Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Well I also think Zephyr was a mistake in that a nobody remembered the car and it's not like remembering the train was much better
 
Well I also think Zephyr was a mistake in that a nobody remembered the car and it's not like remembering the train was much better

The original Zephyr was a fine-looking ride with a V12 under the hood. It should have been remembered. That said, even if the original was forgotten, Zephyr is still a great name even without the history.
 
I was behind a recent Mercedes estate the other day and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out if it was a C or E class. They look the same to me, just a generic blob with a Mercedes star glued on like an afterthought. And I’m the kind of guy that usually is able to tell the make and model of a car car from its headlights when it’s pitch dark and it’s coming the other way.

I miss the sharp styling of the W212.

When the current (W222) S-Class came out, I had split opinions on it, as I always have with new designs, but it eventually grew on me. Later on when they released the W205 C-Class, I thought that it was cool, what's not to like about a scaled-down S-Class? (Well, unless you owned an S-Class, that is.) But when they applied the same design language to the W213 E-Class, and watered it down (IMO), it all of a sudden didn't seem so cool to me.

I still find the design relatively good and at least better than the current CLS and CLA, but they definitely ruined it a bit for me by having all three of their main sedans looking the same. I mean, it's not like this is the first time they did such a thing, the W201 and pre-facelift W124 have nearly identical front ends, and the W140 just looks like a slightly enlarged post-facelift W124, but that does not justify making them all look the same now.

On the other hand, it's the same story with some BMW's. I remember that my brother, who is also (somewhat of) a car guy, could never tell the difference between an F10 and an F01 nor their respective successors, but then, it's not like the 5-series and 7-series haven't looked the same ever since the E23 came out. Funny enough, the most distinguishable pair was E60 and E65. When they experiment the most with design, that's when they make the most distinguishable cars.
 
I think the reason they went with those names is because that’s what Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura and even Volvo and Cadillac do.

to further add to the gossip, I had heard that the guy responsible for ruining the Lincoln naming now works for Infiniti which is why they’re all screwed up now.
 
Was there word a year or two ago that mentioned one or two French brands were coming back to the US? Did something not go right? Was it because of the Nissan/Opel merger?
 
Was there word a year or two ago that mentioned one or two French brands were coming back to the US? Did something not go right? Was it because of the Nissan/Opel merger?

The PSA USA return is still underway, however the FCA acquisition might cause them to rethink parts of the plan. Nissan is in bed with Renault and not PSA (which also bought Opel so technically also has Buicks under its roof now).
 
I thought the Opels were disappearing from the remaining GM brands? Buick is still selling the Regal but afaik it's not long for this world. The Cascada is gone and the Encore (that used to be an Opel Mokka) seems to have been replaced with a new one.
 
I do wonder how long the current Astra and Insignia are going to stick around. They had just launched the new Insignia when Opel was sold off to PSA and the Astra was a couple years old or so. Everything else in their lineup is PSA now except the Movano van range which still is a Renault.

Our Opel dealer also sells Nissan and I bet they're happy that the medium-sized Opel and Nissan vans are different now. They've been selling two identical and competing products under the same roof for about a decade and a half.
 
The original Zephyr was a fine-looking ride with a V12 under the hood. It should have been remembered. That said, even if the original was forgotten, Zephyr is still a great name even without the history.
I didn't even know there was a Zephyr that wasn't one of these...

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The Hyundai Prophecy concept unveiled today:
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The 1991 Ford Contour concept:
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The original Zephyr was a fine-looking ride with a V12 under the hood. It should have been remembered. That said, even if the original was forgotten, Zephyr is still a great name even without the history.

I prefer this Zephyr. :ROFLMAO:

1978_mercury_zephyr_1571348105a23891c3e7b20190811_144141-940x626.jpg
 
I didn't even know there was a Zephyr that wasn't one of these...

This is my idea of a Zephyr. We did have Cortinas and Anglias competing with Taunuses of various sizes in the same showrooms, but the bigger Fords were mostly German. I've seen a single Zephyr in real life as far as I can recall. A Zephyr Six, slightly older than the one below here.

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It shows how car companies recycle names back and forth. Holden Commodore and Opel Commodore are also two different things, for instance. And Ford Granada for that matter, US vs Europe.
 
^ yeah but that doesn't mean they need to use that name. Sometimes it's better to let it go. Example Studebaker Dictator. After the war they didn't make another one for some reason... I would have named it the Lincoln Caviar (first generation limited to black only)

Other Lincon name ideas: the Emancipation, the Proclamation, the BIG, the Pearlescence, the Painite, the Rhinoceros’s horn...
 
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I thought only Chinese manufacturers designed by copy-paste... Hyundai Tucson (I think) and Nissan Qashqai, respectively.
 
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