What's In A Name?

Michael Karesh
by Michael Karesh

When should a redesigned car get a new name? Whenever the old one wasn’t a success? Or virtually never? Can car companies count on the excellence of a new car to reverse whatever damage was done to the public perception of the model name in the past?

GM, as Paul Niedermeyer noted a few years ago, has a tendency to give a redesigned car a new name when the old one fared poorly in public perception. Which has been every time with its compact cars: Corvair, Vega, Monza, Cavalier, Cobalt, Cruze. Most recently, GM opted to abandon the Aveo name in North America in favor of “Sonic.”

Ford started to replace the names of many of its cars a few years ago. Not because the cars hadn’t sold well, but because someone had the brilliant idea that all Ford car names should start with the letter F. The Windstar became the Freestar, partly in an attempt to escape the minivan’s bad reputation. And there was also a Freestyle crossover. My wife wondered if they might replace “Thunderbird” with “Freebird.” After all, there was already a song to serve as the car’s theme. Then new CEO Alan Mulally, an outsider with virtually no knowledge of the auto industry, decreed that the “F” fixation was stupid. (Though for some reason he let the even more confusing MK_ mess continue at Lincoln.) Despite the damage Ford had done to the old names, they retained broad recognition by car buyers and thus equity. The Taurus name, after being reduced to fleet queen status, was returned to Ford’s current large sedan, from which it progressed to the current semi-premium car. And Ford’s redesigned compact remains a Focus despite a huge upgrade in both its specification and price.

I’ve always possessed a visceral dislike for GM’s willingness to flit from nameplate to nameplate. But this is because (apparently unlike GM) I refuse to admit defeat and give up. I also don’t like to throw anything away (luckily I have a wife to counterbalance the latter). But these reasons aren’t rational. Perhaps giving up on a nameplate when a model has failed in public perception and starting over with a new one is the smart thing to do?

Thanks to Ford, we have an answer. Until recently, Dearborn didn’t think it could sell a Euro-spec car at profitable prices in the U.S. So while Europe received better and better C-segment cars, the North American Focus soldiered on with minimal updates, and with even these focused on taking cost out of the car more often than they improved it. Then Mulally decreed that Ford would make and sell the same cars in Europe and North America. So the next Focus (a 2012 model which arrived earlier this year) would have to command much higher prices from American car buyers. A challenge in itself, retaining the Focus name for the new car should have made this even more difficult. Americans had learned to think of the Focus as a cheap car for people who couldn’t afford a better one, right? Would those seeking a premium small car even consider one with this tarnished nameplate attached?

As much as I don’t believe it replacing nameplates, I don’t think I’d have made this bet. But Ford did, and they’ve won. The Focus’s average transaction price year-to-date in 2010 was $15,424. This year, despite a few months with the old model, it’s $20,684. Despite this massive jump in the car’s price, in percentage the largest I’m aware of, the cars have been in short supply. They’ve been attracting an entirely different group of buyers, people who could afford a larger car or any direct competitor, but who are choosing the Focus because they like it the best, not because of “the deal.” Six percent of those sold are even the Titanium trim, which can list for over $27,000.

Conversely, look at GM’s experience. Many of the new cars gifted with new nameplates were mediocre, so it’s not clear how blame for lackluster sales should be apportioned. The Cobalt and G6 were significantly better than the Cavalier and Grand Am, but perhaps not good enough to sell without heavy incentives even if the old names with their broader public awareness had been retained. But what about the G8? Might it have sold better, and perhaps saved Pontiac in the process, if it had been labeled a Bonneville or Grand Prix? One possible exception: the Cadillac CTS, though it likely would have done just as well if the Catera nameplate had been retained. Then there’s the height of stupidity: scrapping a strong nameplate. Acura replaced “Integra” and “Legend” with “RSX” and “RL.” Today the former is gone and the latter might as well be.

Judging from the success of the 2012 Ford Focus, when the car is good people quickly forget any negative associations attached to a nameplate by the previous generation. On the other hand, GM has rarely if ever benefited from scrapping old nameplates in favor of new ones. The upcoming Chevrolet Sonic might well succeed—initial media reports have been positive—but this will be despite rather than because of its new name.

Michael Karesh
Michael Karesh

Michael Karesh lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan, with his wife and three children. In 2003 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. While in Chicago he worked at the National Opinion Research Center, a leader in the field of survey research. For his doctoral thesis, he spent a year-and-a-half inside an automaker studying how and how well it understood consumers when developing new products. While pursuing the degree he taught consumer behavior and product development at Oakland University. Since 1999, he has contributed auto reviews to Epinions, where he is currently one of two people in charge of the autos section. Since earning the degree he has continued to care for his children (school, gymnastics, tae-kwan-do...) and write reviews for Epinions and, more recently, The Truth About Cars while developing TrueDelta, a vehicle reliability and price comparison site.

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  • Tech98 Tech98 on Aug 09, 2011
    Then there’s the height of stupidity: scrapping a strong nameplate. Acura replaced “Integra” and “Legend” with “RSX” and “RL.” Dumbest marketing move ever. It's as if Acura masochistically decided to take a dump on their customer base to chase after mythical new customers that didn't exist, and flushed their brand image in the process. A prime exhibit in the creeping mediocritization of Honda.
  • TrailerTrash TrailerTrash on Aug 09, 2011

    So help me out... Are all the "MK_" remarks because there are no "numbers" to keep life more simplified for you? Or is it just the last lettering. Is it you all feel better with "A"whatever? Or MBW and some number? Is it the complexity that irritates all of you? Maybe MK1, MK3, 5 or 7 will make it feel more credible? M1 M3, M5 or 7????? Look, get over it. If the cars were great enough, the little things like that would blow away . And they are really nice cars.

    • See 1 previous
    • Volts On Fire Volts On Fire on Aug 27, 2011

      @mike978 The MKZ nameplate replaced the Zephyr, hence the Z. And I'm pretty sure you're right, the T is for touring on MKT. Names! We need actual names back! (Says the current owner of a Mazda6.)

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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