The General Car Thread.

[Auzkhia]

It's the Chinese Buick, and it only had V6s, so it wouldn't be exactly like, but still a RWD car that GM never made.

If it exists, they made it.

The thing is that they managed to sell less Statesmen yearly than Lamborgini did Gallardos.

Car enthusiasts are a minority, and those who care a lot about full size RWD sedans are a niche, I exist, there are dozens of us!

We want cars with character, unlike the contemporary crossover, which is just fine for going to point A and point B, and if you're feeling wild, point C on the weekends.

[Petrolheadia]

If it exists, they made it.

The thing is that they managed to sell less Statesmen yearly than Lamborgini did Gallardos.

Car enthusiasts are a minority, and those who care a lot about full size RWD sedans are a niche, I exist, there are dozens of us!

Dozens. That's the problem.

You need tens of thousands to sell a sedan.

[Petrolheadia]

Also, we're getting a part 2 soon, so how do you want it named?

Ideas:
- The General Car Thread 2,
- The General Car Thread Mk2,
- The General Car Thread - The Facelift,
- The General Car Thread 2019,

Or suggest your own.

[Auzkhia]

Car enthusiasts are a minority, and those who care a lot about full size RWD sedans are a niche, I exist, there are dozens of us!

Dozens. That's the problem.

You need tens of thousands to sell a sedan.

This why I'd like to buy something new, but don't when that will be possible. I'm pretty happy with my "dated" 2005 car, it'd tell the makers that somebody wants more of this. Still, I'll weigh my options, assuming I ever get the chance, already thinking about keeping my daily forever and adding a fun car for something like autocross.

Car prices have stayed more or less consistent, when people buy new, they tend to buy more expensive vehicles. If anything the wages haven't kept with cost and prices, at least in the United States. Can't really speak on any other car market, besides the USDM.

Lot of sedan buyers either can't afford to buy new or grown old and need what is basically a minivan for easier access.

Also, we're getting a part 2 soon, so how do you want it named?

Ideas:
- The General Car Thread 2,
- The General Car Thread Mk2,
- The General Car Thread - The Facelift,
- The General Car Thread 2019,

Or suggest your own.

Last two work, but I'd use the Roman II, MkII looks nicer.

[Petrolheadia]

Dozens. That's the problem.

You need tens of thousands to sell a sedan.

This why I'd like to buy something new, but don't when that will be possible. I'm pretty happy with my "dated" 2005 car, it'd tell the makers that somebody wants more of this. Still, I'll weigh my options, assuming I ever get the chance, already thinking about keeping my daily forever and adding a fun car for something like autocross.

Car prices have stayed more or less consistent, when people buy new, they tend to buy more expensive vehicles. If anything the wages haven't kept with cost and prices, at least in the United States. Can't really speak on any other car market, besides the USDM.

Lot of sedan buyers either can't afford to buy new or grown old and need what is basically a minivan for easier access.

Also, we're getting a part 2 soon, so how do you want it named?

Ideas:
- The General Car Thread 2,
- The General Car Thread Mk2,
- The General Car Thread - The Facelift,
- The General Car Thread 2019,

Or suggest your own.

Last two work, but I'd use the Roman II, MkII looks nicer.

And out of the last two, which one is the most preferable?

[Cannot think of a name]

Also, we're getting a part 2 soon, so how do you want it named?

Ideas:
- The General Car Thread 2,
- The General Car Thread Mk2,
- The General Car Thread - The Facelift,
- The General Car Thread 2019,

Or suggest your own.

The general car thread LX
The general car thread Eddie Bower Edition...I got nothin’...

[Petrolheadia]

Also, we're getting a part 2 soon, so how do you want it named?

Ideas:
- The General Car Thread 2,
- The General Car Thread Mk2,
- The General Car Thread - The Facelift,
- The General Car Thread 2019,

Or suggest your own.

The general car thread LX
The general car thread Eddie Bower Edition...I got nothin’...

Or maybe the General Car Thread L, with the further edtions being GL (3rd thread), GLS (4th), Custom (5th), Limited (6th), Platinum (7th), Brougham (8th), etc.

