Automotive history is littered with brands that didn’t make it. Some of these marques remain cherished today, which is why you’ve probably read so many articles about how Pontiac was kinda maybe but really not actually coming back. That’s still pretty sad and the Big Three remain shells of what they used to be. But if you were in charge of a company, what car brand would you bring back and why?
If you have no idea what I’m talking about in that lede, I’ll explain. The GMnternet, that’s the Internet for GM fans, lit ablaze when May/June’s issue of Car and Driver hit the shelves. At the end of the 104-page issue was a story involving an Alfa Romeo Milano. Past that is the magazine’s back cover, which would normally host some advertisement that you’re going to ignore.
This time, Car and Driver printed something on its back cover that nobody could ignore. Just take a gander at this:
Now, at the very bottom of the “ad” is fine print stating: “Do you need to be told that this advertisement is fake and not to be taken seriously? Our lawyers think you do.”
Despite that, the rumor mill went from 0 mph to 100 mph in an instant. People began dreaming about what a future Pontiac could be like. Eventually, GM pumped the brakes and confirmed that it had nothing to do with that back cover advertisement. Still, the ad may have been fake, but it showed that the enthusiasm is still out there.
Similar enthusiasm is out there for other brands. Sticking with General Motors here, I’d love to see Saturn brought back. Wait, hear me out.
Long before Saturn meant a European car with an American badge, the brand was ahead of the curve. Saturn got to play with experiments that would have been too spicy for stodgy Chevrolet or the other brands. The cars weren’t just Chevys with new badges, but their own designs that tried to solve real problems. Saturn was right there with the likes of CarMax with the so-called “no haggle” model that buyers loved, and Saturn dealers tried to build rapport with its customers rather than just sell them a car and kick them out of the door.
We got a glimpse into a possible future for Saturn when it was Saturn dealerships handling the leases for the GM EV1. But that future didn’t happen. Instead, the brand just withered on the vine, burning piles of cash. I’d like to think that GM’s electrification efforts from the Chevy Volt to the Ultium platform would have been perfect fits for Saturn.
Of course, I’m not a corporate executive or a business major, so I have no idea if making Saturn the techy brand could have saved it, but a woman can dream, right?
Here’s where I turn this to you, dear reader. If you were in charge, what brand would you bring back? While I have you here, why would you bring it back? Give me any answer, no matter how silly!
I’d bring back Tucker.
The company so advanced that Ford deliberately destroyed them.
None. Okay, maybe an obscure one that didn’t get a chance to really establish itself before it tanked.
Definitely not one of the rebadge brands – Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, etc. We don’t need more of the same vehicle wearing a slightly different fascia.
Oldsmobile. It was, back in the day, the car that had the latest technology. It would be the car that showcases technological achievements.
Revive (and silo from GM manglement or somehow take private) Pontiac and Saturn. Make real cars and real weird cars. With Android Auto/Apple Carplay, no data selling, no subscription based services. We make transportation you can use and have fun with.
Keep the two design teams siloed and competing with each other in a friendly, jocular way, with only a central “design harmonization” team to veto or amend designs so both divisions can make them work and ‘accidentally’ tip the other team’s hand.
Pontiac is the Skunkworks and peformance division with most modern amenities. Saturn makes affordable EV-focused transport (at the absolute base trims: crank windows, 3 speed, back up camera with a whole pixel to check off the box on regulations, etc) off of proven Pontiac models while popular Saturn designs get to ‘ascend’ to ICE performance models as a Pontiac. No trucks given – sedans, coupes, crossovers, even vans, but no trucks or SUVs – you’ll never win.
All in service to the ultimate goal: to make a nostalgia/Walter White Edition Aztek. muhahahaha.
As for classics? Arise, Duesenburg. Big stupid luxobarges for the well-off to feed my addiction to podiuming at Le Mans.
As a long-time SAAB fan, I am gratified to see so many people showing it some love.
I miss my ‘99 9-3 every day. Should’ve kept it forever.
Forget about Apollo Automobile, which is a hilariously hideous vehicle, and bring back the original Gumpert Automobile as Roland Gumpert had envisioned it. The Gumpert Apollo recieved too much hate, and they only managed to make about 100 of them before they went belly up. I think if they survived and were around today, they’d be making some of the most insane cars in the world.
Recent: Mercury, as Ford’s all-EV performance division, kind of like Dodge for grownups with triple-digit IQs and credit scores who aren’t eligible for AARP yet.
Old: Delahaye, probably. Those were chef’s kiss.
Tangent: I want a an opel insignia wagon (Buick regal TourX) on our shores again. This time it would be Stellantis. Call it a Chrysler, although I don’t know their history well enough to choose a good name.
A man can dream.
