Mustang and Camaro: The Death of a Nameplate

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Some cars are so well known, they’re on a first-name basis with the general public. Corvette, 911, Beetle, SVX… maybe not that last one. But as far as sports cars go, there isn’t a more recognizable name than Mustang. Randomly pick almost any Mustang from the past 60+ years of production and you’ll get a front-engine, RWD, two-door American sports car.

Last year, in 2025, the Mustang sold only 45,000 cars domestically which was a huge drop from the 122,000 Mustangs sold a decade earlier in 2015. But that’s got more to do with the rise of the SUV and the fickle buying habits of the public. Throughout those past 10 years, the Mustang remained the best-selling sports car in the world. Before that, the Camaro held the sales crown in the U.S. from 2010 to 2014.

Inexplicably, Ford and Chevrolet appear to have reached the same conclusion at roughly the same time. If their famous sports car names have value, why not stick them on something else? Ford is reportedly developing a four-door hybrid Mustang, while Chevrolet is considering bringing the Camaro back as a four-door performance sedan. Both cars could be fast American sports sedans capable of rivaling Europe’s and Japan’s best. That’s genuinely a good thing. But why do these misguided American car companies’ marketing departments think it’s a good idea to call these speedy sedans Mustang and Camaro?

Automobile manufacturers would kill to have a model with as much history and brand-name recognition as Mustang or Camaro. Their identities were built through decades of racing, advertising, movies, street culture and enthusiast ownership. Those names meant affordable American performance coupes. Now Ford and Chevrolet seem intent on turning them into something closer to BMW’s M division or Mercedes-Benz AMG, broad performance labels that can be applied across multiple vehicles. Except Mustang and Camaro were never performance divisions. They were cars, and that distinction matters.

At a private dealer gathering in Las Vegas, Ford Motor Company recently showed off a prototype of the Mustang Mach 4, a four-door sedan with a sub-four-second 0–60 mph time from its hybrid V8 powertrain. That’s not a Mustang! Sure, Ford wants a recognizable nameplate to attach to its new car, but it already has great historical names gathering dust. Consider the Torino. In 1970, Ford sold the Torino as a two-door hardtop, four-door sedan and station wagon, with serious V8 power. If Ford wants to build a powerful four-door performance car today, why not bring back the Torino in all its Starsky & Hutch glory? Let the Mustang remain the Mustang, while Torino becomes Ford’s fast family car. No identity crisis.

Chevrolet has the same opportunity. If it wants to build a muscular four-door sedan with RWD and V8 power, call it the Chevelle. That’s another historic name with a pedigree of performance, but without being so tightly defined as a pony car. Either company could simply invent a new name. Instead, both seem desperate for reflected glory, hoping decades of brand equity attached to Mustang and Camaro will give these new four-doors instant fame.

Historic model names have value precisely because manufacturers spent decades giving them meaning. Slapping those names onto unrelated products may make a marketing department’s job easier, but every shortcut risks weakening the identity being exploited.

Ford should build its four-door performance car. Chevrolet should build theirs too. There is nothing wrong with creating fast, practical sedans for enthusiasts who need four doors. Ford could call it the Torino, the Taurus SHO, the Falcon GT, or even the Ford LTD, if alphabet soup is fashionable again. Or come up with something new! Just don’t Scotch-tape the nameplate to a four-door hybrid and call it a Mustang.

That would deliberately weaken one of the most recognizable identities in the car business.

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