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Geo, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Plymouth, and Eagle. None of them were luxury, but each served a purpose...
Geo: help GM (through Chevrolet; Geo was a brand within a brand) compete with the Japanese economy cars of the 90's
Oldsmobile: be a brand to give GM drivers (perhaps those tired of either Chevy or Pontiac) style, comfort, and amenities, but not the prestige of Cadillac (or the squareness of Buick, the old man's automaker)
Mercury: give Ford drivers a step up for a slightly higher price, and more practical cars than Lincoln could offer (but once the age of Ford owning Mazda and Volvo began, Mercury and Lincoln both lost some of their meaning)
Plymouth: give people looking for Chrysler Corporation's styling a practical brand, without having to pay extra for either Dodge sportiness or Chrysler luxury
Eagle: give former AMC drivers a brand to make up for the loss of AMC (which Chrysler bought mostly to get their hands on Jeep), but a much more stylish brand, ripe for young people wanting something affordable but exotic
I am sure your not alone OP, but I doubt there are tons of people who miss the badge engineered rubbish those brands were mostly peddling towards the end.
Those that miss those brands probably miss them for what they were selling 50 years ago, not 10, or 20 years ago.
Of course, if people really liked those brands, sales would not have dwindled resulting in them getting the axe.
I do find it curious you miss Geo as a GM import fighter brand however, and not Saturn. Geo was nothing more than a sub brand for Chevy to peddle some rebadged import brand cars from Japanese and Koren manufacturers. Saturn was originally stood up as a new brand (company) which made and sold unique products not found under other brands or companies. GM let the brand die on the vine too, but it had a ton of potential and did a far better job attracting potential import buyers than Geo ever did.
Actually Toyota, Suzuki, and Isuzu made Geo models, which all are Japanese, not Korean. Also, while Saturn may have outsold Geo, Geo very much outsold the Chevrolet models that replaced three of the Geo models in 1998.
Not sure about Mercury they would of been just rebadged slightly more upscale and higher priced Ford Trucks, SUV's and Mid-Full size cars and that would cut into the Lincoln brand sale wise and just be a third brand selling the same rebadged versions of vehicles as Ford and Lincoln.
Actually Toyota, Suzuki, and Isuzu made Geo models, which all are Japanese, not Korean. Also, while Saturn may have outsold Geo, Geo very much outsold the Chevrolet models that replaced three of the Geo models in 1998.
Sorry your right about there not being a Korean (Daewoo) Geo as I was thinking there was.
If I were to draw conclusions about the sales drops, it would not be about any sort of vindication of the Geo brand.
I still stand by the fact that Saturn, selling unique products, through a unique (and very customer friendly) dealer network was far better positioned for sustained success in attracting import buyers.
Likely the drops in Prizm and Metro sales were tied directly to the marketing attention they likely lost with the end of the Geo brand. Instead of being two of the three models a whole brand was selling, they became the cheap, back of the lot cars on a brand with far more products. Other factors could be in play here too, such as how much sales support Chevy directed some models vs others (rebates, financing deals, etc).
The Tracker is a little different, since the nameplate change of 98 happened in that generation of Tracker's final year (before a major redesign). The redesign Tracker sold very well, had a broader appeal due to much higher levels of refinement, build quality, and the availability of V6 power in the 4 door.
I am sure your not alone OP, but I doubt there are tons of people who miss the badge engineered rubbish those brands were mostly peddling towards the end.
Those that miss those brands probably miss them for what they were selling 50 years ago, not 10, or 20 years ago.
Of course, if people really liked those brands, sales would not have dwindled resulting in them getting the axe.
I do find it curious you miss Geo as a GM import fighter brand however, and not Saturn. Geo was nothing more than a sub brand for Chevy to peddle some rebadged import brand cars from Japanese and Koren manufacturers. Saturn was originally stood up as a new brand (company) which made and sold unique products not found under other brands or companies. GM let the brand die on the vine too, but it had a ton of potential and did a far better job attracting potential import buyers than Geo ever did.
^^^THIS^^^
Checkered24 stole a little of my thunder but I was going to say that I am very surprised that Saturn was not on the list for missed brands.
Too much jealousy and infighting led GM to kill a goose that once laid golden eggs.
Saturn was at its best and most successful when it was independent and autonomous from the GM corporate structure and culture. Saturn not only understood and listened to its customers but it went the extra mile to form a relationships with them (does anyone remember the Saturn homecomings?).
I always followed the recommended maintenance schedule and except for a flat tire once, my 1994 SL1 never failed to get me where and when I wanted to go.
During the rare time that something was not working right, they always found the problem, fixed it the first time, and explained it to me what it was and how they fixed it.
With reliability, competence, and professionalism like that, I would have stayed a Saturn buyer for life.
It's too bad, GM was not interested in keeping customers like me.
Olds is by far the biggest loss on that list, but the loss occurred many years before the ashes of what was left of the brand were swept away. The last Oldsmobile built was the '88 Cutlass Supreme.
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