Hooniverse Asks – What Fallen Car Name Do You Want to See Resurrected to Walk the Earth and Eat Your Brains?


The Geo Metro, Ford Aspire, and Dodge Caliber, all names attache to cars that were pretty crappy, and which have fallen by the wayside due to the undesirability of their underlying platforms. Actually, I think Dodge still makes the Caliber, but its day is due. Many other, greater car names have come and gone – Interceptor, Bagheera, Imp, fallen into history’s dustbin of the no longer wanted. But what if we wanted some of those names back?
The law, I think, requires copyright holder to use a nameplate at least once every seven years, or lose it. That’s why Ford – holder of the rights to the Cobra name – came out with paint and tape versions of the Mustang every few years emblazoned with the venerated appellation. In Europe, Maserati lost Bora to VW, while here in the states it’s still called a Jetta.
They once said that every story that could be told, has been told, and it’s likely that names fro things like cars also have been running shy of originality – requiring more than one maker to offer a prayer of thanks that they use numbers in stead of names. So what do you think, what car name, lost to histories mysteries, would you like to see resurrected? Do you want a Probe? Or maybe a Supra that you can once again call your own?  Whichever, Dr Frankenstein, would your bring them back from the dead?

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  1. TK421 Avatar
    TK421

    GTO! GTO! GTO! GTO!

    1. Ryans92L Avatar
      Ryans92L

      Have to bring back Pontiac first…

      1. Zadkiel Avatar
        Zadkiel

        Ferrari has the market cornered on the moniker.

  2. Joe Btfsplk Avatar
    Joe Btfsplk

    Studebaker had a winner with the DICTATOR.

  3. anonymous Avatar
    anonymous

    Viggen

  4. Maxichamp Avatar

    XR4Ti!

    1. tiberiusẅisë Avatar
      tiberiusẅisë

      Keeping with tradition, XR4Ti II. or maybe MK XR4Ti?

      1. Ryans92L Avatar
        Ryans92L

        if they called it the XR4Ti II, it would have to be underpowered, made poorly, and not have a performance option until right before Ford kills it…

  5. Age_of_Aerostar Avatar
    Age_of_Aerostar

    Because the last article is still fresh on my mind, I'd love to see "Country Squire"

    1. Lotte Avatar
      Lotte

      Very, very yes.

    2. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      Can we get a Superbird too?

  6. Kah Avatar
    Kah

    Hornet, Manta, Falcan< US come back Aus still has it, Drat, Road Master,

  7. scroggzilla Avatar
    scroggzilla

    Barracuda!

    1. jeremy![™] Avatar

      sigh… too bad it would just be a challenger with a new name plate.

      1. mad_science Avatar
        mad_science

        That's what it was by the end of the muscle era anyway.

  8. Jim7 Avatar
    Jim7

    Continental. Please get rid of the MKZWYTLV Lincoln nomenclature.

  9. buzzboy7 Avatar
    buzzboy7

    Käfer, Falcon, El Camino, Gran Turismo Omologato

  10. kah Avatar
    kah

    I might add…Legend, Intrepid, Scout, Rambler Bear Cat, Swift< US, Spitfire,

    1. Ryans92L Avatar
      Ryans92L

      Scout, Rambler > Intrepid

    2. idiotking Avatar
      idiotking

      Seconding Scout

  11. Van Sarockin Avatar
    Van Sarockin

    Zephyr

    1. ZomBee Racer Avatar

      Tripple yes on the Lil red Express, but only with wooden-stake step-sides and dual stacks.

  12. LTDScott Avatar

    LTD, of course.

    1. Age_of_Aerostar Avatar
      Age_of_Aerostar

      Just "LTD" or the full "LTD Crown Victoria" ?

  13. thomasmac Avatar
    thomasmac

    <img src="http://autotraderca.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/2008-pontiac-g8-gt.jpg&quot; style="border: 0pt none ; width: 613px; height: 345px;" alt="imgTag">
    This back as a Chevelle please! I own a 69 and want a matching new one!

    1. Ryans92L Avatar
      Ryans92L

      <img src="http://www.chevroletautosinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Pontiac-GTO-1.jpg&quot; width=500>
      You would need to have a 2 door model.

      1. thomasmac Avatar
        thomasmac

        While that would be nice, I cant see GM wanted this to step on the Camaros toes. I can see where you are coming from given that with classic Chevelles 2 doors are for more desirable then the 4 door. But these days it just makes it a practical Camaro

    2. AnonymousCoward Avatar
      AnonymousCoward

      It'll be the new Caprice.

