(first posted 11/13/2018) It’s been a little while since I did one of these. Click the links for Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.
Obscure rebadges can result from many different scenarios. Sometimes an automaker needs to fill a hole in their line-up and they don’t have a suitable in-house product. Sometimes a rebadge is the result of a misguided joint venture. Other times, corporate acquisitions give automakers access to product that’s worth keeping around. Today, let’s look at four examples of how these scenarios led to obscure rebadges.
Daewoo Arcadia
The automotive industry sometimes creates strange bedfellows. Despite Daewoo’s decades-long dalliance with General Motors, eventually ending in the US behemoth purchasing the Korean outfit, the two companies were on a break in 1992. That was the year their joint venture ended and it was also a time when Daewoo’s flagship, the Imperial, was looking seriously dated.
The Imperial had been introduced in 1989 as an upscale version of Daewoo’s existing flagship, the Royale. Both cars were derived from the Opel Rekord but, while the Royale’s styling betrayed its Rekord roots, the Imperial was treated to a makeover Lee Iacocca would’ve been proud of. Yes, this is a Daewoo Imperial, not a Chrysler Imperial.
Daewoo had been pretty good at nipping and tucking the Royale over the years, keeping it visually fresh, but by 1993 its platform was very old. With GM out of the picture (for now) and no platform suitable for a flagship sedan, Daewoo went looking for a partner. It approached Honda who allowed Daewoo to locally manufacture a rebadged version of its Legend, in sedan form only and with the 3.2 V6.
The new Arcadia, as it was known, replaced only the Imperial; the lesser Prince, yet another update of the Royale, continued to be sold into the mid-1990s. At 44 million won, the top-spec Arcadia Royal was the most expensive Korean car on the domestic market, costing 11 times as much as Daewoo’s entry-level Tico.
At this end of the market, Japanese roots were the norm: Kia’s flagship sedan, the Potentia (top), was based on the 1986-vintage HC-series Mazda 929/Luce while Hyundai’s flagship, the Grandeur (bottom), was a Mitsubishi Debonair. The Arcadia outclassed both of them with its elegant, athletic styling, silky smooth V6, and capable dynamics. In this segment, plush cushiness was the expectation but the Arcadia wasn’t alienating in its ability.
Nevertheless, like all Daewoos, it could never best its rival Hyundai in sales. Still, Daewoo continued manufacturing the Arcadia until 1999. When it came time to replace it, Daewoo’s new acquisition Ssangyong gave them access to that company’s Chairman flagship. This was a W124 Mercedes-derived sedan styled to resemble the W140-series Mercedes S-Class. This meant a Mercedes-derived product replaced a rebadged Honda which replaced an Opel-derived product that resembled a Chrysler.
How curious.
Suzuki Swift+
Well aren’t the Canadians just gluttons for punishment? They had three different versions of the Chevrolet Aveo!
GM had invested in Suzuki and purchased ailing Daewoo and saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: increase Daewoo production volumes and give Suzuki more products to sell. The Daewoo Lacetti became the Chevrolet Optra in Canada and the Suzuki Reno and Forenza in the US while the Daewoo Magnus became the Chevrolet Epica in Canada and the Suzuki Verona in the US. For the most part, these rebadged Daewoos overlapped with similarly-sized models in their respective new lineups.
The Daewoo Kalos, however, represented a greater opportunity for GM who lacked a product in the North American subcompact segment after the discontinuation of the Chevrolet Metro (Mexico, however, had a version of the Opel Corsa). The Kalos received the Chevrolet bow tie and became the Aveo. In Canada, where the Pontiac brand was even more popular than in the US, an arrowhead logo was slapped on the Kalos and it became the Pontiac Wave; this later made a brief appearance in the US as the G3 just before the Pontiac division was shuttered. Finally, there was the Suzuki Swift +.
The Daewoo-based products in Suzuki’s lineup caused the brand to crash to the bottom of JD Power’s Initial Quality rankings in 2005. The Swift+’s nameplate was a misnomer, too: this car wasn’t a patch on the real Suzuki Swift, a new generation of which also debuted in 2004, albeit not in North America. The real Swift was well-built and fun-to-drive; the Swift+ was rather underdone in all areas but, due to the lack of much competition in its segment in North America, its flaws often went unnoticed. And it was sufficiently powerful with a comfortable enough ride to satisfy buyers.
