Posted on 06/27/2024 11:12:20 AM PDT by Red Badger
Thunderbird Italien Ford
Ford CEO Jim Farley stopped by The Smoking Tire podcast earlier this month to talk vintage sports car racing, EVs, and driver assistance, so if you’re a fan of events like the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, you should give it a listen. We also took note of some of Farley’s comments about the new car market—comments specifically about cars rather than SUVs.
“I do not like generic cars and trucks,” said Farley as he railed against “appliance-like vehicles” while defending Ford’s decision to leave the sedan market. It’s a segment that Ford hasn’t completely written off for good, and he noted that there are good reasons to keep them in mind. “The bottom line is sedans are very aero[dynamic]. In a world where batteries are expensive,” Farley noted. “A sedan or a hatch is a great silhouette for aero.”
Farley didn’t commit to any future products, but did say, “If we do one, it’s probably gonna feel, look, and smell a lot different” than current offerings. One vintage nameplate he brought up was Fiesta, mentioning that Ford could make a more premium compact car relevant in the market.
After listening to this comments, we couldn’t help but wonder what such a car would look like, and how it would fit into Ford’s current lineup. With the recent resurrection of both Bronco and Maverick (the latter could have made a nice midsize sedan) there are a few nameplates we’d like to see considered for a possible return to production. Of course, while daydreaming about Ford resurrecting a few, we couldn’t help but pine for a couple other nameplates from Detroit that deserve a comeback.
XR4Ti/Sierra (Brandan Gillogly)
When we spotted this beautifully customized 1987 Sierra built by JH Restorations, we were suddenly nostalgic for an ’80s car that never even happened here. We got the three-door Mercur XR4Ti in the States, but never the smallest Sierra, as Ford didn’t sell the full range of European-market Sierras in the United States. It’s time to fix that. There’s been a bit of a resurgence in ’80s style, so why not bring big wings back with a rally-inspired XR4Ti hot hatch at the top of the lineup? Let’s not let the Hyundai have all the fun.
Galaxie
(Brandan Gillogly)
Ford could lean into the futuristic Galaxie name and build a large, powerful sedan in the vein of the Lucid Air. Let designers go wild as they have with past concepts, like Lincoln’s L100 shown above. This was one of the first vehicles that came to mind when Farley mentioned a sedan with great aerodynamics. Add just a bit of height to the greenhouse, some smaller wheels, and shorten up the wheelbase just a touch and we can already start to see how a production version could look as a Ford.
Thunderbird
Flickr/sv1ambo
Ford has a history of adding a pair of doors to models that previously only had two. We’ll give them the mulligan and pretend the Mach-E was never affiliated with the Mustang name—yes, that dead horse is still taking a beating and it still bothers us. OK, OK, ignoring the Mach-E, the brand also built four-door Thunderbirds, so how about the Thunderbird name applied to a big, luxurious sedan like the more recent Continental Coach? The fifth-generation Thunderbird, available from 1967-1971, also had rear-hinged doors like the massive custom-built Continentals, so it wouldn’t be that big of a departure.
80th Anniversary Lincoln Continental
80th Anniversary Lincoln Continental - Lincoln
Of course, plenty of other companies are redefining their brands and restyling their lineup to reflect modern style and powertrains. How about a couple from GM?
NOMAD
Chevrolet Nomad Concept auto show - General Motors
It’s been 20 years since Chevrolet showed off the compact Nomad concept, based on the same Kappa platform that gave us the curvy Pontiac Solstice and sharp Saturn Sky. We think it’s about time for the storied wagon nameplate to make a comeback, and we like the thought of it returning as a sporty compact. How about a Cadillac CT4-sized two-door wagon to help relieve some of the sting of losing Camaro?
Wildcat
Buick Wildcat concept (GM DESIGN)
The full-size Wildcat was Buick’s answer to the Impala. In the late ’60s especially, it was offered as an elegant muscle coupe that we still feel is underrated. We don’t have to imagine what a modern version would look like, thanks to Buick’s 2022 concept. This one is an EV and brings the personal luxury car into the 21st century. Buick has been without a coupe or sedan of any kind since the Regal ended production in 2020. We’d welcome one back if it looked like this sleek, comfortable fastback coupe.
History has given us plenty of great automotive nameplates over the years, which ones do you think are due for a return at Ford and elsewhere?
It used to be mine too. 🙂👍
I picked mine up in 2018 for $8k. 35k miles on it at the time. Almost at 90k now.
My list:
Mercury Marauder
Oldsmobile Rocket
Plymouth Valiant
Imperial
Dodge LaFemme
International Harvester Scout
Buick Electra 225
You could still sell it for what you bought it for.................
I remember my dad coming back from Korea et al afterwards and he bought this! a two-tone grey/pink pushbutton trans Desoto. It was a real head turner.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.a1611559e5afe096a0f24204d566b305?rik=9ejqpLEcic0%2bcA&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
Funny thing ... I almost turned a profit just a few months after I bought it. Got hammered by a hail storm. Poor thing looked like a golf ball. Insurance offered almost 9k if I surrendered the car. I took the 6,500 and repaired/upgraded it. I could probably get 10k for it now.
You might have a tougher road to hoe than just reviving a name, considering three of the brands you listed (four if you consider Imperial as a brand) are defunct (Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth). I’m leaving IH off the list with Rio’s post about VW bringing back the Scout.
I would settle for old style black bumpers that were able to be hit without having to repaint. I have had both front and rear bumpers on my ‘03 Civic repainted due to parking lot scrapes that would have been inconsequential with real bumpers. What was rather surprising is that both of the people responsible for the damage were honest enough to leave notes. That was nearly 20 years ago in Seattle. I doubt that would happen today, given the schiffhole Seattle has become.
We had an International Harvester Scout Aristocrat.
It should have been named the IH - POS
It was truly horrible.
Well, Chrysler has a history of rebadging model names (Neon, Imperial, Voyager,) My trillionaire idea would be to start a new company called Orphan motors, With different models under appropriate names. One line would be the “Retro” line, featuring the new 2025 Retro Rocket.
The streets of Cody Wyoming are littered with very old IH Scouts. Maybe they were the only 4x4 dealer back in the day.
Yes, but not a sports car. A luxo barge. Still, the cars were still beautiful back then. Not like the week old bars of soap we see today.
After that, I had to drive my dog-eared 58 Chevy on dates. My social life took a nose-dive back to normal.
Normal (when it comes to social life for a 16 year old boy) ain't so good.;-)
Yeah, they forgot the GTO, the scumbaġs.
Ford re-imaged the Mustang. It looked like a mini suv and computer mouse.
How about Edsel? Pinto? 🤣🤣🤣
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