      1. thomasmac Avatar
        thomasmac

        Cops get the Caprice, we should get the Chevelle

    3. acarr260 Avatar
      acarr260

      No. I came here specifically to say not to the Chevelle. Leave it alone. Did you like the bastardization of recent muscle car names? I think it would need to be something very special before I would be OK with them reviving that name. What's next? A Yenko Cobalt SS?
      /has a '72 SS in the garage

      1. thomasmac Avatar
        thomasmac

        I dont think any of the recent muscle car names have been a bastardization besides maybe the GTO. If GM did it right they could have a car with Camaro performance that you could see out of and sit in the back! If people want Camaro performance but a 4 door this could fill that void. Any other potential name ideas? Biscayne? SS?

  14. JeepyJayhawk Avatar

    Gladiator and Commando plsthx.

  15. Ryans92L Avatar
    Ryans92L

    I would love to see the 924/944/968 Series be revived, also bringing a new 928 to the table wouldn't cause any problems with me. They have both only been out of production for 16 years, that isn't to long gone, is it?
    <img src="http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/01/19/16/10/1995_porsche_928_2_dr_gts_hatchback-pic-54388.jpeg&quot; width=500>
    <img src="http://www.s103662028.websitehome.co.uk/Porsche%20968%20P3%203.jpg&quot; width=500>
    Please Please bring these back! I'll give you a cookie!

    1. CJinSD Avatar
      CJinSD

      I'd love to have the 924 back, except that if Porsche made it today it would be Panamera ugly, weigh 35% too much, and have a short-lived, overly complex engine that sounds like an industrial tool. How about a BMW 2002? But only if it weighed no more than 2,300 lbs, had a naturally aspirated engine, and was styled by a man who likes women.

      1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
        FuzzyPlushroom

        You're right about the theoretical 924, but I'd love to style you a new 2002…

        1. CJinSD Avatar
          CJinSD

          My apologies for the slight. One too many fights with a flamboyant landscape architect who can’t be convinced cars aren’t diamond shaped, as they would need to be to fit in parking spots that have diagonal corners cut out for curb bordered planters. He also defended the reviled modern sloping rooflines that make back seats useless by saying who cars about breeders and their stupid kids. Throw in Chris Bangle’s pocket squares and beard, and I’ve been reduced to unfair stereotyping. Mea culpa.

          1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
            FuzzyPlushroom

            No worries. From the sound of it, I'd enjoy beating that fellow with a shovel – sure, I don't give much of a damn about children either, but I do care about occasional passengers' comfort, and even more so about rear visibility.
            Also, my cars are roughly diamond-shaped if turned at a 45-degree angle. Everyone wins, or something.

  16. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    As far as brands – Studebaker. For model names, I'd love to be rolling in a Lele.

  17. BGW Avatar
    BGW

    Wouldn't you rather drive a Scimitar?

  18. Slow Joe Crow Avatar
    Slow Joe Crow

    The Humber Super Snipe.

  19. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    Ralliart brought back as an actual Works outfit (rather than badge slapped on Mitsubishi's answer to the WRX hatch):
    <img src="http://www.nmd.com.au/resources/images/newsimages/articleimages/R3E8635.jpg"&gt;

  20. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    CRX. The CR-Z doesn't count.
    Prelude.
    NSX.

  21. CptSevere Avatar

    Fleetwood, Coupe Deville. Blazer. Apache.

  22. Møbius Avatar
    Møbius

    RS2000, of course.
    Fortunately, though, the Stratos is coming back and the Quattro is being revived.

  23. Froggmann_ Avatar
    Froggmann_

    Bronco
    <img src="http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q53/Froggmann/93%20Bronco/IMG_2747-1.jpg&quot; width="600" img="">
    Although it is much more likely to eat your wallet than your brains.

  24. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    A Lincoln two door coupe Mk followed by an actual Roman numeral
    Corvair! (Might be a good name for a GM hybrid, maybe most of the Nader bad press is gone by now. If nothing else, name the greenest GM car a Corvair, since Nader did run for President under the Green Party.)
    Trans-Am
    Stanley Steamer

  25. Jim-Bob Avatar
    Jim-Bob

    I feel a little insulted as I feel the Geo Metro is awesome. It's the only car I have ever owned two of at one time. Were they to bring back the Geo Metro complete with the 3 cylinder engine, low curb weight, manual transmission and minuscule size I would be the first one on the waiting list to buy a new one. That much fuel economy for that little money is a real game changer in my life and I suspect it would be in the lives of many others as well (as is seen by the rather rabid following they have). Add to it that the cars were pretty well built and tend to last if cared for and not mercilessly beat on and you have one of the best modes of basic transportation ever sold in the US. You just have to see them in the right light in that they are more practical and safe than a moped but still manage to get similar fuel mileage.