The first few years of the Swift+ were distinguished from their clones by a rather bland grille with a tiny Suzuki logo; only a hatchback was available. When all three hatchbacks were facelifted for 2008, the Swift+ finally received a proper Suzuki logo on its grille. Nevertheless, this was no Suzuki and buyers seemed to recognize it: in 2008, for example, the Swift+ had less than 2% market share in its segment. Suzuki’s smaller dealership network didn’t help it, nor did rivals like the Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio which offered longer warranties.
The Suzuki brand as a whole was struggling just as badly in Canada as it was in the US, shedding half its market share up north between 2007 and 2011; during the same period, Suzuki’s US sales declined 74%. The Swift+ was discontinued from the Canadian market in 2011 and the entire brand was withdrawn just a couple of years later. Although Canadians never got to enjoy the real 21st century Swift, the brand did go out with a range of distinctive, in-house Suzuki models like the Kizashi and Grand Vitara.
VW 1500
This VW 1500 certainly doesn’t look like any other VW 1500. And it shouldn’t, because it doesn’t share any parts with them or indeed with any other Volkswagen. This is actually a Hillman Avenger treated to a modest 1980s refresh by Volkswagen after the German giant purchased Chrysler’s Argentinian operations.
Chrysler’s financial troubles in the 1970s led them to sell off all their overseas operations. Mitsubishi bought Chrysler’s Australian operations, for example, while PSA bought Chrysler Europe. While Mitsubishi didn’t stamp their three diamonds on the Aussie Valiant, PSA slapped the resurrected Talbot name on Chrysler’s European products including older models slated for discontinuation. This resulted in a couple of particularly obscure rebadges like the Talbot (née Simca) 1100…
…and the Talbot Avenger, formerly the Chrysler Avenger and, before that, the Hillman Avenger. This utterly conventional, rear-wheel-drive sedan and wagon had already worn so many different nameplates including the Sunbeam badge in continental Europe and the Dodge Polara nameplate in Brazil and Colombia.
Although the Avenger had quickly disappeared from the North American market, where it was sold as the Plymouth Cricket, it was a linchpin of Chrysler’s various South American lineups. When Volkswagen bought out the remaining shares in Chrysler Fevre Argentina SAIC in 1980, they kept the 1500 on; it remained a Dodge until 1982 upon which it officially became the Volkswagen 1500. Unfortunately for obscure rebadge enthusiasts, Volkswagen didn’t continue production of the Argentinian Dodge Coronado, based on the 1969 Dodge Dart. That would’ve made for an amusing Volkswagen.
Volkswagen’s 1980 facelift brought a new, more modern front end, a revised interior, and plenty of black plastic trim inside and out, doing a commendable job of disguising the Avenger’s early 1970s roots. The coke bottle kink below the C-pillar, however, betrayed its origins.
If the 1500 still looked old in 1980, it looked positively ancient by its final year of production in 1991. Nevertheless, the car’s reputation for reliability and durability kept its sales steady throughout the 1980s even in a showroom surrounded by more modern and authentic Volkswagen products.
Proton Tiara
The story of the Proton Tiara involves a formerly state-owned manufacturer with global aspirations, a plane crash, and an old Citroen.
Proton’s then-CEO, Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad, was hoping to reduce his company’s reliance on Mitsubishi. Proton was still a young company, having been founded in 1983. As part of an equity joint venture with Mitsubishi, Proton introduced its first model, the Saga (above), based on the Mitsubishi Lancer. The 1990s brought even more Mitsubishi-based models like the Wira, Satria and Putra. However, Mitsubishi was reportedly unwilling to share anything further with Proton.
To complicate matters, Proton had a formidable new rival in Malaysian brand Perodua which had chipped away at its gigantic market share (at one stage, Proton held 75% of the domestic market). Perodua’s range of small Daihatsu-based vehicles had become a force on the lower end of the Malaysian market and Proton had nothing below the Saga in size.
Enter the joint venture with PSA. To the French automaker, this deal was solid. They exported the recently discontinued AX in completely knocked down kit form, a similar arrangement to what they were doing with the defunct ZX in China. Proton had been hoping to get the newer, larger Peugeot 306 but PSA gave them only the AX. Proton had also hoped to get access to some of PSA’s diesel engines but was rebuffed. At least the Tiara finally gave them a rival to Perodua’s subcompact offerings.