[Petrolheadia]

Further car alternate history.

Part 2:

1951:

Americas:

As the war went on, (sub)compacts and imports retained their popularity, which was showed by the fact that Holden, Opels, Fords, VWs and Morrises all received new styling for 1952, as per US custom, and the ongoing projects kept running.

However, seeing the new Alfa's fame, UAM decided to start working on a similar supercar. This was part of a larger development project, involving the development of a new range of fullsize cars - and the supercar was meant to have a similar suspension setup and V8 engine to the new Packards.

But what shook the US auto industry were "Deming system" 1952 UAM cars, which were of better quality than their competitors, though it was offset by a higher price. While the original sales were just OK, an ad campaign and word of mouth helped them. These cars got especially popular in rural areas, where customers wanted simple, reliable cars.

Mopar's new Hemi V8s were also a good development for the company, burning less fuel than the competors, while having better performance.

Europe:

The new midsize cars, like the Opel Kadett, BMW 1200, Standard 10 or Austin A50 started appearing, with more coming and decent perspectives on the US market. 

However, many of the automakers ended up spending a lot on them, and had trouble recouping the costs or continuing development - this especially touched small brands, like BMW, Borgward or Hotchkiss. Also, the sales figures were worse than expected.

What actually sold well, though, was the Citroen 2CV van - a cheap, reliable vehicle that could haul a family. Citroen quickly found itself doing well, and even started exporting to the US, with quite limited success, and other companies started looking at their business model more closely.

Another revolution were the redesigned Opels, Fords, VWs and Morrises - the practice started bringing image-conscious customers towards these brands, and made others think about new '53 styling.

Also, as Hotchkiss started merger talks with UAM, the French goverment started working on its own Jeep-like vehicle, produced by Renault, due to Hotchkiss Jeeps serving that role until that point - the French goverment didn't want its military resources outsourced..

Behind the Iron Curtain, the USSR temporarily abandoned its economy car project to focus on defense.

Asia:

China took a similar approach to the USSR - abandoned the "people's car" project to focus on defense.

However, the kei car segment was booming - most manufacturers had at least one of these 150 cc cars, and smaller brands started feeling the competition from ones like Toyota, Hino or Nissan.

1952:

Americas:
Faced with rising unionism, UAM began looking into outsourcing production. Finally, in June, they started working on a new investment - a "Deming system" factory in Tijuana, Mexico, in order to bring better quality than the Big Three at lower prices. The factory was meant to produce compacts and subcompacts by Willys, Studebaker and Hotchkiss.

The 1953 model year brought a lot of new stuff.

For one, GM, Ford and UAM all had all-new compacts - the 1953 Holden line, with independent suspension (except for the ute), the FWD Ford Taunus and the Deming system Willys Aero/Studebaker Lark. They ended up selling like hotcakes, stealing buyers from cheaper fullsize models.

Also, Mopar debuted all-new car designs and Hemi V8 diesels. The cars themselves caught on, and the diesels weren't doing bad either, although they were limited to buyers who did not care about the rough operation of these machines.

However, on 28th November 1952, the market suffered a huge downturn. The reason?

Well, President Dewey authorized an atomic attack on Pyongyang. The world stood in shock, and the attack is often seen as the cause of Joseph Stalin's 7th December 1952 fatal heart attack. Car sales quickly fell, and makers lowered R&D expenses to almost zero.

Europe:
More midsize family cars were hitting the showroom floors, and smaller makers found themselves in trouble. Hotchkiss was bought by UAM and BMW went to Mercedes-Benz.

Citroen could have suffered the same fate, but 2CV and HY orders were coming in quickly. Seeing that, other brands also started working on their own economy cars and vans.

The French government, with Hotchkiss now being an US-owned maker, accelerated its work on a "light troop carrier". It was meant to be a Renault 4CV-based light amphibious vehicle, and its similarity to the Schwimmwagen led many to calling it "Le Schwimmwagenoix". It had a lot to do with Ferdinand Porsche working on it, following his late father's design work for Renault.

