This past Sunday was Easter, the celebration among a number of faiths of Christ’s post-crucifixion resurrection. It’s not just religious icons that get a second turn at life, there have been a slew of auto makes that have also attempted to make a post-mortem come back.
Now that I’ve probably pissed a ton of people off with my Jesus/Maybach allegory, let’s take a closer look at the marques that have tried to leave their mark on multiple, separate occasions. One of the first to do so—hell, even while the corpse was still warm—was Avanti, which went back into production just a couple of years after Studebaker’s auto business went belly up.
The Avanti proved to be a success, doing its legacy proud. Not all have been so reverent of their history, and those are the ones we’re interested in today. What do you think have been history’s most legacy-insulting brand resurrections?
Image: Auto-Bild.de
Hooniverse Asks: What has Been the Most Legacy-Insulting Nameplate Resurrection?
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The last rear-drive Pontiac LeMans. Not the beast it originally was, but still a RWD coupe with an available V8.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/1981_Pontiac_Le_Mans_two-door_coupe.jpg
And the resurrection: a Daewoo badge job.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/12/14/automobiles/600-lemans.jpg -
The last rear-drive Pontiac LeMans. Not the beast it originally was, but still a RWD coupe with an available V8.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/images/0003/29/19/3199291.jpg
And the resurrection: a Daewoo badge job.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/12/14/automobiles/600-lemans.jpg -
Corolla/Sprinter Chevy Nova.
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If they tried to make a Corolla Nova SS out of a sticker package, you might have a point, but the Nova was conceived as an economy car, and the Corolla is nothing if not a fundamentally decent economy car.
If we’re picking on GM, the first FWD Malibu is probably the worst, as a head gasket-annihilating rolling pit of sadness and vanishing middle-class optimism.-
Not to mention that the Malibu boosted sales of duct tape and packing tape, used to hold up rear door windows when their motors failed.
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MG badge on some nasty little econo car.
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MG always did small saloons though, like the Magnette and you find badge engineered MG Saloons right back in the 60s with the MG1300 (based on an Austin), so it’s not a new trend. Time hasn’t been kind to the Montego/Maestro (apart from the turbo version). The MG Metro wasn’t a bad steer, and Talon sportscars in the UK do a pretty affordable K-series/suspension conversion that turns these into a serious track weapon. The rebadged Rover 25, MG ZR was actually good fun by all accounts, just marketed/priced wrong initially as a Golf rival. When they were selling for Fiesta money later, they made a lot of sense and were a great car for young drivers apart from the dreaded K-series head gasket. Maybe they should have been badged Austin/Rover GTis or whatever and it would have helped if there wasn’t a gap between the MGB and the MGF, but they were actually great cars. Plus, you’ve got to remember the context of the time. In the 80s, hot hatches like the Golf GTi made stuff like the MGB look daft and fuddy duddy last decade overnight. They were faster and FWD was “modern”. It’s only in the 90s with the Miata/MX5 that people started to re-appreciate small RWD cars again (and where lotus miscalculated with the M100 Elan).
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While I agree with you – mostly because it’s just nasty little econo cars without a fun leaking convertible in sight – that isn’t anything new.
http://cmmgrcc.org/wp-content/gallery/cmmgrcc-member-cars/metro-mike-harrell.jpg-
Yup, verdicts still out on the Chines MG3 and that SUV yoke thoug. http://www.simoncars.co.uk/ado16/slides/MG%201100%204-door%20front.jpg
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mdharrell will hate me for saying that it could be worse.
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My first time driving was in the humble Austin Rover 1300 version, but even with the dewy eyed nostalgia of handbrake turns, creating our own cone autotest course and being attacked by geese, I still think they were sorta pants.
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My father & I used to play a game: walk down the street and pick a BL-era product that didn’t have fogged-up windows. I don’t think that either one of us ever scored more than one at it.
At some point I’ll have to tell the story of the loaner Maestro I once had from my mechanic. It’s… Different. -
“Fogged up”-windows used to be an…um…tell-tale sign with wagons parked in the woods here. Do not at all or maybe approach cautiously. I was adept at putting down the rear seats in my 145 one handed, too.
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Does it have to be a make, or do resurrected models count?
