This is a weird time in the automotive world, in many ways. The type of car one chooses has always telegraphed a lot about the person who buy it. But I think the implications and intensity of this concept are more intense now than ever, and an awful lot of that is thanks to Tesla. Over the past couple years or so, Tesla’s identity has transformed from the car of choice for eco-minded futurist-types to…something else. We all probably know the reasons why this is happening, but it’s actually now having some real effect on Tesla’s sales, which have been plummeting in markets all over the world.
So what is Tesla to do here? Should they just accept the alienation of what was once a core part of their market? And what about consumers who may actually want the sorts of cars Tesla offers, but just doesn’t want to deal with all of the considerable baggage that comes with them, either because those beliefs differ to drastically from their own, or even just that lots of people just have no interest in a car that makes any sort of political statement. They just want a car.
So, what’s to be done here? Well, all of you are in luck, because I’m in the business of turning on your headlights instead of cursing the darkness. There is a solution here – one that automakers have known about for the better part of a century! A little bit of carmaker magic usually called badge engineering.
(Image: Jason Torchinsky)
Badge engineering is process where one car gets re-badged and sold as another car. It’s the same car, but it wears the make and model name of something else, something new. Sometimes this process can get wildly involved – for example, the Hillman Avenger was sold under 13 different names, including models from Plymouth and Volkswagen and Sunbeam, for example. The Suzuki Swift had at least 15 different names!
(Image: Jason Torchinsky)
Sometimes the cars are just different brands under the same corporate umbrella, like Toyotas and Lexuses or any of the GM family (Chevy, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, etc) but sometimes they can be re-badged under company names that are not affiliated in any other way, like how Mercedes-Benzes became Peugeots or Land Rovers became Hondas:
(Image: Jason Torchinsky)
And, somehow, all of this re-badging seemed to make money, at least to some degree, for both companies involved. That part I’m a lot more fuzzy on, but they wouldn’t keep doing it if it didn’t make some money, right?
I tell you all this just in case you’re, improbably, unaware of the power of badge engineering. And I think at this moment, badge engineering has the potential to save two companies: Tesla and Stellantis.
Yes, Stellantis! So far, Stellantis really doesn’t have much of a mainstream electric car lineup at all; they’re working on things, and they have some, like the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Fiat 500e and Jeep Wagoneer S, and some more on the way, like the Jeep Recon, but there’s nothing really established and mass-market just yet.
Tesla, though, has some of the best-selling mainstream EVs, like the Models 3 and Y. Those are perfectly fine EVs, with good range, acceleration, and features, but their name has become a liability. So what if those cars became Stellantis brands!
(Image: Dodge)
Consider this: What if the Model Y were re-badged as a re-born Dodge Neon? The Neon had personality and a distinctive, lovable look and appeal. Sure, it got diluted over the years and hasn’t been around for a while, but the friendly, plucky Neon brand identity could be just what a re-badged Model Y needs!
(Image: Jason Torchinsky)
I think this could work! The re-badging could be as basic as a new front fascia, maybe new taillights, and on-screen UX for the infotainment/instrument cluster display. There could be some de-contenting, like going to basic mechanical door handles instead of those complicated electric ones, and maybe options like Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) wouldn’t be offered.
The distinctive face is key here, really broadcasting the Neon identity, blinding people with the glow so they don’t see the Tesla lurking beneath. Sure, car geeks like us will know, but mainstream car buyers – they don’t care about this stuff. If it says Neon and has a big friendly face, it’s a Neon.
That’s my sorta-serious suggestion; there’s more possibilities here, too, if we can get a hair more bonkers:
(Image: Jason Torchinsky)
What about a new Plymouth Superbird? Bring back the old Plymouth name just for this car, give it the massive wing, and you’re in business. With a Tesla Model S Plaid as the basis, this thing would haul plenty of ass to justify the name.
Or, what about a luxury edition? Think Chrysler New Yorker!
(Image: the Bishop)
I have to thank The Bishop for this quick mockup, which would get the distinctive squared-off roofline of New Yorkers past via the same half-ass methods used before, sort of like how the 1980s New Yorkers used a boxy fiberglass cap inset into the rear window and covered the whole mess with a vinyl top:
Oy, look at that mess! Picture something like that under the vinyl top of that former Model 3, only maybe a little better, if you’re feeling generous. Tack on a chrome grille and opera lights and some opulent interior materials and boom, you have a terrific traditional-inspired compact premium EV sedan.