On the sports car front, Mercedes-Benz and Lancia joined the fight against the Alfetta. The new 320RS and Stelvio were seen as great performance cars, and the Stelvio was exceptionally good, thanks to being engineered by Lancia's new recruit, Enzo Ferrari.

Behind the Iron Curtain, the idea of a "car of the people" appeared in the form of the AWZ P70, a low-power, partially wooden, yet practical FWD minibus. The Western press even showed it as an example of a good car for so little money.

Of course, the atomic bombing of Pyongyang made things... somewhat worse on the economic front.

Asia:
After the Japanese government gave significant incentives for company mergers, they started quickly happening. In fact, by the end of the year, only Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, Suzuki and Hino were left on the scene.

India started working on its "national car" program. It was meant to be conducted by Hindustan's factory, and the car design was strongly inspired by the new AWZ - and even the Pyongyang attack didn't stop them.

(Nope, no MAD is coming).

1953:

Americas:

On 4th January, 1953,the USSR joined the Korean War by dropping a nuclear bomb on Seoul. This started the nuclear war stage of the conflict, with both sides using them.

However, both countries’ leaders knew what dropping a bomb on the rival’s territory would mean and kept the attacks to Korean soil. Nevertheless, further economic stagnation ensued.

What’s more, on 26th February, the Iranian prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, would nationalise the country’s oil, shaking the market. The US feared that for some time, but was too tied in Korea to stop him.

Egypt, Jordan and Syria dealt another blow to the oil market with a joint operation to capture the Suez Channel in March, making it harder to export oil. When it comes to producing the black stuff, May’s Arab power struggles after King Ibn Saud’s death did not help. The country went through a 7-month-long civil war, ending with the victory of his son Turki, the continuator of the dynasty.

This also let to the European NATO's near-downfall - the USSR threatened to cut oil supply to any NATO member. The only country to stay was Germany, supported by the US when it came to oil.

24th November brought the start of the peace movenent. A demonstration against the war and related draft in New York turned into a brawl with the police and an ostentatious burning of draft cards. Similar events happened in LA (7th December) and San Francisco (19th December).

Americas:

1953 had some of the worst sales for years, and model year 1954 had the worst opening in years. Still, new car designs were significantly different, in order to draw customers.

It also had compacts and subcompacts gaining even more ground, with Holden even outselling Chevy's debut (that said, Chevy's designs were rather old by the point). This made GM decide to start making Holdens in Van Nuys, and the Ford Taunus also got US manufacturing by the end of the year.

Chrysler's new compacts, the Plymouth Lancer (Chrysler in Australia) and Dodge Coronet, as well as the company's diesels, including a new I6 one, and the purchase of Borgward gave it a well-needed boost.

The compact commercial vehicle segment also shone, with Holden's Half-Ton Ute, Ford 's Transit and VW Transporter fighting for domination.

Nash's compacts were buying it some time, together with redesigned fullsizes.

Seeing that, GM and Ford started independently developing "senior compacts" - cars that would slot between compacts and fullsizes.

Also, imports were making huge inroads in the US. Not only were Holdens, Opels, Fords of Germany , Hotchkisses and Borgwards (though the first had "gone native") sold through Big Four dealers, VWs, Saabs, Morrises, DKWs, etc. were selling better than ever.

Despite the push for economy, a GM dealer from New Orleans, Mike Persia, fitted a Holden Deluxe coupe with Oldsmobile mechanical parts and widened wheelarches, as well as stripping the interior. The car was raced in NASCAR, and achieved great victories there, with Mr. Persia finally selling the design of the Holden TSC (Track Special Coupe) to GM.

In the same year, after the Brazilian president's appeal, Ford and Chrysler pledged to biild factories there, while GM decided to build one in Chile.

Europe:

As in America, the market had a slump, yet the cars were greatly restyled to attract customers to them.

Germany's decision to stay in NATO led to gasoline having to be rationed, which had a bad effect on the German luxury car market. While Mercedes-Benz and BMW survived, Borgward was bought by Chrysler and Ferdinand Porsche sold his company to work for Citroen.

VW, meanwhile, scored a hit with the diesel-optioned Type 3,a Beetle-based, contemporary-styled 4-door sedan.

