What do car companies do with the designs of older model cars. I imagne that a car company could get extra money for licensing a design for a popular older car. I also imagine that for a car company that doesn't have a large R&D budget this would be a cheap way to get a good design for a car.
I actually think that this is happening already. Take a look at the 1999 Isuzu Oasis and the 1995 Honda Odyssey.
These look almost identical. If Honda did license the plans, I think that is is a great move on their part.
Back in the middle 90's Isuzu and Honda had a relationship. Isuzu designed the Trooper and after it was on the market several years, Honda licensed the design, upgraded the interior and it became the Acura SLX SUV. The Isuzu Rodeo later became the Honda Passport. Part of the exchange was for Isuzu to use Honda's Odyssey as their minivan, rebadged as Isuzu Oasis.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't new. In the early 90's Nissan had a Quest mini-van which was also a Mercury Villager.
In 1991 Toyota and Geo/Chevrolet shared the same vehicle. The Corolla and Prizm, built in the same plant in California. The Corolla shared the same platform and shape with the Chevrolet Nova in the 80's. In fact the Corolla was also a Daihautsu in the early 70's.