What cars were sold as multiple different models in the same market?

by "Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
Published 02/10/2017 at 10:37

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No, I don’t mean badge-engineered for different brands, either. I’m talking about the same brand releasing the same car as at least two different models, when really it’s more like a difference in trim level than anything.

The only two I can think of are the Grand Marquis/Marauder, and the Caprice/Impala SS:

I suppose you could count the Tahoe and Suburban as well, but they do use slightly different frames, so I dunno. I’m not sure exactly what my criteria are.

Replies (36)

"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
02/10/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 1

Chevy Malibu became the Chevy Classic in the early 2000s so they could keep selling the same piece of crap to rental fleets as a “ new ” model. I hated that car so much. There are a few other cases of Legacy models doing similar things, and IIRC Ford in the late 90s had two F150 models side by side ( “ Heritage Edition? ” ). Not exactly what you ’ re describing, but similar.

"E90M3" (e90m3)
02/10/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 2

You mean like this? Technically different models.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
02/10/2017 at 10:42, STARS: 3

I suppose that’s true. BMWs confuse me.

"E90M3" (e90m3)
02/10/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 1

They just put differnt engines in the same body and there you go, you charge more for it.

"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
02/10/2017 at 10:45, STARS: 1

In the 80s the Olds Delta 88 and 98 were the same car with a different rear clip

"djmt1" (djmt1)
02/10/2017 at 10:45, STARS: 2

Toyota JZX cars. You can get either a Chaser, Cresta or a Mark 2. All three are the same car but they are positioned for different markets segments.

Chaser: Sporty

Cresta: Luxury

Mark 2: Cheap

"Vítor" (vitorcesar)
02/10/2017 at 10:45, STARS: 0

FCA sold both the Dodge Journey and the Fiat Freemont in Brazil.The Fiat was 4 cylinders only while the Dodge was V6 only

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
02/10/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 0

GM trucks.

Sometimes I call my ’95 Sierra a “Chevy truck” when I go to the parts store because it just rolls of the tongue easier. All the parts are the same anyway (except for badges and the airbag cover).

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
02/10/2017 at 10:49, STARS: 1

Subaru Impreza hatch/XV Crosstek.

I’m also gonna count the Jeep Compass/Patriot.

"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
02/10/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 1

2 different brands though

"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
02/10/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 1

This is tougher than I thought it would be.

"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
02/10/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 1

I supposed you could count a lot of the “ lifted wagons ” here, such as A6/Allroad, A4/Allroad, and V70/XC70. And didn ’ t the Legacy Wagon and Outback coexist for just a year or two?

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/10/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 3

Used to be common as all hell with American cars - from the thirties up through the 50s. Only in the 60s did they finally start to do things *finally* on a model+ submodel basis as much. Examples would include Lincoln ‘58-60, for which the Capri and Premiere were the same exact car except for a badge on the fender and default level of options, and both were the same exact car as a Continental except for grill and rear lights (Continental was a separate-ish sub-brand), and the base Continental was the same exact car as a Mark IV except for, again, default options.

If you go back to the thirties, the Ford Model B was the exact same car as the V8 Model 18 other than the engine, just as one example. As another, Hudson, which in the late ‘40s had the Commodore and the Super Six.

It used to be pretty close to the norm.

"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/10/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 1

So, so same make, no rebadges or anything? Hmmm, the only thing the only car I can think of is the AE86, which was sold as a Sprinter and a Levin in Japan (and under even more names elsewhere), but you could argue they’re different enough to not be the same.

I think there are a few older British cars that went by a lot of different names, too.

"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/10/2017 at 11:03, STARS: 0

The Old 70s mini clubmans were just called the ‘Mini 1275GT’ if you wanted the 1275 engine, but called a Clubman if got a ‘normal’, slower one.

Is that the type of thing you had in mind?

"Nonster" (noahnic)
02/10/2017 at 11:04, STARS: 1

The Pontiac Tempest, LeMans, & GTO come to mind as well.

