Looks Like a Rolls, but.........

 What's it like to be looked up to and copied by everyone? Well, I know what it's like to be looked up to, being well over six feet has that effect. I live with it and try to be humble, but it's oh so hard. 

But you may have noticed that this is a blog about cars, but what car is copied more than any other? Those of you who said Chevy Cavalier can go to another blog, maybe a very small one listing Donald Trump's admirable features?

Those of you who raised your hand and yelled out Rolls-Royce can stay. A quick look again at this icon before we begin......

Ready?

This is a Chrysler Imperial concept from 15 years ago. Maybe I should have started off with something a bit closer to the RR, but this one sure looks like a Rolls offspring to me.

Let's get a little closer.........

You doubt who the Russians had in mind when they threw this design up on their drawing boards? Look again........

Next up in our stroll thru the copycat files, the Geely from the Forbidden Kingdom.......

I rest my case.

A Rolls-Royce is a Rolls-Royce is a Rolls-Royce Not a Russian Aurus, a Chrysler concept or even a Geely. Copy all you want, Rolls is no doubt flattered (or severely pissed off). If you can't be original, might as well pick the low hanging fruit. Everyone knows what a Rolls represents, so knock it off. Don't try to convince your target market that a Lexus copy is close to being desirable.

Maybe some of history's car failures should have gone this route? Then again, maybe not, just fail on your own merits. Now there is a quote for the ages.

Until next time........

Are you kidding me?

 

"Women are kind and gentle, but they hit things."

Are you kidding me? VW, the master of the cute Beetle ad actually thought that this was a good idea? Were things so different a few years ago? Try writing that today and apart from the various groups that would immediately start picketing VW's headquarters, the press would rip VW's throat out.

Now we all know that this is politically incorrect. Sexist. Stupid. Want to take a short walk through a handful of some other dumb ads? These ones wouldn't get the manufacturer sued, but they are strange in today's or any other context.

Ford's slogan back then was about having a better idea. Was this one of them?

Sure, drive a fashionable two door hardtop down a ski slope to prove something. Maybe, that you can still hit the slopes, even if you forgot your skis? Makes sense to me. Note that those fancy hubcaps are staying in place through this dumb stunt.

Does being humble make a great ad?

Apparently so. This Austin Princess ad from the 1970's.........Princess - better than average. Are you kidding me!!!!!! Even in the terrible '70's this sure doesn't seem like a great sales proposition. "Hey, Geoffrey, how's your new Princess?" Answer...."Well, Basil, I've got to admit, it's better than average." On second thought, maybe this was a strong selling feature way back when.  

What's wrong with this picture........

A happy French family at the airport awaiting the arrival of their friends from somewhere. Whoever thought that this Air France jet dive bombing to the runway would be great advertising? Maybe for a funeral home? But seriously, were they nuts? Take a closer look at the stewardess at the bottom of the stairs. Is she holding her head in terror knowing the outcome of this kamikazi approach?

Great advertising or the decision maker's day off?

Enough said. I'm sure that there are many more of these what were they thinking ads. So let's leave this subject with a bit of European humour........

So, tell us, what do you really think? No wonder sales of North American cars overseas are less than mediocre. Good for a laugh regardless.

Until next time......

You again?

 Ah, the good old days, when men were men and cars carried real names, not an alpha-numeric soup that no one can ever remember. If a friend is getting a new CT4, do you immediately know what it is? Maybe, but probably not. I don't really loooong for those days of yore when cars had real names, but it made things easier.

Hey, I'm not the only one who feels like this. Lincoln, who had a line up of the MKS, MKT, MKC and MKX has seen the light. All their new intros carry real names, like Aviator and Corsair. The latter being a blast from the very distance past. So, maybe Ford has also gotten the message.

Remember the unforgettable and unmemorable Maverick?

 

Really, who could forget the Maverick, although most of us of a certain age would like to? Show up at a cruise night in one of these and probably get spat upon. 

Well, folks, it looks like I got it all wrong and didn't appreciate the warm feelings that the name Maverick generates. How so? Check out this picture, courtesy of the car info website, https://www.motor1.com/ ........

Check out that name.........Maverick. Yes, friends, Ford is bringing back that apparently cherished name and putting it on a new compact pick-up. No complains, at least it's not another letter number combo. But Maverick?

Here are some guesstimate renderings based on the camo models, that have been caught in testing and the pre-production body above. Again these are courtesy of another website, KOVE'CA.RU.......

 We all know that the world, or maybe just North America, needs another pick-up. Sure we do, since we live in a time when millions of these trucks are sold yearly to a seemingly insatiable market. Just like the suv market.

Since Ford just brought back the Bronco, maybe we are seeing a trend here?  Maybe we can get a few other companies to give their new arrivals names that most of us can remember? 

Maverick? Not sure about the name, but I see a winner no matter what Ford called it.

Until next time.........

What Are You Watching?

What are you watching? 

Sounds like an intro to a Netflix ad, doesn't it? Well, you can relax, it isn't . Over the past year (yes, it's been that long) us poor car folks have been barred from cruze nights or any other vehicular gathering. Poor souls? Hey, not so fast. My friend and I have come across several car sites, where an interesting YouTuber introduces us to a car that they either have or have come across. Watching these is a great way to stay sane, assuming that is the direction you want to take.

Let's look at a few of my favs.........

This first one is probably the most well known, Jay Leno's Garage.

Yes, it's that Jay Leno. Apart from being a successful talk show host and comedian, Jay is a car lover from when he was a mere child in Boston. Neat thing about Jay is that he doesn't ever sell any of his cars and he just buys ones he likes. His knowledgeable tour of each vehicle is very low key, like he was talking to a good friend, who he did not need to impress. I love his weekly shows.

One a friend recently discovered and passed along to me is Vice Grip Garage.......

 This one is a bit unusual. Derek is a "down home", unpretentious kind of guy from Minnesota, who resurrects old vehicles, that have been sitting in fields for years and years. Would I ever have thought I could watch a guy fiddle with a car trying to start it after 15 or 20 years? Not likely, but I do. Derek is self effacing and his wording is strange, but fun to listen to. What he can do is amazing.

My friend has also told me about My Car Story with Lou Costabile.......

Lou is another low key guy, who does show and tells with any old car from muscle machines to old '50's classics. If you like older stuff, he is the guy to watch and when he opens the trunk for Trunk & Treats, you never know what he'll find (no dead bodies).

Tom Cotter has been scouring the US for years in his old Ford woodie. Along the way, he has written several books about his searches for old forgotten cars. The Barn Find Hunter pretty much sums up his raison d'etre. 

Dusty, dirty old treasures that have been out of the public's eyes for years are what Tom seeks out. He also tells us what the real value of these "gems" are.

Like very in depth reviews of new or older unusual vehicles? If so, then San Diego's Doug Demuro is the guy to watch. I like his comments, but he might be an acquired taste (ask my brother). Doug will go anywhere to see the car to be reviewed. Recognize the background below? Of course, it's the Big Smoke. This was taken in 2019, when Bugatti invited him to Toronto to review and drive the soon to be released Chiron. I told you, he'd go anywhere.

These are just a very, very few of the hundreds, maybe thousands of YouTubers out there doing videos of just about anything car related that one can think of. Life is short, but I still have a few years to discover new and maybe different takes on cars. Time well wasted? Absolutely!

Which are your favs?

Until next time......