Will there ever be 'off-brand' cars?

"NeedForSwede" (needforswede) 03/03/2014 at 11:23 • Filed to: YOUR TAG HERE!

0

20

Grocery stores provide off brand versions of nearly everything. These, of course, provide a cheaper alternative to the more expensive name brand product, usually with an unimaginative rewording (my enduring favorite is Kroger's Crispy Rice). There are, however, no automotive equivalents to a knock off cereal- no 'Kroger Kars' or 'Walmart Wheels' (both probably followed bu exclamation marks). The prospect of this is very interesting, especially to car enthusiasts.

Although they would be beiger than a base Camry, there are many opportunities to be had. First, you could buy what are essentially beater cars for the same price as a used car, but without mechanical problems (at least at first). They would be cheap, easy to repair, and light. They would also provide 'shells' that could be endlessly modified, again, without the prospect of mechanical issues.

Imagine walking into a grocery store and ordering a $1000 dollar wagon, unencumbered by A/C or a radio or many other accessories, driving it home, and stuffing a V8 in it.

You could have a lot of fun.

puddler > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:24

0

like getting a mexican vw instead of a german vw? but they didn't knock the price down.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:25

1

A can of green beans =/= something I trust at speeds of 100mph. Forgive my bluntness, but this is a terrible idea on many levels. Proof - china.

Klaus Schmoll > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:27

1

I think that Hyundai/Kia were just that in the '90s. An off-brand car. The first Chinese cars to arrive on American/European markets will be the same.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:29

1

No and Yes.

At least in the US, people are far too much brand snobs to buy a car without any badge recognition.

GM tried to sell us exactly this with Saturn, but that didn't work.

However, you whole point about buying something cheap without options and stuffing the engine you want into it already exists.

May I direct you to www.craigslist.com , www.copart.com , www.motors.ebay.com

Frank Grimes > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:29

1

I want a car that looks like a Geo Metro but has a modern Ford motor and some kind of italian body kit and AWD from a russian car.

Sort of like this but pathetic in its attempt to look more modern.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:30

0

Fiat 124:

Vaz 2101:

Premier 118NE:

Seat 124:

Surce:

NeedForSwede > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 03/03/2014 at 11:37

0

Touché.

NeedForSwede > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 03/03/2014 at 11:39

0

Kinja'd

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:40

0

Of course there are knock-off cars. They're called kit cars and replicas. It wouldn't make sense to make a knock-off Camry because people could just buy a used Camry. It makes sense to make a knock-off Lamborghini because not many people can afford one and they'll get most of the novelty of owning one at a fraction of the price.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:44

0

I think they're just the non-premium car brands. Hyundai, Daewoo, Dacia, old Skoda etc.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:46

0

Didn't Sears do that with the Henry J in the 50's? I remember reading something about it being sold in different chain stores with different names, though I could be wrong

N/A POWAAAHH > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:47

0

Wouldn't all those cars from china like ssyangyongs or whatever be considered "off brands"?

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 11:50

0

There were, but they moved upmarket. In the 80s, the Hyundai Excel was a cheap copy of a Mitsubishi. In the 90s, you had Geo, which sold cheaper, less-equipped versions of popular Japanese cars. Among the Chrysler cloud cars, the Plymouth was definitely off-brand. Then in 95 the Kia Sephia was nothing more than a badge-engineered 91 Protégé. If you look at the 2000s, you could easily say that Suzuki cars were off-brand. The Forenza and Reno were shitty rebadged Daewoos sold as GM captive imports.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 12:11

0

I thought that's what all the badge engineering was.

Also Kia.

ChampagneChariot > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 12:17

0

I think Silly Circles (Froot Loops) is my favorite, and no. Unless you consider buying a Lexus over a Toyota organic then, no.

ncasolowork2 > NeedForSwede 03/03/2014 at 12:25

1

Off Brand cars exist already. They're made in China.

Eric the RC guy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/03/2014 at 12:32

0

How is that proof? To be fair it is Taiwanese, not Chinese, but I know a few people that have Kymco bikes that they really like. Sure there are some problems, but even when repairing those problems the bikes end up a lot cheaper.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Eric the RC guy 03/03/2014 at 12:38

0

Early Chinese knockoff cars were deadly at best, and an inhumane form of torture at worst. Now they're getting better, but that's because they are going up in price. Look at Hyundai - they basically started out as a knockoff brand of car. Now? They're every bit as legitimate as any other brand. But the prices reflect this.

The modern car is too complex for this idea to be taken seriously. Just buy used cars if this is what you want.

Eric the RC guy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/03/2014 at 12:40

0

That makes sense. Also, I suppose I don't want the average person that is looking to buy a sub $10k brand new car to be trusted to make sure that car doesn't fall apart on the road in front of me.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Eric the RC guy 03/03/2014 at 12:44

0

Agreed. Now a cheap commuter car that could be sold at a grocery or department store? That could work. I imagine smart cars could've been sold this way and worked out fine in urban areas. The choices would be limited and the cars won't be very fancy but that is the closest this idea gets to working. Even then, you need a service/repair network in America I believe. Unless you don't offer a warranty. But then who would buy it?