Help Me Figure Out What Cars Were Rebadged From A Fancy Brand To A Downmarket Brand

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Car re-badging, euphemistically known as badge engineering, is one of those things that tends to baffle me, like using a yo-yo without getting a fat lip or the continued popularity of circus peanuts. I’m never exactly sure how money gets made by offering basically the same car with slightly different trim and a different name, but hundreds of thousands of Ford Pintos/Mercury Bobcats and Dodge Omnis/Plymouth Horizons and Volkswagen Sharans/SEAT Alhambras and other badge-engineered wonders are surely proving me wrong. Most badge engineering efforts either re-badge a car on roughly the same level of status or take a lower-tier car and upgrade it to a higher tier, like, say, a Toyota Land Cruiser becoming a Lexus LX or a Chevy Cavalier becoming a Cadillac Cimmaron. Very rarely do we see a premium marque re-badging a car as a budget brand. But there have to be a few of those, right? I can think of a few, but I wonder if there are more?

First, let’s just think about the low-to-high status rebadges we know about. There are many, once you start to think about it.

In fact, many carmakers have entire separate brands that are about doing just this sort of thing, like Lincoln and Mercury to Ford, or Lexus to Toyota, Acura to Honda, Infiniti to Nissan, Audi to Volkswagen, and so on. This is really quite a common practice, taking one car and up-contenting it, making a few design and detail changes, and calling it a whole new, fancier name. Oh, and then selling it for a lot more money.

Low2high

But the opposite direction, that’s a lot more unusual! Probably because it’s a lot harder to make money by taking a car sold as a premium brand and making it cheaper. And, my sources in the industry have told me that this “making money” business is a big deal to most, if not all, automakers. And yet, this premium-to-basic re-badging has happened a few times! Here’s the best examples I could think of:

High2low

So, these three basic examples were all I could come up with for a universally-accepted premium carmaker re-badging a car that they initially designed and sold under the nameplate of a clearly more downmarket brand. They include the most obvious one, I think, the Kia Elan, a re-badged Lotus Elan, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, which was also sold as a Puch G-Wagen (Puch did the engineering of the four-wheel drive system), and the Peugeot P4. Then we have the Land Rover Discovery, which was sold for a period in the ’90s as a Honda Crossroad.

There’s one other example that I’m not quite sure how to classify:

914

In non-American markets, the Porsche 914 was sold as the VW-Porsche 914. So, here, Porsche just said what the hell and put both up- and downmarket brands on the car! Does that qualify or not? I’m not really sure, and I can’t think of another example like it.

Am I missing some examples of this rare and beautiful riches-to-rags sort of badge engineering? Is it really just those three cars? I bet there’s a few more, and if there’s any group of car geeks who can figure it out, they’re right here, all you Autopians. So if you know of any, please, shove them in the comments!

 

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191 thoughts on “Help Me Figure Out What Cars Were Rebadged From A Fancy Brand To A Downmarket Brand”

  1. Lotus Elise to Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220

    Mercedes Sprinter to Ford

    BMW Z4 to Toyota Supra

    Toyota Matrix to Pontiac Vibe(I’d argue that Toyota has way more positive value than Pontiac).

    Someone else already said it but MB SLK to Chrysler Crossfire definitely counts.

    3. I think we’re missing the most obvious one here. Chevy Tahoe to Cadillac Escalade. Not quite a straight rebadge but close enough as makes no difference.

      1. I’m pretty sure those go the opposite direction- the lower marque was first and it got rebadged to luxury. But if it was luxury first then yeah, and are we missing any other SUVs that started life as a Escalade, Buick or Mercury and became a Chevy, GMC or Ford.

    4. The Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe was a “joint venture” at their NUMMI plant I believe, but yeah, it’s a Toyota.
      Also, don’t give up our secrets!
      The Vibe is the better buy IMO – American car pricing and insurance rates, Japanese car reliability (Corolla engine) and parts availability. And I can buy parts from either side.
      Plus in a conversation, your car can either be foreign or domestic (or both). Piss off everyone or no one, your choice!

  3. Would the Genesis G90 to Kia K900 count? I think they both came out at pretty much the same time. The K900 was a fantastic value, unfortunately no one wanted to pay $70k for a Kia.
    Then there is also the Genesis G70/Kia Stinger but I think the Stinger came first and the G70 just reused its (excellent) platform.

      1. As of late I think Kia is the more upscale one, but the when the K900 came out Genesis was already a brand and definitely upscale. The 1st gen Hyundai Equus never had a Kia equivalent, with the 2nd gen G90 having the K900 equivalent.

