Axon's Automotive Anorak: Sierra Navada – it's all in a name

Renault used the name Nevada for the estate version of its late 1980s 21 model in none-English-speaking markets (the derivative being known as the 21 Savanna in the UK, due to the western American state of Nevada owning the rights to the name), with the Sierra moniker proving to be both a popular and occasionally contentious one for the world’s motor industry.

After not being used globally for a while, the Sierra name has just returned to the back of an automobile, being attached to Suzuki’s much anticipated all-new entry 4x4 SUV, the 2018 Jimny Sierra. The Sierra tag has been used for many years by Suzuki with its smaller 4x4 models being sold under this badge in various markets, such as Australia, for more than 30 years, from the 1980s SJ ‘Jimny’ models onwards.

Decades ahead of Suzuki using the Sierra name, General Motors’ commercial vehicle-focused North America brand – GMC – first used the name over half-a-century ago for its badge-engineered version of the strong-selling 1967-onwards Chevrolet C/K pick-up truck range. The Sierra is still available today as GMC’s mainstream light-to-heavy duty pick-up truck, powered by a 6.2-litre V8 engine.

One-time niche Swiss luxury car maker, Monteverdi, was next to use the Sierra name in 1977 for its boutique, rebodied and more fuel-crisis-friendly mid-size saloon range, based around the American semi-compact Plymouth Volare/Dodge Aspen 5.2-litre V8 ‘economy’ models.

In late 1978 Britain’s most prolific kit car maker Tim Dutton previewed his latest pioneering self-assembly kit, called Sierra and loosely inspired by the tough-looking Matra Rancho; a practical family ‘cross-over’ with a raised rear roof section, and styled by the gifted automotive designer Richard Oakes.

The Dutton Sierra proved to be an instant hit. Based around the running gear of an old and tired Ford Escort Mark I and II (cleverly using the Mark I doors), the Sierra sold in considerable number by kit car standards, the model becoming a regular sight on UK roads by the 1980s.

All was good in Tim Dutton’s world, with his Sierra and more basic Phaeton two-seater sports car kits selling very well thank you, until Ford announced that its replacement for its best-selling Cortina/Taunus model would be given a new name… The model name Ford choose was Sierra!

This suddenly created a big problem for the West Sussex kit car maker, as outrageously, Ford served a legal writ against Dutton in 1982 when it was launching its own new Sierra, insisting that Tim Dutton immediately stopped using the Sierra name and destroyed all marketing materials, etc., relating to the model.

Ford’s astonishing behaviour against Dutton (which had already been using the Sierra name for five years since 1978) went to the High Court in London, turning into a real David versus Goliath case, the public’s sympathies lying with the kit car maker, egged on by much high-profile media coverage, which actually worked in Dutton’s favour, helping to build awareness for his ‘brand’ and actually sell more Sierra kit cars! 

Thankfully, the underdogs won for once, with High Court ruling in Dutton’s favour, stating kit cars were separate from mainstream products as produced by Ford, with the GRP self-build car unlikely to be confused with Ford’s new ‘jelly mould’ Sierra fleet and family car. Dutton continued to successfully sell the Sierra kit until production ceased in 1989.  Ford itself continued building its own Sierra until 1993, went the model was superseded by the Mondeo, the name it has since stuck to for its D segment family car.

The Indian automotive giant Tata later got in on the Sierra name game when it introduced its not unpleasant three-door Sierra SUV in 1991, the leisure vehicle proving popular in its home market until sales ceased in 2000.

Whether Ford (or any other vehicle manufacturer beyond Suzuki) will re-introduce the Sierra name remains to be seen. After all, Ford is not averse to reviving old model names, Escort first being used, for example, in 1955-61 for the estate version of the side-valve Popular/Anglia 100E series, before being re-introduced fifty years ago for the 1968 Escort, the name living on until replaced by the Focus in 2004. More recently, from 2015 Ford is reusing the Escort name once again for its mid-size saloon sold in China and Taiwan.

Car companies scrabbling over model names is not unique to Ford and Dutton of course. In the early 1960s Peugeot famously stopped Porsche calling its new rear-engined 356 replacement the 901, despite the model being launched and badged as such at the 1964 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show.

Peugeot owns the exclusive model naming rights to any three-digit numeric with an ‘0’ (zero) in the middle (e.g. 104, 205, 306, etc.), thus forcing Porsche to re-name the 901 the 911 we all know today. Peugeot did generously give special dispensation however to the exclusive English luxury car maker Bristol to use a zero in the middle of its model designations (401, 406, etc.), the Bristol 403 event using Peugeot’s ‘403’ badge on its lower front wing panels. It also turned a blind eye to the Ferrari 308 as well!

More recently, Audi prevented Volvo from naming the S40 model, as we now know it, the S4 as planned, to avoid any confusion with Audi’s performance A4 model, and Porsche ‘did a Peugeot’ on Aston Martin by stopping the British sport car maker using the GT3 designation for one of its special low-volume road-going performance Vantage GT3.

Now, now children, play nicely…!