New life for old brands, Bad breaks for small cars

Good day for zombie branding, Bad day for colliding interests

GOOD DAY FOR: Zombie branding, as liquidators are buying the names of bankrupt companies to ressurect for use on branded merchandise or for Web-only retailers. Two liquidators, Hilco and Gordon Brothers, have snapped up Sharper Image, Linens ‘n Things, and Bombay furniture, and have nibbled at Circuit City and Fortunoff. Brought-back-from-the-dead brands have mixed success. (The New York Times)

BAD DAY FOR: Colliding interests, after a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that small cars like the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Smart “fortwo” fared poorly in crash tests with larger, mid-sized sedans. “There are good reasons people buy mini cars,” said institute president Adrian Lund. “They’re more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests.” Honda, Toyota, and Smart said the crash tests represented scenarios unlikely to occur on the road. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

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