The Tiara debuted in 1996 in one five-door hatchback body style and with one engine, a 1.1 petrol four from PSA. Exterior trim resembled the AX GT although Proton made some tweaks to the front and rear to align it more closely with their indigenous products. Although this joint venture didn’t yield all that Proton wanted, Ahmad was enthusiastic to continue exploring partnership opportunities with PSA.
Then he died. A tragic helicopter crash in March 1997 opened up the CEO position at Proton, which went to Tan Sri Mohammed Saleh Sulong. He was less enthusiastic of the PSA joint venture and the Tiara wasn’t making a strong case for ongoing cooperation. It had acquired a reputation for subpar quality and sold poorly, even in a market where rival automakers were slapped with import tariffs and cost much more. Blame the better-built small cars coming from Perodua. Ahmad had targeted 20,000 annual units but the best the Tiara could manage was 14,297 units in 1997, sales slumping thereafter. After a dismal performance in 1999 of only 118 units, Proton pulled the plug on both the Tiara and the partnership with PSA. Around 30,000 units were sold during the Tiara’s entire run.
There’s still a bevy of obscure rebadges yet to be featured in this series. Stay tuned for the next installment.
Tiara photos courtesy of Two Hundred Percent.
Related Reading:
eBay Classic: 1973 Hillman Avenger 1500 Super Estate – After Optimism, Exile
Curbside Classic: 1994 Acura Legend – True Life: “I’m A Legend”
COAL: 2006 Pontiac Wave (Chevy Aveo/Daewoo Kalos) – The Worst New Car Of A Lifetime
Yes, that rear door coke bottle kink beneath the c pillar of the 1500 Volkswagen looks nothing less than peculiar. It almost appears that a door from a different model or make was just sort of adapted to suit by a Cuban backyard mechanic.
Mister William, you have raised obscurity to known-ness, especially in the case of the Honwaeoos. Just wow.
The Daewoo Kalos had yet another variation closer to you, as it was the 2005 Holden Barina too. Ofcourse, that Holden Barina badge is one of those glued to more variety of makers and plants than can be easily followed, including Suzuki, Opel, Vauxhall, Daewoo, and Japan, Germany, England, South Korea, all across a 30 year run, and a hugely variable standard in quality and driveability.
I don’t think the Opel-based Barinas came from Germany, rather Spain. I remember something about problems with an afterthought air conditioning system for those.
That is correct, early Oz Opel based Barinas were from Spain.
KJ in Oz
That VW is pure fools gold. Love it. The Daewoo Imperial had me thinking it was a borrowed 1982 Mazda 929 for a second. Great stuff William.
And you cannot deny that that first shot had you pondering who the hell had plonked those blackouts, those bumpers and those oversized tailights on some poor bastard’s LJ HoldenTorana.
No?
Fascinating stuff. Here’s another variation of the Daewoo Imperial that could have come out of Chrysler’s design studios circa 1988. Lee Iaccoca would have loved this!
Perhaps a stretch, but the next two generations that followed the Daewoo Imperial followed a similar pattern to the successors of the ‘90 – ‘93 Chrysler Imperial:
Both had an immediate successor that was a swoopy, modern FWD model with a longitudinal engine: A rebadged Honda (Acura) Legend clone as the Daewoo Arcadia, and the LHS for Chrysler.
Then the follow-ups to both were in some ways derived from RWD Mercedes models: The Daewoo Chairman, based on the Mercedes W124 (styled to resemble a W220), and the Chrysler 300, with a platform derived (some say very loosely) from the W211.
My fascination with this article is how GM managed to kill Suzuki in North America by forcing them to rebadge Daewoos. Talk about a line of incredibly shoddy automobiles, that looked competitive on paper, yet failed completely in the marketplace. To the point that you can automatically pick out a terminal GM hater in an autoblog by his insistence on calling anything that comes out of GM Korea a Daewoo. No matter how good the car is now.
Proof that as late as the early 2000’s, GM still refused to get a clue on small cars.
“Chrysler’s financial troubles in the 1970s led them to sell off all their overseas operations. Mitsubishi bought Chrysler’s Australian operations, for example, while PSA bought Chrysler Europe. ”
had they not done that, the late ’90s would have turned out very differently for them.
