How famous cars started - and where they are now

Others persevere with the same model name for decades. There’s nothing wrong with either policy, but the second is the one we’ll be looking into here.

What follows are 14 examples of long-running model names which are still being used today, illustrated by the first and current generations.

To avoid prolonged discussion, the Jaguar XJ and Morgan 4/4 would certainly have been on this list if they hadn’t recently been discontinued. The Volkswagen Beetle would not, because the Beetle name was not officially used until the 1990s, which is far too recently. We list them in chronological order from date of the first appearance:

Suburban is the oldest surviving automotive model name in the world, though not by as much as people often think. It was first used for the Chevrolet Carryall Suburban, launched in 1934 for the 1935 model year. The Carryall name was soon dropped.

The first Suburban was a fore-runner of the MPV, or people carrier, with eight seats arranged in three rows and plenty of space left over for their luggage.

Today’s Suburban is the long-wheelbase version of the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, which it exceeds in overall length by 381mm (15 inches). The current Tahoe/Suburban was introduced in 2020 for the 2021 model year.

The Suburban is essentially the same vehicle as the GMC Yukon XL. Both are built on the extended version of GM’s T1 platform, which is also the basis for the Cadillac Escalade ESV.

The 500 is often thought of as dating back to 1957, but that was the launch year of the Nuova (‘new’) 500. The original model, also known as Topolino, made its debut in 1936, not long after the Chevrolet Suburban.

Although Topolino is what the Italians call Mickey Mouse, the word actually means ‘baby mouse’. It was a fitting nickname for the 500, which was absolutely tiny and had a miniature 569cc four-cylinder engine under the bonnet. Fiat restyled the car in 1949, incorporating the headlights into the front wings.

Launched in 2007, and styled to look as much as possible like the Nuova 500, today’s Fiat 500 caught the public imagination in a big way. It wasn’t the best small hatchback in the world, but it was certainly one of the most charming.

The Fiat 500L and 500X have similar styling to the hatch even though they are not closely related in engineering terms. Fiat’s challenge now is to remain successful without relying on the name and appearance of the 2007 car. An all-new 500 was recently launched, driven purely by electric power; prices start in the UK at £19,995, for a model with a 115-mile range. The conventionally-powered previous model remains on sale for now.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 8.4 million (approx)

Nobody has ever bought a vehicle called a Ford F-Series. Like BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class, F-Series is a generic term which encompasses a range whose individual models have names of their own.

In the case of the original F-Series truck, these names went from F-1 to F-8, in increasing order of gross vehicle weight rating. The heavy-duty F-7 and F-8 were marketed for a while under the name Big Job, a term unlikely to be used nowadays.

The F naming system now applies to three categories of Ford truck. The F-150 light duty pickup is by far the most popular, regularly outselling all other vehicles of any type in North America.

The 14th-generation F-150 made its debut in 2020 with various new features including a laptop-friendly flat centre console and a variety of electrical power outlets in the bed. Variants include the high-performance Raptor and a petrol-electric hybrid. A twin-motor all-electric version is expected to go into production in 2022.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 43 million (approx)

Transporter was one of several names applied to the Volkswagen Type 2. This light commercial vehicle was VW’s second model after the Type 1 saloon, also known as the Beetle.

The Type 2 shared the Beetle’s rear-engined layout, but the driver and front passenger were placed at the opposite end of the vehicle in order to maximise load space. This space was used for luggage, or for more passengers, or in some cases as a living area. Production of the Type 2 continued in Brazil long after the model had been replaced elsewhere. The final example was built in 2013.

As of 2015, the Transporter is now in its sixth generation. The name is applied to a wide range of vehicles, including a nine-passenger SUV, a van with room for six occupants and a single-cab dropside.

Other variants which might also have used the Transporter name are in fact known as the Caravelle, a minibus, and California, a motorhome sold mainly in Europe.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 13 million (approx as of March 2020)

The original Corvette differed from later models in several significant ways. It was built only as a convertible, it had a solid rear axle and at first it was available only with a six-cylinder engine. There was no V8 option until 1955.

