The car is not new, but the concept is. The Ford Mondeo Vignale Concept that the Blue Oval will be bringing to Frankfurt gives us a first glimpse at the new Vignale sub-brand, which promises a unique upscale product and ownership experience in Europe.
Ford Vignale will start with the production Mondeo Vignale saloon and wagon in early 2015, before being extended to models such as the next-gen S-Max MPV and Edge SUV. The birth of Vignale is in response to an increasing trend towards time-saving services, and reflects demand for higher-end Ford products. Higher spec models currently account for more than half of Ford’s large car sales in Europe.
“Vignale will offer the highest expression of the Ford brand in Europe from a product and from an ownership experience perspective. The Ford Mondeo Vignale Concept showcases the features that customers tell us they want in terms of styling and quality, advanced technology and exclusivity,” said Stephen Odell, Ford’s president of Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Expect “unique design touches, high quality craftsmanship, exclusive specification and advanced technologies” from Vignale models. This Mondeo comes with 20-inch Vignale alloys, “Vignale” badging, chrome door handles and mirror caps, mesh grille, unique front bumper and fog lamp design, and exclusive “Nocciola” paint colour.
The showcar also boasts quilted trim, chrome lower mouldings and leather armrests for door interiors, and exclusive seating with “Vignale” detailing and high-quality, soft-touch leather that extends to the steering wheel, instrument panel, centre console, door top-rolls and centre arm-rest.
Embossed scuff plates and luxury floor-mats with high-quality edge wrap enhances an ambience that “combines traditional coach-building with contemporary design and material trends”.
Car aside, customer service will be another Vignale selling point. “Ford Vignale premium services will meet the needs of the customer for whom time is the ultimate luxury – and they would be made to feel special from the moment they walk in the door,” said Gaetano Thorel, VP of marketing at Ford of Europe.
Selected dealerships will offer a tailored Ford Vignale experience, which includes providing customers with collection and delivery for vehicle servicing, free lifetime carwash and invitations to exclusive events. Customers also could expect a dealer principal greeting on the handover of their new car, a named and dedicated point-of-contact and branded handover documents including a leather document wallet.
A local way to picture this would be a Toyota-badged car with Lexus trim and materials, plus the latter’s much-praised customer service. View the new Ford Mondeo here and here.
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lol, and then it’s revealed the VP of marketing drives an Audi instead.
The reason why almost all of Ford’s sub brands before this (Edsel,Merkur,Mercury) failed spectacularly was because they weren’t afFORDable
Is it same sub brand concept as
Lexus=toyota=perodua
Infiniti=nissan=datsun
OMG i nearly mistaken it as Aston Martin!
why the car mat has to be luxurious? it will stil be under the passengers feet and full of dirt.
In the past, a high end Ford meant it came with the ‘Ghia’ badge.
And also Titanium..
paying extra for a mondeo is just ridiculous if u live in europe
why don’t they just dump the brand “ford” and call it vignale directly? and change the look and name of the models, though still base on mondeo. that at least will give people more reasons to fork out those extra cash to buy the car. haven’t they learned from vw with their phaeton big saloon already?
As the failure of Lincoln and (formerly) Mercury, Merkur and Edsel wasn’t enough already… It will be another version of Citroen DS lines, rebadged, overpriced car…
But Lexus and Infiniti do have humble beginnings (they at first rebadged cars,for example Lexus ES and Infiniti G20) but how do they succeed? Competitive price, great reliability and excellent customer service to boot…
guess we won’t be seeing it here. still waiting for the new mondeomlet alone this. I doubt our after sales service here meets the standard of the Vignale… agree?
sdac shoule buck up before new mondeo gets here. looking forward to it.