  26. TurboBrick Avatar
    TurboBrick

    Starfire! i don't know what kind of a car it would be, now that Olds is dead too, but I always thought that was one of the coolest nameplates. Maybe I watched too much Babylon 5 and it rotted my brain.

  27. dragon951 Avatar
    dragon951

    I'm not so sure zombie resurrections come out the way you want them: Zombie Volvo =/= Original Volvo.
    Also 914.

  28. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Sam Rami would back up my decision of Delta 88. George Romero may support the decision to bring the new VW Scirocco to North America.

  29. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    Kaiser Dragon is also pretty darn cool.

    1. CJinSD Avatar
      CJinSD

      I think it is called GM now.

    2. ZomBee Racer Avatar

      DAGH!
      You're mean.

  30. deepgrey Avatar
    deepgrey

    Wraith. Definitely Wraith.

  31. ZomBee Racer Avatar

    RANCHERO!!
    Also Comet, Fairlane 500, Courier, Pinto (yes, stop laughing) and… Gremlin.
    AND, Marauder.
    Make mine a brown Marauderanchero 500, with wood paneling.
    (still thinking about that earlier wagon post)

    1. GTXEliminator Avatar
      GTXEliminator

      Where you you put the pinto in the Ford lineup?

      1. ZomBee Racer Avatar

        In the back, for nostalgia's sake.

    2. ZomBee Racer Avatar
  32. sam Avatar
    sam

    I would consider buying a car that said DEMON on it somewhere.

  33. Gnome Avatar
    Gnome

    Wartburg, from East Germany, maybe Subaru could pick it up to go with their current styling.

  34. JoeyM Avatar
    JoeyM

    Datsun.
    Fan boys have been saying for years, but I'd LOVE to see Nissan bring back the Datsun name as a competitor to Toyota's Scion brand. Use the nameplate to market small, inexpensive cars that are light weight because they're not larded up with lots of bells and whistles. Bonus points if you go RWD. The best description I've seen of this idea was on Grassroots Motorsports: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/why-ca
    Unfortunately, there are not enough fan boys to make a viable market. 🙁

    1. facelvega Avatar
      facelvega

      The problem is that I don't think Nissan has the design staff or ideology to be able to produce anything worth calling a Datsun anymore. They love the lard.

  35. corvette poncho Avatar
    corvette poncho

    Gimme some wood….Grand Wagoneer. Yeah, I know they are supposed to bring it back in 2012 or whatever, but you know it will be a tarted up Grand Cherokee or Commander. Please Chrysler, please don't screw it up!

  36. Dutch Avatar
    Dutch

    Not necessarily a car name, but I wanna see parts names again…Cruise-o-matic, Go Devil4, Hurricane6, Torqueflite, Astro-Ventilation, Thriftmaster6, Ultradrive, and many others. Everything now just has a alpha-numeric name so the stupid yuppies understand. 4L80E has no pizzaz.

  37. skitter Avatar
    skitter

    Anything that comes after TVR.

  38. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

    Please, world, bring me back a new Rover.
    Not a Chinese or Indian engineered lowest-common-denominator bargain special,
    Not something based on 15 year old Honda technology,
    Not something wearing the Viking Longboat badge as a pastiche on past glories,
    Not a cynically marketed cash-in on an established name;
    But a modern, innovative, soundly concieved piece of design that Britain can be proud of.
    It happened before,
    Please, someone. Be brave. Invest. Make it happen again, For old times sake.
    Thank you.

  39. Mad_Hungarian Avatar
    Mad_Hungarian

    Fleetwood Talisman.[youtube shllko2uQEA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shllko2uQEA youtube]

  40. acarr260 Avatar
    acarr260

    In a coke-fueled weekend of debauchery, Charlie Sheen would accidentally buy a fleet of the little cars. Nice sales bump (pun fully intended).

    1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      I read "Charlie Sheen" as "Charlie Brown".
      I have but one (NSFW) response.

  41. Lou Hall Avatar
    Lou Hall

    Roadmaster

  42. 4DoorNoMore Avatar
    4DoorNoMore

    Wildcat.
    Comet Cyclone GT.
    Firedome.
    Oh, and engine sizes in c.i.d., please.

  43. Zadkiel Avatar
    Zadkiel

    Everyone say it with me……….El Camino!

  44. Samantha Racanelli Avatar

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