I get these last two are a bit silly, and these are, of course, just quick, thrown-together Photoshops. But I think the basic idea has some merit; Tesla needs to sell cars, and so does Stellantis. Tesla has a tainted name right now to some who don’t agree with his politics, and Stellantis just doesn’t have the cars. Together, they could solve one another’s seemingly intractable problems, and maybe everyone can win.
Or at least not lose quite so hard. Isn’t that what badge engineering is all about?
I dunno, automakers keep trying to make capacitive controls happen, and it never works. I wouldn’t put it past them to keep trying badge engineering even if it’s been a complete failure every time.
I love the Dinasty-ed Tesla. But I also didn’t sleep well last night.
This is (of course) brilliant Jason. 🙂 It’s amazing how much nicer the Tesla Model Y looks with that cheerful Neon face compared to the generic scowl it currently sports.
Plus, I like the decontenting idea, particularly if it brought down the price with some degree of significance.
But then again, I’m weird.
PS: what happened to that EV Superbird. Did it have a stroke or something? 😉
I don’t think we should really be encouraging a Tesla bailout, and I think it’s time for most of the Stellantis brands to finally disappear.
Like, it sucks, but NO ONE has been able to make Dodge successful over the long term since, what? The 80’s maybe? They’ve been teetering on the brink for decades after all kinds of mismanagement.
Keep Jeep and RAM and let everything else just go. Their answer to relevancy for the past 20 years has been ‘MAKE IT FASTER!’ while seling the lower specced versions to anyone witha pulse while having zero regard for actual quality of the cars or making something that could actually sustain them. If they really wanted to make electric cars, bring back the AMC name and sell smaller EVs like the Volt or Leaf as Pacers or something, a larger Model 3 sized as a Matador with a lifted/clad version being called the Eagle and a larger Model S or Lucid as an Ambassador and the EV Challenger reskinned as a Javelin. However, you’d get the prices down to competitive levels while having decent quality for the higher end ones. They don’t need to be fancy and future tech. You could make the Pacer low end $25K or so with few features, but it needs to be put together correctly and stay put together correctly. You could even use AMX as the ‘sport’ line. A Pacer AMX::Pacer as GTI::Golf, for example. A small or mid sized CUV could be the AMC Eagle.
Let people’s connotations of Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth die. Not too many people around still have any notion of what AMX actually was since they haven’t been around for almost 40 years and weren’t relevant for almost 10 years before they went defunct. People still remember Dodges being shitty vividly.
I love the idea!
But I’d do it slightly differently. Instead of a simple badge engineering project, they’d have to do more to split off the Elon association.
Panasonic (joint venture with Tesla) still makes batteries for Tesla so they could say they are actually partnered with Panasonic. The batteries are actually the most expensive part so it would still be a big improvement.
The Tesla batteries/packs or skateboard chassis could be sold to Stellantis but it would have to be modified to be slightly different so that Stellantis could say they are using concepts from the Tesla technology but not reselling Teslas (since that’s too obvious that Elon gets the money).
As others have mentioned, other OEMs are good at coach building – no body panels can be shared and the interior MUST be completely different. That alone would be a great improvement over any Tesla.
Stellantis could do it if they just did it themselves.
You could have 2 new Chrysler’s based on the Compass & Wagoneer.
You could have 2 new Dodge’s based on the Pacifica & Grand Cherokee L.
It shouldn’t be as difficult as starting a brand-new product from scratch.
Yes exactly. They have the tools to do all of it.
the funny thing is, the “decontenting” that would probably happen would get rid of all of the dumb shit that is the most annoying about actually using a Tesla.
All other baggage aside, Tesla probably should have done this at least 5 years ago. They’re just too radioactive now for anyone to associate with them…
Instead of “Hi”, would the ad say “Heil”?
The indicators would be those old-style ones with little arms sticking straight up and out.
In the words of James May, “he’s just telling you to take the Third Reich” :
Crap. Now I have to watch “Cars of the People” yet again tonight.
Thank you. If that setup hadn’t been properly used, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep tonight!
Please. Cybertruck as Aztek. Thank you.
That New Yorker looks like Elon’s driverless hearse.
“Tesla Hearse: when even funeral home employees can’t stand being near you.”
The wonky fascia on the Superbird render exemplifies the build quality we’ve come to expect from both Stellantis and Tesla, so nice work!