Meanwhile, the center of luxury was moving to France, with the new Delahaye 400,boasting of a 4.0 V12 and Citroen-licensed hydropneumatic suspension, was launched. It was the fastest luxury car of the time.

Also, Bugatti built the Type 302, a 4.5 V12 mid-engined supercar - the world's fastest, reaching 270 km/h and winning the 1953 LeMans.

This overshadowed Jaguar's new, mid-engined XK170. What's worse, the Jag went through engine trouble during LeMans.

France also completed its new, Renault-based light military vehicle - an amphibious one. However, many experts deemed such things irrelevant in the era of the atomic bomb.

Competitors to the Citroën 2CV in the form of the Ford Brompton (UK) and Harz (Germany), small, yet 4-door FWD vehicles that sold quite well.

The Portugese government decided to start a "national car" program to lower the country's foreign dependence.

Poland also decided to work on such a thing, starting to test microcar prototypes.

Asia:

Japan's car industry kept on developing, with the new Toyota Crown, a contemporary-styled large sedan and rebodied Austin A70, seen as a reach beyond cheap kei cars. Still, the quality was what you could expect from an underdeveloped country.

The Japanese makers started looking towards expansion - Toyota began estabilishing an assembly in Taiwan, and Isuzu had sights set on the French Indochina.

Despite droughts weakening the economy, the Indian national car project kept on continuing.

1954:

Politics:

The Korean War continued, despite protests all across the US.

Its continuing was helped by the fact that many African-Americans enlisted, hoping to use it for societal ascent. The viewpoint was reinforced by the GI Bill being extended to all servicepeople.

While the US had the military upper hand, it was having funding problems, due to many politicians opposing further funding for it, sometimes for racially-charged reasons.

In Europe, the Suez Coalition (Egypt, Jordan, Syria) restarted the sale of oil in March, and a month later, Iran did the same thing.

Noticing their dependence on the Arab nations, European nations started diplomatic efforts to bring about the Euro-Arabian Oil Commonwealth, similar to the already existing one for coal and steel.

Also, France and South Vietnamese forces won the battle of Dien Bien Phu, stopping the Vietcong, and started preparing an offensive.

Americas:

1954 brought an end to the fuel crisis and saw a start to a scrappage scheme, meant to give the army more salvage steel and help the car market, as well as the GI Bill extended to car buying and loans.

The biggest winners were compacts and subcompacts, cheap enough not to require a large investment besides the scrappage money, and light enough to get a good price reduction for using little steel. UAM, with its cheap Mexican manufacturing, and GM’s leasing benefited the most.

Sales were also boosted by all of the Big Four rolling out new, striking fullsize designs for all brands, from Chevrolet to Packard (unibody at Ford and UAM), new GM, Ford and UAM V8s, UAM’s torsion beam suspension, as well as Nash abandoning the segment to focus on compacts and imported Peugeot subcompacts.

That year is also seen as “the American performance car’s birthdate” - Packard rolled out the Talladega, a supercharged V8 supercar that debuted in the 1954 LeMans, and Holden started making the ASC with some roadworthiness changes.

Cadillac began the development of the Eldorado, a sporty 4-door sedan/convertible to fight the new Delahaye.

Opel was removed from the US market, and the Kadett and Olympia models were transferred to Holden, and added to their Australian offerings.

Seeing how the Deming process was kept at a lower cost by Mexican manufacturing at UAM, the rest of the Big Four started working on their own Mexican assemblies.

Europe:

The Citroen 13CV, a groundbreaking luxury car, was released. Not only it had hydropneumatic systems all around, it had striking fastback bodywork with an opening rear window and a drivetrain tuned by Ferdinand Porsche and Maserati brothers. It was meant to be a prelude for the upcoming 6CV, 9CV and 16CV.

At the same time, Delahaye began work on the 2500, a smaller luxury car and a 13CV rival.

The British government instituted an antitrust law, which stopped the planned merger of Morris and Austin. However, these companies made their own mergers - Morris with Lanchester and Daimler, and Austin with Rover. Austin-Rover began adopting the Deming system.

