted by Donny

I think the better idea is to make the branding and naming more simple.

Drop the GT-P and GT-E naming, call them ALL GT's and just offer them to the market as....
GT option 1 = equivalent to current GT spec.
GT option 2 = equivalent to GT-P current spec.
GT option 3 = GT-E spec level.
Then have the regular options available that are available in these cars today...aka sat nav, rev cam etc etc.

Simplify the utes too, call em all Pursuits or Super Pursuits, offer em in option 1 or 2 as above. Just have the 1 name for the utes.
IMHO, callin the utes GT's as well is wrong, they never made GT utes until the Cobra, and all that did was cloud and confuse some as to the logic behind that call.
IMHO, there is a place for a sporty ute today, and these cars can be used as a ute or nice driver for 2.

Leave the F6 namesake alone, but also offer a few levels of options here too, like for those who want brembos and GT/GTP style seating etc..

My overall idea is to simplify things, but keep the seperate namesakes. GT is GT and will always be so.
The F6, Pursuit and SP are relativly new, they have their own place in the FPV scheme of things IMHO, so dont mess with that, bar choosing 1 name for utes.

Mmmmmmmm. Seems simple...... shame a simple Falcon ute is so complicated these days. I reckon that anything other than the XR6(NON turbo) ute is way waaaaayyy too much for an average bloke.(read Tradie) The bling factor on the hi spec utes has led to a sorry state of affairs in regards to its use. All the hipo utes are white elephants. The depreciation outside of `enthusiast` is absolutely rediculous, not to mention maintenance, driveability, load carrying, and the all too familiar `dont bloody scratch it!` Theyre too low, too thirsty, too expensive and you look like a driving it. Ford cant believe its luck every time some tool buys one. And to put a GT badge on it! Puhleease!!! Naff Naff Naff.

[FPV+fteT3]

Lets not muddy the waters of GT land anymore there's just about every letter in the alphabet after the GT-(P,E, soon a H) the Performance utes since tickford days have been Pursuits anyone with any interest in them knows this, they are few in number mainly due to no marketing. If the utes stay leave the names alone if they go (most likely) existing cars will be worth more coin.
For existing Pursuit owners its a no lose situation another model to update or owning a limited build performance vehicle no longer produced if you want a good 2nd hand one you will pay more for the priviledge.

[Franco Cozzo]

Stick a Holden badge on it and watch it fly out the doors.

In all seriousness, GT - Grand Tourer to me means 4 doors and comfort.

[BluepearlXH]

Originally Posted by jixel 78

Mmmmmmmm. Seems simple...... shame a simple Falcon ute is so complicated these days. I reckon that anything other than the XR6(NON turbo) ute is way waaaaayyy too much for an average bloke.(read Tradie) The bling factor on the hi spec utes has led to a sorry state of affairs in regards to its use. All the hipo utes are white elephants. The depreciation outside of `enthusiast` is absolutely rediculous, not to mention maintenance, driveability, load carrying, and the all too familiar `dont bloody scratch it!` Theyre too low, too thirsty, too expensive and you look like a driving it. Ford cant believe its luck every time some tool buys one. And to put a GT badge on it! Puhleease!!! Naff Naff Naff.

Would have to disagree with you on the "too much opinion"
Im a carpenter and use my super pursuit for work and dont have a problem.
Havent scratched it either, i think your a pretty lousy careless tradesman if you scratch your ute up.
Its good to have fun on the weekends without having 2 cars with double rego insurance etc...
Mine carrys quite a load.....

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Stick a Holden badge on it and watch it fly out the doors.

In all seriousness, GT - Grand Tourer to me means 4 doors and comfort.

Like this one?

[prydey]

after having a qick browse through the thread, i'm definitely in the minority.

i say, for sales, it would be a winner. forget about the history and the heritage. does the fact that you couldn't buy a GT ute back in the day really mean that you shouldn't be able to buy one in 2010??!

there are many people that would like to own a GT but need a ute and can't afford 2 cars. lets face it, from the b pillar forward they are essentially a GT.

forget about the past to an extent. this thread is about sales, and if people realised they could get the same status/recognition for their ute, i'm sure it would help sell.

[b2tf]

I'm of the opinion that the 'GT' name would not sit well with me if it was on a ute, but I also think that if it was on there, there is a strong chance they would sell more of them.

I also agree with the opinion that there are too many 'versions' of a GT now - too many extra letters stuck on. GT-P was weird when it came out and to me it still is. (I'm talking about the name not the actual car)

[prydey]

Originally Posted by flappist

and I wonder if something as simple as a name change could increase sales.

Originally Posted by b2tf

but I also think that if it was on there, there is a strong chance they would sell more of them.

thats what the thread was all about i thought.

many of those who carry on about heritage etc, don't buy the modern day cars anyway.

[castellan]

Originally Posted by jixel 78

Mmmmmmmm. Seems simple...... shame a simple Falcon ute is so complicated these days. I reckon that anything other than the XR6(NON turbo) ute is way waaaaayyy too much for an average bloke.(read Tradie) The bling factor on the hi spec utes has led to a sorry state of affairs in regards to its use. All the hipo utes are white elephants. The depreciation outside of `enthusiast` is absolutely rediculous, not to mention maintenance, driveability, load carrying, and the all too familiar `dont bloody scratch it!` Theyre too low, too thirsty, too expensive and you look like a driving it. Ford cant believe its luck every time some tool buys one. And to put a GT badge on it! Puhleease!!! Naff Naff Naff.

Ute prejudice! and GT worship! GT only means Grand Touring!
Some people need to have the turbo or V8 in the ute's. and that is what they want. i don't think they need to put up your opinion.
Why should everyone have to put up with a stuck up yobbos view of what a ute is to them and should be.
Narrow minded people think a ute's only purpose is to lug stuff around.
Too expensive. who are you to judge.
Too thirsty. nonsense.
Maintenance. come off it.
Drive ability. your joking.
Load carrying. not everyone use them for the weight capability.
Look at the VE commodore ute many are buying it, i think it's a pretty poor example of what ute really should be, but it's selling.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by prydey

many of those who carry on about heritage etc, don't buy the modern day cars anyway.

i did.... there is plenty of us..

[burnz]

my mate in the day had an XC-GS pannelvan.
so i would go as far as saying extend the GS name plate for the ute.

but leave the GT name plate for the sedan/coupe.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by motorcycles4eva

i went to ford in parramatta nsw the other day to enquire about the v8 ute.. they advised that the will be no v8 ute next model, so would the gt be badged with a turbo 6?? i personally don't think so but your opinions may be interesting too...

There will be a V8 Ute included with the next model.
.
Being in the business of manufacturing cars is about making a profit, sales will be more important than sentiment, the bottom line is the dollar rules...