AMC! It was so awesome and interesting especially the Eagle
Also miss Pontiac and Oldsmobile so much
SAAB and Holden, I want those weird scandanavian cars on the road and I miss real car based utes
I’d say AMC. They really made some of the best small cars in the 50’s-70’s, and innovated like no one else with the Eagle in the 80’s. Yes, they used leftover parts from everyone else, but they had cool designs that stood out. Alongside the famous cars like the Rambler, Gremlin, Pacer, Javelin and AMX they also made some practical everyday cars like the Matador, Concord, and even a large sedan, the Ambassador. Their 4L engine survived in Jeeps well past the company’s expiration, and still has a reputation like no other.
.
Fisker.
Too soon?
VinFast. No wait, that is the answer to a different question. And Chinese Buicks can go with it.
How about Honda? It might as well be dead given its pale imitation of former greatness.
I owned 6 Honda/acura cars (and a van) from model years 1983-2004. (Not to mention 3 motorcycles.)
Since then, none.
Exactly.
What’s wrong with Honda?
When I was a younger man…. The original civic type r, integra, NSX, CRX. I aged with the Accord Euro, the S2000..
What have they done for my still beating heart in the last 15 years?
Edited because I am so full of rage… Remember McLaren Honda and all those F1 championships? Oh and don’t get me started on the motorbikes…
Pontiac’s an obvious one because of it’s positioning. Of course someone would want them back.
But going for a curveball is much harder, because so many dead brands had no true unique identity or positioning as it never solidified or changed too much over time. AMC would just make blah CUVs or whatever. Morris would likely have Chinese rebadges. Dome would get the same applause as when somebody brought back Hispano Suiza and Delage, which is to say none at all.
But what about Panhard? Oddly styled but still stylish small cars with an insistence on mechanical engineering over gimmicks. Technically Panhard still exists, yes, but that’s like saying Gateway Inc. still exists. Selling Renault heavy trucks rebadged as an “Arquus” with “Panhard” stamped into certain parts in markets the French government banned them from directly participating in means nothing more than someone’s wearing a very poor imitation mask. Bring back Panhard. Make them entirely mechanical aside from possible EV drivetrains. And make them weird in the French modernist kind of way.
How do Yanks pronounce Panhard? The French pronunciation is weird by French standards and I wonder what it became in Inglese.
As far as I know most people pronounce it as “Pann hard” because they’ve only heard of the suspension part, though I was taught to say “P’nnard”
Bring back the Panhard CD Peugeot 66C LeMans race car as a streetable EV. Keep all of the aero slipperiness intact.
It was so lightweight and aerodynamically slippery, that you’d only need a 30 kWh pack to get 300 miles range.
I’ve always wanted to see Pontiac and Plymouth brands come back for low-volume, high performance models (think GTX version of the new Charger) and/or concept-car types such as a Corvette-based Banshee. Even the damn SUVs can get in on the action – drop an LS into a Blazer with new front and rear fascias and call it a Safari.
My sister bought a new Saturn. When she picked it up there was a rose on the front seat. I thought it was silly. She absolutely loved it.
Bring back Hudson. A long, low sedan with a big honkin’ straight six.
Nobody has mentioned Elio? I mean back in 2010 that was the most happening buggy on the internet!
American Bantam. Small, lightweight, and clucks given.
I see your Bantam and play a Crosley card!
Well played, sir. Well played.
I just saw a segment of Grand Tour where James May was driving a restored Crosley across Poland. It was like a pace car for the regular traffic flow. When I was a kid in the 1950s I saw hopped up Crosley “stock cars” race indoors at the Cleveland Arena.
That’s really cool. There used to be a guy two streets over that used to restore Crosleys in his garage. He moved away five years ago. I really enjoyed seeing the cars as they progressed.
Oh my I’m a little late to this so I see SAAB and Studebaker have already been spoken for, and so many brands have weird zombie incarnations like Bugatti and Maserati so I don’t know…
Oh I know, Vosin!
Maybe something a little more conventional? How about Bandini?
How about Peerless?
Duesenberg. And have them look like they did back then.
Why not? You can put any kind of body on an electric skateboard. Let’s have a little style, for christ’s sake.
Well, for that matter – a Cord 810.
Because aerodynamics – and a big, big frunk.
The only answer is Saab. I miss my 1993 900 Turbo so much
Studebaker. Just want to see all the dudes remove the “ebaker” from the badging.
Continental
Because we need a proper American luxury CAR again.
You can also add:
I would indeed.
I can’t believe I’m the first to advocate for Studebaker. Quirky and fun with the Lark and the pickup and Wagonaire and such, but also capable of some pretty kickin’ cars like the Golden Hawk and Avanti.
My snarky reply is Cadillac.
A modern Avanti reimagined by the Bishop + Adrian + whoever runs Genesis design would be on my Xmas list.
*cough* Does it need to be said? Who ever can guess which one I would say will get one imaginary cookie