A GM that's actually a Nissan...

[Mounce]

Had this funky looking small sized Chevy suv come in at work. 2015 Chevy City Express to be exact. Opened the hood and immediately had a wtf moment when I found the hood prop. It was attached to the hood exactly like tons of Nissan's are set up. Propped the hood and moved on, mentioned something to a coworker and he was just as flustered about it as I was then started pointing out more Nissan parts under the hood. Air filter box, coolant reservoir, washer fluid tank, all looking exactly like a Nissan.

We gawked at it a good 5 minutes unable to make heads or tails of what we were looking at. Finally I decide to look at electronics to see the manufacturer name, expecting Delphi. It's a GM after all, right? Wrong. Alternator blatantly says Nissan.

I finally say something to the driver. Something about hey uh, so this is a Chevy right? About to tell him about all of the Nissan parts we see while pointing at the Bowtie on the steering wheel and he comes back with yeah but it's a Nissan too before I even mention it and shows me the Vin sticker in the door facing which had the Nissan logo, I then notice two more Vin plates, one on each inner fender, with the same Nissan logo.

Snapped a couple pics and moved on with the service.

Came home and done a quick Google search. Looks like GM was wanting to fill a void in the small utility suv market so they hooked up with Nissan and bought a load of Nissan nv200's and rebranded the outside. I don't know what to think about GM at the moment.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...fcfKJhITgG1E5rdzQ&sig2=v_OjPdoKv-W18SiNos2lGQ

 

[Mooseman]

Not the first time. Look at the Saturn Vue. They had a deal with Honda to supply engines and trannys in them. Pontiac Vibe was basically a rebadged Toyota Matrix. Geo Metro/Pontiac Firefly were Suzuki Swifts. And of course, the Saab 9-7x.

 

[northcreek]

They were using one of those on Storage Wars the other day, I googled it and just as you said "rebadged Nissan".
They aren't rated too high in their field, smallest/doggiest of the bunch.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

That's just sad.
Makes me love my TB even more

 

[Mounce]

doggiest of the bunch.

I drove that one at work, felt like the e brake was on. Put it in drive and it barely moved on level ground without hitting the gas.

Little 2.0 4 banger.

 

[Denali n DOO]

Not the first time. Look at the Saturn Vue. They had a deal with Honda to supply engines and trannys in them. Pontiac Vibe was basically a rebadged Toyota Matrix. Geo Metro/Pontiac Firefly were Suzuki Swifts. And of course, the Saab 9-7x.

Chevy Nova was a Toyota in disguise...

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Same ole same ole

 

[Capote]

Lol wtf, intersting

 

[Ziggy]

GM has been the king of "Badge Engineering" over the years. Our trucks are clear evidence of that, but it goes back many years. You can look at GM's A-Bodies; Think Chevelle/Malibu, GTO/LeMans, Cutlass, Skylark/GS. B-Bodies; Impala/Biscayne, Grand Prix/Catalina/2+2, Olds 88. G-bodies; Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Regal, Cutlass. Don't remember the platform name (N-body, maybe?) Cavalier, Sunbird, Cimmaron, etc... And these were just some of the cars that the General put out with minor changes to trim and interiors without making any really significant changes in the cars themselves. As was mentioned previously, GM has a long history of partnering with Asian companies to produce small cars for the US domestic market. The '80s saw the birth of many of those unlikely partnerships. There as the Chevy Nova/Toyota Corolla. The whole Geo line was badge engineered; Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift, Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick, Geo/Chevy Prizm/Toyota Corolla. The Vibe/Matrix connection has already been mentioned. Did you know though, that the Chevy Aveo is actually a rebadged Daewoo (That's Korean, btw)? These are just the whole cars. Mooseman mentioned the deal GM had with Honda to supply v6 engines for the Vue.

Lest you think this sin is exclusive to GM however, understand that the automotive marketplace is global. I'm sure you're all aware of the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable, Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis/Lincoln Town Car. How upset would you be though, to buy a Jaguar X-Type, and find out it's really just a fancied up version of the Ford Mondeo (Europe), which is the base for the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique cousins?!

Asian companies aren't shy either... Honda's first venture into the SUV market was the Honda Passport. That vehicle was a very thinly disguised Isuzu Rodeo. Actually, now that I think about it, when Isuzu needed a domestic pick up, they poached the S10/Sonoma from GM and put an ugly front end on it!

Chrysler, under Daimler, built the Crossfire using the Mercedes SLK platform. Then under Fiat, built the Dart.

I will say this though, as more time has gone on, the badge engineering has gotten better in most cases. The OEMs are doing a better job of using singular platforms, but tailoring the vehicles on that platform to better conform to what the different divisions want from them. They're not just changing the emblems on the grille and steering wheel so much, any more (Chevy City Express, being a notable exception). They're actually tailoring interiors, suspensions, engine options, etc... to fall within the various divisions' target customer.

Bottom line: If you buy/drive a "modern" car, if you look hard enough, you'll likely find parts from places and manufacturers you wouldn't have expected.