Flops?

[Drew Dowdell]

Guys,

 

I'd like to re-start the great Fabulous Flops series we had going.  What are some great flops that you would like to see us cover?

[FAPTurbo]

I saw a Subaru Baja several days ago and wondered how many sold. 

 

 

 

With Subaru projecting to sell 24,000 per year,^[5][7] only 30,000 were sold over four and a half years. - Wikipedia

 

Flop. It'd be so easy too!

Edited December 17, 2014 by Buzz Killington

[Drew Dowdell]

I saw a Subaru Baja several days ago and wondered how many sold. 

 

 

 

With Subaru projecting to sell 24,000 per year,^[5][7] only 30,000 were sold over four and a half years. - Wikipedia

 

Flop. It'd be so easy too!

 

 

Good idea!  I really liked them when they came out, but that was before I bought a house and the apartment buildings and needed something that actually could haul more than a few pillows.

[smk4565]

Volkswagen Phaeton!

 

I'd say Pontiac Aztek, but they got the Rendezvous out of it and it was built off an existing platform, so the investment was probably low for the number of crossovers and minivans sold.

 

The entire Hummer brand I think was a flop, because while Toyota pumped money into the Prius, GM put their dollars behind the Hummer.  They may have made big margins on the trucks they sold, but the PR damage was big and when gas prices skyrocketed, Hummer tanked, GM went bankrupt, and there was Toyota with the Prius as the darling of the media.  And perception is reality in the mind of the consumer.

[FAPTurbo]

I'd say Pontiac Aztek

 

While true, does the internet need another reminder of the Aztek's existence?

[Blake Noble]

 

I'd say Pontiac Aztek

 

While true, does the internet need another reminder of the Aztek's existence?

 

 

Nope. No sense in beating a dead horse.

 

In fact, I'd actually say the Aztek has reached AMC Pacer-levels of cool these days. The fact guys like smk still believe its a joke, and the fact a meth kingpin drove one on TV, has molded it into an icon of the Naughties.

The entire Hummer brand I think was a flop, because while Toyota pumped money into the Prius, GM put their dollars behind the Hummer.  They may have made big margins on the trucks they sold, but the PR damage was big and when gas prices skyrocketed, Hummer tanked, GM went bankrupt, and there was Toyota with the Prius as the darling of the media.  And perception is reality in the mind of the consumer.

 

Wrong.

 

Hummer was a missed opportunity.

 

And I'm not saying that because I own one. (I probably won't for much longer, knowing me.)

Edited December 17, 2014 by black-knight

[Cory Wolfe]

Well, there's the Saturn CVT, GM's Quadrasteer, and GM's mild hybrids for starters. As far as vehicle models, and ignoring the obvious ones that are constantly being called out, you have the following: Nissan Cube, Kia Rondo, Mitsubishi Raider, Mercedes-Benz R-Class, Acura ZDX, Chrysler Aspen, the entire Scion brand... 

[Drew Dowdell]

I like a lot of those BV, but not sure the Rondo counts as fabulous in any way.

To clarify, it's not just about a flop of an idea or car, but more of a grand idea.... an attempt to step outside the status quo only to fail to catch on that we are going for.

[Cmicasa the Great]

Just for Smky.. Ill throw in the:

 

Mercedes C230 Hatch

Mercedes Ugly Ass Minivan R-Class

Mercedes Wiring Harness Fiasco

BMW 7Series

BMW 5GT

BMW 1series

and I think the i3 is gonna be a Flop. That thing makes the Aztek look like a Stingray

[balthazar]

Maybach. Just to prove the point beyond the obvious, the 2.0 version is going to undercut the 1.0 in price by at least half, which will completely suck the tiny remaining 1.0 values right out from under it. Monetarily, it's worse than the Edsel by far. 

[Drew Dowdell]

How about the Chrysler Benz merger?

[smk4565]

The Chrysler-Benz merger was a flop for sure.  A foolish idea from the start, and a money loser for Daimler, and Chrysler ended up in Bankruptcy 3 years after it ended.  Really the whole 10 years Jurgen Schrempp was CEO of Daimler was a flop, he did nothing well.  He let quality drop from the standards set in the 80s, put out the worst E-class of all (1996-2002), started Maybach of a previous generation S-class and did the Chrysler merger.

 

Dr. Z cleaned up that mess and more so, he and Alan Mullally I think are the top 2 auto executives of the past 25 years.

[Drew Dowdell]

Well... CEOs...

[Drew Dowdell]

How about a timely one... the original Acura NSX?

[David]

How about the Chrysler Laser or Aspen?

 

How about the Dodge Rampage?

[rga1999]

I am interested in the higher luxury models for Lexus, BMW, and AUDI. Which ones sold the most? Who is ranked #1.

[Z-06]

How about a timely one... the original Acura NSX?

 

I would not consider the original NSX a flop. It served its purpose of a limited availability sports car that brought foot traffic into Acura dealership for the Legends, Integras and TL/CL. The problem was Acura never really upgraded the car for 15 years and also the other lineup began faltering.

 

To that I would call Acura the fabulous flop rather than its subset.