Ugly, weird, silly, and just plain stupid car rebadges

[RandomCarGuy17]

Why not?

Because it just seems odd to me that Mazda would be willing to have Toyota sell their hatchback rebadged in the US, but won't do it themself. Which sucks because the Mazda 2 is a better looking car than the rebadged. It's also mind-boggling to me that Toyota stopped selling the Yaris hatch in the US, but will sell this.

I guess it could be cheaper to do it that way, but I'm not sure how it is. Bottom line, if Toyota and Mazda are both willing to sell their hatchbacks in the US; then they should just sell them as is. Because that imo would be better than what's going on here. I still like it on the count of just having a Mazda 2 hatch in the US again, but I would still prefer it not being a rebadge.

If the pandemic didn't happen I was going to get one of these for a daily driver/ commuter car simply because it's so cheap. I honestly kinda like them, but I can't really explain why. Not many new, small, cheap car options anymore, I suppose.

I think that's partially why for me, there aren't many small cheap cars left in the US. but it's also being a Mazda 2 hatch (though without the great styling of Mazda's current design theme sadly).

 

[DemioXDTourng]

You are talking to the guy with a Mazda2 for a profile.




Though, I agree, its odd to sell the same rebadged car along side the regular car, Toyota also did this with Subaru (BRZ & FRS), so Toyota might just not understand what Badge Engineering in the US is yet.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Though, I agree, its odd to sell the same rebadged car along side the regular car

That's the problem though, they're not. The rebadge is the only one we get, the USA does NOT get the actual Mazda 2.

Toyota also did this with Subaru (BRZ & FRS), so Toyota might just not understand what Badge Engineering in the US is yet.

Except unlike that, we only got the Toyota version. Not the actual Mazda version (which would be better).

 

[Crash]

Because it just seems odd to me that Mazda would be willing to have Toyota sell their hatchback rebadged in the US, but won't do it themself. Which sucks because the Mazda 2 is a better looking car than the rebadged. It's also mind-boggling to me that Toyota stopped selling the Yaris hatch in the US, but will sell this.

I guess it could be cheaper to do it that way, but I'm not sure how it is. Bottom line, if Toyota and Mazda are both willing to sell their hatchbacks in the US; then they should just sell them as is. Because that imo would be better than what's going on here. I still like it on the count of just having a Mazda 2 hatch in the US again, but I would still prefer it not being a rebadge.

Though, I agree, its odd to sell the same rebadged car along side the regular car, Toyota also did this with Subaru (BRZ & FRS), so Toyota might just not understand what Badge Engineering in the US is yet.

Though only Toyota and Mazda know for sure, there are a myriad of reasons why they ended up badge engineering the Mazda2.

Perhaps it's as simple as access to Mazda platforms is part of the ownership stake agreement that Toyota has with Mazda, or perhaps Mazda knows it won't be able to sell it in volumes that Toyota can (there are Toyota dealerships everywhere, but not necessarily Mazda), and so the expected total profit of "selling" it to Toyota to then rebadge and resell as an iA is still greater than trying to sell the 2 on its own, or perhaps this is an easy way for Toyota to add another small car to the line up and help reduce their CAFE footprint, or maybe it's a combination of all that or something else all together.

 

[Tornado]

Because it just seems odd to me that Mazda would be willing to have Toyota sell their hatchback rebadged in the US, but won't do it themself.

Mazda doesn't have the luxury of being able to have unprofitable cars clogging up their showrooms anymore. Toyota has the market presence to allow an entry level car.

And now that CAFE has basically eliminated the ability for automakers to sell such cars in the US, the main surprise isn't that Toyota sells it but Mazda doesn't even though Mazda builds it, but that Toyota does at all and doesn't just trash entry level buyers like the American brands and Honda have. actually they already did.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Perhaps it's as simple as access to Mazda platforms is part of the ownership stake agreement that Toyota has with Mazda, or perhaps Mazda knows it won't be able to sell it in volumes that Toyota can (there are Toyota dealerships everywhere, but not necessarily Mazda), and so the expected total profit of "selling" it to Toyota to then rebadge and resell as an iA is still greater than trying to sell the 2 on its own, or perhaps this is an easy way for Toyota to add another small car to the line up and help reduce their CAFE footprint, or maybe it's a combination of all that or something else all together.

