Have we done the new Ford Capri yet ?

Mustangs were always shyte cars to be be fair, they are just a status symbol for people who don’t know how to drive around corners.

I was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed today looking at electric cars. Ford were there and I had a poke about a new Capri. It was a generic BEV SUV with an iconic name but not much else to make it stand out from all the other BEV SUV. Yes very similar to the Polestar 3. One thing though was that there were numerous Chinese brands (Eg. YangWang – BYD’s premium brand apparently?) that I’d never heard of (and I own a Chinese Volvo so no issue). Maybe they will kill most Western car companies.

Also The design compromises of a high floor and sloping roof in these BEV SUV meant they all seemed to have small boots for large cars, except the BMW i5 Estate (yes not a SUV) and the Tesla Model Y which has a massive boot. Not enough for a couple of medium/large dogs for instance.

For all you retro Capri fans, there was a fabulous Mk1 Capri going up the hill

Well it looks a damn sight better than the Australian Ford Capri ever did. (I’m only sharing a 3/4 photo the rear view should come with a safety warning)

I assume the Capri name means nothing in North America.

They were imported and sold as the Mercury Capri, which was supposed to be a more upmarket European alternative to the Mustang. After buyers got wise to how crap they were, the Mustang was rebadged as the Mercury Capri.

Mustangs were always shyte cars to be be fair, they are just a status symbol for people who don’t know how to drive around corners.

Some of them were pretty decent for their day. The Shelby ones and the Boss 302 ones from the late 60s were pretty potent track cars, but the base models were like the Capri with the little 1600 cc four cylinder engine – all show, no go. In the 1970s, the American manufacturers really struggled with the anti-pollution regulations and the “performance” cars from then were a joke – huge big block V8s that produced less power than your average family car does today. The more recent Mustangs are apparently decent enough if you’re into that sort of thing.

Anyway, calling that new thing a Capri is stupid. Can’t see it impressing anyone who remembers the original and it won’t mean anything to young people.

I assume the Capri name means nothing in North America.
They were imported and sold as the Mercury Capri, which was supposed to be a more upmarket European alternative to the Mustang.

The abomination I posted above was the 3rd gen Mercury Capri – exported from Oz to USA.

I think it looks fine, to be honest a lot of old folks getting upset becasue its not the slinky thing of their youth are probably also the human version of ” an ugly, lardy, family four door on stilts”  these days?

It’s because   it’s using an iconic name of the past,I don’t think they are getting upset it just seems kinda weird that they would waste the possible marketing  advantages of its heritage on something that it’s forebear wasn’t.

Both the Crapi and the Renault 5 were cheap an cheerful , doesn’t look that way anymore 🙂

As an aside on yankmobiles ,saw a 2024 corvette stingray on the road, it’s on my wish list, that’s a pretty car.

The abomination I posted above was the 3rd gen Mercury Capri – exported from Oz to USA.

Basically a reskinned Mazda with shitty build quality.

If the new model comes with two bags of sand in the boot as standard,it will all be fine ? ?

Nothing wrong with the car that I can see, but baffling to recycle the name.

The Sierra came out in 1979, but by a kit-car builder called Dutton (they had the Phaeton name before VW too). That went all the way to the High Court because Ford wanted sole rights to the name. They didn’t get sole rights and Dutton got a pile of publicity

Both the Crapi and the Renault 5 were cheap an cheerful , doesn’t look that way anymore 🙂

I’m not interested in the Ford (things I’ve learned because of this thread : Capri name was used by Lincoln originally, it goes way back) but the Five is an awesome looking bit of tech… not surprised it’s not cheap. Good to have something high quality that isn’t a semi-SUV being put out there. We need desirable and practical small cars; nearly everyone with the money to buy electric cars seems to be buying yank tanks and their Chinese equivalents.

New car using an old name. Design in the commercial world trends toward homogenisation in the end. Narrowing scope or willingness for people to stand out when cars are a social norm or status thing. Same happening to road performance bikes.

Looks hideous.

Fortunately there’s still some decent looking Fords out there…

https://i.postimg.cc/Y0L5pkDg/840-560.jpg

It’s because it’s using an iconic name of the past,I don’t think they are getting upset it just seems kinda weird that they would waste the possible marketing advantages of its heritage on something that it’s forebear wasn’t.

Bet you any amount of money Ford have done their research re marketing and they reckon its a goer.

Lets put the capri as a name in perspective shall we.

I was born in 84. The capri name lasted 2more years in production. By the time i was aware of cars lets say aged 12 the capri was effectively gone, what was left was the occasional glimps of a shitheap.

So i turn 40 this year it’s pretty safe to say anyone under my age doesn’t have much of a nostalgia to feed the desire for a true capri. people slightly say 10 years older than me will remember family having them. People 20 years older may even have driven one either clapped out earlier model or at least a second hand later model, we’re at 60 already and we are only just getting to people who will have the capri firmly in their memories, one on every street etc. As a name its only slightly more relevant than a mustang to the uk buyers.

