Between last week’s Paris reveal of the SEAT Exeo, a lightly rebadged B7 Audi A4, and Lieberman’s recent post featuring Mazda’s rotary-powered Holden sedan, I began to ponder some of the worst, most nonsense rebadges in recent automotive history. Some were legally or contractually required, others were clearly the work of absynthe-fueled mercury-poisoned madmen. After the jump, see my top nine.

1) SEAT Exeo. It’s the recently-discontinued B7 Audi A4 with a new face. Volkswagen corporate gets an F for effort. Poorly Photoshopped nameplate adds insult to injury.

2) Honda Crossroad. Strange, that looks like a Series 1 Land Rover Discovery. Wait a second. It is a Series 1 Land Rover Discovery. What’s it doing with all those Honda logos? The Crossroad was borne out of the Rover companies’ weird tie-up with Honda in the early 1990s (which yielded the ultrafine Rover 45). Honda needed SUVs something fierce, which is why they went begging and ended up with the Crossroad in addition to the Acura SLX (Isuzu Trooper) and Honda Passport (Isuzu Rodeo). The outcome for the Japanese market was the V8 powered mammoth Land Rover Disco. Sounds perfect for Tokyo.

3) Chevy Prism. This Toyota Corolla rebadged as a Chevy was undoubtedly the best Chevy econobox ever sold. The Prism was the product of the bewilderingly complex NUMMI Toyota-GM joint venture in California. Manufactured there from 1998 to 2002, the Prism was a descendant of the Chevy Nova (also a Corolla twin) and the Isuzu Prism. Unfortunately, the logo had no impact on the car’s wretchedly mundane character.

4) Toyota Cavalier. Proof that what’s good for the goose (Chevy Prism) is bad for the gander (Toyota Cavalier in Japan). The story goes that the Toyota Cavalier came about after Toyota executives went out for a raucous night of snorting Drano. Something to do with trade issues, NUMMI, the aforementioned Chevy Prism, and the right-hand drive Toyota Cavalier was born.

Pages: 1 2