That's a fair reason for Mazda, Toyota has more of a presense in the US than Mazda does (which sucks for me, because I would prefer to have a Mazda 2 that looks well...like a Mazda 2).

Mazda doesn't have the luxury of being able to have unprofitable cars clogging up their showrooms anymore. Toyota has the market presence to allow an entry level car.

And now that CAFE has basically eliminated the ability for automakers to sell such cars in the US, the main surprise isn't that Toyota sells it but Mazda doesn't even though Mazda builds it, but that Toyota does at all and doesn't just trash entry level buyers like the American brands and Honda have. actually they already did.

Now, the Mazda part is now making sense, but you're going to have to explain to me further about the Toyota part. Is it really cheaper to sell a rebadged Mazda in the US versus one of their own cars?

Off topic: Errr, what's CAFE? Fuel economy standards or...?

Also off topic: This is now just reminding me on how much I hate the world I live in sometimes.

 

[ToyGTone]

Between the unreliable first gen Trailblazer and the bloated current gen Trailblazer crossover, there were a second generation that wasn't sold in the States nor Canada.

It was rebadged as the Isuzu MU-X which's really just an SUV variation of the Isuzu D-MAX which's what the Chevrolet Colorado is based on and it's basically the pickup model of the Trailblazer. We just went full circle there but speaking of which, it was also rebadged as a Holden in Australia and New Zealand.

 

[Tornado]

Now, the Mazda part is now making sense, but you're going to have to explain to me further about the Toyota part. Is it really cheaper to sell a rebadged Mazda in the US versus one of their own cars?

Could be, yes. Think of all of the captive imports GM, Ford and (especially) Chrysler sold up through the 1990s. If Mazda already has a car ready to go for the US market, having Mazda put a different front end on it could definitely be cheaper than making your own or adapting one you sell elsewhere. You see it a lot in the Kei market in Japan nowadays, as shrinking sales due to shrinking government incentives has made it so the players who are the best at making those kinds of cars also provide rebadged ones for the other Japanese companies instead of all of them making their own entries themselves.

It's not even necessarily a matter of money, because there's finite resources elsewhere. Mazda made this thing and you want to sell a car in that market segment, so even if it's expensive to get your own version of it you don't have to dedicate your engineering and design and etc. staff towards bringing it to market; and you don't have to dedicate space in your factories to build it. That frees all of those things up for more profitable models; and allows you to cut bait if it stops working out for you.

Off topic: Errr, what's CAFE? Fuel economy standards or...?

Yes.

 

[05XR8]

Here's Mazda getting help, rebadging Suzukis. Weird, since Mazda sell small cars and have iconic kei cars from the past.

 

[EvolutionWRX]

Well nowadays, only Honda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, & Mitsubishi are the only ones who are engineering & building Kei cars. Others are merely a rebadged mess.

I miss the '90s on where every Japanese brand were building their own Kei's.

 

[HaydenFan69]

I did not know AMG tuned cars other than Mercedes.

And a Mitsubishi Galant of all things.

 

[05XR8]

Since SUzuki and Toyota having bought stocks in each other, Toyota rebadges the Baleno as the new Glanza.

If you're looking to blend into the pavement, this is your car. This would be the bank robbers car of choice. Ain't no way the police will check or even notice this car is parked right next to the whole S.W.A.T. team.

 

[HaydenFan69]

It's not a too bad looking car. A bit of the previous generation Subaru Impreza. At least Toyota's rebadge didn't include adding the giant front grills seen on every single one of their new designs. Not that they are bad or ugly, just a welcoming step back to the "meh" Toyota.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Because it just seems odd to me that Mazda would be willing to have Toyota sell their hatchback rebadged in the US, but won't do it themself. Which sucks because the Mazda 2 is a better looking car than the rebadged. It's also mind-boggling to me that Toyota stopped selling the Yaris hatch in the US, but will sell this.

I guess it could be cheaper to do it that way, but I'm not sure how it is. Bottom line, if Toyota and Mazda are both willing to sell their hatchbacks in the US; then they should just sell them as is. Because that imo would be better than what's going on here. I still like it on the count of just having a Mazda 2 hatch in the US again, but I would still prefer it not being a rebadge.