Don’t forget, KIA was originally aligned with Ford/Mazda before becoming part of Hyundai. That’s why their badge is the exact oval shape as Ford. They had the Ford contract and would slap their badge on the cars produced above their quota. No changes needed.
KIA Sephias were built on the Protege/Escort chassis, they even had the Mazda 1.8L engine.
The Imperial is a fascinating car stew of sorts from a styling standpoint. There’s a lot of K-Car, as you say, but also elements of a Continental, Fairmont, even Volvo 7-Series. Still, it all kinda works.
This is fascinating reading- I really enjoy this series. Thanks for writing it; I’m learning a lot.
As I recall things, GM very adamantly did NOT buy Daewoo. No, no Sir, no Siree. NO! They bought the Daewoo factories, designs, equipment, and every bit of property, and put the workers to work, but were very careful not to buy “Daewoo” as an entity.
You see, Daewoo was up to its door handles in debt, and had a terrible labor situation with onerous contracts. Had GM bought the company they would have gotten all that in the marriage; it’s for better or for worse in a marriage you know. So, they waited (like vultures according to Daweoo’s workers) and picked up the corpse at one second after the exact moment of death, then looted the corpse.
I never knew of the Arcadia – I wonder how it was quality-wise. My first thought was, Hey! It’s a Legend, it has to be a great car. Then I remembered the Rover Sterling….. and decided not to place a bet. In general though, Daewoos were pretty rugged, weren’t they? A generation behind usually, but solid enough vehicles.
I just realized that I’m a bit dark today; must be the dark, wet, freezing weather outside. Sigh.
Stephen King couldn’t have written better than that!
That 1989 Imperial is like the front of a Buick Century, the middle of a Mercury Topaz and the rear of an 85 Chrysler K car LeBaron.
And I love the VW 1500. Who would have thought that VW’s most successful quality initiative was to build and sell an English Hillman? Perhaps they should have tried this in Westmoreland, PA.
Wow Hillmam Avengers were still being built in 90/91, mind you Hunters were still in production in Iran this century, Not all that bad to drive the Avenger compared to some other 70s efforts but the last we got were early80s with Chrysler badging, PSA sure knew how to keep old models alive handy too the ZX/306 joint venture with Dong Feng meant I could get new Chinese made brake parts for my Xsara at a fraction of the French prices and those rotors and pads have been in the car 5 years and still work fine the quality proved to be OK,
Suzuki rebadging is quite complicated not only do some oddballs get called Suzuki but actual Suzukis have been laden with various GM badges and strangely or not some have washed up in NZ some Chevrozukis are in use locally, theres even the odd Holdenuki about, fascinating William Ive found all sorts of rebadge trickery here but this is a whole new level, Luv it.
my bet is the Hillman Avenger is the most re-badged passenger vehicle ever. Let‘s see … this very car was sold as a
– Hillman Avenger
– Sunbeam Avenger
– Chrysler Avenger
– Talbot Avenger
– Dodge Avenger
– Chrysler Sunbeam
– Plymouth Cricket
– Dodge Polara
– Sunbeam 1300
– Dodge 1500/ 1800
– VW 1500
.. did I miss anything? So funny!
My Mom had Plymouth Cricket and I got in my first accident with it. It drove well, having a nice solid feeling. Unfortunately it broke down like most British cars did then and it was serviced by a Plymouth dealer. Finally gave up and she got a Honda Civic, which she didn’t like so much but it didn’t break down either.
I would agree. I think the Hillman Avenger (or by any its many aliases) is the slut of cars 🙂
And the VW connection is almost as wild as the amount of rebadging.
It even outdoes the GM “world” T-car (Gemini, Kadett, Chevette) of the 1970’s
Well there’s the Fiat 124, but that was a case of serial licensing rather than becoming a hand me down like the Avenger.
The Paykan by Iran Khodro
That was the Hunter, not the Avenger.
The Fiat/Lada has probably had more different names, as VAZ used so many different model numbers.
So someone who went to the Chevy dealer thinking that they’ll get Japanese quality by buying a rebadged Suzuki got lowest-tier Korean shoddiness that wasn’t even on the level of Hyundai at the time? This undoubtedly drove even more people into the soft, loving arms of Toyota, Honda and Nissan. From the viewpoint of the Big Japanese Three, the demise of Suzuki here was just the cherry on top of the sweet, sweet sundae.