No need to badge engineer anything. Tesla just needs to build the skateboard and let the OEM handle the rest. Legacy OEMs are just fine at coachbuilding.
I say bring back Plymouth for this case here.
Model S = Plymouth Rock
Model Y = Plymouth Paper
Model 3 = Plymouth Scissors
Model X = Plymouth Breeze (because why not)
People who are completely disconnected from the internet might not realize that these hypothetical rebadged Teslas aren’t Teslas, but everyone else will. Just like with any boycott of a large corporation that owns many brands, the news will be all over the internet that the new Neon or whatever else is just a Tesla before they even put them on dealer lots.
I also don’t like the idea of a small friendly car being a rebadged version of something associated with such a terrible human being.
But with Dodge commercials embracing brotherhood I don’t think you are escaping the imagery that’s tainting the Tesla brand. I’d be hard pressed to consider any new dodge or ram product at this point because in my mind they are are marketed to appeal to large swaths of people that I’d like to stay far away from. All of that said, in a vacuum I do like how friendly and approachable this Neon/Caliber rebadge looks.
“but sometimes they can be re-badged under company names that are not affiliated in any other way, like how Mercedes-Benzes became Peugeots or Land Rovers became Hondas”
Rover Group and Honda were affiliated, doing joint projects like the Honda Legend / Rover 800, Honda Ballade / Rover 200, Rover R8 / Honda Concerto, Rover 600 / Honda Accord etc
The Geo and Saturn trademarks are just sitting there waiting for someone to call them up. They both seem natural for a new EV-only car brand!
Saturn, possibly. That brand had a pretty solid following for a while, and there may be some lingering sentiment/loyalty that might be harvested for a “new” brand of basic, no-nonsense, low cost EVs, keeping the same ethos of the original. Like- just a normal car with familiar controls and style, but with an EV powertrain. No tricky door handles, no gigantic TV in the dash, the glovebox opens with a latch not a touchscreen menu, an EV for people who are turned off by the different-but-not-better design choices of many modern EVs.
Geo, ehhh. I think that name has considerably less nostalgia going for it. If Saturn was “inexpensive”, Geo was just “cheap”.
So the Neon would be a perfect fit plus with the rebadging they could address the lack of knobs in a Tesla without “tainting” the brand. It would also be interesting to see what a fellow legacy car company could do with the platform.
Or, Stellantis can wait 6 months for Tesla stonk to crater and just buy the company. Right now the fascists are pumping it for the rubes to buy while they dump it before it gets delisted from the S&P 500.
I don’t like Tesla either, but people have been saying Tesla was a pump and dump and is imminently on the brink of bankruptcy for basically their entire existence now.
Tesla’s secret weapon is their carbon credits they sell to other automakers (which Trump may or may not keep around) and their solar/energy storage. The MegaPack grid-scale battery storage is quietly one of their most profitable products, with far higher margins than the cars. MegaPack sales have been going crazy world-wide as more regions look to build localized grid stability for natural disasters, remote power applications, and for renewable energy storage.
Good point about the power side of the business! Can those grid storage batteries count for automaker carbon credits? Or does it have to be cars? If it’s only cars, those credits are taking a large hit thanks to people not buying Tesla vehicles.
The stink of Tesla and Stellantis would not dissipate if combined; it would multiply. Not only would the drivers be overtly supporting fascism, but they would be doing so on six-year high-interest loans for something that would depreciate like the Titan submersible.
so a perfect match then.
would be doing so on (six) eight-year low 12% interest loans
Tesla has a taint
ed name right now to some who don’t agree with his politics, and Stellantis just doesn’t have the cars.and it’s name is Elon.It is disgusting when people justify fascism by referencing it as just another political viewpoint that is as valid as any other. If it is referenced, the bare minimum is to call it what it is.
Yeah, I’m not sure why journalists still haven’t figured out that trying to appear neutral helps no one. It makes no one happy and it just normalizes insanity.
I would only say that it, indeed, clearly helps the fascists.
The actual journalists know it. It’s their corporate overlords that don’t.
Fascists, FASCISTS EVERYWHERE!!!!
Whats that they say about dog whistles?
Gonna preempt your reply with a simple “LOL, project much?” and not bother reading it.
The fact that fascists are everywhere doesn’t mean they aren’t fascists. But thanks for self-identifying. Have the day you deserve.