Automakers Are Recycling the Wrong Nameplates 

"Money Hustard" (moneyhustard) 02/23/2015 at 15:51 • Filed to: Branding, Nameplates, Classic Cars

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I had an epiphany today about what automakers are doing wrong. I guess I have an epiphany fitting that description everyday, anyway, but this one was I thought was worth sharing: when automakers recycle a nameplate from the past they shouldn't always use revered nameplates. It's about setting expectation.

When Dodge was picking a name for the new Dodge Dart, they completely blew it. Instead of choosing "Neon" which this car is clearly a continuation of, they chose "Dart." At the time it was discontinued, the original Dart had been the best selling American compact car. It's revered as one of the great American cars of the 60's. That's entirely too much pressure.

What if they had instead called it the Neon? First off, people under the age of 50 would have some idea of what to expect out of the car (the Dart even resembles the Neon). Secondly and more importantly, the Neon's shoes are much easier to fill. The sentiment of most reviews would have been that it's a vast improvement over the old Neon, and that it was better than expected. Instead Dodge pitted this new, totally decent car against a specter of the past it could not possibly live up to.

More examples:

Why call it a Cougar? Why pit it against this when it's really more of a Zephyr or Topaz.

This car shouldn't have to carry the history of this car:

When really it's like a Citation or Corsica.

What are some other nameplates that have been driven into the ground?

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 15:54

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The original

Money Hustard > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/23/2015 at 15:56

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Perfect!

Sweet Trav > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 15:56

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I disagree, we romanticize the Dart. The 60's and 70's Dart was crappy (mostly) inline 6 transportation. The new one is fitting, perhaps the most fitting re-boot of a name ever.

TheHondaBro > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 15:57

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The Corolla used to be something cool.

Same with the Celica.

It died a horrible, painful death.

Money Hustard > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 15:59

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What's wrong with inline 6's???

jariten1781 > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:00

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People who are shopping the Dart for their teens have fresh bad memories about crapbox Neons running around but only have rose tinted nostalgia for the Dart (if they remember it at all). I can't fault them there.

The Cougar revival was serious WTF though.

crowmolly > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:01

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Also, there may be lingering bad blood from the last generation Neon.

Sweet Trav > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:02

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Everything. Not enough Cylinders, Sounds like crap, not enough 'MURICA! And while the Chrysler inline six would run forever, and I mean forever, it was hardly a sporting car. When world ends, Keith Richards still will be driving a slant six powered Dart, that's how indestructible they are.

Not to mention every single one of the cars you posted would be significantly better with a GM LS motor.

davedave1111 > TheHondaBro 02/23/2015 at 16:02

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The Corolla was never cool, while the last-gen Celica wasn't really much worse overall than the first, and had many advantages over the earlier models - the only problem with it was that it came from the everything-must-be-FWD era.

Ilike_cougars > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:03

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The Cougar was the considered the bigger brother to the Europe only Ford Puma. Since the cougar was built in the US, they decided to throw us a bone.

Money Hustard > jariten1781 02/23/2015 at 16:03

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Yes, but what if everything those parents were reading about the Neon was how much better it is than the original? It's quite the opposite about most things written about the Dart. The reuse of the name just causes confusion and disappointment.

Sweet Trav > crowmolly 02/23/2015 at 16:04

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The Neon was a great car on paper, but the execution was so bad.

TheHondaBro > davedave1111 02/23/2015 at 16:06

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The AE86 is a cool Corolla, and the 7th gen Celica threw away any rally pedigree it had.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:06

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Um, why are you comparing a Chevelle to a Malibu?

Money Hustard > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 02/23/2015 at 16:07

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Read up on what a Chevelle was, and get back to me.

Manic Otti > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:07

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Yeah, I think the current Dart is held back more by it's lackluster engine choices than it's name.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:08

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Malibu was a trim for the Chevelle...

Money Hustard > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:12

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I don't even know where to start with this. The Dart was a compact car, it's power plant should very much be based on it's bulletproof reliability and not for its sporting character. It was an excellent compliment to the old dart, because it's what its buyers wanted.

Everything is better with an LS? Really? There's no way you actually feel like adding several hundred. pounds to the front of an M3 is going to make it a better car.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:14

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Straight Six, not enough 'Murica, doesn't sound good... You're wrong.

The LS might as well be an MG's cast iron 4 in terms of durability compared to this. There is nothing more American than this 1100lbs god.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 02/23/2015 at 16:16

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The Malibu came first, then Chevelle took over IIRC.

ranwhenparked > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:17

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And when the compact '63 Darts came out, there were probably people bitching that the Dart is supposed to be a full-size car and the nameplate was being desecrated.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/23/2015 at 16:17

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The Malibu started as a trim for the Chevelle in '64. It became it's own model in '77 when they stopped using the Chevelle name.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:17

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The Dodge Monaco would be a good contender.

1968 Dodge Monaco

And the last Monaco, from 1992, which had an amalgamation of Renault parts (from the Eagle Premier) that Chrysler had to sell to fulfill the AMC contract with Renault they got when they bought AMC.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 02/23/2015 at 16:20

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At least this didn't become the Chevelle SS, then.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:21

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When world ends, Keith Richards still will be driving a slant six powered Dart, that's how indestructible they are.

And Europe will still be driving pre-electronic control Mercedes-Benz diesels.

Also, fie on the LS. Rover (f/k/a Buick 215 Fireball) V8 is where it's at.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/23/2015 at 16:24

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No, the Chevelle SS should be the new SS. Since SS is a trim not a car.

