Posted on 10/02/2010 8:21:28 PM PDT by DemforBush
If there’s one constant in this world, it’s this: We live in a world of constant flux. In the automotive world, however, we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing the same group of manufacturers introduce new models each year. You know the names. But for the 2011 model year—thanks largely to the huge economic downturn that began in late 2008—four well-known American nameplates have gone the way of the Edsel, so to speak...
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...
It was a pity the new GTO looked Japanese. A lttle retro would have made all the difference.
It was almost as bad as the mid-70’s Thunderbird or the Mustang II. At least the Mustang was able to recover eventually. It makes you wonder what they were thinking. People might buy a car partly for the name if the car itself carries on the tradition associated with the name.
Ford had the Taurus X crossover before they came out with the new sedan. I guess it was supposed to fill the niche of the old station wagon, but it looked more like an SUV. I guarantee it would have sold more if it had a name that sounded like an SUV, because I’m sure people thought “I know what a Taurus is, and that’s not one.”
Can you imagine if the new Mustang had been released as an Escort instead, with the same pricing, nothing changed but the name? All you would hear is “It’s a nice looking car, but who wants to pay $30K for an Escort?”
Once a name means something to us, it’s difficult to change the meaning. Any re-used nameplate needs to be an update of the same theme or it will likely be rejected.
My son still drives a loaded Grand Marquis he “inherited” from me. I figure it could go another few 100k miles.
Amazing road vehicle. I’ll miss them.
What is often unreported is the technologies and equipment which goes out the door. I’ll cut thru it and Hummer stuff went to China. Okay that’s fine because we owe them and they were top bidder. Do you know how many jillion$ went into designing these and the equip to build them?
Harken back to earlier days when Studebaker made great heavy trucks. They disappeared from the American landscape.
The only time you saw them en mass_ was parading with missles through the grand streets of China and n.korea.
My dad had a Crown Vic and a Grand Marquis. Both were great cars.
The Buell market-line had lots of potential.
That Trans Am is pretty cool. And Grand Prix’s seem to last forever.
I owned two De Soto’s and they were two of the best cars I ever owned
I still wonder if the car companies have that “carry parts for ten years only” rule, any more.
Tis may be a small thing but the inaccuracy in this article is seen in article after article in reporting today. I don’t know if the “reporters” are just plain ignorant or they deliberately conjure up myths to embellish their stories. This oen comes straight out of GM pr.
“The original Hummer H1 (or Hum-Vee) was a celebrity of the Persian Gulf War. In 2002 came a smaller and (slightly) more manageable version, the Hummer H2.”
The Hummvee bears nothing more than a slight sheet metal resemblance to the hummer. They are 2 totally different vehicles and have absolutely no historical connection other than GM’s desire to capitalize on the performance of the Humvee.
Grand Prix’s are awesome.
I had a 2000 Grand Prix with 200k miles. Would have gotten more if it didn’t have the “red” anti freeze (back then this anti freeze did something to the intake manifold gasket and then sludged the engine).
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