"Probenja" (probenja)
02/10/2017 at 11:04, STARS: 1

VW can’t use the name Jetta here in Chile (means “person with bad luck”) so instead the use both the Bora and Vento names. For example the MK4 was Bora while selling at the same time as the MK5 Vento. The current gen used the Vento for the pre-facelift and Bora for the facelift:

I’m sure I can find many more examples but that’s the first one that came to my mind.

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada)
02/10/2017 at 11:05, STARS: 0

Not sure if this counts, but you could get three different versions of the Vitara/Sidekick at Canadian Pontiac/Buick/GMC/Asuna dealers in the 90s

From GMC, the Tracker.

And from both Pontiac and Asuna, the Sunrunner.

This also happened with the Pontiac LeMans and Asuna SE/GT.

Then, some Isuzu dealers were combined with Asuna dealers, which meant dealerships sold basically two identical cars, the Impulse and the Sunfire.

GM was a colossal clusterfuck in the 90s when it came to badge engineering. Especially in Canada.

"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
02/10/2017 at 11:06, STARS: 1

Some JDM examples...

Honda Saber/Inspire (aka 1st gen Acura TL in NA)

Honda Accord/Torneo (1998-2002)

Not sure if the 180SX/S13 Silvia counts because they’re different body styles.

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/10/2017 at 11:08, STARS: 0

Good point. “The first muscle car” as people tend to think of it, but one of the last holdouts of the “same car, different name” shenanigans. When even the Judge was formally a “GTO Judge”, it was probably a sign that egregious model-and-not-submodel distinctions were on the way out.

This is ignoring the Cuda/Barracuda/etc. nonsense at Mopar, mostly because they consistently had the best drugs.

"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
02/10/2017 at 11:13, STARS: 2

GM is the expert in this regard. Said dealers were whining about not getting a particular division’s version, finally stopped to think the problem WAS the dealers.

Cobalt / Pursuit / G5. Not even different trim levels really, more like a cheap aftermarket grille

Uplander / Montana SV6 / Terraza / Relay

I could go on, Aveo/G3/Wave comes to mind.

"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
02/10/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 2

And different markets. There’s no Freemont where the Journey is sold, and vice versa.

"fhrblig" (fhrblig)
02/10/2017 at 11:17, STARS: 1

The Dodge Omni 024 coupe changed its name to Dodge Charger. Same thing with the Plymouth Horizon TC3, it became the Plymouth Turismo. I doubt there were major changes to the actual cars, mostly it was just a name change.

"CobraJoe" (cobrajoe)
02/10/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 0

I’m not sure exactly what my criteria are.

I was just going to ask what your criteria was.

I know the Marquis and the Vic didn’t always share the same sheet metal, the roof line was different between the two in the mid 90s, and the bumpers and grills were almost always different.

So, if you allow for some small body changes, there are hundreds of examples of two (or more) different versions of the same car being sold in the same market. MKS and Taurus, MKZ and Fusion, Charger and 300, Tempo and Topaz, Citation and Phoenix, Camaro and Firebird, Mustang and Cougar, Thunderbird and Cougar, Taurus and Sable... I guess that’s pretty much the definition of badge engineering.

But if the sheet metal has to be exactly the same, it severely cuts down on that list, but it’s a much harder thing to identify exactly. A 1st gen Firebird or Camaro can be identified by the fender flares alone, same with a Fox Mustang vs Capri. Citation and Phoenix have different hoods, and the 79 Thunderbird has different rear quarter panels than the 79 Cougar. I’m not completely sure the later Vic and Marquis have exactly the same sheet metal even though I can’t see where it would be different.

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada)
02/10/2017 at 11:23, STARS: 0

Wrong. Australia gets both. The Journey is also the only thing Dodge sells in Australia.

