Lamborghini Gallardo
What do Chrysler and Lamborghini have in common? Well, Lamborghini was owned by the Chrysler Corporation from 1987 to 1994 when Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V’Power Corporation acquired the company. At the time, Lamborghini had catastrophic sales numbers and the company eventually went to Volkswagen Group, which put them under the Audi wing. That turned out to be just the right decision because the Germans finally knew what to do to save the legendary Italian brand (via Road and Track).
Apart from continuing to develop the flagship Murcielago, Audi found a way to make the company profitable while maintaining its appeal. The savior came in the form of the Gallardo, a V10-powered coupé and roadster launched in 2003. This fantastic compact Lamborghini was precisely what the company needed, and 933 units were sold in the first year alone when there was just the coupe available. In 2013, the Gallardo was replaced by the Huracan. With 14,022 sold examples in 10 years, the Gallardo is by far the best-selling Lamborghini of all time. Apart from being the best non-flagship car the company has ever created. It will go down in history as the car that actually saved the company from collapse.