Under-appreciated Cars

[P F Tinmore]

Nice OP and most comments. GM has a history of bringing cars to market too quickly and then fixing them later. As result, a lot of ultimately good cars were doomed because of the bad reputations of their early models.

Indeed!

Corvair David Clemens at SCCA race Carolina Motorsports Park

A great "could have been" car.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

As an avid reader of car magazines, I usually have a Head's Up on most cars that are coming down the pike (the Challenger SRT Hellcat caught me by surprise), and over the years I have often thought that many manufacturers shoot themselves in the foot by introducing cars that do not have all of the disirable components on Day One, and they are rejected by the buying public even when they later come up to speed (so to speak).

Consider the lowly Fiero. A nice-looking, unique car that promised to be a cheap sports car and disappointed the buying public mightily with its Iron Duke POS 4. It wasn't until the last year of its existence that the suspension was upgraded and it could be properly optioned out (2.8L V6, stick shift), by which time it was THE CAR THAT GM HAD PROMISED SEVERAL YEARS EARLIER! But by that time they had decided to drop the car in favor of a new minivan. 1988 Fiero GT's remain a nice choice for an inexpensive "classic" sporty car.

The Chrysler Pacifica was one of the best progeny of the M-B/Chrysler shotgun wedding, but there was no reason to buy one until the 4L V6 came along in 2007, by which time the public had already concluded that it was an expensive, slow, vannish-looking sort of not-really-an-SUV. But with that V6 and the shiftable 6speed trans, and some of the other forward-looking options it had (backup camera, integral nav centered on driver's instruments) it was a good competitor to the Murano and other cars that were eating its lunch in the marketplace.

Even the much-maligned Cadillac Cimarron was a decent car in its last year of production, outfitted with proper tires, the 2.8L V6 and a 5-speed trans. It was a comfortable car with lots of goodies, and by the end it was a nice car to own. If it had had those options available from day 1, there would not have been so much whining about the shared chassis and appearance with the Chevy Cavalier.

The late 80's-ear;y 90's Chrysler LeBaron coupe (or convertible) could be a pretty nifty car when outfitted properly, but it was completely off the radar screen of most enthusiasts. The VNY Turbo coupes came with a Getrag 5-speed, lots of performance hardware, and a turbocharged 2.2 that had more than 220 ft-lps of torque - very powerful for that time. Much fun to drive - and drive hard.

From Dearborn, the Ford Contour was a hell of a car in its SVT formulation. Car & Driver called it the best handling front driver they had ever tested. (For some reason however, the HiPo V6's did not hold up). It was available at a very reasonable cost, and with a stick shift the dealers couldn't give them away.

As a Cheap Bastard, I have made it my life's hobby to buy some of these "sleepers" very cheaply, used, and enjoy the hell out of them.

The Cadillac cimmaron was never, ever a "decent" car, let alone a good car. It was the very definition of a POS

 

[ninja007]

Grand National. Marauder. Taurus SHO.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The Grand National is hardly "under-appreciated". The Taurus SHO was OK...the biggest problem being, it was a TAURUS. The Marauder was a good concept with bad execution. (Offhand, it would get dusted by a V6 Accord.)

 

[Coloradomtnman]

Datsun B210.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Datsun B210.

Now you're not even trying LOL

 

[Manonthestreet]

Feel that rich Corinthian Leather

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Feel that rich Corinthian Leather

man, let me help yall out

^ almost the equal of a contemporary Porsche Boxster in terms of looks and performance (base model here guys)

Look at this perfect driving set up

And you can buy one today for $9K. compared to $20K for a similar era Boxster

0-60 6.8seconds 1/4 mile 15 seconds flat. 30 MPG and those looks? Sheesh, I'm wanting one now. LOL

 

[shart_attack]

The Grand National is hardly "under-appreciated". The Taurus SHO was OK...the biggest problem being, it was a TAURUS. The Marauder was a good concept with bad execution. (Offhand, it would get dusted by a V6 Accord.)

Now's one of those times when we really need the redex resurrected.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The Grand National is hardly "under-appreciated". The Taurus SHO was OK...the biggest problem being, it was a TAURUS. The Marauder was a good concept with bad execution. (Offhand, it would get dusted by a V6 Accord.)

Now's one of those times when we really need the redex resurrected.

Are you baked?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Feel that rich Corinthian Leather

I saw one of those a few years ago on the Power Tour...light blue with dark-blue strobe stripes, black grille and bumpers, and blacked-out Radar wheels-it was done beautifully. (And it hauled ass! Dude ran 12.90's-street radials and full exhaust including catalytic converters-in 85-degree heat at Topeka.) Under the sheetmetal, that is the exact same running gear as a Charger or GTX.