Badge-engineering is a common practice in the automobile industry. It
decreases the cost of building a brand new car by utilizing platforms and body
panels from existing models. Some manufacturers can do a good job at hiding
the donor car underneath their new car, others not so much. Here is
a list in my humble opinion of the 10 worst examples of badge engineering.
10. Citroën C-Zero/ Peugeot iOn/ Mitsubishi
i
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Starting off the list is one that has some historical precedence. To
give their companies a large SUV, PSA Peugeot-Citroën collaborated with
Mitsubishi and was allowed to rebrand the Outlander as the Peugeot 4007 and
the Citroën C-Crosser. Additionally they also sell versions of the
smaller Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. When it comes to the i electric
car, Peugeot and Citroën each slapped their badge on the bonnet. There
is nothing wrong with doing this since it would have been very expensive for
PSA to develop its own car from scratch. However, that doesn't make the
i donor car any prettier to look at or cheaper to buy.
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9. Lincoln MKX/ Ford Edge
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Lincoln has for too long relied on tinseled up Ford products to fill its
showrooms. That unfortunately does not seem like it is going to change
any time soon. The good news though is that with new cars such as the
MKZ and the MKC, you really have to squint to see the Ford product behind the
waterfall grille. That's not the case with the MKX, hence explaining
its presence on this list.
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8. GMC Yukon/ Chevrolet Tahoe
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In a similar story to the Lincoln/Ford affair, GMC bases its entire lineup
on better appointed Chevrolets. The sin here however is that the
current Tahoe can be specced so nice it begs the question why the Yukon needs
to exist. The Cadillac Escalade avoids inclusion on this list because
GM has put considerable effort into making its top SUV more distinctive from
its lesser brethren.
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7. Lexus LX 570/ Toyota Land Cruiser
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Seeing a trend here yet? This entry is almost tied with the GM pair
except that the base Land Cruiser starts within a couple thousand dollars to
the Lexus. At least the Yukon starts at the upper end of the Tahoe
lineup.
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6. Chrysler Town and Country/ Dodge Grand
Caravan
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Oh Chrysler, you perennial third banana of the Detroit Three. You've
put in some good effort on your promise to reduce the overlap in your
different lineups, but your minivans remain a testament to the past.
There is a plan to kill off the Grand Caravan and replace it with a three row
crossover. Until then however, it is difficult to separate or even tell
the difference between the GC and the T&C.
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5. Infiniti ESQ/ Nissan Juke
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Love it or hate it, the Nissan Juke is something else. If there is
any car that does not need the badge engineering treatment it would be the
Juke, but that didn't stop Infiniti from trying. It does nothing to fit
into the Infiniti lineup. (Heck it barely fits into the Nissan lineup).
There are a few nicer appointments inside but the weird motorcycle motif
remains. To a casual observer, it would seem like an aftermarket
job. So far the ESQ is only for the Chinese market. Hopefully it
stays that way.
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4. Mazda Tribute/ Ford Escape
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At the time, it seemed a stroke of genius. Mazda was owned in part
by Ford and did not have any SUV to rake in serious money. The Tribute
wasn't bad, it just wasn't spectacular in any way. The design was
largely unchanged from the Ford making it stand out like a sore thumb at the
Mazda dealership. There was also no dynamic improvement over the Ford
making the choice to buy one a matter of which dealer was closer to your
house or which company offered the best price. Alas the Tribute has largely
been forgotten in the wake of its replacement, the fantastic CX-5.
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2. (tie) Ram ProMaster/ Fiat Ducato &
Fiat Freemont/ Dodge Journey
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It seemed right that these two should be tied for the same position since
both are a result of the Fiat and Chrysler merger. As testament of
their new alliance models were shared between brands to help sort out
individual weaknesses. Ram didn't have a work van in its lineup unless
you count the stripped down Grand Caravan nee C/V. Therefore Fiat
supplied its giant Ducato van from Europe for Ram to use. It's not bad
aside from being rather hideous to look at, and that it wears its Ram badge
rather awkwardly. The same can be said of the Dodge Journey-based Fiat
Freemont. Previously, Fiat had no SUV in its stable and the Journey was
the best candidate for a rebadge. Again, the problem is that it doesn't
look like any other Fiat, but the real complaint is that it is offered with a
manual transmission in Europe, something keen drivers in the US would love to
have.
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1. Holden Volt/ Chevrolet Volt
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Here it is, the worst case of badge engineering in recent memory.
This one you really have to see to believe. Holden has always been a
refuge for GM products from around the globe. In the past few years, it
felt that it needed to offer its plug in hybrid vehicle in the Australian
market. The choice came down to either the Volt or the Ampera. We
have the Volt here in the US while Europe enjoys the much cooler looking
Ampera. There is no difference between the American Volt and the
Australian Volt. However, the sin of all sins is that Holden did
absolutely nothing to change the grille of the Volt. If you look
closely, you can still see where the Chevrolet bow tie would go underneath
the Holden lion. You can't do much worse than that.
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