10 Car names that are older than you – Axon's Automotive Anorak

OK, I’m back, and rather to my surprise, it would seem that this fact is indeed correct: the Chevrolet Suburban is the longest-running car model name in continuous use, first used in 1934 and still going strong. Today the current 12^th-generation model is a firm favorite with the White House and Texan ranchers with large families.

If this trivial longest-running-name fact had been my crucial million pound question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, I would now be no richer, as I had my money on the Morgan 4/4 being the oldest name plate still in continuous use. The Morgan comes a close-ish second though, the 4/4 name first appearing in 1936, the nomenclature indicating the new-for-1936 Morgan model had four wheels and four cylinders.

Being the sad Anorak that I am, this useless Suburban fact inevitably set my mind racing about other cars that have enjoyed a long fruitful career continuously using the same name plate which still exist today. This excludes the enormous number of models that have seen name revivals, such as the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Bentley Continental, Vauxhall Viva, Buick Rivera, Citroën C4 and Ford Puma, for example.

A number of models and long-lived automotive names such as the Volkswagen Beetle (1938-2018, Beetle name first used c.1951), the Citroën 2CV (42 years; 1948-1990), Ford Falcon (56 years, 1960-2016, spread across the USA, Argentina and Australia), Toyota Corona (44 years, 1957-2001), and so on are worthy of mention but no longer produced. So, here are nine vehicles that have been in continuous production for many years, consistently using the same name.

Ford F-Series, 1948 to present

Consistently the world’s best-selling vehicle, with an excess of 750,000 sold new in the USA each year alone, the Ford F-Series pick-up series first appeared as the F-1 in 1948. Originally favoured by Red Necks and those in need of a rustic but practical utility vehicle, today’s 13^th-generation F150 has gained stature, both in terms of size, weight and standing, the current F150 now appealing more to active lifestyle adventures than ranch hands or pig farmers.

Toyota Land Cruiser, 1951 to present

Toyota’s tough Land Cruiser 4x4 first appeared almost 69 years ago for the Japanese market only. By the late 1950s Toyota took its first tentative steps into a handful of exports markets with the Land Cruiser; the model quickly gaining a reputation for rugged and reliable basic transport, and outshining the already established Willys Jeep and Land Rovers in many tough terrains. The Land Cruiser’s legendary strength and off-road ability now sees the Toyota dominate many demanding markets, with earlier 1960s-80s models now commanding high prices and a cult following.

Chevrolet Corvette, 1953 to present

The world’s first fibreglass-bodied ‘mass production’ sports car, the original front-engine, rear-wheel-drive C1 Corvette of 1953 spawned a further six generations of all-American two-seater with a similar mechanical layout, ahead of the new mid-engined configuration recently launched for the Ferrari-esque C8 model. Since 1951, the Corvette family has seen the shorted-lived and collectable Stingray model. The 1963 coupe variant featuring distinctive split rear windows. The shark-profiled C3 enjoyed a long production life from 1968 to 1982, to be replaced by the larger and more business-like C4 and LS1 V8-powered C5 of 1997. The C6 Corvette arrived in 2004 and the seventh generation C7 for the 2014 model year saw the Corvette retain its GRP coachwork, as well as its conventional front engine drivetrain. This configuration finally gave way to the all-new mid-engined Corvette C8 in June of this year.

Mercedes-Benz SL, 1954 to present

The Teutonic SL (for Super-Leicht in German; Super Light in English) was, and remains, the highly desirable Mercedes-Benz sporting GT. The first W198 SL mode’ stunned the world as the now infamous 300 SL Gullwing coupe. This exciting two-seat coupe was joined by an equally exotic 3.0-litre roadster in 1957, ultimately superseding the iconic Gullwing. A more affordable 1.9-litre 190 SL roadster joined the range in 1955, to be replaced by the attractive ‘Pagoda’ W113 in 1963. The pretty Pagoda made way for the long-lived 1971-89 R107 SL (as starred in popular 1980s TV series Dallas), this in turn replaced by the R129 (1989-2002), R230 (2001-11) and the present R231, launched in 2012.

Toyota Crown, 1955 to present

The Crown has been Toyota’s luxury range-topping model for almost 55 years, the model being the first Toyota to be exported in the late 1950s (to the USA, where initially it flopped, and Australia where it met with a more positive reception). Though mainly now the reserve of the domestic Japanese market, with today’s multiple 15^th-generation Crown models proving popular for taxi and chauffeur duties, the large Toyota has recently found success in the ever-expanding Chinese market as well as a dependable and luxurious ‘formal’ four-door saloon.

Porsche 911, 1963 to present

The only high-performance 2+2 coupe of choice for many sporting motorists, Porsche’s legendary 911 originally debuted at the 1963 IAA Frankfurt Auto Show as the 901, nomenclature that Porsche had to change after just 82 901s had been built due to protests by Peugeot, which own the global copyright to three-digit numbers with a ‘0’ (zero) in the centre. Air-cooled, and clearly VW Beetle-inspired for its first 35 years of production, the rear-engined Porsche finally switched to a water-cooled motor with the 996 911 model from 1998 onwards. The confusingly-named 997 followed in 2005, with this 911 series replaced by the 991 in 2012 and the 992 in 2019. Despite its 911 range now being comfortably outsold by other Porsche models, this mainstay of the Zuffenhausen manufacture looks set to stay for many years to come.

Ford Mustang, 1964 to present

Launched to great fanfare and excitement midway through 1964, the Ford Mustang coupe and convertible ‘pony car’ was a sensation from the sporting models were introduced, the sporty four-seater keenly priced to appeal to younger buyers, with over 400,000 examples sold within the first year of sales, with more than one million units sold within two years; a phenomenal success that even took Ford by surprise, and soon prompted a rash of pony car competitors from the other Detroit rivals (Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger, AMC Javelin, etc.).

Now six generations in, today’s Mustang reflects the values and spirit of the 1964 original, something that can’t be said for all Mustangs; the emasculated 1974-78 Mustang II and ‘fox’ bodied 1979-93 being particular low points. Such is the power and appeal today of the Mustang ‘brand’ that Ford is now name to add to its new E-Mach electric crossover SUV model for 2020 release.

Toyota Corolla, 1966 to present

As dependable as a washing machine, and just as tedious, Toyota hit on a winning formula when it introduced its first Corolla saloon in 1966. It went on to become the world’s best-selling passenger car name, with more 45 million examples sold over 12 generations since 1966. Practical, affordable, reliable and sensible, the Corolla has long appealed to family motorists who are not really car or driving enthusiasts, with comfort and dependability being more important than driving prowess or styling, albeit it with the occasional sporting coupe and hot hatch GTI derivative to tempt keener enthusiasts.

Jaguar XJ, 1968 to present

Widely acclaimed as one of the world’s finest motor cars when launched in 1968, the Jaguar XJ raised the bar in terms of refinement, comfort, driving pleasure and luxury, even if quality control could be a little hit-or-miss in the Leyland-era 1970s. Four basic generations later, the current XJ (launched a decade ago and rumoured to soon be replaced by a electric crossover!) finally broke away from the traditional conservative Jaguar style, a bold move that alienated some of the marque’s more straight-laced customers but, importantly, attracted a new breed of clientele to the Coventry brand.

And many more…

Other popular model names that have stood the test of time, but were first used post-1966, include the Suzuki Jimny (name first used in 1970), Honda Civic (since 1972), Volkswagen Passat (1973), Golf (1974) and Polo (1975), as well as the BMW 3 Series (1975) and the UK’s best-seller, the Ford Fiesta (launched in 1976).