Still, their joint project, a 3-wheeled sub-Minor/A30 economy car, the Mini/A10, hit the market. Unfortunately for them, it was overshadowed by the Hillman Imp, an Alec Issigonis-designed FWD small car with surprisingly good handling.

Jaguar, following financial troubles, went bankrupt, which was a surprise for the performance car world.

Mercedes-Benz, with the new Delahaye, Packard and Bugatti on the market, as well as the Eldorado and 16CV in development, started working on the 400S and 400RS - “new standards in luxury”.

Meanwhile, BMW, their subsidiary, started making a licensed version of the new Fiat 500 - a decision that helped the company’s finances a lot. The Fiat itself also was a success in its native Italy.

The 1954 LeMans was the spot of fierce competition between the new Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Packard Talladega, Lancia Stelvio and Mercedes 320RS. However, the winner was unlikely - it was the Lotus 6, a lightweight mid-engined race car using tuned Jaguar XK120 mechanicals. After the race, Colin Chapman was approached with orders for a road-going version, and by the end of the year, there was one.

Behind the big companies was TVR with its 2000, built in a similar way with Bristol parts, yet not as refined. Still, TVR ended up in a similar situation, and by the end of the year, there was a production 2000.

Asia:

India’s new “national car”, the AWZ-derived Hindustan Premier, ended up being quite successful. Still, it did not motorize the largely-undeveloped country, as its cost was still relatively high.

Meanwhile, Japanese manufacturers Toyota and Nissan developed the Land Cruiser Series 30 and Nissan Patrol, two Land Rover-derived 4x4s. They were quite unrefined, yet successful in developing markets, thanks to the low prices.

1955:

Americas:

The war continued to draw ire, now on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Also, it was so damaging and costly that the participants wanted to end it.

In July, the American scrappage scheme ended and finally, on 27th October, the Tokyo Agreement between 5 leaders, Thomas Dewey, Lavrientiy Beria, Mao Zedong, Kim Il-Sung and Syngman Rhee ended the war and drew the border on the 37th parallel north.

By that time, the Franco-Vietnamese anti-Vietcong offense was already ongoing, with good results for the South.

Americas:

Good car sales continued. While the end of scrappage slowed down cheap car sales, the rest of the market made up for that.

UAM showed some new things that changed the US car scene. The first was the '56 "Low Step" series of Studebaker pickup trucks, which used a less bulky frame design to give more space, also offering typical UAM quality, as well as good-value Mexican production. '56's UAM design also showed their new diesels, from Hotchkiss 4-bangers to Hudson/Kaiser V8s, which gave Mopars a run for their money.

Chrysler was falling into financial troubles, as they couldn't get enough sales during the scrappage scene, as Borgwards were relatively expensive, and their cars were showing reliability problems.

GM and Ford's new intermediate vehicles, the RWD Holden Superior (AU-only)/Chevrolet Chevelle/Pontiac LeMans/Oldsmobile 76/78/Buick Special and the FWD Ford Fairbank/Mercury Comet, were also hits, well-slotting between the compacts and fullsizes, offering both I6s and V8s.

Meanwhile, the Holden ASC got a more "civilian" version, the Sport Coupe, with an SBC 281 ci V8, and competitors for either - the Studebaker Sport Lark/Super Lark, with a normal Studebaker V8 and a 374 ci Packard one, respectively.

Also, GM began working on a cheaper, more mass-market alternative to the Packard Talladega, the Corvette, and Ford's Thunderbird was meant to be the same.

Besides that, GM started working on recreating LaSalle as Opel captive imports, and Ford's new brand, Edsel, entered the drawing board.

This year also had the first Japanese car stateside, the Toyotas: 200, Crown and Land Cruiser. However, all were derided for a lack of refinement, with very few sold in that only year of sales.

Europe:

Diesels kept gaining ground, with Borgward, BMW, Volvo, Peugeot, Citroen (Ami, 6CV, 9CV) and both Austin and Morris Group cars getting them. By then, not only fleet customers were getting such cars - they were getting more and more common on the average driveway.