Model: second generation Dodge Challenger.
Make: the reboot of Cord as a scaled down RWD without hideaway headlights.
http://www.adclassix.com/images/78dodgechallengergtcoupe.jpg
http://www.classiccarsseller.com/media/uploads/cars/2015/2/18/1970-cord-812-sportsman-warrior-creamtan/1.jpg
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_zM8J8u8K2D1U0eE0yquwmYtabsz90QOJCgLoFPlt45YFinGp
I don’t care for the resurrected Stutz Bearcat, which went from a reasonably legitimate sports car to an overwrought pimpmobile (which, I guess is the best kind of pimpmobile, but not a sports car).
In their 50 year or so production run Avantis went from nice GTs to a sad joke. They built 4 door Avantis on Caprice chassis and even cars on 4th gen F-body chassis.http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/comment-image/237482.jpg
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That is a hurtful mistreatment of an iconic design, wow. I have never seen this gen before.
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There are a number of body kits like this, usually based on C5 Corvettes that perplex me to no end. They are the automotive equivalent of kissing a dude wearing a Marilyn Monroe mask.
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I like the AVX.
All the brown paint in the world can’t conceal that this is not a worthy “DS”*, or goddess. More of a limping concubine.
http://www.citroen.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/acoustique-citroen-ds4.jpg
*It is a standalone brand now, but wasn’t before.
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I was about to add, you also can’t exect to create a premium brand by only having a 1.6 litre four cylinder option if you want a petrol and then just turning up the boost. Then I remembered two things:
1. The original DS was underspecced in the engine department, never getting the flat six it was intended to have originally. (Dream project: DS with a drivetrain swap from a Subaru SVX, but I’m poor and I’d be more than happy with a BMW bike twin in a 2CV or GS)
2. Volvo are doing pretty much the same thing in their big saloons/SUV. You can have a 2 litre turbo four, you can have one that runs on petrol, you can have one that runs on diesel, you can have one with more booscht, you can have one with added electricity, but you will have a 2 litre four.
I guess the real crime is the ride quality, I’d say style too, but that’s subjective.-
One thing I will give the DS21 (and 23) credit for: the engines are at least torquey, so do a good job of getting the car moving. But they are heavy cars and I do agree that some more grunt wouldn’t go amiss. ID and DS19s… Still good cars, but the 2.1-litre is definitely the lump to start with.
That said, none of the current DS range does anything for me. If PSA really is considering a relaunch in the US with these models, I look forward to buying them as a novelty for half-nothing three years after they abandon the market (which itself will probably take around three years).-
This is true, going fast in a DS is almost uncivilized, but the incongruity of doing the traffic light GP in one sort of appeals (much like a fast 2CV), plus it’d sound nicer.
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I’d modify that slightly – trying to get up to high speeds quickly in a DS is uncivilised, but one with a 5-speed is a godsend. 70mph in a 4-speed has the revs higher than feel like they should be, but 85mph in a 5-speed is dead comfortable.
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I think I’m more a GS sort of person, I’m not really classy enough to be allowed drive a DS. 😀
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Nothing wrong with a GS – and besides, I’m really a 2CV person who has somehow managed to bluff his way into DSes from time to time!
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XJ-C has long been on my short list. I’ve crossed paths with several but never the right one. Based on the owners I’ve met, you’d have to very low brow not to meet the “classy” threshold.
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Of course style is subjective, and building a retro vehicle that is just a washed out version of the original is also sort of lame. But…if the new car has nothing, f* nothing in common with its namesake inspiration, not even aspirations, what’s the point of even using the name? That’s really my main beef with it, of course it doesn’t help that the product is a total underperformer in most aspects. Just look at the gorgeousness these two letters are supposed to conjur:
https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/cars_images/citroen_ds23ie_1.jpg
About the displacement… Volvo has been peppered hard for that engine limitation choice. I don’t have a strong opinion about it, since it seems to work well for now and I mostly care about ancient RWD stuff anyhow, but I mourn the lost sound of I5’s (which had been insulated away anyway). I’m also concerned about the longevity of turbo+supercharger+hybrid-setups. So many points of potential failure…
Any Buick Century after this one…
The 1982 Dodge Charger.
