

Mercury Mountaineer

Mercury Milan Hybrid

Jill Wagner, spokesmodel for Mercury  (Source: The Blemish)
Another American car brand bites the dust













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By Brandon Hill (blog) on 6/3/2010 9:50:12 AM , Rating: 1

HS 250h: sedan, 2.4-liter gasoline engine
Prius: hatchback, 1.8-liter gasoline engine

Not to mention that they are based on totally different platforms (the HS 250h uses the Avensis platform), both look nothing alike, have a different rear suspension layout (Prius has a torsion beam rear axle, HS 250h has a double wishbone arrangement), different interiors, HS 250h has more features, etc. etc.

Yeah, nice try though...

By Integral9 on 6/3/2010 12:35:01 PM , Rating: 3
Oh Brandon, you're so dramatic. I never looked at the car except on the highway and it is so similar I though it was a new Prius the first time I saw it. So, ok it's an upgraded Prius w/ a bigger engine and a more luxurious suspension. Both are upgrades you should expect when moving into a luxury brand. But it's still the same car, just fugglier... I actually didn't think it was possible... who knew?

The fact is, car makers aren't going to make the same mistakes again, so you are seeing the modern day equivalent of rebadging. It's 70% toyota, 30% lexus instead of the 90-10 splits that were seen in the 70s, 80s, and 90s from the american car companies.





What you're describing is platform sharing, not badge engineering.




By Brandon Hill (blog) on 6/3/2010 1:53:36 PM , Rating: 2
I'll add, this is badge engineering in detail:

None of the Lexus models you mentioned fits these profiles.

By Integral9 on 6/3/2010 2:48:34 PM , Rating: 3
Was this directed to me? I only mentioned one Lexus model and accepted your retort. However, I'd like to point out a quote from that page.

Probably the most renowned example is Audi, a brand within the Volkswagen Group. While very few cars share the same bodywork, nearly all Audis use components from their more pedestrian counterparts, sold as Volkswagen Group's mass market brands...

Japanese carmakers have followed this practice of rebadging as well... For example, the Lexus ES is essentially an upgraded and rebadged Toyota Camry, the Lexus LX is an upgraded rebadge of the Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Acura TL and Acura TSX are rebadges of the USDM and JDM Honda Accords.

By Brandon Hill (blog) on 6/3/2010 3:31:55 PM , Rating: 2
I directed at the wrong person, but I agree with the LX assessment (which I noted above). But I'll have to disagree on the Camry/ES assessment.