In the UK, Austin-Rover and Morris were taking two different routes - AR began improving their quality, while also making the '56 designs appealing and introducing the Rover P5, while Morris risked large loans for making new car designs for Lanchester and Daimler, neglecting the 1956s. Rootes Group bought Standard-Triumph.

In Germany, the VW Type 3 was challenged by the new Opel Kadett. Meanwhile, both brands started working on sports csrs using these two's mechanicals.

Citroen revealed the 6CV and 9CV, looking much like the 13CV, but with less complex styling and mechanicals, while work on the 16CV and the range-topping GT continued, with the Porsche-Maserati team leading them.

In Italy, the new Fiat 600 had its premiere, stealing some 500 buyers. On the opposite end of the scale, the 2nd gen Lancia Stelvio surfaced, with a 4.7 V12. It was the fastest car in the world.

However, LeMans had another Lotus victory on the track, showing that the Six wasn't a one-hit wonder. Lotus was working on its own, non-Jaguar engine.

In Poland, the new microcar, Mikrus, debuted as a small 4-door sedan, and was directed to production. The USSR restarted its national car program after the war.

Asia:

China resumed its national car program, as defense was no longer as prioritized, and a symbol of the Great Leap Forward was needed.

Meanwhile, in Japan, the economy was growing, and another company expanded - the Dutch colonies had a Hino factory set up, and Suzuki, now talking Citroen 2CV licensing, took its chances in post-nuclear-war Korea, or what was left of it in the south. A new relatively popular car appeared, the Isuzu 1500 (a licensed Ford Consul).

[Cannot think of a name]

The general car thread LX
The general car thread Eddie Bower Edition...I got nothin’...

Or maybe the General Car Thread L, with the further edtions being GL (3rd thread), GLS (4th), Custom (5th), Limited (6th), Platinum (7th), Brougham (8th), etc.

Phaeton, but we can only post in good weather...

[Auzkhia]

This why I'd like to buy something new, but don't when that will be possible. I'm pretty happy with my "dated" 2005 car, it'd tell the makers that somebody wants more of this. Still, I'll weigh my options, assuming I ever get the chance, already thinking about keeping my daily forever and adding a fun car for something like autocross.

Car prices have stayed more or less consistent, when people buy new, they tend to buy more expensive vehicles. If anything the wages haven't kept with cost and prices, at least in the United States. Can't really speak on any other car market, besides the USDM.

Lot of sedan buyers either can't afford to buy new or grown old and need what is basically a minivan for easier access.

Last two work, but I'd use the Roman II, MkII looks nicer.

And out of the last two, which one is the most preferable?

No, I have two others the mid-cycle refresh or 2nd generation.

[Petrolheadia]

And out of the last two, which one is the most preferable?

No, I have two others the mid-cycle refresh or 2nd generation.

2nd generation? That might work.

[Patridam]

1979 103k mi. 2.3 A/T Ford Fairmont sedan,

They never sold the four cylinder Fairmont with an automatic. You could get a 4-speed stick 2.3 four, but with the 3 speed auto you had to get the 3.3 six or one of the V8's.

[Auzkhia]

Mitsubishi: We need new vehicles!

Car Enthusiasts: How about an Evo XI? Please make another.

Mitsubishi: I got it! Bland trend chasing crossovers that we still have give cash rebates anyway before people actually buy a Nissan or a Ford instead.

I have no reason to care about Mitsubishi anymore.

[The Two Jerseys]

Mitsubishi: We need new vehicles!

Car Enthusiasts: How about an Evo XI? Please make another.

Mitsubishi: I got it! Bland trend chasing crossovers that we still have give cash rebates anyway before people actually buy a Nissan or a Ford instead.

I have no reason to care about Mitsubishi anymore.

You left out the bit about shitting all over a classic name in the process.

[Auzkhia]

Mitsubishi: We need new vehicles!

Car Enthusiasts: How about an Evo XI? Please make another.

Mitsubishi: I got it! Bland trend chasing crossovers that we still have give cash rebates anyway before people actually buy a Nissan or a Ford instead.

I have no reason to care about Mitsubishi anymore.

You left out the bit about shitting all over a classic name in the process.