After a slow start, the Corvette became an icon of American motoring life. In nearly 60 years, Chevrolet has never dropped the model name. It probably wouldn’t dare.

For half a century, the idea of a Corvette’s engine being anywhere other than under the hood was close to unthinkable. Today’s eight-generation Corvette, however, has its 6.2-litre V8 mounted between the passengers and the rear wheels.

At the time of writing, all Corvettes currently on sale produce 490bhp in standard form. Other drivetrains will be introduced in the next few years, the most dramatic being the petrol-electric hybrid in the forthcoming Zora, which is expected to produced around 1000bhp.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 1.8 million (approx)

The first Mercedes to bear the SL name (which, it is now generally accepted, stands for Super Leicht, or ‘super light’) was the 300 SL of 1954. A more exciting Mercedes could hardly have been imagined at the time. It was based on the racing sports car which had won both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Carrera Panamericana in 1952, but it looked even better because it had gullwing doors.

With over 200bhp, the road car was actually more powerful than the racer, whose success was largely a result of its reliability, low weight and good aerodynamics.

Subsequent generations of SL have had an average production life of well over a decade. The sixth model was launched in 2011, and was the first with an aluminium bodyshell. The 620bhp twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 engine fitted to the SL 65 AMG is the most powerful fitted to any SL so far.

A seventh-generation SL is on the way. Mercedes will be positioning it as a more sporting, driver-focused model than the last one, though there will still be an emphasis on luxury.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 800,000 (approx)

The 1951 Toyota Jeep BJ was hastily retitled in 1954 when production expanded to meet demand from non-military buyers. The new choice of name does not appear to have upset Studebaker, which had only just stopped selling its own Land Cruiser models after twenty years.

The current Land Cruiser first went on sale back in late 2007, though it has been updated several times since then.

Very much unlike the Jeep BJ of sixty years ago, the Land Cruiser is a large SUV with strong off-road credentials. Nearly a decade and a half after its introduction, it is now expected to be replaced in the near future.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 4.7 million (approx)

Britain’s most famous car was originally sold as the Austin Seven or Morris Mini-Minor (distinguishing it from the earlier and larger Morris Minor). Many other names were also used, but almost from the start it was generally known simply as the Mini.

The Mini went out of production in 2000, after 41 years. Despite many upgrades, it had become hilariously obsolete, though people still loved it.

The ‘BMW era’ Mini range was launched in 2001. Praised immediately for its sharp handling, it was much larger than the classic model but retained as many of the old styling features as could be included on a completely different vehicle.

As with the Fiat 500, familiar styling cues have found their way on to all MINI models. The failure of the Coupe, Roadster and Paceman, none of which lasted for more than four years, showed that this policy wasn’t enough to save models that not enough people wanted to buy. The 10 millionth Mini (of both old and new iterations) was built in 2019.

The Mustang wasn’t the first pony car, because the Plymouth Barracuda was introduced two weeks earlier, but it was the most successful. Sales reached one million while the car was still in the early years of its first generation.

The Mustang was launched with a choice of Thriftpower six-cylinder engines or relatively small-capacity versions of the Windsor V8. By 1968, five years before the first-generation model was replaced, it was possible to buy a 7.0-litre V8 version.

The sixth-generation Mustang was launched in 2014 with a choice of a traditional 5.0-litre V8 engine, a 3.7-litre V6 or, controversially, a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder known as EcoBoost. Coupe and convertible body styles are both available.

Since late 2020, the name has also been used for the Mustang Mach-E. This is an all-electric crossover SUV and as such has absolutely nothing whatever to do with any previous Mustang, though there are shared design cues.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 10 million as of August 2018

The most recognisable Porsche of all time was originally going to be called the 901, but was renamed 911 after an easily resolved name dispute with Peugeot. The earliest models had six-cylinder engines which were air-cooled and mounted behind the rear axle. Neither aspect seemed problematic at the time.