Sweet Trav > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:25

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You realize that the Iron Block S50 in that M3 only weighs a few lbs less than an Aluminum LS2 and makes significantly less horsepower and torque right? the LS is also a shorter engine. The increase in weight wouldn't be in the front, it would be more towards the middle, the biggest weight gain would be the transmission, as the Getrag unit wouldn't handle the torque so you'd need a t-56 or TKO to harness the power.

And yes. there is not a single front engine RWD car that is not better with some variant of an LSX.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 02/23/2015 at 16:25

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Which would make sense, because even though it shares nothing with it, it looks as bland as a Malibu. Credit where credit is due though, it would eat an LS6 Chevelle alive.

crowmolly > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/23/2015 at 16:26

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Nope. Malibu was a trim level for the Chevelle. Became a standalone in '78 or so.

Sweet Trav > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/23/2015 at 16:26

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lol. Death Before Diesel.

Sweet Trav > Manic Otti 02/23/2015 at 16:27

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THIS^ just put the Neon SRT-4 engine or the Caliber SRT-4 Engine in one, and I might even buy a Chrysler product...

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:28

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No. Diesel powers trains. Trains fuck shit up. Therefore diesel is life, diesel is love.

davedave1111 > TheHondaBro 02/23/2015 at 16:29

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There was the odd decent Corolla variant, but the Corolla was not a cool car at any point in its history. The 7th gen Celica may have thrown away its 'rally pedigree', but the previous gens were hardly great cars despite having it. The only real problem with it was that it was FWD, but in reality so was everything made in that era, and they weren't all bad cars to drive despite what people round here say about RWD being more fun.

The Celica's not really dead anyway. It went on holiday, and came back a few years later called the GT86.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:29

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he said every car you posted not every car EVER....

Sweet Trav > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/23/2015 at 16:30

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Diesel is disgusting.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:32

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The biggest travesty is -

My epic 1968 Mercury Montego:

2005 Mercury Montego:

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 16:34

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No. Just no. Besides, AFM equipped 5.3's are basically diesels, because they typically burn insane amounts of oil.

TheHondaBro > davedave1111 02/23/2015 at 16:38

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The GT86 is more of an AE86 successor. Unfortunately, the Scion tC is the Celica.

davedave1111 > TheHondaBro 02/23/2015 at 16:50

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They say it's an AE86 successor, but they wouldn't have had to give it the silly name if that was true. It's plainly a new Celica. Check the dimensions, they're almost identical.

The Scion tC isn't even sold in Japan or Europe. It's most certainly not a Celica successor, since it's a car designed solely for the US market (albeit which has since been sold in a few other areas where they also buy complete crap). Although if it was what the Celica has become, I'd have to agree about dying a horrible death, because that would make it a zombie.

Jedidiah > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 16:53

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Cutlass or 442.

Money Hustard > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 02/23/2015 at 16:53

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That's pretty damn bad, but I have to say, my 2006 Montego experience wasn't half-bad. The car was absolute shit to drive, but felt very solid. The interior room and comfort was also insane.

BUT WHY CALL IT A MONTEGO!?!?!?!

Money Hustard > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 02/23/2015 at 16:55

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To be fair he did follow up to say

And yes. there is not a single front engine RWD car that is not better with some variant of an LSX.

I read his intent:)

deekster_caddy > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 17:00

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And yes. there is not a single front engine RWD car that is not better with some variant of an LSX.

Mmmmm. Need to figure out how to put an LS7 in my '54 MG. Might be a tad nose-heavy but THE POWER

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Money Hustard 02/23/2015 at 17:01

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I heard they were great, but CVT in most of them and boring as all hell.

Yeah, no one remembered it was a Montego. They discontinued the Montego in 76, why bring it back in 05 for a boring 4 door sedan? Montego was originally available from 6 cylinder to Big Block V8s and in 2 door, 4 door, and wagon.

Sweet Trav > deekster_caddy 02/23/2015 at 17:05

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Cast iron 4 to aluminum v8 might be closer than you think...

TheHondaBro > davedave1111 02/23/2015 at 17:10

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The tC started production the year the Celica ended production in the US. It's competing in the same market the 7th gen Celica did, while the GT86 is a RWD sports coupe competing with the likes of the Miata and so on. It's also riding on the AE86's drift heritage and is built an an optimal drift car template, rather than an AWD homologated rally car.

While I'd much rather believe the Celica became a badass RWD fun box, it really is the tC.

davedave1111 > TheHondaBro 02/23/2015 at 17:21

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Since the only thing wrong with the 7th gen Celica was the FWD platform, I think you're being completely wrongheaded about this - but we'll have to agree to differ, since we're not getting anywhere :)

All I will add is that no Celica was ever built for rallying. The rallying was to sell the cars, not the other way around. It was just a cheapish, sportyish coupe.

TheHondaBro > davedave1111 02/23/2015 at 17:24

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You're right, we'll have to agree to disagree. I actually did enjoy our discussion, though. It's rare that I get to do this.

davedave1111 > TheHondaBro 02/23/2015 at 17:46

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Well, it's nice that round here we can usually have polite discussions without biting each other's heads off. Anyway, if we all had the same tastes, the cars I like would be more expensive.

deekster_caddy > Sweet Trav 02/23/2015 at 20:57

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I don't know, I can remove that engine with two people and no hoist... Plus, there's a physical issue of width: