What car brand are you glad is or wish was dead?

[Blind_Io]

I remember they were even mentioned in M*A*S*H: "It's the hottest thing since Studebaker put the back on the front" - Col. Potter.

 

[mautzel]

Come to think of it - there's not a single car made by Daihatsu that appeals to me. I can see the purpose of that brand in Japan (660cc cars), but I wouldn't miss anything if they stopped selling cars in Europe. (e.g. stuff like the Move or Sirion)

 

[-Cpt. J.-]

ops I mean Chinese to early her in Europe.

The automobiles from China are damn dangerous to let on the streets.
Just saw the European crash test results.

What is wrong with the US vehicles? Or is being Anti America a trend??

At -Cpt. J.-, don't get it. What does Bush have to do with Automobiles?

1, I am 100% sure Bush wants to take over the world

and

2. Nuking Europe would make you both happy it seems.

 

[Shaggy]

1, I am 100% sure Bush wants to take over the world

and

2. Nuking Europe would make you both happy it seems.

Why would I want to Nuke the country that I em living in?
Sure the hell don't see the connection between me and Bush?
I guess you had a hard childhood?

 

[-Cpt. J.-]

It still brings tears to my eyes...

 

[Blind_Io]

Nuclear fallout has that affect on me too. I found a pair of goggles does wonders.

 

[mitchellknight]

Jeep of all the American brands that are total shit and still kicking it's jeep.

I personally welcome the demise of Ford, GM and Chrysler. The UAW got fat and lazy with their big three ponies. Bring in the fresh and the new. These brands had their chance and blew it over a 30 years period continuously. Look what GM has done to Saab, Ford to Jaguar and Volvo. Take the big three off life support.

American homegrown brands worth keeping:
Corvette

AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE CORVETTES!

 

[BlaRo]

American homegrown brands worth keeping:
Corvette

AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE CORVETTES!

Yeah, but you live near Bowling Green (closer than I do, anyway). So therefore, I'm jealous.

Alternatively, I know a kid that is an intern at that plant. The thing that gets me is, he knows fuck all about cars. He drove a yellow Beetle that he won on Jeopardy around for a year or so before wrecking it, ffs.

 

[Paul_The_Aussie]

Jeep of all the American brands that are total shit and still kicking it's jeep.

I personally welcome the demise of Ford, GM and Chrysler. The UAW got fat and lazy with their big three ponies. Bring in the fresh and the new. These brands had their chance and blew it over a 30 years period continuously. Look what GM has done to Saab, Ford to Jaguar and Volvo. Take the big three off life support.

American homegrown brands worth keeping:
Corvette

AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE CORVETTES!

I thought the Ford & Volvo relationship was a good one. Volvo turning out some decent cars, but I guess i am wrong?

 

[jetsetter]

Look what GM has done to Saab, Ford to Jaguar and Volvo

I wouldn't say they have done terribly. There was a reason that Saab was up for sale. After the sale GM actually made Saab profitable. And now Saab is coming with some interesting vehicles.

 

[Mischief007]

Jeep of all the American brands that are total shit and still kicking it's jeep.

I personally welcome the demise of Ford, GM and Chrysler. The UAW got fat and lazy with their big three ponies. Bring in the fresh and the new. These brands had their chance and blew it over a 30 years period continuously. Look what GM has done to Saab, Ford to Jaguar and Volvo. Take the big three off life support.

American homegrown brands worth keeping:
Corvette

AND I DON'T EVEN LIKE CORVETTES!

Reread what you just wrote and then think about it hard.

Personally I don't think any brand should go away. They each have their own market. What I would like is a level playing field.

 

[mautzel]

I wouldn't say they have done terribly. There was a reason that Saab was up for sale. After the sale GM actually made Saab profitable. And now Saab is coming with some interesting vehicles.

Such as rebadged Subarus and Chevys or a self-development that wasn't up to its competitors ten years ago but still is on sale without major changes since then?

Profitable perhaps, but at a serious price!

 

[mitchellknight]

mautzel nailed it. The 9-5 and Saabaru and abominations!

The big 3 just make their quota and inch along. No innovation, no creativity and no style.

To be fair I got to drive a brand new Lexus IS250 the other day, it looked way too much like a Toyota on the inside. Like they just took some gray plastic pieces from the Camry and slapped it in. The car is a dream to drive and I certainly put it through its paces on some country roads but I'd much rather have a Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi if I were to pay that much.

 

[janstett]

Brands I wouldn't mind seeing die:

Mercury (what's the point, Ford + different grille)
Lincoln (no point, can't compete, Ford has Jaguar)
Buick (zzzzzz)
Hummer (yet more rebranding from GM)
GMC (^)
Saab (I've just always hated them)
Isuzu (used to make some hot hatches like the Impulse, just dying on the vine now)
Suzuki (didn't get the memo to move upmarket)
Acura (overgrown/overpriced Hondas with no value-add like RWD)

Some brands I was glad to see die:
AMC
Eagle
Geo
Plymouth
Oldsmobile
Merkur

 

[janstett]

What does hate accomplish and what value does it have?

