There have been cars that look familiar to us and yet they come to use under different names than what we expect. In some cases this means the same brand rebadges the car as something else and then shows us the differences (GM was guilty of this and still is in many cases) or the car has made some transformations for sales or advertising purposes. No matter what the reason, there are some cool cars that have been sold under new names or different brand in the market and here are some for you to think about and enjoy the way they transformed.
Chrysler Conquest – The Conquest wasn’t even a Chrysler vehicle to start with, it was made by Mitsubishi. This car was the first entry from Mitsubishi into the sports car game and it was called the Starion in Japan. Chrysler imported it and sold it under the Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth names where it enjoyed excellent attention while it was offered.
Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S/Toyota 86 – This car has been part of the partnership between Toyota and Subaru for the past seven years now. With Scion gone, Toyota has rebadged their version of the car to the 86 which has been called the GT86 in Japan. This is a small and speedy car that’s perfect for you to drive when you want some fun, no matter the name it carries.
Chrysler Crossfire – The Crossfire came to the market and looked too good to be a Chrysler model, but it was although underneath the badges of Chrysler was a Mercedes-Benz SLK that gave this car the presence that we enjoyed. Thankfully the price for the SLK didn’t come with it as the Crossfire was affordable and gorgeous making it a great choice for anyone who wanted comfort and style.
Cadillac XLR-V – This car was meant to be the first way Cadillac and Corvette were combined and it worked perfectly. This car had the heart of the ‘Vette but the style and grace of a gorgeous Caddy. Add the supercharger to the V8 engine and you have a power machine with the style and comfort you wanted to drive.
Kia Elan – If you admired the Lotus Elan before 1995 you might have recognized this car as the exact same thing when it hit the market. When Lotus stopped building the car, Kia bought the rights to do so and make only badging changes to the car, bringing us a Lotus designed and inspired Kia model that was a lot of fun on the road.
Saab 9-2X – Yes, it’s a Saab and you can see that on the car, but if you look close you’ll see what appears to be a Subaru under the skin as well. This is a car that looks a lot like an Impreza and it should because it was partially designed and built by Subaru to be a car that had more of what we wanted to enjoy.
Chevrolet SS – If you look at the SS you see a lot of Malibu in the appearance. This is one of the slyest cars on the market with over 400 horsepower in a sedan that looks like it should be nothing more than a boring family vehicle when you see it. The LS3 V8 engine under the hood makes this an exciting car to drive.
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