      2. I’ve always seen the following scenario –

        Kia is Pontiac/Oldsmobile (K900 is a neo Olds 98; K5/Grand Prix; Cadenza/Bonneville)
        Hyundai is more Chevrolet/Buick (Equus=Park Avenue; N models=Chevy SSes; Azera=Regal)
        Genesis is more Cadillac (really more Lexus/BMW desires)

      2. Well, they’re certainly peppering yt with ads—though, now that I think of it—it was just while I was binging the classic How Things Work series. Pretty specific and small audience there…

  5. Cord 810 to Graham Hollywood/Hupmobile Skylark: Also involved re-engineering from front- to rear-wheel-drive and failed at the whole “making money” thing.

  6. The Mercury Grand Marquis was technically sold as a Ford in Mexico, though they didn’t actually change the badging.

    Also, if you count tooling being sold and re-used, Graham and Hupmobile were both downmarket from Cord, and they re-used the 810/812 body

  7. While it was designed to be the first car for luxury brand Amati, that brand failed to launch and Mazda tried to make back the investment by selling a second mid-size sedan called the Millenia (yep, one n) which had Mazda’s only ever factory supercharged V6.

  9. Thisis the 3d time this week that I’ve been reminded that I should have gone ahead and bought the M100 when I was 27, single, and had two years of overseas pay in my pocket.

  11. 3rd Gen Buick Park Avenue (China only) —> Holden/Chevrolet Caprice, Daewoo Veritas

    1st Gen Lexus LS400 —-> Toyota Celsior

    1st Gen Lexus ES300 —-> Toyota Windom

    Lexus SC300/400 .—-> Toyota Soarer

    1st Gen Infiniti Q45 —-> Nissan President

    Infiniti J30 —-> Nissan Leopard J Ferie

    Mitsubishi Galant Sigma Coupe —-> Plymouth Sapporo

    Eunos Roadster —-> Mazda MX-5 Miata

    1. HSV Grange —> 3rd Gen Buick Park Avenue (China only), Holden/Chevrolet Caprice, Daewoo Veritas

      Fixed it for you, the Buick was just a CKD assembled from Australian made Holden bodies and engines anyway

      1. A 3rd party tuner model doesn’t really count as an original version.
        Tho the US Chevy Caprice PPV definitely counts as a later downmarket version.

      1. The only parts in common from the W210 E Class and the Chrysler LX were the rear suspension and the transmission.

        The Crossfire got an entire platform, engines and major electronics from the previous gen SLK – only the skin was changed.

        1. Which points out that Chrysler didn’t decontent the car at all, just tweaked the shocks and sold it for less. Arguably the body was an upgrade, the SLK was boring, and the coupe was far stiffer than the SLK. I dailied a Crossfire for 10 years and loved it.

  13. Not exactly the same thing, but Hummer becoming a GMC and the SRT Viper (re)becoming a Dodge are both arguably downgrades from when they were standalone brands.

    3. Hummer is a sub(dom?)-brand for GMC, but it’s not really that different imo. Exclude the H1 (which was before GM purchased AM General), and the H2 and H3 both shared platforms with GMC products.

      Actually thinking about it the H1 was designed when AM General was part of AMC so GMC is marketing an old AMC product.

      1. Depends on your take on M-B trucks. From my understanding, M-B is less upmarket in Europe, and they are just considered another truck maker, much like here, where Volvo cars are considered upmarket, while Volvo trucks are just another semi truck. And Volvo trucks are not considered upmarket in the semi world. Most of them are cheap fleet models.

          1. Believe me I know what you are getting at. I dread being around Sprinters on the interstate. Those guys know their van is junk and will put it on the line to cut off a semi truck

            1. And have you seen the body welds on a 2000s era Sprinter? There’s high school shop classes that can do cleaner work. I think a freaking LDV Maxus was a step up in build quality at the tine

  16. BMW X5 becoming the VinFast LUX SA2.0!

    Somewhat similar the Saab 9-6X project was cancelled, however, the external styling differences that were going to be used were then applied on the updated Subaru Tribeca when it was refreshed and dropped the B9 from it’s name. I wouldn’t have considered these models to be cross-shopped as brands and it was the “more expensive brand” being applied to a more mainstream brand.

  17. Kia was *this* close to selling the Elan here, but they went bankrupt, Hyundai bought them, and they killed the Elan.

    Does the Jaguar S-Type –> Lincoln LS count?

    Lamborghini Gallardo –> Audi R8

        1. The Corolla & the Nova were quite similar. A fact I used to my advantage when my daughter & her fiancé variously smoked the engine and the automatic transmission:(. The local Japanese components importer had the correct devices in hand when I purchased the replacements.

          1. Toyota is definitely more prestigious than Chevrolet or Geo though.
            Hell, it might be more upscale than BMW, considering a salesman at the Toyota-Lexus operation steered my dad away from the Supra in the showroom by telling him it was “really just a BMW” and that he wouldn’t be happy with it

            2. “Toyota is definitely more prestigious than Chevrolet or Geo though.”

