[anjan_c2007]

We have had many iconic cars from car makers worldwide that have left deep imprints, becoming cultural icons in the process. The leading example of the most iconic and cult car is the Volkswagen Beetle (1938-1974/78/85 in Germany and till 2003 in Mexico, sales 21 million plus). The Ford Model T (1908-1927, sales over 15 million) is the second most iconic car ever produced.

The Volkswagen Beetle was viewed as a no-nonsense, frugal, straightforward, humble, cute, durable and honest car. Though introduced in 1938, its real-time production innings commenced in the early 1950’s, lasted through the 1960’s and was over by 1974 in Wolfsburg, when the production was stopped totally. By 1978, production shifted to Brazil and Mexico. The 4 other plants in Germany and some others in Europe continued to produce the Beetle in small numbers till 1985, to meet the feeble demands of the Western markets. The last Beetle was manufactured in Puebla, Mexico in 2003 and was shipped to the company museum in Wolfsburg. But as pundits say in a lighter vein, as soon as people said “the Beetle was dead somewhere, it would pop up from somewhere else in the world.”

The front wheel drive Golf (sold as Rabbit in North America) immediately replaced the Beetle and the smaller Polo was also introduced by 1975. It had also come as a savior for Volkswagen at a time the company was at the crossroads with its dated Beetle’s sales plummeting in the wake of a severe competition. But only in the mid-1990’s, did Volkswagen realise that the Beetle’s once cult status and true brand equity needed to be encashed. The New Beetle was introduced in 1997 by using the Golf platform. It sold 1.16 million units. By 2011, the New Beetle (A5) came along but the sales were never very encouraging. Its production ended in 2019, as the sales had plummeted to 4 % of the total units sold for the company. Overall, the 2011 edition sold only 530,000 units till 2019. Curtains fell on the Beetle brand by 2019. Dieselgate happened, creating a halo around the company’s image and the demand had also shifted from smaller cars to SUV’s in all major markets. An electric Beetle is being talked about as a possibility.

The moot point here is that had the New Beetle come around the mid-1970’s as an immediate replacement, maybe it could have been a game changer. It could have done well in the market despite the Golf/ Rabbit and Polo being introduced. The New Beetle selling just 1.213 million units during (1997-2019) a 22 year model life, as compared to older model’s 21 plus million units in 65 years is a bit glaring.

The Model –T Ford during its 19 year life span sold remarkably well at 15 million units, during the times when the overall car sales were much, much lower vis-à-vis today’s figures. It’s successor, the Ford Model-A (1927-32) replicated the Model-T’s success story by selling 4.858 million cars during it’s five year model life. But the new offering from General Motors (GM) (next para) by 1929, relegated the Model A sales to second place. The Model A was replaced by the Model B (flathead four) and the Model 18 (flathead V-8) followed by subsequent model replacements. Ford’s success story moved on and on, but GM gained traction over the other two viz. Ford and Chrysler during these Big-3’s growing years.

General Motors was carefully watching Ford Motors and its best selling Model-T almost playing a hawk-eyed predator’s role. They saw it being replaced by the Model- A in 1927, with the flathead 4 cylinder engine. Chevrolet by 1929 to beat Ford, launched the Stovebolt, in-line, six cylinder OHV engine, fitted on its new model, the AC International that replaced its AB International. It beat Ford in the competition stakes and very soon the AC International emerged as the best seller in 1929, as the price tag was kept affordable by GM. GM’s subsequent model line-up used the same in-line, six cylinder engine with a few updates for some three plus more decades with improvements and the GM success story continued. In fact, this very same in-line six cylinder OHV engine with updates powered the Chevrolet Nova, Impala, Biscayne, Chevelle of the 1960’s that had the six cylinder option, apart from the V-8.

A few other international, iconic best sellers include the:-
- Toyota Corolla (1966 till date, 43 million)
- Ford F-Series pick-up (1977 till date, 40 million)
- Volkswagen Golf (1974 till date, 30 million)
- Honda Accord (1976 till date, 17 million)
- Ford Fiesta (1976 till date, 15 million)
-Chevrolet Impala (1958- 2020, 14 million)
- Ford Mustang (1964 till date, 9 million)
- Citroen 2 CV (1948-1990, 9.118 million units)
- Austin/ Morris Mini (1959- 2000, 5.3 million) continuing as the Mini from BMW continues to sell 300,000 to 400,000 units a year since 2000 till date
- Citroen DS (1955-1975, 1.455 million)

Some of the time tested survivors appear in the list here, while some of the once iconic models that later on proved to be laggards have also been listed. The list is not comprehensive and there would be other car models not featured here that could have perished or survived with its once iconic status.

