Unpopular cars you have a soft spot for
Discussion
I once bought a 1998 Rover 420GSi as a stop-gap car for a couple of months, which I ended up keeping for 3 years and 110k until a dozy courier driver spectacularly rear-ended it.
Despite the grandad jibes, the Fisher Price dashboard and the comical levels of body roll in bends, it got under my skin. Never missed a beat, and I only ever bought oil, filters and tyres for it.
It was a surprisingly comfortable mile muncher, and once you got over the body roll, the handling was far, far better than anyone would have given it credit.
Despite the grandad jibes, the Fisher Price dashboard and the comical levels of body roll in bends, it got under my skin. Never missed a beat, and I only ever bought oil, filters and tyres for it.
It was a surprisingly comfortable mile muncher, and once you got over the body roll, the handling was far, far better than anyone would have given it credit.
FakeConcern said:
Both my cars are unpopular Citroens. A C4VTS and an XM V6
I miss my XM very much, and will agree that they were not a popular car (hence why I used to be able to buy them for next to no money)But in what way was the C4 an unpopular car? There are still hundreds on the roads around here, they must have sold tens of thousands of them nationwide.
lucido grigio said:
In it's homeland ,beside the Ligurian sea....
Best car I've owned ,I may have mentioned this before.
These were all LHD, right?
RushDom said:
lucido grigio said:
In it's homeland ,beside the Ligurian sea....
Best car I've owned ,I may have mentioned this before.
These were all LHD, right?
RushDom said:
There's a guy with one of these who parks up at my local gym with a "for sale" sign stuck in his window. A sort of teal blue colour...pretty rough looking condition on the outside, god knows how many miles it's done. Still looks gorgeous...really nice design that's stood the test of time. Much prettier than the 124, that's for sure!
These were all LHD, right?
Fiat didn't do any RHD but a handful have been converted,saw a very early RHD car at a show last month.These were all LHD, right?
Lexus GS. The current one, both pre and post facelift.
Definitely unpopular. The car journalists generally slated it and you never see them out on the roads.
It didn't have the best start in life. The head of Toyota said in an interview that he was actually embarrassed at revealing the car during the launch, because it was so dull. Apparently this was the car that made him realise that Toyota/Lexus had to stop doing half-arsed copies of Western designs and come up with their own bold, original and authentic design language. That was the starting point for the styling of everything that came after the GS, including the Gen4 Prius (which he literally sent back to the drawing board because the styling wasn't ambitious enough), Lexus NX/RX, C-HR etc.
They did facelift the GS to make it more exciting but it's still not great looking IMHO.
But the thing with the GS is, it's one of the very few mainstream cars on sale which is built to a high standard. I don't mean a few squishy plastics, I mean actually built properly. It's built like Mercedes cars used to be before the accountants took over. I have driven a few high mileage GS (60k - 80k miles) and they were like new. Not a single squeak or rattle. Everything working perfectly. Leather still looking good. Paintwork still pristine (I think it has something like 7 layers of paint before the clearcoat). And so quiet.
I really like it, and I like the fact that Toyota/Lexus spent money where it matters, under the skin, rather than just doing the minimum necessary to pass the superficial automotive journalist quality tests (listen to the door thunk, press the top of the dashboard, tap the centre console, and we're done). I think it's a car for people that appreciate good engineering. Sadly most people don't
Definitely unpopular. The car journalists generally slated it and you never see them out on the roads.
It didn't have the best start in life. The head of Toyota said in an interview that he was actually embarrassed at revealing the car during the launch, because it was so dull. Apparently this was the car that made him realise that Toyota/Lexus had to stop doing half-arsed copies of Western designs and come up with their own bold, original and authentic design language. That was the starting point for the styling of everything that came after the GS, including the Gen4 Prius (which he literally sent back to the drawing board because the styling wasn't ambitious enough), Lexus NX/RX, C-HR etc.
They did facelift the GS to make it more exciting but it's still not great looking IMHO.
But the thing with the GS is, it's one of the very few mainstream cars on sale which is built to a high standard. I don't mean a few squishy plastics, I mean actually built properly. It's built like Mercedes cars used to be before the accountants took over. I have driven a few high mileage GS (60k - 80k miles) and they were like new. Not a single squeak or rattle. Everything working perfectly. Leather still looking good. Paintwork still pristine (I think it has something like 7 layers of paint before the clearcoat). And so quiet.
I really like it, and I like the fact that Toyota/Lexus spent money where it matters, under the skin, rather than just doing the minimum necessary to pass the superficial automotive journalist quality tests (listen to the door thunk, press the top of the dashboard, tap the centre console, and we're done). I think it's a car for people that appreciate good engineering. Sadly most people don't
lucido grigio said:
RushDom said:
There's a guy with one of these who parks up at my local gym with a "for sale" sign stuck in his window. A sort of teal blue colour...pretty rough looking condition on the outside, god knows how many miles it's done. Still looks gorgeous...really nice design that's stood the test of time. Much prettier than the 124, that's for sure!
These were all LHD, right?
Fiat didn't do any RHD but a handful have been converted,saw a very early RHD car at a show last month.These were all LHD, right?
Your Barchetta looks like a non-metallic grey rather than silver in that photo. Looks nice.
awg454 said:
What can I say !
The nearest thing was the Avenger GT/Tiger as the Cortina had grown and so the Capri/ II was the competitor which was smaller inside, as was the Firenza.
Anyway, my nomination is unusual but these are not popular with the Corvette cognoscenti but I loved the C4
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On a more mundane level, this Punto - this Fiat has gone from great (first gen Punto) to shocking but this nailed it but never seemed to gain much popularity
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Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 12th September 19:38
boyse7en said:
I miss my XM very much, and will agree that they were not a popular car (hence why I used to be able to buy them for next to no money)
But in what way was the C4 an unpopular car? There are still hundreds on the roads around here, they must have sold tens of thousands of them nationwide.
