The Triumph marque is not a "quality" marque. The cars have always been
cheapo little everyman type cars. Nothing fancy, certainly nothing
expensive. Reviving the Triumph name could only improve it's "standing",
not lower it. I dearly love my Spitfire and wouldn't get rid of it for the
world and I wouldn't mind one bit if Kia slapped Triumph badges on their
sephia model and called it a "revival" of a classic standard: the cheap
import. That's why Spits sold so well across the pond. They were dirt
cheap. Heck, let's slap the Hillman Imp badge on some of those Hyundai
shit-boxes. It would be appropriate, and an improvement to the marque
lineage.
In the 90's, the Triumph name has very little portability. Most people
vaguely remember something about making motorcycles and a lot are surprised
that they made cars at all. I fail to see how a new car maker would even
consider naming something a Triumph, when it is a mostly forgotten marque
in the grand scheme of things. Sorry, but the truth hurts. When people on
the street see my spit, they immediately tell me that it is a great looking
car, then they ask me what kind of car it is. It's like they never heard
of it, nor have they ever seen one before. But it really impresses them.
Triumph really lives in the hearts of the owners. To the rest of the
world, it's just another cute car coming down the road.
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