What were these car companies thinking?!

[Stork of The Weak]

Throughout the 90's, GMC had NO models without an IDENTICAL Chevrolet twin. Since 2000 the two brands have been evolving separately. I must admit I personally would never buy a Chevy if a GMC alternative were available, because Chevrolet is best known for economy cars (but economy cars more stylish than those made by the competitors). When the long-running Silverado/Sierra/Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Blazer/Escalade design (first used in 1988 for the pickups but not until 1992 for the SUVs) was phased out in 2000, the bigger Chevy pickups and SUVs really started to look like garbage compared to their GMC twins, especially those with the Denali name. And the Cadillac Escalade even made the Yukon Denali look like a poor man's vehicle, but the very first Escalade was the same as the very first Yukon Denali except for one or two VERY minor details such as the grille.

I must say I think it was a GENIUS idea for Oldsmobile to be given a small luxury SUV (Bravada), while Cadillac at the same time had a big luxury SUV (Escalade). The two complemented one another perfectly especially because Oldsmobile and Cadillac were often sold by the same dealerships. What seems ridiculous though is that for a short time, Isuzu sold the Ascender which was identical to the GMC Envoy (even though the Envoy had SEVERAL other twins but all of which had distinct styling, the Chevy TrailBlazer, Saab 97X, and later Oldsmobile Bravada which was replaced by the Buick Rainier). Also it's strange that both Chevy and GMC made luxury versions of the Blazer and Jimmy under the TrailBlazer and Envoy names, even though both of these competed directly with the Bravada, but then made non-luxury SUVs with the TrailBlazer and Envoy names while redesigning the Bravada. And yet they still felt the need to sell the TrailBlazer SS and Envoy Denali which were luxury. Personally the original TrailBlazer is the only Chevy SUV or pickup I ever liked, not just because of the luxury features/styling but because the quality of it seemed a huge step up from the regular Blazer in every way.

And what justifies Chevy, GMC, and Isuzu all having the exact same delivery trucks? What's weird is that the popular 90's truck I have in mind (don't remember what model names it used but probably they were all letters/numbers without a real name) was built in Japan by Isuzu, but had both Chevy and GMC logos slapped on the front even though Isuzu also sold it under their own name in America. Later, GM would instead design/build the Ascender in the USA for Isuzu, along with the I-Series pickups which were identical to the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.

On a similar subject, what set Plymouth apart from Dodge? The two were completely different for a long time, but the Plymouth Roadrunner seemed like it should have been a Dodge instead. In fact in the 80's and 90's, Dodge always seemed to sell the more sporty but not luxurious twins of the more "boring" Plymouth models, but the Dodge Neon and Plymouth Neon were exactly the same, and from 1991-1995 a loaded Dodge Caravan (I'm picturing a Grand Caravan here) could be found for perhaps slightly less money as a Plymouth Grand Voyager with all the SAME bells and whistles! Either way the Chrysler Town & Country was sold only as luxury at the time, and put all Dodge and Plymouth versions to shame. Also the Plymouth Laser was very similar to but different from the Dodge Daytona (these were both low-priced sports cars that competed most with the Geo Storm), and only Plymouth was given the Prowler novelty car, which was renamed a Chrysler instead of Dodge after Plymouth was phased out. For a long time the Chrysler name was reserved for only the most luxurious models, but that changed instantly when the Plymouth Voyager was renamed a Chrysler in 2000 with no style changes, even though the Town & Country was around to make it look disgusting.

And confusing even more at Chrysler Corporation was the Eagle brand, which seemed to have nothing to set it apart from Dodge, but the only Eagle model that had a Dodge twin was the Eagle Vision. I have NO idea which of this trio (Eagle Vision, Dodge Intrepid, Chrysler Concorde) was supposed to have been the "best" of the three. The Concorde was definitely the most luxurious, but the line between the Intrepid and Vision is very blurred because both were sports sedans. Not sure exactly why but I always thought the first-generation Intrepid looked like garbage, even though I always thought of both the other two as top quality. Similarly GM for a short time dressed up the Chevy Caprice and called it the Impala SS which seemed like a joke. And later Ford made a performance version of the Mercury Grand Marquis called the Marauder, which had a lot of luxury features, but it was a sales disaster because most people would rather make one of these two choices: buy a Grand Marquis for luxury, or buy a used Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (many of these after being used as police cars have become taxicabs) for sport.

[Stork of The Weak]

Sorry to leave my real question a bit ambiguous. I do still have these two questions: what distinguished Chevy from GMC and Dodge from Plymouth?

[thpdg123]

I'm sure volumes have been written on these topics, but I will add a few bits.
For Chrysler, the Eagle brand was something that came along with the purchase of AMC. Although they didn't want it, they committed to continue the brand. Duplicating cars (and some rebranded Mitsuibishi models too) was the easiest way to maintain it.

I suppose the answer to your question is that there wasn't much of a difference between Dodge and Plymouth and that's why the brand was discontinued!

Patrick

[Stork of The Weak]

Thanks for adding your thoughts. I wonder though on the subject of Chevy vs GMC why it seems GMC vehicles all seem to have nicer headlights, door handles, rims, etc. Is this a way to ensure that anyone who can afford it will choose the GMC, while those under a certain income level will buy the Chevy? It seems to me that in the SUV category, Cadillac is targeted at the rich, GMC is targeted at the comfortable, and Chevrolet is targeted at the "poor" (but obviously the poorer people who have enough money to spend a huge chunk on automotive needs).

[Ameskid]

GMC is GM's truck brand, per se.  Always has been and always will be.

You're right, Chevrolet trucks do seem to be targeted at the "git 'r dun" crowd, whereas GMCs are for those who want luxury and utility in a truck.

In response to one of your original questions, I'm fairly certain that the Concorde was supposed to have been the best among the three.  I think it was supposed to combine the futuristic prowess of the Vision with a luxurious element, and the Intrepid was the "introduction" vehicle to the cab-forward car design.