Do halo cars still matter? Out friends over at Hooniverse are pondering just that.
General Motors invented the halo car with the Corvette in 1953 and it’s probably immeasurable the amount of brand equity and profit the “Plastic Fantastic” has generated for the Bow Tie brand. Imagining Chevrolet without almost 60 years of Corvette folklore is darn near impossible.
For others such as the Thunderbird, AMX, Acura NSX, Toyota Supra and Dodge Viper, each have followed suit with varying degrees of success. None were able to weather market conditions or changing consumer tastes and their respective caretakers pulled the plug.
Today, gaming and cyberspace are probably the best argument for halo cars. The current crop of racing video games is one of the best ways to get your brand in front of a young demographic and in regards to the Big Three, more crucial than ever.
Eliminate old school muscle and sports cars and what new product would our home grown companies have to put in front of these gamers, a Sebring or Malibu? Not likely.
With the ZR-1 Corvette, Shelby Mustang or a Viper, at least they’d know that GM, Ford and Chrysler are still in business and making relevant products. Laugh all you want, but we now have a couple of generations of kids whose parents have never owned a domestically produced car. A halo car might be the only way for a Big Three product to get on their radar.
You might also like
1964 Pontiac GTO: What Made The Great One So Special
The GTO was an emotionally powerful car, according to John DeLorean. “Up until that point, the only people who could afford performance
