Inside the Unusual Lawsuit That Landed a Chevy Beretta at Beretta’s Headquarters

In the late ’80s, Car and Driver magazine dazzled its readers with sleek cars on its covers. For example, the October 1988 issue featured a vibrant yellow C4 Corvette ZR-1 with flames and a catchy headline, “The Corvette From Hell!” Fast forward, and these C4 Corvette ZR-1s are pretty affordable now but still turn heads. Just a month later, the cover showcased a new Lamborghini Countach, a dream car for many. Then came February 1989, which unexpectedly featured a Buick Reatta alongside a quirky avocado character named Otis. It wasn’t the most exciting artistic choice, but the real surprise was an article comparing a Chevrolet Beretta to the Beretta 92—a well-known firearm.

This unusual pairing raised eyebrows. It’s odd to think a gun manufacturer would care about a car named after its brand. Yet, Beretta, the Italian arms manufacturer, was not pleased. They owned the trademark for “Beretta” in the U.S. since 1954. Having operated for over 500 years, Beretta wanted to protect its name fiercely. As a result, the company took General Motors (GM) to court, sparking a fascinating legal feud over branding.

In July 1988, Beretta filed a federal lawsuit against GM for a staggering $250 million, arguing that their name was used without permission. This sum, adjusting for today’s inflation, would be nearly $685 million! At the time, GM had already received several warnings about the name’s use shortly after the Beretta’s 1987 debut but apparently ignored them. Eventually, GM had to face the music. Knowing this was serious, they opened discussions with Beretta to find a solution.

The outcome was surprisingly amicable. GM agreed to donate half a million dollars to the Beretta Foundation for cancer research. The Chevrolet Beretta got to keep its name, but future catalogs had to acknowledge Beretta’s permission. In a gesture of goodwill, each company exchanged gifts: Beretta gave GM a shotgun and a rifle, while GM presented a custom Chevy Beretta, now displayed in Beretta’s Tennessee headquarters.

In terms of performance, the Beretta car started strong, even serving as a pace car at the Indy 500. In its peak, GM produced over 275,000 units in 1988, but interest waned quickly. By 1996, the car had ended production, with numbers dipping below 100,000 annually. Today, finding a well-maintained Beretta is rare, and they aren’t seen as collector’s items.

In contrast, the Beretta 92 handgun continues to thrive. It’s a favorite in movies and games and remains in production. The Beretta 93R, a rarer model with a burst feature, gained fame as RoboCop’s weapon of choice. Interestingly, had GM misspelled the car’s name like “Baretta,” they might have escaped the lawsuit, but that name already belonged to a TV show starring actor Robert Blake.

This quirky legal battle not only shows the lengths companies will go to protect their names but also illustrates how brand identity can lead to unexpected twists. It’s a classic example of how industries can intersect in bizarre and memorable ways.

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