The Countach is coming back and the Integra, too. To be honest, the latter makes me happier than the former, because the Integra is a car that a lot more drivers will actually buy. It made me think of other nameplates that I would love to see on modern machines, especially as the industry pursues electrification. What nameplates do you want to see again?
I think it’s time for the Astro to return. Not only was it a great people-mover, but it had one of the raddest nameplates I recall from car spotting back in the day. I know it’s hard to look away from that tasteful two-tone on the Astro, but look at its name. It just expresses the word perfectly. It’s futuristic, but not too serious.
It doesn’t feel stuffy or grave and yet it’s doing a lot of work. Kind of like the Astro van itself. Both the machine and nameplate live up to the promise of astro. I still remember riding in a second-gen Astro and being surprised by how much space there was. It’s not exactly a small car, but it still floored me. It was cavernous! An inner space to explore the outer. I loved it, and between the Astro and Odyssey, I came to respect minivans.
I know a better time to revive the Astro would be once we’ve got flying cars instead of electric ones, but there aren’t nearly enough minivan EVs yet. So, I don’t think the Astro should wait too long. The Silverado is getting a pretty big reworking, and a revived Astro could keep the momentum going. Maybe just mind the safety ratings, this time.
Now that we’re moving to electric drivetrains and autonomous driving, the snub-nose vans definitely need to make a comeback. Minivans like the Aerostar and Ram Van could probably be redesigned and reworked for fully-electrified driving. Make it a hybrid if you want, Chevy, and give the Sienna and Odyssey a competitor.
I’m not against a hybrid Astro at all, especially if it gets the nameplate rolling again. How about you? What nameplate deserves a second chance? Which would you want to see again?