Not your average box - stand out cars

[Crockefeller]

Which cars over the last 20 or 30 years can we look back on as being a little bit special? Not one offs, or special versions of a normal model. Cars which may fit into one of these categories (probably other criteria you can think of):

- Solved an old problem in a new way
- Were ahead of their time (maybe they still are)
- Sold for less than they cost to produce
- "Clean sheet" designs or over engineered
- Flopped but could have been a success under different circumstances

Hopefully you get the idea...

Cars that spring to mind for me are:

[Passeyfier]

I'd vouch for the original Focus. In theory, nothing special but it really benefited the medium-sized hatchback sector and was a huge improvement over the ageing Escort.

[JRH1]

Audi A2 perhaps? And the original Honda Insight. Both very innovative cars even today, let alone over a decade ago when they were launched. I honestly think that with a few very minor tweaks, the A2 could be release in its original form an nobody would question it. It's already more modern/better looking than the A1!

[ModernAndy]

The Vauxhall Zafira upped the 7-seater market quite successfully but it's not a particularly exciting car. The Smart Car obviously. The Toyota RAV-4 was one of these cars that started (or was at least around at the start of) the soft-roader revolution and now the cross-over Qashqai's and the like are an evolution of this.

[TREMAiNE]

[Crockefeller]

Good suggestions, love the Avantime!

[TREMAiNE]

Crockefeller said:

love the Avantime!

Same here! I think its a fantastic car, shame it never really sold well! Love how they tried to add a bit of fun into a people carrier!

[Matt UK]

Original Merc A-class
Mk1 MX-5
Renault Scenic 7-seater
Pretty much every generation of Merc S Class

[mike9009]

Audi A2

[Krikkit]

Surely the original Mini is a contender, with its novel layout, space-saving focus and mass-market appeal.


This must have a place for innovative thinking (for the time!):


As must this:

[ModernAndy]

TREMAiNE said:

Crockefeller said:

love the Avantime!

Same here! I think its a fantastic car, shame it never really sold well! Love how they tried to add a bit of fun into a people carrier!

I have a soft spot for the Avantime but I reckon the reason it never sold was it was far too big and ungainly for a sporty car, too small inside to be practical and priced to match desirable premium cars (which was far too high given the former points). Just saying it's not a great surprise there aren't many about.

[300bhp/ton]

Crockefeller said:

- Solved an old problem in a new way
- Were ahead of their time (maybe they still are)
- Sold for less than they cost to produce
- "Clean sheet" designs or over engineered
- Flopped but could have been a success under different circumstances

I really like the NSX, but which category did you have in mind for it? For the UK market (maybe world market) the only one that seems to fit is "Flopped but could have been a success under different circumstances"


For me I guess some of these maybe:


Showed that small cars could be cool and desirable again. A fashion icon and as classless, but somehow classy as the original.



A modern "proper" 4x4. That manages to meet all current type approval standards.


Reinventing the whole city car ethos.



Sadly down as the flop, but I have no idea why there aren't more of these. Surely it has to be the perfect definition of any petrol heads perfect car!!! Wonderful thing that I'd love to own one day.

[TREMAiNE]

Krikkit said:

As must this:

How did I not post this! My favourite car of all time after all!

[300bhp/ton]

Krikkit said:

Surely the original Mini is a contender, with its novel layout, space-saving focus and mass-market appeal.


This must have a place for innovative thinking (for the time!):


As must this:

lol

Crockefeller said:

Which cars over the last 20 or 30 years....

[TREMAiNE]

Not this particular model but the S class in general deserves a spot on this thread!

[Crockefeller]

Krikkit posted some belters had I started this thread in 1989

"last 20 or 30 years"

[Krikkit]

300bhp/ton said:

lol

Crockefeller said:

Which cars over the last 20 or 30 years....

Oops.

[300bhp/ton]

For every PH'er and small child alike, this car should have an honoured place.




At a time of down sizing in general and talk of emissions and fuel economy and from a company struggling financially they offered the world this 8.0 litre V10 beasty!!!!!

It should be looked back on with astonishment at the sheer audacity of even dreaming it up, let alone building it

[Crockefeller]

NSX included as a flop. If the badge had been different the results would have been on another level I suspect. Maybe it also showed reliability was possible in such a car and gave other manufacturers something to think about?

[Matt UK]

TREMAiNE said:

Crockefeller said:

love the Avantime!

Same here! I think its a fantastic car, shame it never really sold well! Love how they tried to add a bit of fun into a people carrier!

I think the issue was that it had the size of a people carrier but could only carry 4 people and the impracticality of a coupe with stunningly un-slinky bodywork.

Not saying I don't like it though!

I always liked to think that it was a corporate decision signed off not in a boardroom with lots of middle-aged suited folk who had been presenting, understanding social / demographonc trend, analysing data and insight, scenario-planning, arguing, finacially evaluating down to incredible detail for the past 20 hours without so much as a pee-break (no, far too Germanic)

But that a handful of top Renault men staggered out of a Parisian burlesque bar at 2.30am with their ties hanging very low indeed. It was mentioned in slurred tones as something they really should have talked about but forgot about by the 5th bottle of wine, and the head honcho turns to say "yup, it sounds fking splendid, you get going on it, we'll make billions of 'em" before disappearing his thoughts back into the cleavage of the 23 year old mademoiselle he'd met an hour ago. They were all then sacked within 12 months.