Well I hardly ever see any C4s! There are only around 300 of the petrol VTS version like mine and about 600 diesels. Most people seem to have no idea what it is.But in what way was the C4 an unpopular car? There are still hundreds on the roads around here, they must have sold tens of thousands of them nationwide.
My XM is also a late model car, but with the early PRV V6 3ltr
AmitG said:
Lexus GS. The current one, both pre and post facelift.
Definitely unpopular. The car journalists generally slated it and you never see them out on the roads.
It didn't have the best start in life. The head of Toyota said in an interview that he was actually embarrassed at revealing the car during the launch, because it was so dull. Apparently this was the car that made him realise that Toyota/Lexus had to stop doing half-arsed copies of Western designs and come up with their own bold, original and authentic design language. That was the starting point for the styling of everything that came after the GS, including the Gen4 Prius (which he literally sent back to the drawing board because the styling wasn't ambitious enough), Lexus NX/RX, C-HR etc.
They did facelift the GS to make it more exciting but it's still not great looking IMHO.
But the thing with the GS is, it's one of the very few mainstream cars on sale which is built to a high standard. I don't mean a few squishy plastics, I mean actually built properly. It's built like Mercedes cars used to be before the accountants took over. I have driven a few high mileage GS (60k - 80k miles) and they were like new. Not a single squeak or rattle. Everything working perfectly. Leather still looking good. Paintwork still pristine (I think it has something like 7 layers of paint before the clearcoat). And so quiet.
I really like it, and I like the fact that Toyota/Lexus spent money where it matters, under the skin, rather than just doing the minimum necessary to pass the superficial automotive journalist quality tests (listen to the door thunk, press the top of the dashboard, tap the centre console, and we're done). I think it's a car for people that appreciate good engineering. Sadly most people don't
We had a Lexus ES (Same as a GS but electric hybrid, or so it seemed) as an Uber in Chicago 2 weeks ago.Definitely unpopular. The car journalists generally slated it and you never see them out on the roads.
It didn't have the best start in life. The head of Toyota said in an interview that he was actually embarrassed at revealing the car during the launch, because it was so dull. Apparently this was the car that made him realise that Toyota/Lexus had to stop doing half-arsed copies of Western designs and come up with their own bold, original and authentic design language. That was the starting point for the styling of everything that came after the GS, including the Gen4 Prius (which he literally sent back to the drawing board because the styling wasn't ambitious enough), Lexus NX/RX, C-HR etc.
They did facelift the GS to make it more exciting but it's still not great looking IMHO.
But the thing with the GS is, it's one of the very few mainstream cars on sale which is built to a high standard. I don't mean a few squishy plastics, I mean actually built properly. It's built like Mercedes cars used to be before the accountants took over. I have driven a few high mileage GS (60k - 80k miles) and they were like new. Not a single squeak or rattle. Everything working perfectly. Leather still looking good. Paintwork still pristine (I think it has something like 7 layers of paint before the clearcoat). And so quiet.
I really like it, and I like the fact that Toyota/Lexus spent money where it matters, under the skin, rather than just doing the minimum necessary to pass the superficial automotive journalist quality tests (listen to the door thunk, press the top of the dashboard, tap the centre console, and we're done). I think it's a car for people that appreciate good engineering. Sadly most people don't
Have to say, it was lovely as a ride from a passenger perspective. Great interior and very luxurious.
carinaman said:
lucido grigio said:
RushDom said:
There's a guy with one of these who parks up at my local gym with a "for sale" sign stuck in his window. A sort of teal blue colour...pretty rough looking condition on the outside, god knows how many miles it's done. Still looks gorgeous...really nice design that's stood the test of time. Much prettier than the 124, that's for sure!
These were all LHD, right?
Fiat didn't do any RHD but a handful have been converted,saw a very early RHD car at a show last month.These were all LHD, right?
Your Barchetta looks like a non-metallic grey rather than silver in that photo. Looks nice.
I've also heard of some cars being converted in Germany ,which seems a strange place to do it.
I bought mine from DTR btw and it was repainted before I got it .
Paint still looks good 5 years later apart from the scuffs I've put on it.
neil-935ql said:
The hillman imp , always liked the boxy shape of these , not a clue what they were like to drive/ own , can't be that many left
Certainly better than the Mini 1000, in terms of build quality and comfort so a reasonable alternative - and externally bigger with a "hatch" (lifting rear window).
The all-aluminium ohc engine was derived from a Coventry Climax fire pump engine which was light and far more advanced than the A-series used in the Mini.
LuS1fer said:
They were actually very good. Initially unreliable, they got better and while I used to take the p*ss because it was rear-engined, I eventually bought one, a 1973 car in a matt turd brown (before either were fashionable) and it was great to drive - light but direct unassisted, sharp steering and no hint of the engine being at the back save for the thrummy cabin (there again, the Mini was bloody deafening)
Certainly better than the Mini 1000, in terms of build quality and comfort so a reasonable alternative - and externally bigger with a "hatch" (lifting rear window).
The all-aluminium ohc engine was derived from a Coventry Climax fire pump engine which was light and far more advanced than the A-series used in the Mini.
Thanks for the info , I can remember thinking they were cool for having the rear engine , kind of a small 911 , umm maybe not but I was very young ! Cooler still was the mk2 escort rs2000 of the same era , these came in weird 70's colours also Certainly better than the Mini 1000, in terms of build quality and comfort so a reasonable alternative - and externally bigger with a "hatch" (lifting rear window).
The all-aluminium ohc engine was derived from a Coventry Climax fire pump engine which was light and far more advanced than the A-series used in the Mini.
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