Like the Volkswagen Beetle, the Citroen 2 CV and also the very iconic Citroen DS do not have any worthy successors. Britain’s Mini has survived since 1959 though, under a new company (BMW) since 2000.

The USP choices and preferences by buyers for car models change every few years and it is virtually impossible to carry on with the success of a particular model for many decades at a stretch, as the market sensitivity, future needs, necessities, demands and inclinations are very dynamic , volatile and are destined for unpredictable changes with the times. The handful of models that have been weathering the storms with constant upgrades to remain afloat as best sellers, despite the market perils and adversities really deserve all the accolades for their respective makers.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Very interesting information about the market performance of some of the iconic models, anjan_c2007.

Your question: Do Car Makers Fail to Encash the Brand Equity and Hype Created by an Iconic and/or Cult Model?

I think yes, the car makers are unable to encash the brand equity of the iconic models. Reason is simple. If you use that iconic brand for your next product, which fails to meet the expectation from that brand, then the iconic brand merely contributes more footfalls in the showroom and some limited sales.

The product needs to be strong in the USP associated with the brand or it shall be hitting the needs / wants of the customers (which have evolved over a period, after the success of previous product carrying that brand) perfectly.

I think (in the car market) it is the product that sells in the long run and not the brand. If a good product can create a brand, a bad successor can destroy that brand. Iconic brand will help for faster success of a worthy successor.

[2000rpm]

I can think of so many examples

• Hero Honda 1st Gen CBZ
• Maruti Zen
• Tata Safari
• Fiat Palio 1.6 / S10
• Maruti Gypsy
• Last but not the least, the unicorn of the car world - FORCE GURKHA!!!

[Sanidhya mukund]

I think this varies from brand to brand. When a product becomes a super hit, it is usually because of a set of USPs that the consumer associates with the particular product. If the subsequent models with the same name retain those qualities, then the brand remains successful and hence profitable. On the other hand, if the newer product only has the same name but is nothing like the original, it ends up disappointing.

Success is easy if your evolutionary chart looks like this:








But you can almost guarantee a fail if this..


Evolves into this:

[Kosfactor]

Cars like Beetle and Mini were a response to a certain socio political situation of their respective countries at that time. M800 was such a thing for us. Decades later the M800 buyer of the 80s can now afford a Baleno/ Dzire.

If there is a massive slide in our economic situation coupled with increased fuel prices , we can expect M800 equivalent vehicles to come back to the top of the sales chart.

[TrackDay]

Image source: google images.

While enthusiasts may not like this, it has done really good to bring in the numbers for Maruti. Most of the iconic nameplates are associated with sedans which as per most surveys are gaining less popularity compared to crossovers and mini SUVs. While sentiments may run high why waste nameplates ? Better to revive them with the next good formula rather than retire them completely.

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by TrackDay

While enthusiasts may not like this, it has done really good to bring in the numbers for Maruti. Most of the iconic nameplates are associated with sedans which as per most surveys are gaining less popularity compared to crossovers and mini SUVs. While sentiments may run high why waste nameplates ? Better to revive them with the next good formula rather than retire them completely.

Would slightly differ. Maruti had good nos. with Zen, the moment they launched the Estilo, it looked like an insult to the iconic Zen. I owned an Estilo for 7 years, while the practicality of the car was superb, it was not a looker. I think Maruti should have come up with a better design. Same with the 8OO, just look at the Alto, I think leaving the 8OO as-is and giving it some facelift would have gotten better nos. (though the current nos. are well off).

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

If a good product can create a brand, a bad successor can destroy that brand. Iconic brand will help for faster success of a worthy successor.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I can think of so many examples

Add the following to the list. An icon banished by an unworthy successor .
Companies need to update their products according to market tastes without which the icon will cease to exist.

[reddyboi]

Some of the time-tested survivors appear in the list here, while some of the once iconic models that later on proved to be laggards have also been listed. The list is not comprehensive and there would be other car models not featured here that could have perished or survived with its once-iconic status.

