From cookies to cars, corporate takeovers redefine American products

Corporate takeovers can inexorably change companies. But they can also radically change well-known products. From cookies to cars and from coffee to newspapers, mergers have remade brands consumers have come to love, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

Stella D'Oro cookies, for instance, have fans all over, but some of its products were particularly popular in Jewish communities where many people follow religious dietary laws. But after being acquired by Kraft (KFT) in 2003, the recipe changed and the treats lost their kosher certification, making them off limits for some of their most devoted fans.