QOTD: Four More Years?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Whoa, whoooaaaa, easy there. Take a breath — especially you, writers and alumns of a particular blog. In no way is that headline referring to anything political.

You’ll see.

Today, we revisit the past. And also today, we arrive at our destination with the ability to change the future. Like Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone, we hold in our hands the power to alter the course of history.

Wait, hold on. There’s a political subplot in The Dead Zone.

Scratch that.

We, and by that we mean you, have arrived at a date of your choosing. You’ll discover you have the newfound ability to keep something alive for four extra years — enough time to create new memories, new experiences… new products. Thing is, this wondrous power only works on dead automakers or automotive brands.

Yes, you can only use this power to extend the lifespan of a marque that bit the dust. Went belly-up. Bought the farm. That power you hold might, in fact, just be a duffel bag of cash or gold bullion — just enough to grease enough palms, cover the necessary operational costs, and keep the party going for another four years.

When automotive brands die, the mind quickly turns from what was to what might have been, had the company managed to soldier on with a modest amount of money to work with. Had their balance sheets tipped back into black, where would Packard or Studebaker have been in 1961 and 1970, respectively? If General Motors hadn’t suffered a near knockout blow from the Great Recession, what would Hummer have had on the market in 2014?

Pontiac? Saturn?

What final creation could Oldsmobile or Plymouth have cobbled together if given a reprieve? Alas, this is not for us to know, but it’s very much up to you to decide which automaker gets the chance. Which brand gets a temporary detour from the pearly gates, and what product would you like to see roll through those factory gates?

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Arthur Dailey Arthur Dailey on Aug 20, 2020

    Unsure. 1) AMC 2) Pontiac 3) Datsun Would like to have seen what all 3 might come up with. But Pontiac and Datsun were 'divisions' of a larger organization and probably would not have been allowed to innovate. The original AMX demonstrated how good AMC engineering and styling could be. The Eagle AWD Wagon was the darling of the 'ladies who lunch' brigade. With those and the Jeep division if they had been able to hold on, AMC might have thrived with the onset of the SUV/4wd/AWD craze.

  • 3800FAN 3800FAN on Aug 21, 2020

    Plymouth! A plymouth version of the Chrysler lx platform is what I want. I dont want bling (chrysler 300) or muscle car ( charger, challenger). A Plymouth lx car would be a true sleeper street machine.

  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
  • EBFlex The best gift would have been a huge bonfire of all the fak mustangs in inventory and shutting down the factory that makes them.Heck, nobody would even have to risk life and limb starting the fire, just park em close together and wait for the super environmentally friendly EV fire to commence.
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