By Martin Schwoerer
September 4, 2008 -
It was Marx (Karl, not Groucho) who said that history repeats itself-– albeit the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. Between the World Wars, Talbot built cars that were among the most expensive in Europe, and amongst the most beautiful ever. The post-war period of austerity was hard on Talbot; the company was integrated into what was later the European affiliate of Chrysler. When Peugeot bought Chrysler’s European operations in 1978, it unearthed this proud but almost dead brand, and sold some undistinguished cars for a few years (until it changed its mind about the whole idea). Fast forward. According to Automobilwoche, PSA Peugeot Citroen is now planning the add further disgrace to injury. Renault-Nissan’s Dacia marque of superaffordable cars is a runaway success, which Peugeot would like to emulate without damaging its present brands. So it’s thinking of importing cheapo third-world-built cars and marketing them under the Talbot name. Aaargh! Dacia is a great idea whose time has come, managed with considerable skill. But some marketing people have no respect for historical significance. Why not just think up a new brand name? Personally, I’d rather drive something called Guglhupf or Superfromage than a made-in-India Talbot.
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POWERED
September 4th, 2008 at 10:52 am
How about DesCarde — the world’s finest disposable car!
September 4th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Wonder if their new Talbot ideas will go over as “well” as the prior ones?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talbot_Tagora
September 4th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Talbot brings me memories.. not necessary good ones. Talbot 1510s and Horizons (Dodge Omni/ Plymouth Horizon for you Americans) were built in Finland in the early 1980s, and they were spartan, ugly, noisy, had incredibly slow steering and difficult transmissions. However they got surprisingly good mileage and were also pretty durable: the production ended 22 years ago, but you still see some Talbots on the road.
The revival of Talbot? Bad idea, as people tend to remember only bad things about those cars. There’s a reason we don’t see a new Ford Pinto or Chevy Vega, Talbot should also stay that way.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
“So it’s thinking of importing cheapo third-world-built cars and marketing them under [another] name. Aaargh! … But some marketing people have no respect for historical significance. Why not just think up a new brand name?”
GM called. They’d like their business plan back.
September 4th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Chrysler got Talbot when they bought SIMCA. Reviving the SIMCA brand would be the way to go for a cheap pos car, as that is what they made.