The sense and nonsense of classic brands-revivals

Posted on 07-03-2015 15:00 by sir_smokalot – 61 Comments”

Old illustrious car brands a to breathe new life into: many try it, and almost everyone fails. Why are entrepreneurs still try?

Revival vs cpr

Under a revival we mean a brand that foreseeable future, the dead and buried was, again, to life. Brands like Skoda, Dacia, or perhaps Jaguar are actually never left, they were given only a significant new impetus under new management. The same can be said about the Datsun, that is within the Nissan group remained, and perhaps also on the Lagonda badge, last year by Aston Martin from the shelves. The German Melkus is on the other side of the success: here took the rebound but short.

Of the brands a second life were actually only Bugatti a keeper remained. Thanks to the support and dedication of one of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world – VW – saw is equipped with a good basis, and even though it is the last Veyron there, in the meantime, a successor is in the barrel.

Gambled and lost

A couple of times came an old brand back from the ground, the first example that our that comes to mind is of course Spyker. After a century of silence grabbed Victor Muller back to the brand and knew actually a number of instances to build. But unfortunately, Muller got with everyone arguing, there had to be a F1-team, and even more megalomaniacal nonsense, and so is Spyker currently comatose (but not bankrupt, and thus there may still be bolts at the Praxis to be achieved).

Maybach was a famous old brand, and it was here the large Daimler that they vertilde. What a Rolls-Royce competitor had to be turned out to be a fiasco where per model is a lot of money on focus had to be. At some point in time the Germans said enough was enough and pulled the plug from Maybach in his old form.

Nipped In the bud

The lion’s share of the revivals, however, starts with a nice plan, perhaps even a swanky conceptje, and bleeding then death. You want examples? Trabant, Voisin, Simca (PSA has now, however, just as other things than a new brand launch), DeTomaso, Jensen (although there is a new seems to come), Amilcar.

Borgward

In Geneva, we witnessed the last revival: Borgward. At least, maybe. The ‘new Borgward came with empty hands to Switzerland, and only showed a old Isabella. Why this obsession with old things? Two reasons: an old brand made ever cars, this gives people with ambition in the automotive world with a blueprint for their make model, what easier than to have to draw. In addition, it is an old brand is always known as a new name. You lift so beautiful (nearly) for free on old glory.

The advantage of the last argument is also a disadvantage: a beautiful history puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the new maker. In addition, the skepticism among autokenners – having regard to the long list of failures – not of the air.

In just the last 2 arguments would be ambitious designers to me have to convince with a clean slate to start with, and their own brand to start. The Dutch Vencer proves that this is possible, provided you are serious enough. The majority of the revivals is simply not viable because there are often a bunch of cowboys sitting in front of that as their mediamomentje want to enjoy then in the swamp of anonymity, to sink away.

Personally, I see much more in the elate of old brand names as a special line within an existing brand, such as Ford is going to do with Vignale, or Renault (quite inconsistent and sloppy) has done with Gordini. Because what is the added value of start with your own old brand as the only similarity with the past is the name?