More importantly, though, the 911 – largely the work of Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche (1935-2012) – had an outstandingly satisfying shape. Porsche eventually got round to water-cooling the engine in 1998, but it has known better than to do more than make minor updates to the classic 911 profile.

The eighth-generation 911 made its debut in late 2018. Like previous versions, it’s available in coupe, convertible and Targa forms, and with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

Oddly, although all current 911s except the GT3 have turbocharged engines, there are still models in the range called Turbo and Turbo S. The names have nothing to do with turbocharging, but simply indicate that these cars have larger-capacity (3.7-litre) engines with higher power outputs (641bhp in the case of the Turbo S).

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 1 million as of May 2017

The word camaro is intended to convey an idea of friendship, though it does not actually mean that in any language. The Camaro was in fact created in an atmosphere of hostility – the Ford Mustang was the leader in the new pony car segment (for compact, affordable, high-performance coupes and convertibles), and General Motors wanted a piece of that action.

Its short, sub-two year development time suggests that back then at least, the GM elephant was still one that could dance. The first-generation Camaro was less popular than the wildly successful Mustang, but Chevrolet was still able to build over 200,000 per year during the second half of the 1960s.

Chevrolet abandoned the Camaro name in 2002, after four generations, but brought it back for a retro-styled model seven years later.

Today’s Camaro is similar in spirit to that car, though it is built on a different platform and the styling is less obviously retro. North American sales were hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 6 million (approx)

The first of many Toyota Corolla models was introduced in 1966, and immediately faced strong competition from the Datsun 1000. Toyota made the Corolla desirable by fitting first 1.1-litre and then 1.2-litre engines, both of them larger than the Datsun’s 1.0-litre unit.

The Corolla was built in both Japan and Australia, and was exported to North America. Production ended after less than three and a half years in 1970.

The Corolla is now in its twelfth generation. It is credited with having the best-selling nameplate in the motor industry, ahead of the Ford F-Series and Volkswagen Golf. The name was retained in some markets even when it was temporarily replaced in others by, for example, Tercel and Auris.

Today’s Corolla is available in saloon, hatchback and estate body styles, and frequently with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 44 million (approx)

Very much unlike its modern counterpart, the original Civic was more compact, and considerably lighter, than the modern Volkswagen up!. It was available as a saloon, a hatchback and an estate, and started out with an 1169cc engine which was water-cooled, despite Honda’s previous preference for air cooling.

Larger engines were introduced later, but the economical Civic remained a popular choice in the years following the 1973 oil crisis. Its major failing was a tendency to transform into a pile of rust in colder countries whose authorities salted the roads in winter.

At the time of writing, the Civic is in its tenth generation. It has been available worldwide in saloon, coupe and hatchback forms, and with a variety of petrol and diesel engines.

By far the most exciting version is the Type R, whose turbocharged 2.0-litre engine produces a maximum of 316bhp. The eleventh-generation Civic is expected to go on sale in 2022. All versions except the Type R will have petrol-electric hybrid powertrains.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 24 million (approx)

The first Golf was intended as the successor to the Beetle, whose basic design was nearly four decades older but which did not go into full-scale production until the 1950s. With a water-cooled engine and front-wheel drive, it was a dramatic change from the older vehicle, which it did not in fact fully replace.

The Golf GTi arrived in 1976. With only 110bhp from its 1.6-litre engine, it would be considered a slow car today, but it has its place in history as a very early example of a hot hatch.

The Golf is now in its eighth generation, and still retains some vestiges of the original model’s Italdesign styling. Available with hatchback and estate body styles, it also has a wide range of petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains, though there is no equivalent of the previous e-Golf. Its place as VW’s compact electric hatchback has been taken by the ID.3.

As is common in the motor industry, the current Golf is considerably larger and heavier than the first-generation model. Nearly every car in today’s range is also more powerful than the original GTi.

TOTAL PRODUCTION SO FAR: 35 million as of March 2019