Love it. I have a weird fascination with cars that soldiered on abroad, unbeknownst to consumers in their home market, AND associated crappy attempts to make 1960s cars look like 1980s ones so they could be sold in the 90s, by throwing plastic at them. The VW 1500 is right up my alley.
Speaking of plastic, I see the Malaysian “Citroen came complete with the special French “Looks ten years old after ten minutes” bumpers.
I am loving that Imperial! A mishmash of K-car, Lincoln Town Car and Volvo styling cues, but it works better than any of them!
Never knew there was a car named Arcadia – soon as I heard this name I thought of the mid-80s British band formed from some Duran Duran members that had one big hit in NA – “Election Day”
That entire Talbot rebadging thing always puzzled me. Simca was established on the continent. Rebadge the UK market Simcas as Simcas and spike the rest, I could understand. But why try to restart a long disused name, in place of a current, known, name, then wind the company down?
My favorite rebadge remains the Ford Corcel. Especially the later years when the Corcel’s Renault 12 platform hosted a VW engine.
Speaking of the Renault 12 platform, Dacia offered the R12 built under licence in some variants then the original R12 didn’t get like a 2-door coupe and pick-up version.
http://boitierrouge.com/2018/05/15/dacia-1300-1310-la-renault-12-des-carpates/
More obscure rebadges was the Renault Trafic briefly rebadged Chevrolet Trafic in Argentina.
http://ripituc.blogspot.com/2016/10/gmc-chevette-test-del-ayer.html
http://falando-sobre-carros.blogspot.com/2014/01/renault-trafic-van-argentina-que-diz.html
The Renault (or Dacia depending of the markets) Logan was once sold as the Nissan Aprio in Mexico.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nissan_Aprio.jpg
the original R12 didn’t get like a 2-door coupe and pick-up version.
I have seen the pickup version before, but not the 4X4 crew cab!
The Corcel also spawned the Pampa.
Steve, we had Simca in the UK too, IIRC.
Presumably PSA didn’t want to badge Chrysler Europe products as Peugeot or Citroen, couldn’t keep calling them Chryslers and wouldn’t want to anyway. In the UK they could have gone back to Hillman but that might look a bit daft with Hillman having been canned a few years before.
Talbot had been used as recently as 30 years previously, and at the same time could be presented as a fresh start, with Chrysler not having exactly covered themselves in glory.
Talbot had been used as recently as 30 years previously, and at the same time could be presented as a fresh start, with Chrysler not having exactly covered themselves in glory.
Simca did sort of cover itself with glory: relative early adapter with the 1100/1204 and both the 1307 and Horizon were European Car Of The Year. Why not keep Simca and position it below Peugeot, instead of throwing away the brand equity and spending a fortune on a name change?
What Peugeot did would be akin to VW renaming Skoda as NSU or DKW. when acquired in the 90s. I could see a desire to divorce Skoda from it’s eastern block past. but no-one seems to care now as Skoda is reportedly hard pressed to turn out enough cars to meet demand.
Talbot had both British and French ancestry, so would seem to be a good choice to keep both sides happy.
The Corcel is more than a R12 rebadge
The Daewoo Arcadia is the only car on this list I’ve heard of prior, but it still blows my mind, as the Honda Legend was sold in South Korea also.
Sorry, but no way. No Honda sales channels existed in Korea at the time the Arcadia was on sale. Honda barely has a presence here today.
I want to know more about the Proton Putra…
Here ya go:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/curbside-outtakeqotd-1997-2000-proton-m21-would-you-buy-a-new-old-car/
It was sold as the M21 here in Australia. “Putra” is a rather unfortunate name, being one letter off from a Spanish curse word…
Thanks for the info William, M21 is a much better name.
Fantastic! I love these obscure re-badges.
The Suzuki Swift+ sold in much smaller numbers than the Chevrolet Aveo or Pontiac Wave so I am not sure why they bothered. Rare to see one today.
It´s astonishing what obscure re-badges exist. I din´t knew one of them before.
The VW 1500 nails it for me. A real masterpiece of obscurity.
The Proton Tiara looks like a small Lada in my eyes.
I didn´t know that the relationship between GM and Daewoo goes so far back. In my opinion you can see design elements of the Opel Senator A in the Daewoo Imperial.
That Daewoo Royale reminds me a bit of the Vauxhall Royale, the UK market version of the 78-83 Opel Senator.