Very interesting read and rightly pointed out how few models have survived and are doing well despite the turmoil

I think there are a couple of things more at play as mentioned below
1. Product's value proposition X Customer preferences
2. Cannibalisation by self (Maker)

About the first point, for an iconic/previously successful brand, the value props with which the car/brand is made in the first place made not be holding very well in today's scenario. Ex: As you had mentioned, A beetle was a no-nonsense, humble & honest car and appealed to the people at that point of time. But in today's time, a beetle is more of a cute overpriced, not-so-practical car. VW tried to use the Beetle's brand /legendary image by bringing it back as more of a cute premium car than its original purpose. So it has become less of a car for everybody and instead has become more appealing to the niche

For the second point, carmakers these days have started bringing in a lot of models which compete within themselves. Golf is one such humble no-nonsense, practical hatch that ate into Beetle's sales. The then prospective Beetle buyers started getting attracted to more of a Golf which is offering them much more than Beetle and Beetle is left out to appeal to just a few niche buyers (more often as a second lifestyle car)

Corolla is one such car that didn't see any cannibalization from within Toyota and with a lot of sub-variants (Corolla hatch, wagon) to stay relevant to the changing customer needs and yet carry the usp it was designed with (Ford F150 too)

[wittycat]

I always found the Mini Coopers have more takers than the Beetle or the Fiat 500. Obviously the manufacturers support matters in these cases. On that note, I believe Hondas would reach more of a collectors item than say a Chevrolet.

[clementw]

Maruti has shown us how the brand can go up or down: The Baleno is the up after a not so successful first act as a decent sedan, the second act is a big success in a hatchback avatar. The down is the Zen! from an icon it went to a parody, not withstanding the merits of the Estilo, calling it a Zen was a disservice. And some loved this cotton candy car?

[fawad0222]

Why does actually a brand matter.
A brand is a word which stands for many sentences instead. It communicates to the people certain qualities which with time become hallmark of the product which in our case is a car. An instant recognition of the personality of the product.

It is imperative that with time not only people needs and wants change but also the technology, regulations also change, which means that the same product can no longer be associated with its USPs anymore. For eg. our own Zen at one point of time was an icon, known for its jelly bean looks, speed, refinement, fuel efficiency, space in its category and dynamics. Can the same product would appeal us the same way today. Positively not, as today people want more features, safety has taken a center stage, stricter emission regulations have come.

So if car makers, really want to extract benefit from a successful brand, they need to evolve with time, keeping in mind the essence of the brand. If they don't, the past success will elude them. On the other hand if they have developed a good new car, which is radically different from the older one, then its best to give it a new name and work on developing a new brand image suiting the car. New safari is an example.

[BrabarusMark]

In my opinion, iconic cars tend to become the halo cars of their time for their manufacturers. The Beetle was succesful because it came at a time when people wanted a car that would be durable and affordable. While VW has trying to shed the affordable moniker, it is very keen on highlighting the durability. That was the reason why the Golf became VW's new icon. When the new Beetle came, the time for it had already passed.

In India, I would say most car makers are actually milking as much cash as they can from the icons they launched years ago. Ford used to have good sedans, a hatchback, a power SUV and a crossover in India. They launched the Figo and the EcoSport and decided to rest on their laurels since then. The VW Polo is in the same league, with VW India content to milk that old platform in the name of "enthusiast's car".

In my view the brand equity and iconic cars are a negative and an obstacle to progress in the Indian market. Without any modern icons, Tata and Mahindra are able to innovate to prove they are on equal footing to foreign manufacturers. These two also stagnated when they had their cash cows in the early 2000s but at least they have realised the stark reality of being a manufacturer in India. In a way, I am glad that manufacturers like Hyundai, Kia, Tata, Mahindra don't have an icon in their lineup because at least we'll get good innovative products from them. At least till they actually build a modern icon that is.

[ss212]

I am not entirely sure the name Baleno is why the hatchback is a success.

Even if they'd launched that car with a never-used-before name, it'd still have done similar numbers.

Very loud pro users are responsible for the appeal of brand names like Safari, Zen, Baleno, etc. This bunch is always very small in number.

Toyota LC, 911, Gypsy, etc.

Without that niche set of loud fans, your brand name is just another generic name without appeal.

If you're going to capitalize on the name, make sure you do something to retain the fan base. Else, in a few years' time, the name will be another generic name and you'll not have much value in it.

Today, "Safari" still means butch, tough, go-anywhere, and comfortable. In a few years, Safari could mean comfortable but not go-anywhere tough.

My list:

1. Safari
2. Baleno
3. Nissan Pathfinder
4. Defender (Yes, sorry. Would a farmer buy it? Because even after decades, farmers still buy the Hilux)
5. Mustang Mach E

Ford is doing something interesting in this space - Bronco. They have a full-blown off-road Bronco but there's also the Bronco Sport which has nothing in common with the real Bronco and is a vanilla crossover.

Will have to see what that does to the name.