Opinion: Do These 11 Cars Live Up Their Iconic Names?

Rebirth of a legend, or a cheap play at nostalgia?

That’s the question that’s often brought up when an automaker resurrects an iconic nameplate from the brand’s past. Some do this repeatedly, to the point where the name has lost all historical meaning. We’re looking at you Chevrolet Malibu and Chrysler Pacifica.

But other names immediately conjure up memories of a specific model, generation, or lineage. Some such names are soon to return, like the Acura RSX, Mitsubishi Montero, and Toyota Celica. Until we know more about those vehicles, we’ll hold off on our thoughts and opinions.

The eleven reborn names below though? Oh, those we’re ready to pass full judgement on.

If we forget about the 1980s front-wheel drive Charger anomaly, the big Dodge has always been a stylish, high-power, family hauler. The last generation stuck around for ever, spanning the gamut from rental-car darling to 800+ hp monster. The new Charger, in Daytona form, seems to deviate, being all-electric and exclusively all-wheel drive.

But the styling sure looks pure Dodge Charger and there’s even a coupe again, something the past generation lacked. Most importantly, gasoline powered versions are on the way, even utilizing the classic Six-Pack name.

How did we conclude the new all-electric Hummer EV lives up to the nameplate? Well, the civilian Hummer has been more about presence and capability rather than drivetrain. The H1, H2, and H3 were all quite different, but shared road presence and above average off-road capability. The latest Hummer EV is wide, heavy, and a pure off-road brute. It’s expensive, compromised in the name of capability, and not for everyone. So yeah, it’s a Hummer.

What's this doing here? The ID.Buzz doesn’t use a historical name. That stated, there’s no question what vehicle it’s paying homage too. Stylistically, the ID.Buzz is a 10 out of 10. Heck, we’d even say an 11 out of 10. Even the most uninterested casual observer will see the classic Minibus looks.

But it’s not like the beloved multi-window, rear-engine icon. You might be saying we concluded this because it’s electric, right? Wrong. The Buzz being electric is fine by us. The Microbus/Sambabus/Typ 2 or whatever you want to call it was always an alternative choice to the norm and the ID.Buzz wholly fits that mould.

Our issue has to do with the size, price, and range. People literally lived in the small, affordable original ‘bus, travelling the continent, looking for the next adventure. The pricey, massive, and range limited ID.Buzz is not the best choice for that lifestyle.

The original Fiat 500 was a rear-engine, micro car for commuting or transporting small families around town. The rebirth of the 500 might have been larger and front-wheel drive, but the mission was more or less the same. Turning the car electric does not dilute this objective. A great around town runabout, the Fiat 500e is one of the more affordable EVs on sale and is well suited for its commuter-car pedigree.

Many have already written off the rebirth of the Prelude because it’s hybrid and has a variable automatic transmission. We fully understand the trepidation and have some apprehensions ourselves. But no one has driven it yet. The drivetrain may be more than acceptable in this application and the other mechanical bits, stolen right from the Civic Type R, ensure the Prelude will be one of the best handling front-wheel drive cars on sale. That’s always been a hallmark of every Prelude before it.

When Ford brought back the Bronco, the company easily could have phoned it in and banked off styling and nameplate alone. But the manufacturer went all in and created a wholly capable off-roader that can be configured in near-endless variations. Inside and out there’s a well-executed combination of modern and historic styling. The SUV also drives better than its main competition and just feels special behind the wheel.

This is a tough one. In the 1980s, the Bronco Sport was a smaller, yet capable off-roader compared to its bigger sibling, the Bronco. Stylistically, size-wise, and from a capability standpoint, the new Bronco Sport mostly lives up to that mission. But it’s just missing some of the magic the new Bronco possess. Maybe it's the pedestrian crossover roots seeping through too much, or maybe it’s simply because the Bronco is such a home run, it’s hard for this smaller Bronco Sport to live up to the hype.

The new Land Cruiser is a return to form. Yes, we are talking exclusively about models sold in North America, because getting into the history of the Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado sold elsewhere is an entirely different topic of another time.

The Land Cruiser had become a massive, full-size SUV by the end of the last generation. A far cry from the SUV’s origins. With the new vehicle, the Land Cruiser becomes more right-sized yet still retains its body-on-frame bones. The styling is also reminiscent of Land Cruisers of old, and the SUV is quite capable off-road.

The Blazer nameplate has adorned various sized SUVs at Chevrolet over the years, but a few things were constant. The truck-based vehicles were adept at off-roading yet still suited for family life. The new Blazer is a good mid-size SUV, but it’s more crossover than off-roader. This isn’t a bad thing, but we feel Chevrolet is missing out on an opportunity to create a Blazer-named SUV that could go head-to-head with the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, and Toyota 4Runner.

So many folks condemned the fifth generation Toyota Supra simply because it was produced in heavy conjunction with BMW. Fair, we get the point, but the car still embodies the Supra spirit. It was quick, a great handler, stylish, and even a bit pricey – just like Supras of old. Heck, it even came with a turbocharged inline-six, manual transmission option, two-doors, and rear-wheel drive.

The Ford Maverick is a fantastic truck. Like, really fantastic. For its overall capability, value, and performance, it’s one of our favorite vehicles currently on sale; full stop. But the name Maverick has always been an odd one. The original Maverick was an economy car from the 1970s. Sort of a poor man’s Mustang. There was nothing special or historic about this single generation car.

So why bring back the name and attach it to a compact pickup? We may never know, but if Ford was set on using a name from the company's past, there were a lot of cooler options. Some are even truck-based like Ranchero, Courier, or Sport Trac.

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