Talk Back Tuesday: What Automotive Brand Should Be Revived Next?
As I prepped for a Sunday morning motorcycle ride it struck me that I had two classic models in my driveway: Chevrolet Camaro and Norton Commando.
Of course one of those models is brand new with less than 2,000 miles on it, and the other has effectively been dead for 35 years (yeah, I know there have been mulitple aborted attempts to bring Norton back, and it's supposedly coming back yet again...).
This inevitably led me to ask myself: Karl, if you could revive any vehicle brand what would it be?
Beyond the obvious answer (that being Yugo, of course), it's not an easy decision.
I mean, GM hasn't even finished killing Pontiac, yet there are plenty of past models I'd like to see rise again from that division. And as a 23-year Plymouth GTX owner I can't deny the appeal of seeing a 2011 Hemi 'Cuda available at my local dealership (not to mention a new Superbird). Or how about a 21st Century Delahaye, Duesenberg, Hispano-Suiza or Packard?
And we haven't even gotten into dead motorycle brands: Ariel, Brough, BSA, Hercules, H.R.D, Nougier, Sokol? They've already revived MV Augusta and Indian, so we're making some progress in the two-wheeled world.
But the more I think about it the more I realize my favorite car brands aren't dead, merely dormant. Cadillac, for instance, has a brilliant history, yet it clearly doesn't hold the same place in today's automotive spectrum it held 60 years ago. Same goes for Buick, Chrysler, Lincoln and Mercury.
Once upon a time these brands were the envy of European and Asian automakers. Today they are either trying to find an identity or simply trying to stay financially solvent (or both).
Honestly, I'd trade the power to revive a dead automotive brand if I could instead inject vibrant life into a few of the "living" ones.
- Posted by
- Karl Brauer September 1, 2009, 6:00 AM
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- Motorcycles, Muscle Car, Retro Revivals, Talk Back Tuesday
I pick Alfa Romeo. It's alive and well in Europe, but I'd love to see it back here. Hoping the Chrysler/Fiat deal will make that happen.
Also echo your thoughts, Karl, regarding Cadillac and Lincoln. They are not what they used to be. Finally getting competitive in the mid-size luxury and CUV class, but where is the American answer to the S-Class or 7-Series? I wish Ford still owned Jaguar, because the new XJ seems to be fantastic.
Just throwing this out there, Karl - you only mentioned domestic brands that are dormant. I see why you did it (it fits your point about them being the envy of other automakers), but methinks 1487's lurking around here somewhere to point out dead/dormant import brands (Isuzu & Saab stick out in my head).
Agree roar. I actually included Saab initially in my column, but then I realized that even when it was at its peak Saab wasn't the envy of the automotive world (same for Isuzu). Cadillac and Lincoln were, so while they're still alive they have a long way to go to get back to their peaks.
Packard.
Back in its heyday (1930s), they put out some beautiful cars. Of all the now-departed brands I can't think of one that exhibited as many really well thought out design details as did Packard. Oh, that twin-six (V12) wasn't too shabby either.
http://www.supercars.net/cars/2846.html
I would really love to see A new Mercury Cougar...something not based on a forgettable European platform...IMO at least...
I would love to see Triumph come back to cars the way they did with bikes. First roll out a small loveable retro car to knock the Mini off its pedestal, followed quickly by a two seater to unseat the Miata. After that initial market penetration come out with a mainstream compact and compact SUV. You hear me Mr Bloor?
Alfa needs to make a proper Spider Veloce. FWD doesn't cut it with a heritage like that! Make a Miata killer with classic Alfa good looks. I still regret selling my '74 Spider.
I would resurrect Packard. It was most prestigious marque in 30s-40s according to Joe Stalin who ordered handbuilt Packard copycat ZIS to serve as limusin for Politburo members.
It would be interesting to revive Duesenberg, though I do not know much about this custom built car. It existed only several years but became icon for the rest of 20st century. Interestingly enough it was resurrected several times last decade as recently as few years ago but never succeeeded.
Lincoln could resurrect itself if Ford had any desire to make it luxury marque again. Ford missed several opportunities to do so and instead wasted all money into Jaguar, which was and remains dead brand walking, because Bill Ford said so - no business sense whatever. Instead Lincoln now competes with likes Lexus ES350 and Buick.
I wouldn't resurrect any brands, but I would like to see some performance divisions come back, particularly Mugen and SVT. I know SVT "exists" but let's be realistic. Honda hasn't produced a Type-R in the US in over 10 years. I think it would also be awesome to see Volva retake the lead on safety. They used to satisfy safety requirements 10- 20- years down the road.
savetheland--I had the opportunity to visit the Cord-Duesenberg-Auburn Museum in Auburn, Indiana recently, and they have some NICE cars in there. I would agree that if they would be resurrected, we would have an American rival to Rolls Royce (in the same line of thinking of Maybach).
Hudson would also be interesting, since he was tinkering with advanced safety systems and drive trains in the 50s. It would be interesting if they kept that innovative spirit going for the past 50 years where they would be now.
Amphibious cars and aerocars would be cool too...as an extremely niche market!
Pontiac is the one I want to see survive. One to three models is all that it would need to be depending on market conditions.
I prefer Datsun to the Nissan brand name, change it back!
As to specific cars,
Plymount Barracuda (no need to bring back the entire Plymouth Brand, just sell a limited number of Plymouth Barracuda's thru Chrysler dealerss)
AMC Javelin AMX *would absolutely have to be painted red, white, and blue
Jeep Scrambler
Tucker!