"CodyVella" (codyvella)
02/10/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 2

Porsche 924 Carrera GT and Porsche 944 Turbo S. A few different models of the Carrera GT used the same engine that the 944 Turbo S would use four years later. Keep in mind that the 924 Carrera GT used everything from a 215hp 2.0L Turbo up to a 420hp 2.5L Turbo. But there was a few sub models that did use the 240hp 2.5L Turbo that would eventually find its way into the 944 Turbo S.

"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
02/10/2017 at 11:30, STARS: 0

I don’t think they ever tried to hide that fact it’s the older version or call it a new model. The purpose of that was to reduce fleet sales on the newer model and clear out parts bins. Besides they made it clear that model is fleet only, and not retail.

In fact today you have the Impala and the Impala Limited still, the Epsilon LWB one and the old W-Body one.

"AfromanGTO" (afromangto)
02/10/2017 at 11:39, STARS: 0

Crown Vic, Town Car, Marquis, and Marauder.

Escalade, Yukon, and Suburban.

Avalanche and EXT Escalade.

Firebird and Camaro.

Vette and Caddy Vette.

Genesis sedan and Kia’s version of it.

350/370Z and G35/7.

Silverado and Sierra.

"CopHoe" (cophoe)
02/10/2017 at 11:46, STARS: 0

The 88 and 98 were different cars, on different platforms.

The Marauder and Impala SS were basically the same as their counterparts, hopped up with suspension and durability modifications (usually from that platform’s police cars), and some performance tweaks. In the Impala, the performance upgrade was basically a tune, but the Marauder received a 4 valve, DOHC 4.6 from the Mach 1.

"XJDano" (xjdano)
02/10/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 1

For a while GMC & Chevy both sold suburbans. The GMC Yukon was the short one, along with Tahoe. Then the GMC Suburban became the Yukon XL. Then Cadillac got in on some of that soccer mom money.

"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
02/10/2017 at 12:06, STARS: 0

The new challenger is like that. Check their configurator. They count the models with the shaker hood as different models, such as the r/t - r/t shaker, 392/392 shaker. Not quite sure why, other than advertising it leads to too many damn models. 

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
02/10/2017 at 19:21, STARS: 0

Buick did it too the la Sabre, Invicta, 225 Electra. We’re all the same car, just different trims.

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
02/10/2017 at 19:38, STARS: 1

This doesn’t really count because they weren’t sold at the same time, but it has always seemed odd to me. In 2005 Ford decided to do away with the Taurus name so the new models were called 500, and Freestyle.

Then for the 08 Gillette facelift they brought the Taurus name back, and the Freestyle became the TaurusX. I remember seeing one of each of the wagons parked in front my my school, in 2008 and being really confused that they had different names. Also the TaurusX is a great car, the Freestyle is hot garbage.

"Tohru" (tohrurokuno)
03/11/2017 at 07:49, STARS: 1

Ford went through a weird spot with their trucks in the late 90's.

So, the F150, F250, and F350 all shared the same body up through 1996.

Then the F150 was redesigned for 1997, but the F250 and F350 became classified as HD models and kept the 92-96 sheetmetal.

Then they wanted a model to bridge the gap between the new F150 and the old F250HD. So they made the light-duty F250 starting at the end of 1997, which had a unique 7-bolt design.

Then in 1999 they released the Super Duty line, and got rid of the light duty F250 as well as the F250HD and F350HD.

"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
03/11/2017 at 11:28, STARS: 0

Wow...crazy . I ’ ve never heard such consumer outrage as when Ford changed their pickup designs in the 90s and early 2000s.

"Tohru" (tohrurokuno)
03/11/2017 at 18:39, STARS: 0

You have to remember, Ford had carried a very popular design for almost 20 years. The only major sheetmetal changes were forward of the firewall or around the wheelwells. The cab is the same from 1980-1996.

1980-1986:

1987-1991:

1992-1996:

16 years of their trucks looking like that, then you go to the dealership in 1997 and you’re greeted with this:

Funny enough, the only thing to crash test worse in 1997 than the redesigned F-150 was the GM U-body minivan (Chevy Venture, Pontiac Trans Sport, Olds Silhouette).