1948 Chrysler Town And Country Roadster Clone on 2040-cars

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Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question

Chrysler withdraws from UK market

Ford factors big in the British market, as does GM's Vauxhall brand. But one automaker that will be missing from the UK from here on out will be Chrysler, as the latest reports coming in from the British Isles indicate that the American brand is closing up shop. For the past few years, Chrysler has been selling a combination of its own models as well as rebadged Lancias to British customers, but has been having a tough time making a go of it. After just a few short years of lackluster sales, Chrysler UK ceased selling the Delta, and according to Auto Express, is now withdrawing the 300C and Grand Voyager as well. That leaves just the Ypsilon, which will reportedly continue on an on-demand basis if customers ask for it, but even that will end by 2017. The withdrawal of the Chrysler brand from the British market mirrors that of Lancia, under whose name the same models are sold in continental Europe but which is now being confined strictly to Italy, where it will similarly continue to sell the Ypsilon. Of course that doesn't mean that FCA is withdrawing from the British market altogether. The Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Jeep brands will continue being offered in the UK, as will Maserati and Ferrari. Just don't expect to see many wing-badged Chryslers on the high street anymore – not that you would have until now. Last year the Chrysler brand reportedly sold fewer than 2,000 units in the UK, compared to the 10,000+ examples of just the Fiat 500 it moves there every month. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Chrysler Ypsilon News Source: Auto ExpressImage Credit: Chrysler Chrysler Lancia chrysler ypsilon

FCA reportedly joins the crowd skipping this year's Paris Motor Show

It's likely FCA vehicles will not be seen at the Paris Motor Show this year. Automotive News is reporting that Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Jeeps and Abarths will not be a part at the show, based on information circulating in the French media. There's a possibility that Maseratis will be displayed at a special section dedicated to upscale cars, but Maserati too will not have a show stand of its own. Ferrari will have a stand, but as it happens, the supercar maker has been a standalone brand since 2015. Skipping the Paris show follows FCA's decision not to take part in the Frankfurt show last year, and the two shows alternate as the biggest autumnal automotive show in Europe. Volkswagen will also not attend the event, and neither will Ford, Nissan or Infiniti. This has become a problem for car shows worldwide, including Detroit's North American International Auto Show. FCA has not released a formal statement about the matter, but a FCA spokesman, quoted by the French magazine L'Argus, reportedly said that the sales and publicity brought in by the show stand would not justify the costs of attending. The news mirrors Volvo's newly announced plan to not take part at the next Geneva Motor Show, but to arrange "bespoke activities" to introduce its cars instead. Related Video: