O.K., so the Ford 500 wasn’t the big hit that Ford Motor Company wanted. Ford Chairman William Clay Ford‘s wish to have a sedan that would look respectable driving up to a country club failed. Was it the name? Or was it that the car design or engineering wasn’t thatMORE HERE
Of course, folks miss their favorite department stores. From Burdine’s to Abraham & Straus to Marshall Field’s, across the U.S. these beloved store brand names are no more. But the loss of the regional department store also affected the individual fashion brands and lines that the department stores carried. ItMORE HERE
While most consider the MG defunct, Chinese automakers have done the impossible and brought the English cars back. And on top of that, they’ve also brought new life to that other former British Leyland brand, Rover. It’s a reminder to Detroit that there might be unlocked value (perhaps first overseas)MORE HERE
At the start of the whole Carnaby Street fashion era, there was one great fashion brand, Biba. It’s back. Biba was founded in 1964 by Barbara Hulanicki and her late husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon. It epitomized the era, with 1920s and 30s looking models in maxi and mini dresses and coats,MORE HERE
In Hollywood, the revival works — sometimes. The off-Broadway revival of Brady Bunch Live, done live, was a wacky hit, but the numerous follow up series, specials and movies, have been (mostly) flops. Movie versions of Aaron Spelling’s Starsky & Hutch and Charlie’s Angels scored, but a Love Boat TVMORE HERE
When International Harvester went bankrupt, one of the most famous icons of American business was split apart. Some units like the International Scout SUV disappeared entirely, but other units survived. One of the success stories was the Cub Cadet line of mowers, now owned by MTD. The product line marriedMORE HERE
The Pan Am brand continues to thrive over a decade after it first died. The new luggage company Pan Am One has licensed the brand for luggage, reports London’s Financial Times. The new Pan Am site Pan Am One has old ads, retro music and ordering information. A long listMORE HERE
When folks look for water skis, brand names like Obrien and Connelly come to mind. The main brand that comes to mind, though, is the Cypress Gardens Dick Pope brand. The question is what happened to Cypress Gardens Dick Pope skis? There was a Dick Pope Jr AND Cypress Gardens.MORE HERE
Wall Street may be all atwitter at the merger of Payless Shoe Source and Stride Rite. And after all, the company now owns some great American brand names. Classic and priceless brand names like Keds, Pro-Keds, Sperry Top-Sider and Saucony. Actually, they are not EXACTLY priceless, as Payless, led byMORE HERE
Kmart hasn’t given up on Blue Light yet. The height of 70s tacko became a dot-com story with Bluelight.com. Kmart seems to be terribly sensible about what to do about the legacy of Blue Light Specials. No longer does a harried store manager need to run around with display signsMORE HERE