It's Time to Play "WHO AM I"?

boomchek

Ah, Fintail gets it! You are correct.

I'll give credit to Shifty for a good guess which technically could also be applied to this riddle.

boomchek

Usually a strong seller, my ancestor was actually once rebadged as a British car for that market. Over time I appeared in all forms including sedans, coupes, wagons, and hatchbacks, in potent forms, 4 wheel drive versions, and thrifty fuel miser editions. I am built all over the world. My parent company is not from here, but I am more domestic than some domestics. What am I?

210delray

Honda Civic

texases

I inspired a styling element named after me, but I'm no designer...

texases

And those elements appeared on '50s cars. Shortlived.

Mr_Shiftright

Ohhhh.....DAGMARS!! :P

texases

DingDingDingDing!!!

isellhondas

Two of these were hot stuff in the fifties.

What were they called?

Bonus question...I sound like a loud doorbell. also popular in the 50's and 60's.

boomchek

Correct, it is the Civic. It was at one time (second generation) rebadged as a Triumph Acclaim as well.

boomchek

Drive ins and hot rods?

isellhondas

These were mounted in pairs and they were called "Appletons".

The loud DING DONG bells weren't electric. They mounted underneath the cars. You had to drill a hole in the floorboard and to operate them you stepped on a plunger. They were super loud and they were called Bermuda Bells.

I once bought an old Chevy that had one. A cop pulled me over when I set it off at 2AM in a quiet neighborhood. He didn't find it amusing.

A high speed bump caused it's demise.

210delray

You really are giving us some tough ones. I remember the spotlights (mainly from car model kits, not actual cars -- except those in shows much more recently). I do not remember Bermuda Bells at all. However, I've no doubt there was a lot more customization and hot rodding done in SoCal where you grew up.

isellhondas

We were a " custom" town. Lots of lowrider 48-54 Chevies (there still are!)

They had split manifolds and loud pipes.etc.

I decided to "google" Bermuda Bell and you can still get one! They even sell 12 volt versions now!

If you "google"" Hot San Pedro Nights" you may be able to still see a film clip of our last yearly cruise in. It was like stepping back in time.

texases

re-the Bermuda Bell-we had one on my dad's 1911 Regal, remember ringing that on old car tours, lots of fun.

210delray

Did you mean 1911? Wow, that's a really old car. Regal was a make name then (not a Buick model)?

isellhondas

I'm not the only one who remembered those!

texases

Yep, 1911. One of the hudreds of American brands that came and went between 1900 and 1941. Lots of memories. He found it in a barn (honest!), towed it home, fixed it up (it required no major work, still had the original leather). Unfortunately, he never got title, the barn owner asked for it back after we had it about 20 years for his nephew. They came and got it, then stored it in a garage that burned down :mad:

boomchek

I have a very close cousin who is an iconic American. I am a bit more edgy looking but am as fast as he is, and priced a tad higher. I sell in fewer numbers but that doesn't mean I'm any worse or less potent.

What am I?

bumpy

Holden VE Commodore?

bumpy

I was intended to be a modern rendition of an icon, but the fanbase revolted and I was given a rather unfortunate name instead. It's just as well; my forced induction, lack of cylinders, and foreign origins would have incensed them anyway.

210delray

Ford Probe

ateixeira

I'm a little known cousin to the $4995 import special from the 1980s.

I also supplied that car with its engines.

That ought to be enough.

210delray

Mitsubishi Precis (sp?)

ateixeira

Correct.

Figuring out Hyundai was easy, but the Precis (that is the correct spelling) was a rare bird.

fintail

When I was in high school a good friend of mine had a Precis. I called it the "Zero" for a number of reasons.

boomchek

Nope sorry, not a Holden, but same "family"

bumpy

Wasn't the Precis a full rebadge of the Excel?

bumpy

Yep. No FWD turbo-4 Mustangs for us.

bumpy

Jeez, there's only a bazillion other cars it could be: Chevy Lumina, Pontiac G8, HSV Clubsport, Vauxhall VXR8, Chevy Caprice, Buick Park Avenue, Daewoo Veritas, HSV Grange, HSV W427, etc.

boomchek

Think: edgy, cousin of iconic American, wearing a suit.

Another hint: fast, powerful and 2 doors still in production.

uplanderguy

I'd say Cadillac XLR--except that it's out of production.

Bill

boomchek

You got it, it's the XLR.

I didn't know they stopped producing them. Gotta catch up on my auto news!

ateixeira

Yes, Precis was a clone of the Excel. Hyundai used Mitsubishi engines until the 90s, when the Alpha engine came out.

Mr_Shiftright

I TOLD Cadillac years ago to target the BMW 3 Series and not the M-B SLs, so they targeted the SLs and put the Catera against the 3 Series.

God knows I tried to help them

bumpy

Yep, and even then the Alpha was basically a mirror-image 4G61 (and the Beta a mirrored 4G63).

boomchek

My history's rich, and my genes are quite old
But my name is misused all over the world
It became a general term for that type of a car
That will go anywhere and get you quite far

ateixeira

Jeep?

In Brazil some truck models are called "Jipe", sort of like you'd say Kleenex instead of tissues.

Mr_Shiftright

I bear a rather famous name
Of a car once associated with wealth and fame
But on me, most thought it a veil of shame
Since this marque's prestige I had no right to claim.

Who am I?

stever

Packard (Bell) Computers? :shades:

ateixeira

Jaguar?

That might apply to more than one make.

I'm thinking X-Type.

Mr_Shiftright

Not bad guesses---I can see your logic here, but no, the crime was worse than either of those.

HINT: domestic car, after WWII and before WW III

hpmctorque

Mercury Monarch?

qbrozen

Zephyr, by any chance?

boomchek

You got it, it is a Jeep!

Sometimes you can even hear it in rap songs "I drive a Lexus Jeep" :confuse:

boomchek

I was going to say Talbot until you mentioned domestic.

I'm gonna guess Zephyr as well, with the current MKZ or whatever they call it being as the offender when it was called a Zephyr.

kyfdx

How about Stutz?

Weren't they using the Stutz name for one of those Excalibur-like monstrosities?

Mr_Shiftright

nope nope nope nope and nope.

Give up? Cry uncle?

HINT: It's one of the cars always singled out to describe the decline of the American automobile industry.

stever

Some hint - that narrows it down to a few dozen. :P

Mr_Shiftright

1980s

GM

boomchek

I'll say the Cimarron, but now I'm not sure if you're looking for the name of a model that used to be a brand (Zephyr, etc.), or the name of a model that gave a brand a bad image.