If they want to make those sort of vehicles, sure, but why use Lancer or Eclipse, unless they're making a new compact sedan or sporty coupe.

[The Two Jerseys]

You left out the bit about shitting all over a classic name in the process.

If they want to make those sort of vehicles, sure, but why use Lancer or Eclipse, unless they're making a new compact sedan or sporty coupe.

Because the people in charge haven't got a clue, that's why.

[Auzkhia]

If they want to make those sort of vehicles, sure, but why use Lancer or Eclipse, unless they're making a new compact sedan or sporty coupe.

Because the people in charge haven't got a clue, that's why.

Or just lazy, it's apparent if you ever seen the Mirage. If it were a person, it would only have one buttock.

[Cannot think of a name]

"Project."

[The Two Jerseys]

"Project."

And for the price they're asking, you could get a car of the same vintage that actually runs...

[Auzkhia]

"Project."

Craigslist: Needs some tlc, easy fix, I know what I got.

---

Either Honda Civic Si models before 2001 are shooting up in value or this buyer was an idiot

[NeoOasis]

You left out the bit about shitting all over a classic name in the process.

If they want to make those sort of vehicles, sure, but why use Lancer or Eclipse, unless they're making a new compact sedan or sporty coupe.[/quote]

That's easy. Both Lancer and Eclipse have lots of name recognition. It's easier to ride out a familiar name than try to introduce the public to a new one. Ford brought back the Taurus name after the 500 proved to be a total flop, and I don't think Chrysler is fareing too badly with the decidedly not-crossover minivan Pacifica.

We'll see if the Galant and Diamante make a triumphant return as anything in the near future as Nissan/Rennault start rolling out their global platform.

[Auzkhia]

You left out the bit about shitting all over a classic name in the process.

If they want to make those sort of vehicles, sure, but why use Lancer or Eclipse, unless they're making a new compact sedan or sporty coupe.

That's easy. Both Lancer and Eclipse have lots of name recognition. It's easier to ride out a familiar name than try to introduce the public to a new one. Ford brought back the Taurus name after the 500 proved to be a total flop, and I don't think Chrysler is fareing too badly with the decidedly not-crossover minivan Pacifica.

We'll see if the Galant and Diamante make a triumphant return as anything in the near future as Nissan/Rennault start rolling out their global platform.[/quote]
It was a bland replacement to the Crown Victoria, while dated, had a boatload of charming character. Similarly, the Mercury Montego can't top the Grand Marquis. Not to be confused with the Monterey, which was a minivan, last time Ford Motor Company used that name for a Mercury.

Those are a bit different, Taurus was already a sedan name. Pacifica, minivans and crossovers are basically the same sort of vehicle. Anything that's a bit bigger than a sedan and has a hatch can be considered a crossover, even wagons and minivans, but without sliding doors.

[Mike the Progressive]

I just got a Jaguar F type earlier this year. A nice little "congrats on that promotion and bonus" to myself. It's alright. Though I miss my Infiniti. The things that car got me and the things I did in it. Plus it handled well. You know? I haven't really been that impressed with the Q series.

[The Two Jerseys]

That's easy. Both Lancer and Eclipse have lots of name recognition. It's easier to ride out a familiar name than try to introduce the public to a new one. Ford brought back the Taurus name after the 500 proved to be a total flop, and I don't think Chrysler is fareing too badly with the decidedly not-crossover minivan Pacifica.

We'll see if the Galant and Diamante make a triumphant return as anything in the near future as Nissan/Rennault start rolling out their global platform.

It was a bland replacement to the Crown Victoria, while dated, had a boatload of charming character. Similarly, the Mercury Montego can't top the Grand Marquis. Not to be confused with the Monterey, which was a minivan, last time Ford Motor Company used that name for a Mercury.

Those are a bit different, Taurus was already a sedan name. Pacifica, minivans and crossovers are basically the same sort of vehicle. Anything that's a bit bigger than a sedan and has a hatch can be considered a crossover, even wagons and minivans, but without sliding doors.

Also, nobody actually cared about the original Pacifica enough to be offended by Chrysler putting the name on a minivan...

[Elwher]

"Project."

The Poor Thing