Can The Right Halo Car Redefine A Brand?

Journalists and carmakers love to toss around the term halo car. But what the heck is it really? Do we even know?

The halo car is often described as a figurehead for a brand, a car that may sell in smaller volumes but that captures the public imagination. Traditionally halo numbers have been sexy sports cars. Think Mustang, Miata, 911, WRX, or M3. But a halo car is really how a brand says, “This is what we’re all about.” If any car is the public face of Toyota these days, it’s the Prius—not quite a halo car in the same league as the others.

A halo car is more than a symbol, though. It’s a way to draw fresh eyes to a brand—especially the younger eyes that automakers are struggling so mightily to attract in large numbers these days. Do today’s Mustang sales lead to future Explorer sales when a Mustang buyer starts to have kids? It certainly can’t hurt. I’d wager, too, that the once-quirky Subaru is thrilled to have the new BRZ in addition to the WRX, because the two cars together suck in young male buyers. Give those same 20-something males a half-decade and they’ll be back at the dealer with a bundle of joy in one hand and keys to a safe, reliable, boring Outback in the other.
Read Article

GermanNut - 12/11/2012 2:29:50 PM

+3 Boost

This article is silly. Just because most buyers can't afford an Audi R8 doesn't mean the R8 should be labeled "a mystery machine" or "more a thing of awe than a car most folks can relate to. "

If these idiots had a clue they would know it was the R8 that first introduced the world to the sexy LED headlights seen in Ironman.

Now, buyers of the entire Audi lineup of vehicles can enjoy the novelty of LED headlights too.

Audi has used its "halo" R8 to bring some of its unique design elements such as LED headlights, and tail lights to the rest of the Audi lineup.

enthusiastx11 - 12/11/2012 2:44:11 PM

+3 Boost

yes, if the core qualities of the halo car show up in lesser models. in the case of the LFA, no. it's a ferrari-fighter in a brand that's full of buick-fighters. incongruent.

vdiv - 12/12/2012 11:15:00 AM

+1 Boost

Right on! Unfortunately that rarely happens.

PUGPROUD - 12/11/2012 3:35:20 PM

+1 Boost

Lexus is in transitiopn and giving out mixed messages. Attemting to build better performing cars.

enthusiastx11 - 12/11/2012 7:34:41 PM

+3 Boost

they've been promising that for years and years...and they keep failing to deliver. take the 'all-new' 2014 IS which will replace the 9-year old IS. it's going to have the SAME engines as the 2006 model. lexus doesn't put their money where their mouth is.

dlin - 12/11/2012 3:38:37 PM

+2 Boost

There's no denying fact that Lexus doesn't really overlap with buick other than in ES or RX model. Yes there's a big gap between LFA and other current product lines, but everything takes time. Take one for instance, you can easily see design clues, both exterior and interior, starts to show up in newer models. Another effect that's less immediate and explicit is the transformation of company culture. LFA could excite passion within engineers, which will eventually show up in the product. I believe that's what the CEO is trying to do.

USNA1999 - 12/11/2012 6:23:23 PM

+1 Boost

I think the LFA has done wonders for the LEXUS brand. The problem is that their two volume sales leaders (ES & RX) are targeted towards the same people BUICK aims for therefore they cannot go towards the "sporty" image since they risk to lose these sales. Sad but true, this is were they make the most profit.

iamdabest1 - 12/12/2012 8:31:30 AM

+1 Boost

Volkswagen tried with the phaeton but i still think their halo car is a golf, sometimes its not about price, but what the car does in a specific segment...