What’s a car that had so much potential, but was underwhelming or let down in a certain area?
I had a 6mt that had the engine breathed on by Spoon. It was a riot in the bends. I still think they should’ve come with a K20 from the factory instead of being a single jingle hybrid. I also had an aftermarket sunroof in mine, that should’ve also been a factory option, without it the car feels claustrophobic
One of my biggest regerts in life was passing on a Red 6MT Cr-Z. I test drove it and immediately knew it was awesome and I would have enjoyed it as a daily. I forgot why I didn't buy it, maybe the impracticality of no back seat?
Or the horrible blind spots. The C pillar on that car is so thick it makes it hard to see out the back/side
makes reverse parking a more challenging task (not undoable though). plus the split rear window blocks your view of cars that are more than about 4 car-lengths back in the central mirror. again, not the end of the world, you just learn to mostly rely on wing mirrors
Double din and a decent multi angle camera could solve those issues.
UK market cars got parking sensors as standard, but mine don't work 🙃
blind spot is horrendous, luckily there is a camera on the right mirror, the left mirror has a part that reflects the blind spot
Were those later additions? I had a 2011 and it didn’t have either of those things
I had one that was dubbed “the blindspot” by the mechanics at the garage where I took it for maintenance. It wasn’t a terrible car and I liked it, but it was definitely a sport hybrid that wasn’t fast and only got moderate mpg.
Regerts
The CR-Z's problem was that it was more of a spiritual sucessor to the first-gen Insight than for the sporty CR-X of the '80s and early '90s, and people were expecting the latter because of the name.
But it wasn’t enough of an Insight successor, nor enough of a cr-x successor. Two compromised between its two inspirations.
right
the kicker for me was that at the time I could get a barely used SI for the same money...not that much worse gas mileage for a useable amount of space and a ton more HP, plus the glorious K24 over a hybrid of questionable longevity.
time's show that they've held up, at least. battery/motor failure isn't common yet
Every time I looked one up when searching for a new car, the disappointing gas mileage and poor acceleration would drive me away. Not enough of anything for almost anyone and everyone
yeah, a design more reminiscent of CRX would have made for more sales
The design was reminiscent of the CRX. The name was clearly meant to be a successor. CRX to CRZ. They skipped over CRY, which is what people did when they saw the engine. It was fine to offer the hybrid. But the CRX came in HF and SI trims. The CRZ should have had one model for economy and another model for speed and fun. The car would have been a success. Also, the AC would shut down to save gas when the car was stopped in traffic. It made it difficult in downtown gridlock commutes.
I have one. Great car. Just needs a bit more power
Owned one for 3 years. It was a lot of fun around town and on long drives, but the main weakness was windy mountain roads with long steady uphills. At the slightest sign of a struggle, the hybrid system would put full electric assistance to the wheels until the small li-ion battery was depleted, then it would continuously starve the engine of power to charge the battery until it had just enough juice to use up again, repeating in a vicious cycle. This meant in these conditions, it always felt like it only had half the horsepower, and got noticeably worse mpg than a non hybrid 4cyl would.
If there was a switch to manually turn off the electric assistance it would be a great car. Fwiw I sold it for a first gen Leaf 7 years ago, which felt like an upgrade in all aspects besides range and cool factor. Sold that for a Bolt, and driving a Model 3 now. I can credit the CRZ for helping me switch to full electric - I know not all hybrids are the same tech but never again, it was the worst of both worlds.
It definitely didn’t have the same interior space of the OG CRX. I’m 6’5”, but the CRX actually felt roomy in terms of leg and head space. The teardrop shape achieved this in much the way a 911 would. When I checked out the CRZ I was just not impressed and it felt cramped.
Bought one a few months back. I fucking love this car
Love my CRZ. It does exactly what I need from it. It reliably gets me and my fiance around town with decent storage space and mileage. It has good enough pep to not feel dangerous on the highways. For everything else, I have my R56 S Mini and can rent a truck from Home Depot for $20/hour if needed.
