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I have heard this theory floated about, that Coke did this to hide the fact they were replacing cane sugar with HFCS.

So the idea was to make New Coke so bad, that people would gladly accept “Classic” Coke with the HFCS.

I have heard this theory floated about, that Coke did this to hide the fact they were replacing cane sugar with HFCS.

So the idea was to make New Coke so bad, that people would gladly accept “Classic” Coke with the HFCS.

IMO that's exactly what it was all about. To this day, I believe HFCS Coke is mainly (if not only) sold in the US. If you want to taste some good Coke, get it from a Mexican grocery store - they sell the real stuff (and the Mexicans won't buy the HFCS crap).

Same here.

During my time in Afghanistan all the soft drinks were from Dubai or Kuwait. Real sugar, will not dring the sludge they call soft drinks here anymore.

I will stick to beer.

On the other hand, you can still buy sugar Coca-Cola in the mexican stores.

There is also a Dr. Pepper bottling plant in Texas that still uses sugar.

So the idea was to make New Coke so bad, that people would gladly accept “Classic” Coke with the HFCS.

This has been debunked by the fact that Coca-Cola had already replaced cane sugar with HFCS in its formula (the assertion that the formula hadn't changed in ~100 years being patently false) by the time New Coke was rolled out.

Also debunked is the theory that "New Coke" was a stalking horse designed to regain market share from Pepsi by failing in such a way that the public would flock BACK to "Coke Classic" due to the extrinsic nature of the brand. IOW, you never really appreciate something until it's gone ... and you WILL appreciate something lost more when it returns.

My local Costco sells the Mexico-bottled old-formula Coca-Cola with sugar, not HFCS. There's a HUGE difference in taste. Same thing with Pepsi, noted when they recently released "Pepsi Throwback" (sold in Safeways mainly, iirc) again with cane sugar.

Now here's the really funny thing - New Coke's legacy lives on in the form of Diet Coke, which is based on the New Coke formula. CokeZero is the diet drink based on the "Classic" formula ...

I’ve heard this theory too, and I for one am inclined to believe it. About a year ago I was in Texas visiting a friend and he introduced me to “mexican coca-cola”. Apparently coke is able to use cane sugar in the product they manufacture down there. The difference was staggering. I was immediately transported to back to the age of six . . . or the last time I’d had a “real” coke. I’ve also read about coca-cola offering “kosher coke” for passover, and some other holidays, that is sweetened with sugar instead of corn syrup . . . but I’ve yet to see it offered in my area.