Top 10 Worst Badge-Engineered Cars

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

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.

9. Lincoln MKX/ Ford Edge
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.

8.  GMC Yukon/ Chevrolet Tahoe
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.

7. Lexus LX 570/ Toyota Land Cruiser
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.

6. Chrysler Town and Country/ Dodge Grand Caravan

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.

5. Infiniti ESQ/ Nissan Juke

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.

4. Mazda Tribute/ Ford Escape

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.

2. (tie) Ram ProMaster/ Fiat Ducato & Fiat Freemont/ Dodge Journey

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.

1. Holden Volt/ Chevrolet Volt

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.

 

Enough of the Fletchlings Already

So last week the latest Pokémon trading card game set came out.  Called Roaring Skies it is the sixth set in the XY series and contains 110 cards.  It’s not the biggest set, but one that I think still has quite a bit of wasted space.  For one thing, it has yet another Fletchling line.  Fletchling and its evolutions have now appeared in four of the six XY sets, five if you count the trainer kit.  Granted, Generation Six introduced the fewest number of new Pokémon (72) and all the ones that have been officially revealed have appeared in the trading card game.  However, I see no excuse why Pokémon insists on reprinting something as mundane as Fletchling when there are still a number of older Pokémon who have not had a card since Generation Four.  Most of the ones I can think of are fossil Pokémon, which is understandable since the fossil mechanic has not really worked well in the game. 

However, there is no excuse to not have cards for the Chikorita line and the Cyndaquil line.  Both of these Generation Two lines are the only starters from any generation who have not received a printing in the current format.  The last time they made an appearance was in Call of Legends at the end of the fourth generation.  Another notable exclusion is the Larvitar line.  Also from Generation Two, this pseudo-legendary group could make for some powerful cards if designed correctly.  The last Larvitar card came out with Unleashed.  The point is that Pokémon has some popular characters from its past who have yet to make a return, and are more than worthy of taking the spot of repeats from Generation Six.  I hope that they make an appearance in the next set, Ancient Origins, due out in North America in August with the Japanese printing appearing next month.

Generation Six has been interesting to be sure.  As stated above it introduced the smallest number of new Pokémon, and the anime has experimented with several new ideas.  All of this makes me wonder if the Pokémon franchise is starting to come to an end.  It’s been a long run, almost 20 years, but everything has to end eventually.  I’ll take a closer look at the anime and why I think that major changes are in store for Generation Seven, if it even happens, in a future blog post.  Stay tuned.    

The Sad State of the Automotive Industry

Walking through the UNHM parking lot, my keen eye focuses on two BMWs mixed in with the rest of the cars.  One is a blue 3 series coupe.  This is BMW at its best.  The company has built its reputation building sporty luxury cars such as this.  The 3 series has been a staple to BMW’s lineup for decades and has cemented the company’s reputation of building “the ultimate driving machine.”  On the other side of the lot is another BMW.  This one is a white X5 M.  This car attracts my attention much better than the 3 series.  For one thing, it is an M car, factory modified by M GmbH, BMW’s in house tuning arm.  These are considerably rarer than common variety BMWs seen en masse on the streets.  It also serves as a testament of the sorry state of automobile manufacturers in today’s world.


I remember when the M SUVs first came out.  There was the X5 M and its sibling the X6 M.  The X5 has been BMW’s full size luxury utility vehicle since 1999.  It was a money grab by BMW, who owned Land Rover at the time and wanted to capitalize on the world’s growing appetite for SUVs.  The X5 has since grown into a profit generator for the brand due to its sporty driving character and cavernous interior.  It consistently ranks third in sales within BMW’s lineup behind the 3 series and 5 series sedans.  I’ll believe it since I have seen tons of them on the roads whenever I am out and about.  The X6 is derived from the X5 albeit with a more coupe like profile.  Seeing such a big car with such a steeply raked roof is unnerving at first glance.  At best you might think it is some sort of dune buggy.  At worst you might say that it looks like a toad.  In 2010, BMW saw fit to produce sporty M versions of both SUVs.  The first one I remember seeing was at my old college in the parking lot.  I remember being intrigued by its larger than usual air intakes and upon closer examination I spotted the M badge on the bootlid.  The M versions of the X5 and X6 come equipped with twin turbocharged 4.4 liter V-8s making 555 horsepower.  Despite their 2.5 ton weight, both SUVs can accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 4 seconds. 