              When Geo existed as a brand it’s a bit different than what you are probably envisioning now. NUMMI products for GM (Geo/Chevrolet/Pontiac) were on par for the same Toyota products at the time in the eyes of American shoppers. From the NUMMI plant the craziest vehicle was likely the Toyota Voltz. It’s the Toyota version of the Pontiac Vibe, which is commonly portrayed as a GM version of the Toyota Matrix. Full circle.

              1. Geo was part of the Chevrolet Division, sold through Chevrolet dealerships, had the Chevrolet bow tie emblem as part of its logo, and Geos always had lower residual values than their Toyota or Suzuki-branded counterparts, and when sold new, usually had stronger factory incentives. Slap a GM brand on a Japanese product and it immediately drops at least a half notch in desirability

                2. “it immediately drops at least a half notch in desirability”

                  For those who know that is a plus.

                  A Honda Crossroad on the other hand is something that reverses the perception.

                  The Daewoo Arcadia is an example of something you actually got something better than it should be, not worse.

              1. Age card? Toyota has been above Chevy since at least 1973! Or, was Chevy able to command above MSRP sale prices all during the ’70s and ’80s? GM’s high incentive spending and two near bankruptcies in the period would suggest not

                1. 40s – old enough to remember when there’d be “car of the year” and “import car of the year”. Peep my username and it might explain that I understand the quality aspect of Toyota, but where I grew up there was a very strong sentiment (still probably is in some parts) that American made > “imports”. Also, Chevrolet and Toyota are both mainstream brands, not a luxury brand vs cheap brand.

                  1. That only applies to rust belt cities away from the coast, where I grew up, everyone acknowledged Honda and Toyota as a step up in desirability from any domestic entry or mid price brand. And they commanded the higher transaction prices to prove it. Other than WWII and Korean War vets who always bought Fords or Oldsmobiles because they were brand loyal and never shopped around, otherwise, it was people who needed a car, and bought on price, the Corsica was cheaper than the Accord and the Chevy/Geo dealer didn’t care as much about credit ratings, so that’s what they got.

                    1. “Other than WWII and Korean War vets who always bought Fords or Oldsmobiles”. Yep that’s my family. Can’t really blame them for surviving the horrors of war and having some resentment for not having brothers, uncle’s, dads, and husbands return.

                      I begged my family for a used Civic at 16, and guess what? I did the research, found one under budget and got it. They all fell in love with the quality and lack of needs besides standard service and switched to a Honda and Toyota family.

                      But again, these brands competed with one another and that’s the point. You were actually very smart to buy the Prism vs. Corolla as it was cheaper, but an identical car otherwise.

        1. I think first gen Honda Odyssey / Isuzu Oasis might count then? I feel like tossing Isuzu that rebadge was the trade for Isuzu giving Honda the Passport.

          Maybe could argue the same on the Chevy S10 to Isuzu Hombre too?

  19. Australia had (has?) widespread cross-badging, so it might be a fertile field for exploration, although when I was there, all I noticed was one mass-market brand cross-badging another.

    1. None that come to mind, as Holden, Toyota, Nissan and Ford are largely at the same level.

      I’ll look through some old Australian car books I’ve got and see if I find anything and report back

      1. In the 60s it was about $600 cheaper.
        Supposedly the idea was that it was for people who were either “embarrassed “ to have a Rolls Royce or their boss drove a RR, in any case a sort of humblebrag.

      2. Back in the day, they were pretty well identical aside from the grill shape. Sometimes they would give the Bentley slightly firmer suspension, but that was as far as it went. It was a very slight step down in prestige though, if for no other reason than Bentleys were marketed more to owners who drove themselves, and Rolls-Royces were more targeted to people with chauffeurs

  21. The Kia Elan was made after lotus sold the tooling for their Elan, but it wasn’t a badge engineered variant of the original car, more of a continuation so I don’t think it counts.

  22. Not sure if this counts, but IMO the B5 VW Passat is a downgraded Audi A4 rather then the other way around, because FWD Passats had a longitudinal engine layout, as if it were a A4 Quattro with the rear axle removed.

    This is different than the current A3, which is an upgraded Golf (though the platform has luxury in mind) and thus has a transverse engine layout.

    1. Not exactly.
      Mercedes-Benz has been in South Korea since 1987
      SsangYong has never been an affiliate of Daimler-Benz – tho there was a link to GM via Daewoo.
      Mercedes simply sold off the obsolete sedan tooling to the W124 after production ended in 1995

  25. Kinda a stretch, but does Fiat 128 to Yugo count? I realize that Fiat and Zastava are entirely separate companies, but the design lineage is there.

      1. I don’t think you I would consider Fiat downscale from Mazda, both build entry level cars for the masses. Mazda may have a better reputation for reliability, but Toyota has a better rep for reliability than BMW, doesn’t make a BMW downscale from a Corolla.

    3. Hmm that’s an interesting one. I suppose the 126 – Polski (and the 127 got the same under-license treatment IIRC) would be the same idea?

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