I think that's partially why for me, there aren't many small cheap cars left in the US. but it's also being a Mazda 2 hatch (though without the great styling of Mazda's current design theme sadly).

Little late to this but I think Mazda is really trying to push their "premium" image in the USA. A subcompact in the lineup kind of undermines that effort, but if they can still make a buck from the segment by selling it via Toyota, then it's a win-win. You can still actually buy a Mazda 2 in Puerto Rico, by the way, which would be fully legal (IIRC) to register and drive in the rest of the USA.

 

[Tornado]

Since SUzuki and Toyota having bought stocks in each other, Toyota rebadges the Baleno as the new Glanza.

If you're looking to blend into the pavement, this is your car. This would be the bank robbers car of choice. Ain't no way the police will check or even notice this car is parked right next to the whole S.W.A.T. team.

At least it's not a BMW.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Little late to this but I think Mazda is really trying to push their "premium" image in the USA. A subcompact in the lineup kind of undermines that effort, but if they can still make a buck from the segment by selling it via Toyota, then it's a win-win. You can still actually buy a Mazda 2 in Puerto Rico, by the way, which would be fully legal (IIRC) to register and drive in the rest of the USA.

Ah, that can make sense. Also, oh yeah; I think I remember you saying that somewhere else. Thanks.

 

[Marisauna]

Mitsubishi-Dodge rebadges have been talked about a lot ITT but if you want to see the start of it all, here it is. Meet the Dodge Colt, America’s version of the Mitsubishi Galant.

And what do you get when you cross a RWD Japanese subcompact with ‘70s drag racing culture? Something a little bit like this:

This guy’s bosozoku cousins from overseas are gonna want to keep their lunch money to themselves.

 

[Wiegert]

There were brief spells during the 80s and 90s where vehicles built in the southern hemisphere by Japanese brands ended up in the UK market with completely different names, such as the Lonsdale YD. A badge-engineered Mitsubishi Sigma which in turn was based on the Japanese-built Galant.

Due to a prior agreement which limited car imports from Japan to a maximum share of 11% of the UK market, Mitsubishi had hoped that they could bypass it by marketing the Australian-built version of their Galant (Sigma) alongside the Japanese Galant. With little demand for an obscure rebranded model that was already marketed under the Colt and Mitsubishi names, Lonsdale sales never got beyond three figures and unsold stock ended up being sold under the Mitsubishi name. Only a handful of registered Lonsdales still exist.



A few years later saw the arrival of the Sao Penza. Built in South Africa and shipped over as an entry level companion to the regular Mazda 323. Roughly 1000 examples were sold but only one is known to remain.

 

[GranTurNismo]

There were brief spells during the 80s and 90s where vehicles built in the southern hemisphere by Japanese brands ended up in the UK market with completely different names, such as the Lonsdale YD. A badge-engineered Mitsubishi Sigma which in turn based on the Japanese-built Galant.

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Due to a prior agreement which limited car imports from Japan to a maximum share of 11% of the UK market, Mitsubishi had hoped that they could bypass it by marketing the Australian-built version of their Galant (Sigma) alongside the Japanese Galant. With little demand for an obscure rebranded model that was already marketed under the Colt and Mitsubishi names, Lonsdale sales never got beyond three figures and unsold stock ended up being sold under the Mitsubishi name. Only a handful of registered Lonsdales still exist.



A few years later saw the arrival of the Sao Penza. Built in South Africa and shipped over as an entry level companion to the regular Mazda 323. Roughly 1000 examples were sold but only one is known to remain.

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What I'm wondering is, how did they not get sued by the actual Lonsdale? Or am I just wrong and it is the same company?

Also, I wish there was an American equivalent to How Many Left UK. Would really be interesting to know how many cars of yesteryear are on the roads.

 

[Neddo]

Sterling was a very sad failure. It had potential but it was awfully unreliable

 

[Tornado]

Due to a prior agreement which limited car imports from Japan to a maximum share of 11% of the UK market, Mitsubishi had hoped that they could bypass it by marketing the Australian-built version of their Galant (Sigma) alongside the Japanese Galant. With little demand for an obscure rebranded model that was already marketed under the Colt and Mitsubishi names, Lonsdale sales never got beyond three figures and unsold stock ended up being sold under the Mitsubishi name. Only a handful of registered Lonsdales still exist.