Spider-man 3 was a bad movie, but to paraphrase Eddie Brock as Venom, "Hate makes me happy".

 

[thedguy]

Brands I wouldn't mind seeing die:
Saab (I've just always hated them)
Isuzu (used to make some hot hatches like the Impulse, just dying on the vine now)
Suzuki (didn't get the memo to move upmarket)

Suzuki got screwed by GM management. Same with Isuzu. Suzuki got forced going DOWN market by throwing their badge on Daewoo's in the US. If GM imported Suzuki Swifts and rebadged those as Chevy's things would be a lot different for them.

Isuzu is actually trying to get their ass out from under GM and do something. As you mentioned, they made some cool little cars back in the day, and in the late 60's and early 70's they had nice looking designs that were styled by the Italian's. Japanese reliability with Italian styling... how is that NOT a winning combination?

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Edsel even though I'm probably the only person here who actually likes them.

But one I'm glad to see gone is Studebaker. I like most of their pre-1960's cars. But then they got desperate to stay in business and came up with some really weird and ugly designs. I can only imagine how bad things could have gotten had they lasted a few more years.

Oddly enough I think most members here don't even know OF Edsel. I always forget about 'em.

I like Studebaker. They did have a couple of decent cars in the 60's, but they were to late. I think if they could have stuck around, America might still be known for having nice looking cars.

Jeep of all the American brands that are total shit and still kicking it's jeep.

No. Jeep has just been expanding their line to retarded lengths. They need to go back to the Wrangler and Cherokee and leave it at that.

I personally welcome the demise of Ford, GM and Chrysler. The UAW got fat and lazy with their big three ponies. Bring in the fresh and the new. These brands had their chance and blew it over a 30 years period continuously. Look what GM has done to Saab, Ford to Jaguar and Volvo. Take the big three off life support.

Ford hasn't done anything to Jag, from my understanding Fords constant influx of cash has kept the company alive. Jag has only hurt themselves by refusing to fix their quality issues (see Zuhaib's post here).

GM is actually trying to turn things around and they are making strides to earn their money. Chrysler group is the only one I can see doing away with. Their vehicles are shit, and only once in a while do they come up with something looks good... and I want a car that does more than just look good. Ford needs to just get out of the car market, or get their shit together and bring the US the Euro Fords.

 

[janstett]

Jeep of all the American brands that are total shit and still kicking it's jeep.

Why kill Jeep? That's probably the biggest reason Daimler-Benz wanted to "merge" with Chrysler. It's probably also the biggest incentive for anybody else to think about acquiring Chrysler now that they've been cut loose.

Make Chrysler consist of only Chrysler and Dodge and it will go nowhere fast.

Although, you have to admit, Jeep has managed to kill a lot of host companies over the years (Willy's/AMC/Chrysler-pre-DCX/etc).

 

[janstett]

I have to add, I'm not so sure on Volkswagen (in the US at least). I know that's heracy but I grew up after the original Beetle craze and aside from the occasional GTi, I don't see why we need them (in the US). They make the same kinds of cars the Japanese make in droves, except they can say they're German (that was a focus of their marketing for several years). For many years now I'm not quite sure I see the point of the company -- that may just be their lack of direction in the US.

 

[BlaRo]

I have to add, I'm not so sure on Volkswagen (in the US at least). I know that's heracy but I grew up after the original Beetle craze and aside from the occasional GTi, I don't see why we need them (in the US). They make the same kinds of cars the Japanese make in droves, except they can say they're German (that was a focus of their marketing for several years). For many years now I'm not quite sure I see the point of the company -- that may just be their lack of direction in the US.

The "German Engineering" image is a huge part of their success. People figure that for the same price as a dull Japanese car, they could get the seemingly invincible engineering found on expensive Benzes and Porsches, simply because it comes from Germany. Plenty of college kids own Jettas which I can't fathom for some weird reason. A lot of my friends own Passats and Jettas, and that's exactly why they have them instead of Corollas and Camrys. The interiors are pretty well-crafted with lots of details and features like all 4 auto-lowering windows and padded gloveboxes, which they like as well. Compared to Japanese and American econoboxes, they're cult cars, and if VW was to pull out of the market like they might with their reliability concerns and subsequent sales slide, people would riot and burn their Type IIIs and Corrados.

 

[jetsetter]

Such as rebadged Subarus and Chevys or a self-development that wasn't up to its competitors ten years ago but still is on sale without major changes since then?

Profitable perhaps, but at a serious price!

It was either change or die.