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What Will You Do When Your Favorite Brand Dies? - READ ONLY

66 messages,  Last post on Apr 28, 2009 at 4:53 PM

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#1 of 66 What Will You Do When Your Favorite Brand Dies? by KarenS HOST

Feb 17, 2009 (6:16 pm)

With the auto industry restructuring, it is most likely some brands will be going away for good. What if it's your current vehicle? Share your concerns here.

#2 of 66 Re: What Will You Do When Your Favorite Brand Dies? [KarenS] by fezo

Feb 17, 2009 (6:18 pm)

Replying to: KarenS (Feb 17, 2009 6:16 pm)
You mean my Studebaker is going away?

#3 of 66 Re: What Will You Do When Your Favorite Brand Dies? [KarenS] by andys120

Feb 17, 2009 (6:47 pm)

Replying to: KarenS (Feb 17, 2009 6:16 pm)
I'll do the same thing I did when Triumph and Fiat left town. Buy something else.

#4 of 66 Re: What Will You Do When Your Favorite Brand Dies? [andys120] by fezo

Feb 17, 2009 (6:55 pm)

Replying to: andys120 (Feb 17, 2009 6:47 pm)
Well, there is that...
 
Short of GM going under altogether (not that far fetched) I'm seeing brands that might go away but the underlying car still being around - kind of like when Oldsmobile died. I mean other than sheet metal not much unique will go if Pontiac goes.

#5 of 66 If Buick Goes... by lemko

Feb 18, 2009 (7:26 am)

...I only have one choice left and that'll be Cadillac. If Cadillac goes, I'll be out of the new car market forever. It'll be nothing but old Caddies and Buicks from then on.

#6 of 66 Re: If Buick Goes... [lemko] by nippononly

Feb 18, 2009 (8:01 am)

Replying to: lemko (Feb 18, 2009 7:26 am)
No Lincolns in your future, lemko?!
 
I STILL say GM should have your testimonial up on billboards...
 
But if Buick ever went, you might find you quite liked the Lexus ES.
 
I don't expect Toyota or Honda to go under or leave the U.S. market, but I wonder what will happen to Subaru, c/o Fuji Heavy. Will they make it? If they become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota in the next 10 years, I see their brand eventually being diluted and messed up by Toyota management, much the same way GM messed up every foreign brand it touched. OTOH, if they make it through the next 5 years and out of the recession intact, they will probably be able to remain independent.
 
Meanwhile, I am hoping that some of the more interesting European brands (starting with Fiat) really do find their way back into the U.S. market. As much as Honda pretty much has a car for my every need, I sure would like at least one opportunity to have something with a bit more personality.

#7 of 66 Re: If Buick Goes... [nippononly] by lemko

Feb 18, 2009 (8:32 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Feb 18, 2009 8:01 am)
Nothing Lincoln makes short of the obsolete Town Car interests me. At least somebody finally saw the light and made a V-8 an option on the MKS. Still, the rear deck looks stubby and disproportionate. The MKZ could've been nice, but they cheaped-out at every turn. You can clearly see where they did by comparing the prototype MKZ to the production car.
 
If I were to go to Lexus, it would be the LS. The ES is nothing more than a glorified Camry. Heck, the Toyota Avalon seems like a nicer car.
 
If you look at the Subaru forum, it looks like they're doing fine despite the economy.
 
The Acura RL has an awesome interior, but the exterior is awful along with no available V-8.

#8 of 66 Re: If Buick Goes... [lemko] by nippononly

Feb 18, 2009 (9:02 am)

Replying to: lemko (Feb 18, 2009 8:32 am)
If I were to go to Lexus, it would be the LS. The ES is nothing more than a glorified Camry
 
But how much is a Lacrosse a "glorified Impala"? I would say the ES is at least as much glorified from the regular Camry V-6. However, I wonder if the ES would be big enough for you, and I suspect it wouldn't be.
 
The Acura RL, OTOH, is pretty cramped inside. And the TL is now dog-ugly, so Acura is clearly out for you. Perhaps a Mercedes E-class? A Volvo S80? But then, Volvo's future is on shaky ground too....

#9 of 66 Re: If Buick Goes... [nippononly] by lemko

Feb 18, 2009 (9:26 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Feb 18, 2009 9:02 am)
No Volvos. The only guy I knew who had a Volvo was my ex-girlfriend's ultra-obnoxious father. He tainted the image of Volvo for me forever.
 
I guess I could see myself in an E-Class, though the S-Class is more my size of car. I would still immensely fear the maintenance and repair costs.

#10 of 66 If it's any consolation... by andre1969

Feb 18, 2009 (9:31 am)

nowadays, whenever a brand goes on the chopping block, it seems like it writhes in agony for years, so that when it does finally get put out of its misery, you're almost glad it's not suffering any more.
 
For instance, how long did it take them to finally pull the plug on Oldsmobile? I think the announcement was made in 2000, just before the redesigned Aurora came out. Yet they were still building Oldsmobiles through 2004.
 
And Plymouth had been standing on death's doorstep for decades, but finally got the courage to ring the bell in 1999, and in 2001, was welcomed in. Once upon a time, Plymouth was Mopar's volume seller, competing with Ford and Chevrolet. However, it started getting starved of products in the 1970's. Dodge outsold Plymouth in 1979 and 1980. In fact, in 1979, I think even Chrysler outsold Plymouth! Plymouth bounced back for 1981-82, but from 1983 onward, Dodge was the dominant division.
 
In the old days though, things moved much more quickly. Edsel went from birth to death in about 2.25 model years. DeSoto had some of its best years and highest market share in 1955-1957, yet by 1959 it was well-known that it was slated for the chopping block. In 1960 it saw a drastically reduced lineup, and the 1961 production wrapped up on November 18, 1960.
 
In the past, Pontiac was always my favorite GM brand, but other than the G8, they haven't made anything that's really turned me on in a long, long time now. I like Chrysler and Dodge, but in recent years the only products I've really liked from them were the Charger/300, and the Ram. I gotta admit though, if a bunch of money suddenly fell into my lap, I'd be tempted to go out and buy a 2009 Ram!
 
I'll miss those brands if they go away, but I'll find something else to buy. Heck, if forced to choose a new car today, I'd probably be more likely to get a Nissan Altima than I would a GM or Mopar product.

Messages Page 1 of 7

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