I wonder if that is why Mitsubishi gave Lancers/Mirages to Proton that Proton turned around and sold in markets where Mitsubishi was selling Mirages and Lancers themselves.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Peugeot 4007. My brother sends me photos of cars he spots while in Spain and this was one of them. Right off the bat I knew it was a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Yikes, that's certainly not a looker.

 

[EvolutionWRX]

Between the unreliable first gen Trailblazer and the bloated current gen Trailblazer crossover, there were a second generation that wasn't sold in the States nor Canada.

It was rebadged as the Isuzu MU-X which's really just an SUV variation of the Isuzu D-MAX which's what the Chevrolet Colorado is based on and it's basically the pickup model of the Trailblazer. We just went full circle there but speaking of which, it was also rebadged as a Holden in Australia and New Zealand.

I saw these during my trip in SE Asia, the Chevy version was a bland mess. The Isuzu on the other hand was at least has some effort with it, good looking to say the least.

I wonder if that is why Mitsubishi gave Lancers/Mirages to Proton that Proton turned around and sold in markets where Mitsubishi was selling Mirages and Lancers themselves.

As far as I've heard, the CE9 Evos were rebadged as the Wira PERT. Then later during the CN9-gen and later (IV, V, VI, & VII), it was called Proton PERT.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

The Nissan Tsuru, a rebadge of the B13 Sentra, but continued to be sold in Mexico til the mid 2010s.
https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/nissan-tsuru-sentra-time-forgot-260308

The reason for the production ending was this:


I mean, there's probably more to the story than the crash test, but it was given a 0 star rating. In which is not surprising to me, it's an early 90s Nissan being sold as a new model.

It's not even the only Nissan sold like this. They also were selling the 2000s Rogue as the Rogue select.

 

[Tornado]

They also have sold the 2004-era Nissan Frontier to this day as the Nissan Fro-


Oh.

 

[PJTierney]

I wonder if that is why Mitsubishi gave Lancers/Mirages to Proton that Proton turned around and sold in markets where Mitsubishi was selling Mirages and Lancers themselves.

The Proton/Mitsubishi relationship is why we have body mods like this:

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

They also have sold the 2004-era Nissan Frontier to this day as the Nissan Fro-


Oh.

If someone made a list of cars that just kept being produced long after other cars were replaced with new generations, I'm guessing a good chunk of that list would be Nissans.

 

[MIE1992]

I did not know AMG tuned cars other than Mercedes.

And a Mitsubishi Galant of all things.

View attachment 972047

This sorta has me thinking: if this car were added to a future GT game - whether it's GT7 or some game after that - would be listed as a Mitsubishi or as an AMG? I think it'd be the latter, as I think the AMG-branded Mercedes-Benz models are more analogous to the Nissan GT-R (R35) Nismo models, rather than the other Nismo cars like the 400R, or the Skyline GT-R (R33) LM Road Going Version. (Perhaps some TRD cars could once again be under a TRD label, too, like the Sports M that debuted in GT4.) It's like the tuner's name is used partially for the marketing of these more modern models, I think. But even if this AMG Gallant was listed as an AMG - and indeed, if AMG had its own page on Brand Central or whatever its successor may be - where would that place stuff like the 1960s Mercedes-Benz race car that was tuned by AMG, yet is listed under Mercedes-Benz in GT Sport? I think that if AMG becomes its own label in a future GT title, that's where the 300 SEL should be placed, rather than under Mercedes-Benz.

It reminds me of another idea I had, where Red Bull should be its own brand, and that'd be where you find the Red Bull racers rather than under the Gran Turismo label, but I digress. The same would apply to that Amuse S2000 that was added in GT Sport - wherein Amuse should be brought back as its own page - even if the concept was indeed by GT.

 

[05XR8]

The Proton/Mitsubishi relationship is why we have body mods like this:

When I moved to Australia, it was one of the weirdest cars I couldn't put a name to. The Proton Jumbuck.

I thought I kept seeing Subaru Brats(which are renamed "Brumby" over here), but they weren't. Since having owned a '98 Mirage and how robust the 1.5L MIVEC was, I wouldn't mind having one of these.