DAVID FINLAY
Strange, obscure and often forgotten badge-engineered cars
Why go to the trouble and expense of creating two or more cars when you can create one and sell it with different names? That process is called badge engineering, and it has been employed many times over the years, usually for brands owned by the same manufacturer but occasionally by collaborating manufacturers. Here are some of the most obscure examples.
Saab-Lancia 600 1980
Once upon a time, the Wallenberg family – one of Sweden’s most influential and controllers of Saab – realised they needed to replace Trollhättan’s venerable 96 model but lacked the funds to develop one. So they turned to another famous family, the Agnellis of Italy, who were happy to allow the Lancia Delta to be badge-engineered as a Saab. The 600 was almost entirely unmodified, even retaining a Lancia badge on the front grille and built by Lancia at Chivasso alongside other Deltas. Launched in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark in 1980, it quickly developed a reputation for being adversely affected by the salt spread liberally on Nordic roads when they became icy, and was withdrawn after just two years. Around 2000 cars are estimated to have been sold in that period, and we fear that nearly all have long since dissolved.
Plymouth Cricket 1971
During the short existence of Chrysler Europe, the car normally known as the Hillman Avenger became the Plymouth Cricket for North America. Despite winning the 1971 Press On Regardless Rally, it proved to be far too small for the US family car market and so was discontinued in 1973, eight years before Avenger production came to an end. It was soon followed by a new Cricket, another badge-engineered car, this time based on the second-generation Dodge Colt.
Daewoo Royale 1978
During the very complicated early history of GM’s presence in South Korea, the Daewoo Royale was introduced in 1978 as the replacement for a car called the Saehan Rekord. Other than its name and a few styling changes, the Royale was essentially an Opel Rekord E and therefore also more or less the same as the contemporary Vauxhall Carlton and Holden Commodore. The model continued until 1993 and was replaced by the Daewoo Arcadia, a rebadged Honda Legend.
Asüna Sunrunner 1992
Asüna was a General Motors brand dedicated to the Canadian market. During its brief period of operation in the early 1990s, it sold three models that GM had little to do with, other than im
