Unnecessary models in the range

[TheDaniel]

I've yet to find a better example of unnecessary models in a range, than the Alto & Splash.

Both small engine city cars. .. I don't know which one is unnecessary... flip a coin :/

 

[Gaz]

Morris/Wolseley/Austin/Sunbeam/Riley were doing this back when VW still hadn't figured out the engine goes in the front.

It's not a new thing by any means, but it's become much much more prevalent amongst larger manufacturers than it ever was.

The Peugeot models you mention all looked exactly the same at the front, precisely because this was their corporate face.

The corporate face (similar grilles, lights, etc) has been done for a while yeah but for a long time, that was the extent of it. A 205 and 405 may have had similar faces, but their body shapes were radically different in other ways and you didn't get saloon version of a 205 looking like a 405, or vice versa. You wouldn't confuse an Escort and Fiesta, or a Nova and Astra, and so on.

Nowadays, park an A3 saloon, A4, and A6 beside each other and it's like looking at Russian dolls. Same for a 2 series, 3 series and 5 series.

I never said the corporate face thing was totally new, just that older examples of it still looked suitably different from one another and drove suitably different too.

 

[Überdub]

back in the seventies, you bought a Ford because you'd always had a Ford. Your Cortina had a 1.3 or a 1.6 - if you wanted a bigger engine, you bought a Granada to get it.

Sounds like someone should have bought a two litre Cortina. Or even a German-engined two point three if the mark four was out.

 

[Überdub]

What about those junior people-carrierish Japanese things that are completely rectangular? Is one of them a Nissan Cube? I struggle to care. Did someone find that people who want cars that look like Lego bricks were being neglected?

 

[surprising_skoda]

I've yet to find a better example of unnecessary models in a range, than the Alto & Splash.

Both small engine city cars. .. I don't know which one is unnecessary... flip a coin :/

Both!

The corporate face (similar grilles, lights, etc) has been done for a while yeah but for a long time, that was the extent of it. A 205 and 405 may have had similar faces, but their body shapes were radically different in other ways and you didn't get saloon version of a 205 looking like a 405, or vice versa. You wouldn't confuse an Escort and Fiesta, or a Nova and Astra, and so on.

Nowadays, park an A3 saloon, A4, and A6 beside each other and it's like looking at Russian dolls. Same for a 2 series, 3 series and 5 series.

I never said the corporate face thing was totally new, just that older examples of it still looked suitably different from one another and drove suitably different too.

if you meant it that way, then yep, they had a similar design to the front end but the rest was different to some degree. Although take a look at the Astra Belmont, Cavalier and Carlton of the same years - same back end also. All Mercedes saloons since the late 80s have looked the same in the same way the Audis do now. The E12/E28/E23, E34/E32 BMW models are all very similar and share floorpans and underpinnings.
Compare that to something current, like the Honda range, Jazz, CRZ, Civic, Accord, none of them look anything like each other in any guise.
It's just as common and uncommon as it ever has been, and there are marques then and now doing it.

Sounds like someone should have bought a two litre Cortina. Or even a German-engined two point three if the mark four was out.

It was a (poor, granted) example only. Trust you to know too much about 70s cars!

What about those junior people-carrierish Japanese things that are completely rectangular? Is one of them a Nissan Cube? I struggle to care. Did someone find that people who want cars that look like Lego bricks were being neglected?

Those things sell really well in certain markets, and the Scion BB is a real hit. They make sense if you get inside one, but over here with our open roads and 25-car "traffic-jams" they aren't quite optimal. In Manila or Osaka though...

 

[TheDaniel]

Lol! Was gonna say, just buy a Swift!

 

[vibe_kid]

Feck all wrong with that.

My mates new A3 is identical to that... i was well impressed when i got in it for the first time.... lovely!

 

[Gavlar]

Audi at it again....TT Sportback Concept

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-what-the-audi-tt-sportback-concept-will-look-li-1638912056

New pics released, struggling to understand what niche its meant to be filling

 

[Rocko]

Who cares? It looks fecking lovely.

 

[Lyons]

Who cares? It looks fecking lovely.

LOL, agreed.

The TT coupe is basically a 2 seater as legroom in the rear is non-existent, so I'd say this will sell well.

 

[Gaz]

I do love them cases in the boot, where can I get me some of those