Which Brand has risen the most?

[Lord Tyrion]

In order to balance the universe and have some positivity, let's have some upbeat stories.

Can anyone top Skoda? Appalling reputation in the 70's and 80's, transformed in the 90's and beyond. Now they are very respected, total redemption.

 

[Blue in Munich]

In order to balance the universe and have some positivity, let's have some upbeat stories.

Can anyone top Skoda? Appalling reputation in the 70's and 80's, transformed in the 90's and beyond. Now they are very respected, total redemption.

Sorry, what appalling reputation? They may have had an appalling image amongst the snobby British motorist, but as the husband of a former owner, we have no issues with them; reliable, easy to work on when necessary (which wasn't often), perfect utilitarian transport for the country of manufacture. Might not have had many bells and whistles, but they certainly didn't have an appalling reputation that we were aware of.

 

[Deleted member 21784]

In order to balance the universe and have some positivity, let's have some upbeat stories.

Can anyone top Skoda? Appalling reputation in the 70's and 80's, transformed in the 90's and beyond. Now they are very respected, total redemption.

Id say both Skoda and seat for being part of the VW group have done fantastically well out of it. Both make good cars now.

My Alhambra is a vw Sharan with a diff badge. Litterally , even the parts in the engine are stamped VW. Saved me a few ££££ when I got it. More features aswell. Does make it weird that VW won't touch it for certain work (when I wanted car play activated my local vw wouldn't do it so had to go 30 miles to seat but there you go)

Golf wise I'd say cobra woods since the f9

 

[Deleted member 21784]

Sorry, what appalling reputation? They may have had an appalling image amongst the snobby British motorist, but as the husband of a former owner, we have no issues with them; reliable, easy to work on when necessary (which wasn't often), perfect utilitarian transport for the country of manufacture. Might not have had many bells and whistles, but they certainly didn't have an appalling reputation that we were aware of.

https://www.gocarwarranty.co.uk/news/how-skoda-changed-their-reputation/334224

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Sorry, what appalling reputation? They may have had an appalling image amongst the snobby British motorist, but as the husband of a former owner, we have no issues with them. reliable, easy to work on when necessary (which wasn't often), perfect utilitarian transport for the country of manufacture. Might not have had many bells and whistles, but they certainly didn't have an appalling reputation that we were aware of.

They were crude and basic and brand image was poor. How many skoda gags were out there? It doesn't mean that there were not positives but the difference in brand image between then and now is huge.

 

[theoneandonly]

Apple.
End of thread.

 

[Deleted member 18645]

Jenson Button was in a practice session for a grand prix about a decade ago and came up behind one of the Caterhams and was quoted as saying "sorry I got stuck behind one of the Skodas".
Jasper Carrott had a lot to do with the reputation of Skoda and Volvos in the 70s and 80s.

 

[Robster59]

Tesla have done pretty well for themselves.

 

[Jimaroid]

I don't think anything beats the Big Five: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft.

They've all come from nothing to near total domination of our lives in a few decades. Yes they've all had and have many issues but the combined success of them and their brands is undeniable.

 

[phillarrow]

In order to balance the universe and have some positivity, let's have some upbeat stories.

Can anyone top Skoda? Appalling reputation in the 70's and 80's, transformed in the 90's and beyond. Now they are very respected, total redemption.

I think you've nailed it with skoda. ?
I've had four new Skodas over the years and I'm that time the response from others has changed from comments like... "Skoda? Why didn't you just buy a second hand version of a better car?"
to things like... "Great cars Skodas, amazing value for money."

 

[Old Colner]

Under Armour? A relative newcomer and now one of sports wears leading brands, as was Nike before it.

 

[phillarrow]

Not in the same level but it's strange seeing hiking/climbing/outdoors brands that were once niche and high end become so mainstream that they end up being shunned by their original market. Brands like The North Face, Berghaus, even Helly Hansen to some degree have almost become too mainstream to be taken seriously by outdoor enthusiasts.

 

[SteveW86]

I don't think anything beats the Big Five: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft.

They've all come from nothing to near total domination of our lives in a few decades. Yes they've all had and have many issues but the combined success of them and their brands is undeniable.

Did any of those brands ever have a bad reputation?

 

[Foxholer]

Sorry, what appalling reputation? They may have had an appalling image amongst the snobby British motorist, but as the husband of a former owner, we have no issues with them; reliable, easy to work on when necessary (which wasn't often), perfect utilitarian transport for the country of manufacture. Might not have had many bells and whistles, but they certainly didn't have an appalling reputation that we were aware of.

Back in the late 80's/early 90's the New Zeland Dairy Board (the company my wife worked for at the time) did a deal with the Czechs for Dairy products. As part of that deal, NZDB used Skodas as their 'fleet'. They (Czech copies of Fiat style) were apparently horrendous - with bits frequently falling off, windows/doors not closing properly and general poor construction. That 'quality' was already pretty well known anyway, but awareness was heightened by the many stories she brought home.

Quality dramatically improved after VW took them over.

 

[Jimaroid]

Did any of those brands ever have a bad reputation?

Apple were pretty terrible for a long period, they almost went bankrupt making absolute crap in the mid 90's.
Microsoft had an appalling reputation and were successfully sued by the US government under anti-trust laws in the late 90's.

Google, Facebook and Amazon all started with a good reputation based on innovation which then dipped due to various underhand practices but are clawing it back through policy reversal. Out of them all at the moment I'd say Amazon probably have the worst reputation based on labour practices alone. But the strength of their brands is still incredibly high despite all the issues, can't say I like them much but they have risen like no others.

 

[Old Colner]

Did any of those brands ever have a bad reputation?

Didn't realise it was part of the criteria, certainly wasn't stipulated in the OP.

 

[GB72]

I will take your Skoda and raise you KIA. Another brand churning out cheap, basic cars (I had to drive an old Kia Rio as a garage loaner for a day, awful) but now pretty respected and commanding prices on par with Ford etc.

 

[SteveW86]

Didn't realise it was part of the criteria, certainly wasn't stipulated in the OP.

I took the thread as an opposite of the fallen from grace thread, so turning a bad reputation around.

The question was more out of curiosity, I was born in 86 so wasn’t really aware of Apple/Microsoft in their early days. My knowledge of Apple only really started with the IPod and phone so has been positive.

 

[Foxholer]

Apple were pretty terrible for a long period, they almost went bankrupt making absolute crap in the mid 90's.
Microsoft had an appalling reputation and were successfully sued by the US government under anti-trust laws in the late 90's.
...

Those 2 situations were actually somewhat/rather interlinked.
Though Apple's apathy was certainly a contributor.

 

[Beezerk]

Man City ?