This ……………………………………………….
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To be square, this was the Mustang II.
Remember when someone tried to bring back Studebaker as a weird off-brand Hummer thing?
http://i1.wp.com/hooniverse.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/avanti_studebaker_chicago_03_k_02.jpg?resize=720%2C540
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Yes, unfortunately.
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The ironic circle would have been bigger with “LandCruiser” stamped into the rear plate.
The current Jeep Cherokee. With this choice I am deliberately avoiding the Liberty having been sold outside of North America with the Cherokee name.
What was a capable, compact 4×4 that was an excellent all-rounder is now a borderline soft-roader that’s not quite sure which side of that fence it wants to fall on. While Jeep has fitted some useful 4WD hardware to it, it can’t make full use of it, has poor outward visibility, and mediocre towing capability.
People turning their Jeeps into mall-crawlers is one thing, but when they come that way from the factory… Ugh.
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You can get it with knobby tires and red tow hooks though!
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Exactly.
One thing I will say (and this is without any sarcasm intended) in defence of the bright red tow hooks: it’s good to have a solid recovery point at the front and rear of any vehicle, particularly if you live in snow country. Unfortunately, I suspect that on most current Cherokees they’re going to see use in situations considerably less demanding than the ones I used the (black) towhooks on my XJ Cherokees for.-
That’s definitely true, but it’s also nice to have factory-built off-road capable rigs. I prefer a good XJ to the KL as well, but I’d rather have a Trailhawk Cherokee on sale than no Cherokee at all.
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I hear you. Frankly, the one that I’m hoping makes it to production is the new Comanche. Not completely sold on the soft-top, but as a three-time recidivist Subaru Brat owner, I’ve been wanting a modern equivalent to hit the market for years, and FCA has no plans to sell the Strada Adventure Locker / Ram 700 in the US. The Comanche could fill that want very nicely.
Assuming they keep the promised 4WD system and 2.0-litre turbodiesel in the concept for a production model, I’m sold. It’d do everything I need of a small, capable trucklet while making for a decent commuter – which was what I loved about the Brat.
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Regarding the Cherokee, for all our love of the XJ, it was absolutely intended to be a more suburban-friendly SUV. Also, is the Grand Cherokee really any more adept off road than the little Cherokee, or does it just get a pass because it’s been more evolutionary, and has more subdued looks?
Also, the Wrangler Unlimited sort of fills the role of a neo-XJ, which allows the Cherokee to go where the money is. It won’t be the classic the XJ is, but it’s at least one of the most capable crossovers, and helps keep the brand profitable.-
I absolutely, completely, 100% agree that the XJ Cherokee was meant to slot into a market that 4x4s traditionally hadn’t. However, it managed to do it with underpinnings and drivetrains (from 1987, at least) that actually gave it excellent capabilities in the dirt. That’s something that the current lineup is lacking, and not just in Jeep’s model range.
With respect to the Grand Cherokee: they’ve become progressively less-capable over time in my opinion. The solid-axled ZJ and WJ models were excellent (with opinion giving the WJ the edge over the ZJ), with the WK being just sort of OK. To be fair to the WK, it came at a time when Mercedes’ arrogance towards not just Jeep but Chrysler as a whole was very apparent and showed in the model range.
The WK2… I want to like it, but frankly it strikes me as a very compromised vehicle. More luxury (which I’m not necessarily opposed to), less designed-in capability, and more electronic aids in the driveline to make up for that. Then again, this is understandable given the market it was aimed at, in which vehicles like this rarely go off-pavement.
The problem with the JK Wrangler in comparison to the XJ Cherokee is that it’s huge, especially in 4-door guise, and the 2-door still has no cargo room unless you remove the rear seat. I completely understand why people prefer Wranglers over other models in the lineup, but having tried (on more than one occasion) to turn a 4-door JK around on the trail there are situations where it’s just too long – which also affects breakover angle. It’s also wider, which, 2-door or 4-door, isn’t a plus for manoeuvrability in tight spaces.
If the JK came in a 2-door extended-wheelbase model akin to the TJ Unlimited, CJ-8, or CJ-6, I’d be much more interested. Realistically, though, the Comanche is looking like a better compromise of capabilities for what I’m looking for.
