why do companies make the same car with different badging??
 

doesn't it seem so retarded that theres a mercury sable and ford escort that are identical except the badging? dodge and chrysler do it a lot too...i know these companies are really each one big ginat company ford motor company, etc...so why do they do this??

just different division's a sable is the same as a taurus, gm has so many divisions, a camaro is a firebird etc.

no...a camaro isnt a firebird...im talking IDENTICAL vehicles....the camaro and firdbird are only based on each other...

Car manufacters do this to sell more cars.

Heres an example: If someone is a diehard Mercury buyer, Ford can rebadge the crown vic instead of making a new car "made" by Mercury.

Yep, just like some Mazda pickups used to be identical to the Ranger, except for the badging.

If you are a Ford guy, you buy the Ranger. If love Mazda, you go with the B2000.

If you hate Ford, maybe you go with the Mazda and still end up buying Ford :) . That is just how marketing works. Each brand name or make is aimed at a particular market segment. You just associate certain attributes to certain brand names. Just like brand name or store names....many are the same product, just with a different name.

I am not sure with cars, but sometimes you pay more for a brand name and the service that goes with it. I am not aware of say the Ranger warranty vs. the Mazda warranty, but I know certain things such as car batteries are usually identical, just with a different brand, different price, and diffferent warranty.

For example, at the end of a battery production line, Diehard is put on some labels while a store brand is put on others. The labels go on the same batteries, though. Alright, it is late and I am rambling. There are numerous examples of this out there, and it does serve a marketing purpose.

The Taurus and the Sable are no more identical than the Camaro and the Firebird. There are minor differences in the trim and option packages.

The Mercury versions of the Ford vehicles are supposed to be more luxurious, and the Lincolns a step above that. GM does it too. Chevy is the bottom of the line, followed by Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Many of the GM vehicles are virtually identical across several of the brands, except for the level of options. It gives the buyer more status options. For example, if a guy really likes the look and feel of a Pontiac Bonneville, but thinks he's "better" than the kind of person that would own a Pontiac, he can spend $3k more and get an Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, or spend $6k more and get a Buick LeSabre. They are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing, but the trim and option packages are different.

Take care,
~Chris

Ive heard people say I'll never buy a ford ranger but then they go and buy a B series truck from mazda. which is obviously the same.

I guess if you cant win a customer through one maker you can get them in another one LOL

If you were a company that pinches pennies in every area possible, why not rebadge cars that you or other people build? It cuts down on cost, and gives more people options of styles (even though very similar) and it saves a TON of money on tooling and car research and devolopment. Although some cars are rediculously similar to each other (like early 80's GM products....pontiac, chevy and buick cars were almost identical in everyway except for slight badging differences). this also applies to the fox bodies of the 80's except alot were pretty different although all boxy.
If i was a car company i'd probably do the same thing. If people buy the mercury or lincoln vehicles based very closely on ford's why not build them that way. It cuts down on vehicle cost as well for the customer for initial purchase and parts cost.