HELP! what's an "ORFAN" ???

[Guest]

anyone know what an "ORFAN" is?? supposed to be a line of cars that has been discontinued and since become a classic.......i'm no motorhead, and i need HELP!!!

[Guest BruceW]

To my knowledge you are partially correct. As I know the term, orphan cars are cars of which the maker is no longer in business. These include cars such as Studebaker, Nash, Packard, and a nimber of others. Be careful refering to all orphan cars as classics though. Some people will get an ulcer if you call a Nash Rambler a "classic".

[rocketraider]

Or, in the case of recently departed Plymouth and Oldsmobile, the mfg is still in binness but has its head too far up its corporate arse to realise it cut the wrong division...

[Guest Skyking]

Bruce,how fast we forget, a Nash Rambler was a "Classic"

[Dave@Moon]

Here's a question:

AMC became an "orphan make" when it was bought out by Chrysler, even though many of it's products continued on for years afterwards (In fact, if you look at some Jeep products even today you can find a 1968 AMC door handle design that is <span style="font-style: italic">still</span> in use!)

Kaiser-Willys bought out by AMC, ditto.

Willys bought out by Kaiser, ditto.

O.K., now Chrysler has been purchased by Mercedes-Benz. Some of the old Chrysler products remain in production, but not Plymouth. Does this make Plymouth technically an orphan?