Originally Posted by
shinmei2006
^ building a $120,000 super car in limited numbers isnt helping to turn a profit. They piddled away R&D on a number of scrapped and failed projects. I say good riddance, the CEOs of these companies are not directly involved with the success of the company, but they sure as hell are involved with the demise.
Building a $100,000 corvette does indeed do much to help a companies image as well as generate TONs of free press and publicity. And free publicity saves money. Car companies build "corvettes" to sell "Cobalts."
The Viper was instrumental to turning around Chrysler's image in the 90's. The demise of the 300Z did much to hurt Nissan's image in the 90's as well.
You need flagship halo cars. It helps to generate buzz and bring positive attention to the brand.