Great stuff!
There is a very good reason for that Roger, that is what it is!
How about this one: Landrover 113 from Tempo Werke Hamburg/Germany.
These cars even had a special gimmick- tool boxes in the front fenders.
I’ve known about the Hindustan Contessa in an auto catalog magazine in Brazil in the late 90’s, many years have passed until something about him showed up in the internet, the Vauxhall Ventora and Holden Torana reincarnation in the Shiva’s Country.
The Proton Tiara looks like a Geo Metro (Suzuki Cultus).
Can’t wait to see the next feature!
The Avenger/Cricket/VW takes the cake. Not just obscure … to me … but counter to every VW passenger car philosophy I can think of. As to all those Suzulets and Daewukis, GM never made it easy to defend the company with such a seemingly random branding strategy.
I’d like to bring one of those South American Dodge Polaras to a Mopar show and watch heads explode. But then again I’ve wanted to bring one of the H-D badged Aermacchi 2-stroke dirt bikes to a Harley-Davidson show for years, for the same reasons.
Stunning . Sort of emotional involvement when i saw the Argentinian-made Sunbeam Avengers under Volkswagen corrected standards of quality . As far as Plymouth Crickets were denied in the North, these graceful VW1500s constructed in the South of Argentina are venerable machines . After VW took over Chrysler Argentina tools , Volkswagen created such an improved Hillman Avenger that normally each owner won’t resale . Volkswagen craftmanship removed a few of exChrysler shortcomings and added up to their Teutonic-Argie babies : softer suspension , delightful precision gearbox, incredible noise isolation , superb comfortable ride , excellent trim materials and improved mileage per gallon . So this remarkable ex Plymouth Cricket rebadged VW 1500 is top #1 most dependable car ever made in the Southern area of Latin America . Not to mention the most exotica VW 1.8 Rural which is the Estate Car version , normally known as station wagons in the U.S.
When statistics shows an average VW 1500 “Avenger” assembled in Argentina is wearing 30 years durability on , then you know why top quality cars may cease its production line , otherwise that’s no profit for nowaday’s continuous recalls . To see is to believe : an avenger made by Volkswagen Argentina is proven the best friend in four wheels shape . Plus aesthetically looks always pleasant . Thank You Curbside Classic for being so ruled to the truth .
Fascinating!
The backend of the VW 1500 looks like a Bristol Blenheim, probably because Bristol “borrowed” the tailights.
The VW 1500 was very popular in Argentina, at first it was called Dodge 1500, then Chrysler left the country and Volkswagen took over its operations.
My father had two, the first was a Dodge brand, the second a Volkswagen.
Simple mechanics, but indestructible. Very good memories of these cars.
THE PICTURES OF THE RED SUZUKI 4DOOR AND THE SILVER SUZUKI 4DOOR WERE TAKEN IN ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, THE DISTILLERY HISTORIC DISTRICT. IT IS LOCATED EAST OF DOWNTOWN TORONTO, BOUNDED BY PARLIAMENT STREET ON THE WEST, CHERRY STREET ON THE EAST, SOUTH OF FRONT STREET EAST. COME SEE IT IN PERSON. ONE OF THE LARGEST AREAS OF PRESERVED – AND CREATIVELY RE-USED – VICTORIAN INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE IN CANADA
“Nevertheless, the car’s reputation for reliability and durability kept its sales steady throughout the 1980s even in a showroom surrounded by more modern and authentic Volkswagen products.”
If ever there was going to be a way of making the Plymouth Cricket seem like a solid prospect, it would be putting it in a showroom full of water-cooled VWs.
Was the 1500 VW’s only front-engine rear-drive vehicle, or am I forgetting something? Not counting EVs. I’m thinking there may be a larger van sold in Europe or something, or a ultra-limited-edition sports car.
The VW LT Van. And its more modern successors.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1990-vw-lt-4×4-westfalia-camper-the-vanagon-syncros-gnarly-big-brother-and-the-ultimate-niedermeyer-mobile/
I am still shaking my head in disbelief at the thought that a Hillman wound up badged as a Volkswagen.
I knew of it, but never realised that VW managed to build them correctly.
The Avenger was a boring yet well-engineered design. It could have fought the Japanese if it wasn’t thrown together.
Makes one wonder what might’ve happened if VW bought the Ryton (instead of PSA) plant as well…