8 Cars That Should Have Never Made a Comeback
Sometimes an automaker brings a canceled car back to much success. The Chevrolet Camaro, for example, was killed off in 2002, but after an eight year break, Chevrolet brought it back. Likewise, Dodge brought back both the Challenger and the Charger after an extended hiatus.
Not every attempt to bring a car back from the cancelation graveyard is a roaring success. Some cars just shouldn't have been brought back at all. Here are seven of them that should never have made a comeback, according to you.
Chevrolet Blazer
Up until a few months ago, people remembered the Blazer as a badass two-door body-on-frame SUV that competed with the Bronco. Now, the name is being used on Chevy's latest Camaro-faced crossover.
Given the popularity and history behind the Blazer name, it's a smart marketing move. But for old-school enthusiasts, it feels like a sort of betrayal.
BMW 6-Series
Instead of letting the 6-Series badge gracefully fade away into history (to be replaced by the 8-Series lineup), BMW did something strange: It took the weird-looking 5-Series GT and rebadged it as the 6-Series GT.
We're not sure why, but honestly, it would've been nice to remember the modern 6-Series solely as a nice-looking big comfy coupe (occasionally with four doors). Oh well.
Chevrolet Impala
From the 1950s all the way until the mid 1990s, the Impala was a floaty rear-wheel drive beast. The later SS models were incredibly cool, with clean examples still demanding a premium on the used car market.
The name was brought back in the year 2000 to be used on Chevy's front-wheel drive mid-size sedan, and it's never really been the same since.
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
The original Eclipse was an incredibly fun car that tuners loved. The name had a bunch of positive history behind it, which is probably why Mitsubishi's marketing division decided to call its latest crossover the Eclipse "Cross."
What was once a sweet, light, fun-to-drive, front-wheel drive coupe has turned into just another generic small SUV. And that's too bad.
Chevrolet Nova
The original Chevy Nova (formally called the Chevy II until 1969) shares a long history with many Americans of the era, whether that be growing up in the back seat or owning one themselves. Built to replace the rear-engine Corvair, it used a more conventional front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. The Nova was the embodiment of American motoring in the '60s and '70s.
Chevy decided to bring back the Nova name for 1985, this time in the form of a rebadged Toyota hatch. Unlike the Novas of old, this car was much smaller and economy-minded, with a transversely mounted four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive only. A far cry from the original cars where the name originated.
Holden Commodore
For decades, the Commodore name was synonymous with Australian rear-wheel drive V8-powered muscle cars you could drive every day. They could even be optioned in a wagon bodystyle. Chevy was even nice enough to bring a rebadged version of America, the SS sedan, before the Commodore factory was shuttered.
The Commodore lived on, however, as a rebadged Buick Regal Sportback. Gone is the rear-wheel drive layout and fantastic LS-powered V8 powertrain, replaced by front-wheel drive-based AWD and an optional 3.6-liter V6.
Chevrolet Malibu SS
When the Chevrolet Malibu made its return for 1997, it had turned into a fairly forgettable, front-wheel drive sedan. It was disappointing for people with fond memories of earlier Malibus, but the car has stayed in production since then and has sold fairly well, so you can't necessarily call reviving the name a mistake.
What was a mistake, though, was Chevrolet's brief attempt at bringing back the Malibu SS in 2006. It wasn't the worst car ever made, but the 240 horsepower Malibu SS and Malibu Maxx SS were far from inspiring and weren't worthy of the SS badge. At least the Malibu Maxx was quirky enough to be interesting, though.
Mercury Cougar
Following the initial success of the Mustang, Ford created a Mercury version called the Cougar. It became the performance face of Mercury. Over the years, Mercury moved the Cougar away from its pony car roots and made it more of a luxury car. By the time it was cancelled, it was a shadow of its former self and needed to be put out of its misery.
For 1998, though, Mercury took another shot at the Cougar and brought it back as a successor to the Ford Probe. Unfortunately, it was front-wheel drive and didn't deliver the level of performance that you would expect from the Mercury Cougar. Ford's new design language didn't exactly do the Cougar any favors either.
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