Purists decried this as sacrilege.  Four wheel drive, turbocharged engines, SUVs; M is never supposed to make cars like this.  Giving up these principles for the pursuit of profit seems to be a given nowadays.  Reviews of the X5 M concluded that it was a compromise of the worst kind.  It’s too tall and heavy to be a good sports car, so it doesn’t handle well when you drive it aggressively.  But at the same time it is too focused on being a sports car to be a good SUV.  The suspension is hard and the tires are fat to handle the its huge power, but it has lost its ability to travel off road.  BMW is not the first to build an oxymoronic performance SUV, nor is it going to be the last.  What were once pure sports car makers now offer diverse portfolios.  Porsche began the supercar slayer SUV trend with its Cayenne in 2002.  The model has become a staple to their lineup and accounts for more than half of Porsche’s annual sales.  A smaller SUV, the Macan, goes on sale later this year and together these two models are expected to allow the company to continue to produce cutting edge sports cars.  I have read reviews of both cars and everyone is impressed with how well they drive.  One could say that these cars actually make owning an SUV fun. 


Within the past two years, Lamborghini, Bentley, Maserati, and Jaguar have all displayed concepts that express their desire to enter the SUV market.  Statistics show that this is a sound marketing strategy, but the whole thing seems a bit dishonest to me.  Yes, this is where all the money is, but is it worth it?  Car makers have taken it upon themselves to compete in every conceivable niche.  If a niche does not exist, they will create one.  Look at the BMW X6.  With a coupe like profile it is less practical than the X5 and it costs more.  You would have to be crazy to buy one over an X5.  This has not stopped other manufacturers from copying them.  Audi and Mercedes-Benz have each displayed concepts at this year’s Beijing hinting at production versions of coupe SUVs.  Even Honda with its Crosstour is counting on people who value style over practicality when purchasing cars.  Perhaps the most extreme model proliferation to date is Nissan’s Murano CrossCabriolet.  No one can recall anyone asking for a convertible SUV, but that hasn’t stopped Nissan from building one.  As a matter of fact, I saw one in the same parking lot as the two BMWs.  Granted Nissan does not expect this thing to be a big seller, but I have seen about a dozen on the road in the past year.  Maybe Nissan is just too far ahead of the curve for others to build their own yet.  I’ll get back to this in about 20 years and see what happens.  Regardless of execution, model proliferation is real.  BMW has doubled its lineup in the last ten years and that is not including variations of the same model.


What confuses me the most is why BMW and other car makers are building high performance SUVs when at the same time they are under constant pressure by governments to raise their CAFE numbers in an effort to save petrol?  Several car companies have proven that performance and fuel economy do not have to be mutually exclusive.  However, there is no way to cover the fact that mega horsepower V-8 SUVs make about as much sense as Al Gore eating smoked polar bear steak for dinner.  Does this mean that oil is not in as short supply as some would lead us to believe?  If nothing else it is a conflicting message.  How are consumers supposed to take car maker’s green initiatives seriously when they continue to manufacture stuff like this?


These are the thoughts that go through my head as I walk around this BMW X5 M.  This is not a car that is purchased by common sense.  At 90,000 dollars it is not cheap.  Nor is it fuel efficient.  Nor is it useful.  Nor can its full potential ever be used in the state of New Hampshire.  What we have here is a status symbol, pure and simple.  The white color further hints that the owner has no intention of using this car anywhere other than tarmac.  White cars are not meant to be dirty.  At my old college all the rich kids drove white sports cars.  It is for this reason that I will never own a white car.  I want a car because I want to drive it, not to show off.


On the other hand I can’t help but approve of this car.  It shows that the owner does not want to conform to the dreary fare that is usually found on roads.  I commend him or her for willing to be different and stand out from the crowd.  I enjoy seeing cars like these when I am outside.  They never fail to bring a smile to my face.  So do I write this story to bury the X5 M or to praise it?  I am glad that cars like these exist, but I also feel that car makers should be using more of their resources on building cars that are as sensible as they are over the top.

Cars: Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Last February I had the opportunity to travel to Greenwich, Connecticut for a special unveiling of the 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.  It is designed to replace the aging 599 range and debuted to the public at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. 

Visually the F12 completes the inclusion of Ferrari's new design language across the lineup.  It embraces the swept back headlights and dual taillights first seen in the 458 Italia, and the smiley sneer of a grill from the California and the FF.

Inside, the tachometer is directly in front of the driver and the steering wheel features the now commonplace manettino system where all major adjustments are handled by a small knob.  Otherwise the driver focused interior is swathed in leather, carbon fiber, and aluminum. 

The engine is a naturally aspirated 6.3 liter V12 making 730 horsepower.  It was briefly the most powerful Ferrari road car ever until the LaFerrari stripped it of its title a year later.  Zero to sixty happens in 3.1 seconds and the car will go to an alledged top speed of 210 miles per hour.

It is unlikely that Ferrari won't tinker with the F12 at some point in its life.  Patent drawings leaked online suggest that a GTO variant or a race ready XX could be on the horizon.  The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is a fantastic car that's terrific to drive and beautiful to behold.  Overall, it is worthy to be included among the all time Ferrari greats.