1969 Chevrolet Corvette on 2040-cars

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Bring back the Bronco! Trademarks we hope are actually (someday) future car names

Trademark filings are the tea leaves of the auto industry. Read them carefully – and interpret them correctly – and you might be previewing an automaker's future product plans. Yes, they're routinely filed to maintain the rights to an iconic name. And sometimes they're only for toys and clothing. But not always. Sometimes, the truth is right in front of us. The trademark is required because a company actually wants to use the name on a new car. With that in mind, here's a list of intriguing trademark filings we want to see go from paperwork to production reality. Trademark: Bronco Company: Ford Previous Use: The Bronco was a long-running SUV that lived from 1966-1996. It's one of America's original SUVs and was responsible for the increased popularity of the segment. Still, it's best known as O.J. Simpson's would-be getaway car. We think: The Bronco was an icon. Everyone seems to want a Wrangler-fighter – Ford used to have a good one. Enough time has passed that the O.J. police chase isn't the immediate image conjured by the Bronco anymore. Even if we're doing a wish list in no particular order, the Bronco still finds its way to the top. For now (unfortunately), it's just federal paperwork. Rumors on this one can get especially heated. The official word from a Ford spokesman is: "Companies renew trademark filings to maintain ownership and control of the mark, even if it is not currently used. Ford values the iconic Bronco name and history." Trademarks: Aviator, AV8R Company: Ford Previous Use: The Aviator was one of the shortest-run Lincolns ever, lasting for the 2003-2005 model years. It never found the sales success of the Ford Explorer, with which it shared a platform. We Think: The Aviator name no longer fits with Lincoln's naming nomenclature. Too bad, it's better than any other name Lincoln currently uses, save for its former big brother, the Navigator. Perhaps we're barking up the wrong tree, though. Ford has made several customized, aviation themed-Mustangs in the past, including one called the Mustang AV8R in 2008, which had cues from the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter jet. It sold for $500,000 at auction, and the glass roof – which is reminiscent of a fighter jet cockpit – helped Ford popularize the feature. Trademark: EcoBeast Company: Ford Previous Use: None by major carmakers.

Zombie cars roundup: Dodge has sold 3 new Vipers this year

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

Danica Patrick hands over keys to first 2016 Chevy Camaro

Alican "Turk" Boyacioglu got more than he expected this weekend when he picked up his new 2016 Chevy Camaro, the very first sixth-gen Camaro to be delivered to a private customer. That's because racer Danica Patrick was on hand for the delivery. The handing over of the keys took place at Texas Motor Speedway – a stop along the brand's Find New Roads trip. The journey is being conducted to introduce America to five new Chevy models: the Camaro and also the new Malibu, Cruze, Volt, and Spark. The road trip kicked off on October 19 and will conclude next week on November 14. Boyacioglu ordered up a red Camaro SS from Huffines Chevrolet in Lewisville, TX, north of Dallas. When he headed from Kansas to northern Texas to take delivery, he was pleasantly surprised to see Danica climb out of the car to hand him the keys. Though she may have raced under Honda power during her IndyCar days, Danica's NASCAR stock cars have always been powered by Chevrolet. She even drove a Camaro in the Nationwide Series. The smile on Turk's face ought to last him the nearly five-hour drive home to Wichita. For everyone else, deliveries are set to commence in earnest in the middle of this month. The first models to be delivered will be V6 coupes. Convertibles and turbo-four models will start shipping early in the new year. Customers will be able to choose between six powertrain combinations, made up of the 2.0-liter turbo four, the 3.6-liter V6, and the 6.2-liter V8, each available with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. Pricing starts at $26,695 for the base 1LT trim and extends up to $37,295 for the 1SS. DANICA PATRICK SURPRISES CUSTOMER WITH 2016 CAMARO Huffines Chevrolet delivers first 2016 Camaro to Alican 'Turk' Boyacioglu DALLAS – Racecar driver Danica Patrick helped the team at Huffines Chevrolet deliver the first sixth-generation Camaro to a customer from Wichita, Kan., at the Texas Motor Speedway stop of Chevrolet's Find New Roads Trip today. Alican "Turk" Boyacioglu had been eagerly tracking the build of his 2016 Camaro SS and could not contain his excitement when Patrick emerged from the car and handed him the keys. "This whole experience was surreal," Boyacioglu said.