I love my CRZ. People complaining about the blind spots never drove a CRX I guess. It's does also come with a back up cam.
I often think about the Kia Stinger. It could have pulled the whole price curve down, offering a compelling large sports car that performed well in the pack with Audi and BMW but instead they priced it like it WAS an Audi and nobody is going to pay that for a Kia, no matter how nice.
They jumped straight to the long-term goal (elevating the Kia brand) without doing the work in the middle to actually earn it.
Good call. Every time I see one I’m like “huh!” And then I think, “…Nah.”
Having had a few rwd sedans, this was interesting to me. The price did kinda kill that thought. It wasn't really bad, just higher than what the brand could justify
The dealers treating it as if it were a Ferrari Enzo are what killed it & why they didn’t sell as well as they’d hoped
The problem was that the stinger was a big car with decent materials, but the quality and reliability were about on par for anything else Hyundai ever put out.
They made everything standard at the end to raise the price but it came out GT for under 40k and an S4 was over 50.
Oh the CR-Z. You look good, but you were neither sporty enough nor practical enough.
I feel something that really hurt the car is that US cars didn't have a back seat. I forget the specifics but there is a height requirement of glass compared to the seating position of rear occupants, and the CR-Z's low slung glass exceeded the requirements. This meant that instead of being a 2+2 like the Japanese version you got a two seat car with extremely large cubbies for storage.
The lack of sportiness could have been forgiven had the car came with a usable back seat. At the least you could argue some practicality even if no adult could realistically fit back there.
That's kind of my thing about this car. You need to at least be sporty or practical. It would be cool to be both, but you need at least one. It wasn't cheap and sporty like the CR-X. Losing those rear seats took some of its practicality away. It wasn't that fuel efficient for a hybrid. It was a little too expensive. It just felt compromised in both and everyone felt it.
Ford Maverick. I absolutely love the idea of it, but between the artificially limited supply to drive cost up, the hybrid drivetrain being fwd only, and only offering it as a double cab with tiny bed. It really seems like they took a fantastic idea and just shot themselves in the foot with it, and then did it again, and again. (And they're still selling a good amount too, just imagine what it could've been)
Basically all I'm saying is I want a single cab, $24k, AWD, 6.5ft bed, 40mpg utility vehicle and they were so close yet so far to delivering that
Then they wouldn’t be able to sell f-150’s for 90k.
They deliberately made sure the maverick wouldn’t compete with their “real” trucks. And they knew even the watered down version would sell to a certain person who would never buy an f-150, so they get to keep their main seller and make a little extra on the side with this bullshit
We have a winner.
Agreed.
If they were firm on enforcing the MSRP and offered 2 door options with a bit of a longer bed, it'd have been a slam dunk.
Its still selling but it could've been so much better.
I think they're doing pretty dang good as it is. As much as you might want something like that the market for it is super small.
True.
Sad, but true.
I would imagine that increased development costs for a single cab and the fact that single cab trucks are kind of a niche market made this cost prohibitive for the price-point offered. The Maverick doesn't offer everything for everyone, but it does serve as essentially the only game in town for an economical, compact truck with either AWD (with a little towing power) or a hybrid. Yes, the Santa Cruz is a competitor, but it's more expensive and has reduced fuel economy.
I am interested to see the specs of a new AWD hybrid if they release it for 2025, but it definitely won't be near $24K.
IMO the Maverick is the perfect size and with the Ecoboost it can haul/tow a lot for it's size.
Ford finally released a cheap/small truck again and it's selling really well with raving reviews.
The Volt was a great idea, GM didn't really bother much with promoting the second gen and instead pushed the Bolt hard, and apparently no one really wants a electric subcompact CUV with a Chevy badge when they can get a Model 3 for not much more. Really, I think the GM branding has been GM's biggest issue with most of the more forwards thinking, R&D intensive projects.
GM's marketing dept has dropped the ball on multiple occasions the past 10-15 years, I think it's time for a major shakeup.