As for the Renegade? Drove one, thought it was basically competent, and decided that I could save somewhere in the region of at least $20K by finding a really clean XJ Cherokee and just running that instead.
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Lancia Flavia
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I always think that the sorry state of Lancia is intertwined with Fiats simultaneous mishandling of Alfa Romeo and the decision to make the 75/Milano successor a FWD platform sharing affair. With nothing to majorly differentiate the two, Alfa was to be the “sporty” brand, while Lancia the “luxury” one, dropping out of WRC, no more mad 4WD turbo cars. It might have made some business sense at the time, but in the long run, Fiat could have kept Alfas mostly RWD, and Lancias FWD/4WD, invested some cash and ended up with the Italian alternatives to BMW (Alfa) and Audi (Lancia). The modern Ypsilon is way nicer in the metal than a 500 though, even though it looks odd in pictures.
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Agreed. While everyone I know who’s had one speaks highly of the Alfa 164, it was a misstep. Not that it matters much to me, Alfa was only half-heartedly in the U.S. at that point and Lancia was gone.
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Out of curiosity, why do you consider the 164 a misstep?
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I know this was directed at Alff, but… probably the whole FWD/platform sharing/lack of USP. In the short term, the 164 was a roaring success, it cracked a market segment Alfa had always failed miserably in previous, the “big” saloon (i.e. 5 series rather than 3 series), no-one remembers the Alfa 6 or 2600. It might have been positioned differently in the US of course, but the 75/milano successor was the 155 which shared a platform with the Tempra and Delta, and they broke the core post war Alfa line really, the one that goes all the way back to the the Giulia and Giulietta. The little RWD sports/saloon coupe thing, and BMW just ran away with.The 75 was flawed of course, and sales dwarfed by the 3 series, but I think if they’d invested in an all new, proper RWD platform, BMW wouldn’t have had it all its own way, and Lancia would have had been differentiated by something actually physical/mechanical rather then the weird contrived European Buick sort of corner it was backed into.
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It was too much of a departure from their legacy of light RWD GTs and traditional sports cars, one that put them in direct competition with a number of FWD mid-size near luxury cars. Meanwhile, their “mainstay” U.S. offering, the Spider, had become outdated. What was a technical revelation in the late ’60s and early ’70s had become a sort of charming anachronism for the lunch at the country club set.
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Copyrights and trademarks carry baggage that looks attractive to marketing VP’s apparently.
My theorem proof is when they take a model name that no one really cared for to begin with and resurrect it, ala Chrysler Pacifica, which looks like a fine van, so it does not yet fit the shameful mold, though with Fiat in charge, anything is possible.
As for the actual question, The Daewoo Lemans would be tough to beat. GM made decades worth of Hooniverse Asks hate fuel.
In the late 1990s, there was an attempt to revive the Packard name which had been dead since 1958. Fortunately, it never really got off the ground, considering the prototype’s looks.
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I should find this hideous, but I am oddly hypnotized by that, maybe it’s my brain struggling to process it.
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And another lucrative opportunity to sell vehicles to the modern, more discerning pimp end of the market goes unrealised.
Real Kreidler vs. China Scooter Kreidler
The Duesenberg nephews did not get very far in burnishing the reputation of the family nameplate:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5287/5268964415_565de2afd4_z.jpg
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What is striking about both the Duesenberg and the Packard is the lack of conceptual ideas. Both cars come across like lackluster comittee work, rather than inspired designs. Might reflect their time though.
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Looks like a disguised mid-1970s Lincoln Continental Town Car, a far cry from the 1966 prototype.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ0Fmc_p6sE-
It’s actually based on a pre-downsized 1970s Cadillac Fleetwood.
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Thanks for the tip.
