Facebook is littered with memes blasting the Chevy Blazer, a full-size crossover that’s nothing like the original off-roader of the same name. It’s often contrasted unfavorably with the hyper-masculine Ford Bronco, another OG of the sport-utility class but one whose brand image has been burnished and reinforced of late.

As if that's not bad enough for some critics, now there’s a Blazer EV, and that is a bridge too far.

Chevy isn’t alone in electrifying iconic nameplates. Ford makes the electric F-150 Lightning and has stretched the Mustang Mach-E into a five-door, all-wheel-drive electric crossover.

Ford has also reintroduced the Maverick compact as a hybrid pickup. The Dodge Hornet is an Italian crossover. Rumors have the Chevy Camaro going electric while Dodge confirmed all-electric versions of the next Charger. It seems confusing, but for younger generations who never knew the classics, it’s all fresh.

Electric minded

Play this little mind game with me. What do you think of when you hear “Mustang”? Probably a rumbling V-8-powered monster with two doors and rear-drive but not a five-door electric crossover. What about "Cadillac"? You're probably thinking opulence, glitz and powerful V-8 engines. Again, not electric crossovers.

Now, think about Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. There’s no confusion because all three only produce EVs.

“You have to make sure the brand dominates a category,” said Laura Ries, co-founder of marketing consultancy firm Ries & Ries. In the EV space, she argues, “Tesla dominates the mind. Sales numbers reflect that. It’s better to launch a new brand when there is a new category. With electric in particular, the car is a huge status symbol. Buyers are very particular about what it states. They want an EV that looks like an EV.”

Automakers recycle classic brands because they believe it will be cheaper and easier to connect to a nostalgic past than to conjure an unknown name. For it to work, though, people must have mostly forgotten about the old one. That’s why it works with Maverick, Hornet and Dart but not necessarily with Mustang or Blazer. It helps to have unique style.

The Toyota Prius proves Ries' point. Even when virtually every automaker offers a hybrid, Prius dominates the mind because it was first to market and has an iconic shape. Why buy an imitator when you can drive the original?

...continued

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC