We are experiencing an automotive resurgence in the USA. Chrysler’s new owners have returned their main brand Fiat to our shores, and Alfa Romeo is not too far behind. Plus, once-languishing brands like Buick and Mazda have pumped their dealers with new buzzworthy product. But the warning signs are still out there. Suzuki cars left our shores earlier this year, and there are rumors about Mitsubishi being next.
In the case of those companies on deathwatch (at least in the U.S.), as well as the last few companies to depart our roads, one car cannot be singled out for bringing down the marque. Instead, it was an entire character that went undefined for years. Brands like Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Saab, and Saturn could no longer cut out a clear path in the market, and they were eventually sent away. In fact, it is rare when one car can be the silver bullet that brings down the entire brand.
We went in search of the cars that took out an entire global operation, but we couldn’t find enough that hit the market with such a dull thud (thankfully). So we also included some cars that didn’t kill the badge internationally, just in this country. Of course there are a few other vehicles that qualify for our list, and if you think it deserves a spot in the top ten, we invite you to add them in the comments section.
In alphabetical order:
Edsel – covered cars are headed in your direction
It is easy to start this list with the car that is synonymous with failure. Remember, Edsel was not a Ford car (like the Thunderbird or Galaxy,) but its own brand designed to fit a mid-price gap in the corporate lineup.
Ford wanted to keep these cars a surprise, and it did not even bother with a concept car to gauge design input from the public. Instead, the cars were transported in secret to their local dealers. There was even an ad campaign with the tagline “Covered cars are headed in your direction,” which showed Edsels masked by canvas on the back of car carriers.
On September 4, 1957, the Edsel was uncovered in an event called “E-Day”. Ford wanted the vertical grille to be known as an “impact ring”, but instead most people had more negative words for it, including a comparison to a part of the female anatomy. The quirky styling compounded with a recession economy meant this premium brand with the horse collar grille already had a bum leg before it left the gate.
The styling wasn’t even appreciated at the factory level. Depending on trim level, Edsels were made at two different manufacturing plants. The higher level Citation and Corsair trims were made at a Lincoln-Mercury works, and a Ford facility took care of the Pacer and Ranger trims. Without its own dedicated facility for this significantly different vehicle, workers had to have a special set of instructions to build the occasional Edsel that came down the line. Quality suffered as a result.
Ford pulled the plug before the Edsel was even three years old. The company was rumored to have lost between $250 and $300 million at the time (as much as $2.3 billion in today’s money,) and the brand that was named after the founder’s son became forever linked with failure.
Kaiser Henry J – paying more to get less
Compromises are usually not the best way to attract customers. Kaiser-Frazer wasn’t the first company to decide a good way to make an inexpensive car is to limit the amenities. But the 1950 Henry J (named after the company’s founder) probably went too far when it considered the trunk opening an option.
The Henry J may have been the least expensive car in the Kaiser-Frazer lineup, but its price was comparable to larger Chevys and Fords. The competition also had many more standard features, including deck lids.
The Henry J would hang on for a few years, and it was even the basis for the 1954 Kaiser- Darrin sports car — the first fiberglass car developed for the U.S. Still, a specialty sports car couldn’t dig the company out of its hole. Kaiser-Frazer stopped making cars under its name later that year, and the focus was shifted to the company’s new acquisition, Jeep.
