List price

The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), list price or recommended retail price (RRP) of a product is the price at which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations. While some stores always sell at, or below, the suggested retail price, others do so only when items are on sale or closeout/clearance.

Suggested pricing methods may conflict with competition theory, as they allow prices to be set higher than would otherwise be the case, potentially negatively affecting consumers. However, resale price maintenance goes further than this and is illegal in many regions.

Much of the time, stores charge less than the suggested retail price, depending upon the actual wholesale cost of each item, usually purchased in bulk from the manufacturer, or in smaller quantities through a distributor.

Suggested prices can also be manipulated to be unreasonably high, allowing retailers to use deceptive advertising by showing the excessive price and then their actual selling price, implying to customers that they are getting a bargain. Game shows have long made use of suggested retail prices both as a game element, in which the contestant must determine the retail price of an item, or in valuing their prizes.

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1998. Ford began sales of the Focus to Europe in July 1998 and in North America during 1999 for the 2000 model year.

In Europe, North and South America, and South Africa, the Focus replaced the various versions of the Ford Escort and Ford Laser sold in those markets. In Asia and Australasia, it replaced the Ford Laser. As of the first half of 2012, the Focus surpassed the Toyota Corolla to become the world's best selling automobile nameplate.

First generation (1998–2004)

Ford of Europe introduced the Focus in 1998 to the European market as a replacement for the Ford Escort. The decision to name the new car the "Ford Focus" was made in early 1998, as Ford's overheads had been planning to keep the "Escort" nameplate for its new generation of small family cars. A last minute problem arose in July 1998 when a Cologne court, responding to a case brought by the publisher Burda, ordered Ford to avoid the name "Focus" for the cars in the German market since the name was already taken by one of its magazines (Focus). This eleventh hour dispute was resolved, however, and the car was launched with the name Focus. The Focus MK1 was awarded the 1999 European Car of the Year award. There is also a tale floating around certain editions of Motor Trend magazine that Ford executive Jac Nasser actually made the decision of the name Focus the night of that year's Geneva Auto Show because he was annoyed that one of the other names under consideration, Fusion (not the same as the mid-size automobile Ford Fusion), had leaked to the media.

Ford F-Series

The Ford F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford which has been sold continuously since 1948. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150. It has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for the past 32 years, and the best-selling pickup for 43 years, and the best selling vehicle in Canada. In the tenth generation of the F-series, the F-250 and F-350 changed body style in 1998 and joined the Super Duty series.

During the post-World War II era, smaller Canadian towns had access to either a Ford dealer or a Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor dealer, but not both; a Mercury-badged version was sold at Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor dealers there from 1946 to 1968. Other than the grilles, trim, and badging, these pickups are identical to their Ford counterparts.

First generation (1948–52)

The first-generation F-Series pickup (known as the Ford Bonus-Built) was introduced in 1948 as a replacement for the previous car-based pickup line introduced in 1942. The F-Series was sold in eight different weight ratings, with pickup, panel truck, cab-over engine (COE), conventional truck, and school bus chassis body styles.

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others, although trademarks used to identify services are usually called service marks. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher, or on the product itself. For the sake of corporate identity, trademarks are being displayed on company buildings.

Usage

A trademark identifies the brand owner of a particular product or service. Trademarks can be licensed to others; for example, Bullyland obtained a license to produce Smurf figurines; the Lego Group purchased a license from Lucasfilm in order to be allowed to launch Lego Star Wars; TT Toys Toys is a manufacturer of licensed ride-on replica cars for children. The unauthorized usage of trademarks by producing and trading counterfeit consumer goods is known as brand piracy.

The owner of a trademark may pursue legal action against trademark infringement. Most countries require formal registration of a trademark as a precondition for pursuing this type of action. The United States, Canada and other countries also recognize common law trademark rights, which means action can be taken to protect an unregistered trademark if it is in use. Still common law trademarks offer the holder in general less legal protection than registered trademarks.

Earl Stewart

Earl Richard Stewart, Jr. (October 15, 1921 – July 11, 1990) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s; and was a college head golf coach in the 1970s and 1980s.

Stewart was born in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Dallas' Sunset High School in 1938. He attended Louisiana State University and was a member of the golf team. In 1941, he won the NCAA Championship, and led the Bayou Bengals to a share of the NCAA team title in 1942.

Stewart had three wins in PGA Tour events during his career. His first win came in 1953 at the Greater Greensboro Open. He would win the Ardmore Open later that year. His best finishes in major championships were T10 at the 1952 U.S. Open and T15 at The Masters in 1953. Like many professional golfers of his generation, Stewart earned his living primarily as a club pro. His third and final win on the PGA Tour, the 1961 Dallas Open Invitational, came on his own course at the Oak Cliff Country Club.

Stewart was the head golf coach at Southern Methodist University from 1975–1987. He coached both the men's and women's teams. Men's golf was dropped by the university in 1980. He won a national championship with the women's team in 1979. One of his students was future two-time U.S. Open and PGA Champion Payne Stewart (no relation). In 1987, he was inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Coaches Hall of Fame for his role as a women's collegiate golf coach at SMU.