Badge engineered vehicles

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hpb

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As an automotive tragic, I'm interested in badge engineered vehicles. I find it fascinating, yet also somewhat insulting, that manufacturers will slap their badge on someone else's product and expect the punters to buy it in droves...and often succeed! It was rampant in Australia in the 80's and 90's particularly, and Ford certainly did well out of their marriage to Mazda - the Ford derivatives outsold the (identical) Mazda's by a healthy margin.

I've thought of a few off the top of my head, some of the names will be unfamiliar in the US and Europe, but who knows, perhaps they were/are sold there as well? Can anyone add more to the list? Thanks!

In no particular order:

Suzuki Sierra --> Holden Drover
Suzuki Swift --> Holden Barina
Toyota Corolla --> Holden Nova
Toyota Camry --> Holden Apollo
Mazda 121 --> Ford Festiva
Mazda 323 hatch --> Ford Laser
Mazda 323 sedan --> Ford Meteor
Mazda 626 --> Ford Telstar
Mazda B2600 --> Ford Courier
Mazda E2000 --> Ford Econovan
Mazda BT50 --> Ford Ranger
Nissan Patrol --> Ford Maverick
Nissan Pintara --> Ford Corsair
Ford Falcon ute --> Nissan Ute
Holden Commodore --> Toyota Lexcen

I'm sure there's dozens more, let's hear 'em!
 
Vw polo - seat Ibiza, Audi a1, and skoda Fabia
Vw golf - seat Leon, Audi a3, skoda Octavia
Audi r8 - Lamborghini murcielago
Ford fiesta - Mazda 121
Daewoo Matiz - Chevrolet Matiz
Ford mondeo - jaguar x type
Toyota aygo - Peugeot 1007
Too early to think of any others..
 
Originally Posted By: Olas

Daewoo Matiz - Chevrolet Matiz


US buyers had their first opportunity at a Daewoo in the late 80s by buying a Pontiac LeMans. Worse, this was a formerly cool name, slapped on an econobox.

Chevy opted to do the same with the Nova.

At least Ford changed the name slightly when they went from the RWD, English Fiesta to the FWD, Korean/Japanese Kia/Mazda Festiva.
 
From an earlier era:

Plymouth Valiant - Dodge Dart
The sheet metal was a little different, but they were the same car.

Plymouth Duster - Dodge Demon
They tweaked the front end and the rear end, but they were the same car.
 
Originally Posted By: hpb
I'm sure there's dozens more, let's hear 'em!


Nissan Pulsar Holden Astra...to the point that Pulsars ultimately had Camira engines in them.

The first of the breed (N12???) proved to me that the punters are too stupid to understand badge engineering.

A car mag put a Pulsar and an Astra in a shopping centre and asked people to look, see, touch, feel etc.

Invariably they commented on the Pulsar being cheaply made, poor fit and finish, and pointed to the obvious qualities of the Holden.
 
Suzuki Swift - Geo Metro
Suzuki Sidekick - Geo Tracker
Toyota Corolla - Geo Prizm

Of course, Ford kind of reversed this pattern when they rebadged the Ranger to be sold as the Mazda B-Series.
 
Would "accountant engineered" be a better description?

By the way, that Daewoo Pontiac Le Mans created an interesting situation for some Pontiac dealers. The car was so bad that cars forced on dealers were sometimes sent directly to the scrap yard instead of being sold. One sales manager told me that they would not take delivery at their store. The cars were sent to a warehouse parking lot to then be sent to the scrap yard. That's got to be one heck of a vote of confidence for that car.
 
Some here can't see difference between badge engineering and platform sharing. Badge engineering is simple trim and grill change on a car that still have original shape of a donor car. Platform sharing is quite different ; cars share platform and mechanical parts, but do not resemble each other, and are often tuned differently to suit targeted buyers better.
Badge engineering : Ford Fiesta and Mazda 121
Platform sharing : Golf and Skoda Octavia
 
Hmm let me see if I got this right..

Scion FRS > Subaru BRZ

And based on the comment above I'm not sure if this fits but:
Pontiac Vibe > Toyota Matrix
 
Originally Posted By: chrisri
Some here can't see difference between badge engineering and platform sharing. Badge engineering is simple trim and grill change on a car that still have original shape of a donor car. Platform sharing is quite different ; cars share platform and mechanical parts, but do not resemble each other, and are often tuned differently to suit targeted buyers better.
Badge engineering : Ford Fiesta and Mazda 121
Platform sharing : Golf and Skoda Octavia


I see where you're coming from and I understand the differentiation you are trying to make, but I still see platform sharing as badge engineering - its all the same stuff inside and underneath..
Maybe not the best analogy but think about your jeans and t shirt. Change into a suit and you're still the same guy, just with a slightly different aesthetic.
Which is why I regard the golf/jetta and the Octavia as the same car.
 
Originally Posted By: actionstan
Hmm let me see if I got this right..

Scion FRS > Subaru BRZ

And based on the comment above I'm not sure if this fits but:
Pontiac Vibe > Toyota Matrix


Scion FRS? Never even heard of it! We get the Subaru rebadged as the new Toyota corolla..
 
I don't mind the badge swapping, usually one of the two brands have lower resale to buy used, or one brand will discount heavily on new models. Chevy offered huge discounts on the Tracker while Suzuki didn't on the Vitara, so we got the Tracker. Also while Suzuki was in business, I could get the same OEM parts for much less at the Suzuki dealer than the GM.

My minor brand tractor was also rebadged by 3 other established companies so its kind of an insurance policy that one of the 4 will be around for a few decades as well.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
Originally Posted By: actionstan
Hmm let me see if I got this right..

Scion FRS > Subaru BRZ

And based on the comment above I'm not sure if this fits but:
Pontiac Vibe > Toyota Matrix


Scion FRS? Never even heard of it! We get the Subaru rebadged as the new Toyota corolla..

Its the us spec Toyota GT86. They launched a whole sub-line in the us 11 years ago, selling small cars that are for the most part sold as Toyotas in the rest of creation.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Olas

Daewoo Matiz - Chevrolet Matiz


US buyers had their first opportunity at a Daewoo in the late 80s by buying a Pontiac LeMans. Worse, this was a formerly cool name, slapped on an econobox.



I remember test-driving one of those back in '91 or so. I thought it worse than my then-age 7 Ford Escort, and that was saying something.
 
Subaru WRX wagon<>Saab 92x Aero(with 200 lbs extra of needed insulation)
Saab 97x <> Chevy Trailblazer
Saab 94x<>Caddy SRX

And they wonder how GM ruined Saab.
 
Isuzu Rodeo -> Honda Passport
Mitsubishi 3000GT -> Dodge Stealth
Honda Odyssey -> Isuzu Oasis
Dodge Caravan -> VW Roudan
 
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