A missed opportunity, instead of the Stutz revival. They could had revived Jordan on a design based on Exner’s revival cars. http://www.madle.org/evival.htm A 1969-71 Lincoln Continental Mark III or 1969-72 Pontiac Grand Prix could had been used to create a Jordan.
http://www.madle.org/rwjordan00.JPG
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The first generation Imperial was a separate make under the Chrysler corporate umbrella. They were known for high end cars designed by Virgil Exner. These were beautiful cars.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Imp55rsf.jpg
In 1981, after the brand had been dead for a while, Chrysler tried to reboot it as and answer to the personal luxury car craze. Offered only in 2 doors and as a slightly rebodied Cordoba, Chrysler tried to make it their high end technology showcase. Unfortunately, the fuel injection systems and electronic dashboards proved unreliable and sales sucked. It was killed again in 1983.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/82Imperialcoupe.jpg
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Brought back in 1993… Sadly.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/33-1992-Chrysler-Imperial-Down-On-The-Junkyard-Picture-courtesy-of-Murilee-Martin-550×412.jpg
The reason I’m aware- one is parked up the street and I see it’s sadness when I’m walking the pup.-
Actually this Imperial was brought back in 1990 and mercifully killed off after 1993.
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My level of enthusiasm to research was pretty low.
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Talk about worlds of style in between – it is clear in which of these periods America was dominating the world with buckets of self-confidence, and which was a time for soul-searching.
Are these reincarnated Imperials available at all – I suppose they attract odd collectors? Which might be entirely positive in its own right. -
http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1981-Chrysler-Imperial-ad-with-Frank-Sinatra-page-1-of-2.jpg
Listen, only one Imperial was good enough for Ol Blue Eyes.
Peugeot’s revival of the Talbot marque on the hodgepodge of Simca and Hillman models they inherited from Chrysler has to be right up there – the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus and Sunbeam Ti being notable exceptions. And Sunbeam’s demotion – muddled marketing sometimes treated it as a model name and sometimes as a sub-brand – was deeply insulting too.
http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/uploads/cms_article/4201_4300/1978-1985-talbot-horizon-4267_9706_969X727.jpg
http://test-drivez.com/data_images/gallery/models/talbot-alpine/talbot-alpine-06.jpg
http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay597994.jpg
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And let us not forget the Talbot Tagora. No-one ever should.
To be honest, I didn’t think that the Tagora was as bad of a car as it was made out to be. However, I’d also never be caught owning one, so perhaps my judgement of its qualities is suspect.
I always found Lagonda’s demotion from full marque status with its 1970s revival to be pretty insulting.
http://media.caranddriver.com/images/media/228183/aston-martin-lagonda-series-2-photo-228333-s-986×603.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R8zNeol5JI4/T8A4GcGbt6I/AAAAAAAAEOQ/ieyzrHICJm4/s1600/1974_Aston_Martin_Lagonda_690.jpg
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Maybe that’s been righted with the Taraf? I certainly want one.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/2015_Aston_Martin_Lagonda_Taraf_(19406457063).jpg
Not for nothing did you avoid asking this question on Tuesday…
Indian: Slavish devotion to ‘Old Skool’ styling, done really ineptly. That fender valence… it’s the sze of a billboard. I call it, “Billboard Baggers”
http://www.2040-motos.com/_content/cars/images/80/296280/001.jpg
Norton: Bargain Basement shopping for overstocked twin rear shocks and buying mufflers 2 for one! Slavish devotion yadda yadda yadda (Redeeming quality: Made in Donnington Park.)
http://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/moto_gallery/NORTON952COMMANDO-735_1.jpg
Laverda: Anemic, fussy twins (Slavish dev… oh nevermind) that were forced upon the MZ dealership group who wanted nothing to do with multi cylinder bikes and frankly were having a hard enough time already. (Redeeming quality: Based in Italy and owned by a crazy magnate with a passion for Laverdas.)
http://moto.zombdrive.com/images/laverda-ghost-strike-2.jpg
BMW “R Nine T”: Building expensive eyesores is not something you should have a slavish devotion to!
http://cdn.dealerspike.com/imglib/v1/800×600/imglib/Assets/Inventory/0E/87/0E879193-1D5D-480B-B488-E3DD3A197FA8.jpg
Those are the embarrassments from both the Axis and Allied powers. The worst I can come up with for Japan is Kawasaki’s attempt to re-create Yamaha’s XS650, which was an attempt to replicate Triumph’s T120 Bonneville. So meta. So expensive!
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery/Kawasaki%20W650%2005.jpg
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