Marketing to old fogies is probably not high on their agenda…

But look what is selling well… Teslas and Polestars…

tazzymtb

Full Member
I think it looks fine, to be honest a lot of old folks getting upset becasue its not the slinky thing of their youth are probably also the human version of ” an ugly, lardy, family four door on stilts”  these days?

The urge to post the Principle Skinner ‘Am I out of touch?’ meme in reply to Henry Cavill’s post here is strong, but I will resist.

Could be worse, could be a Manta

The Opel Manta A-series were great looking cars. It was the Manta B which was basically a Vauxhall Cavalier

The new Honda Prelude concept was a great looking thing. Not BEV sadly. Lots of generic Honda BEV SUV things though…

Compare and contrast with Renault’s new 5.

Have been looking at those and the Alpine version today as well. It looks quality. “Retro” done well

That looks genuinely nice. The dash looks horribly complicated but I’m sure it’s fine when you get used to it. My concern would be the size of it – is it close to R5 size or will it actually be slightly smaller than a Transit on the road, like everything else seems to be? 😀

It is small , not quite as small as the original, but noticeably smaller than say an ioniq 5

Lets put the capri as a name in perspective shall we.

But why bother calling it Capri – most people don’t even know it’s a place let alone an old car name 🙂

But why bother calling it Capri – most people don’t even know it’s a place let alone an old car name 🙂

I’ve always assumed that those original cars were named after jetsetty, exotic (for the time) places on ‘The Riviera’ in an attempt to leach some of that glamour into a humdrum car. If you don’t know what or where Capri is then its just sad name which invokes a juice drink.

I’ve always assumed that those original cars were named after jetsetty, exotic (for the time) places on ‘The Riviera’ in an attempt to leach some of that glamour into a humdrum car.

Yep. You have the Austin Westminster, Buick Riviera, Cadillac Calais, Cadillac Seville, Chevrolet Bel Air, Ford Cortina, Ford Torino, Kia Rio, Lincoln Versailles, Mazda Montrose, Riley Monaco, and Seat Ibaza. Turn your humble commute into a trip to exotic faraway places. Not to mention the Nissan Fairlady and Nissan Gloria, which sound sexy. Not quite what market segment the Nissan Cedric was targeted at.

Well it looks a damn sight better than the Australian Ford Capri ever did.

That is truly offensive.

They should have one in a museum, and the rest crushed.

They could do a soft top and call it a Capri Sun

Or just leave it as it is and call it Capri Pants.

Either way, Bodie and Doyle are not going to be happy with it.

They should have one in a museum, and the rest crushed.

With the build quality and sales numbers, the only survivors are probably in museums.

Not quite what market segment the Nissan Cedric was targeted at.

Or, indeed, where Ford was going with the Escort. 😉

With the build quality and sales numbers, the only survivors are probably in museums.

Spotted my 1st ever one last year, parked in a back alley in Newquay

Also, the convertible with the roof down was less dislikeable than the hardtop – there was less to dislike.

The Sierra came out in 1979, but by a kit-car builder called Dutton

I had one of those, well two actually but the second one never saw the road while I had it. Fond memories in a bitter sweet kind of way.

Mate of mine has a stunning MK1 Capri, regular show winner. He’s of the age to have had one back in the day which indeed he did. I was talking about it with him once and my take away comment from him was “beautiful cars but how the hell we ever drove them fast I’ll never know”.

Or just leave it as it is and call it Capri Pants.

Piss off and get your own jokes

Compare and contrast with Renault’s new 5.

Let’s be honest. The French have always made far more aesthetically pleasing vehicles than ford with the exception of 1 or 2 flag ship models.

They just had to resurrect it and ruin it didn’t they.

The polestar forums/owners groups are having a proper giggle at the striking resemblance!

And..

Wish someone would actually make a 2 door moderately sporty but still practical electric coupe though

I believe polestar have a P6 (I think) coming out soon… Convertible with about 800bhp… Me wanty…

https://www.polestar.com/uk/polestar-6/

DrP

I believe polestar have a P6 (I think) coming out soon… Convertible with about 800bhp… Me wanty…

https://www.polestar.com/uk/polestar-6/

Yeah they missed the brief. $200k is not practical.

I’m not upset about the re use of a name.

I am upset about how rubbish current car design is, particularly for electric cars. It seems no designer can get beyond the ‘tall and chubby, not quite an SUV, pop a few angles and a set of LED lights’ palette.

matt_outandaboutFull Member
I’m not upset about the re use of a name.

I am upset about how rubbish current car design is, particularly for electric cars. It seems no designer can get beyond the ‘tall and chubby, not quite an SUV, pop a few angles and a set of LED lights’ palette.

The new MG Cyber GTS looks pretty good

I generally have very little interest in cars and don’t even like driving very much. But as a man of a certain age the Capri has a Bodie and Doyle nostalgia to it so I did a quick search.

Oh, another electric SUV. Lazy, boring, and pointless.

Who the **** are Bodie and Doyle

The new MG Cyber GTS looks pretty good

that looks awesome. The convertible version was nice but wholly impractical. Has the coupe retained the scissor doors?

Who the **** are Bodie and Doyle

A couple of hard men who drove a Ford Capri.