Honestly it’s not just marketing, Gm has pretty consistently dropped the ball on anything innovative since the hydramatic and the SBC. For instance they had fuel injected chevies in the 50s, turbo corvairs and olds in the 60s, aluminum block Buicks and Vegas in the 60s and 70s, and Cadillacs with cylinder deactivation in the 80s. I’m sure there’s more examples, but basically every single one of these features were discontinued due to being extremely poorly executed and generally weren’t reintroduced until the rest of the industry had already done it (and often still sucked, crossfire injection, North Star, modern gm cylinder deactivation, etc. the turbo Buicks were decent.)
I could go into further detail but basically most of GMs most notable failures are caused by upper management cutting costs (the slant back cars), parts sharing (Fiero and Aztec), or being introduced prematurely and exploding spectacularly (turbo f86, Vegas and the fuelies.) and often times by the time something gets sorted sales are already in the gutter and it gets axed. Basically gm annoys me because they have squandered so much potential over the years.
Magride deserves credit
I would argue the C8 is one of the few times they attempted to innovate and had it wildly succeed, but the rest of the supercar industry had been doing what the C8 is doing for eons now, and even Honda beat it by 30+ years to the 'attainable supercar' angle with the first-gen NSX as that car did what the C8 Stingray currently does, all the way back in 1990, assuming it's bought at MSRP and not marked up to hell and back.
In a vacuum not considering Honda had already done what the main selling point of the C8 Stingray is back in 1990, that car competing with stuff like entry-level Porsches and V8 R8s, all the while undercutting them by a big price margin in theory, assuming it's bought at MSRP and not marked up to hell and back, is still impressive though, but it's nothing new as, as stated earlier, Honda did it decades before the C8 was even conceived.
And even speaking of entry-level Porsches, Porsche themselves initially introduced the Boxster/Cayman as their 'cheap' model, once again, predating the C8 in its own niche by at least 20 years, give or take, although it has blown up to six-figure MSRPs since it first came out.
GM is run by a bunch of fucking morons. Marketing is the least of their repeated screwups.
Don't Obama in Trump still own GM or did they buy themselves back?
They bought out the government's holding a long while back.
Chevy SS: Tell me about it
You can say that again!
GM would likely have better quality control and you could exit quickly in the event you drive into a small pond and not drown... Or if an accident happened someone could at least open the door from the outside and drag you out. 🤷♂️
GM's marketing dept has dropped the ball on multiple occasions the past 10-15 years, I think it's time for a major shakeup.
I mean wouldnt the volt have run into the model 3 anyway? The prius prime has been a weak seller and the clarity phev got discontinued.
GM keeps doing it too. They have objectively the best line of EV trucks at the moment (Silverado being the only one I've seen tow 4500lbs 300 straight miles with only one charging stop) and outside of the initial launch I haven't seen a single commercial for them anywhere. I didn't even know they launched the GMC Sierra EV until I saw one on the road towing a boat earlier today
The Volt looks good but I really like the Volt. It's a decent car, it just doesn't look as good as the Volt in my opinion.
We had the Volt as the “Vauxhall Ampera” in the UK. I don’t think they really made the differences or advantages of its genset hybrid setup over the first gen Prius’ type system clear enough in their marketing… That and fuel prices were pretty steady at the time, so no one really cared about super MPG.
My ex bought a second gen new, and we loved it. Not sporty exactly, but nice for just commuting. We had a bunch of weird cars and needed at least one normal one lol
My buick Regal tourx wagon. Let down by buick having no idea how to market them
Still think about getting one
I love mine. I got it thru carvana
Let down by Americans and their THIRST for SUVs. Cross shopped a Regal TourX before settling on a Volvo V60.
I miss when Buick still sold Opels here
The CRZ should have been marketed as the next gen of insight.
What it should have had was a k20!
That’s the other way they could make it right. IMO, it wasn’t a bad car, just a bad CRX successor.
Chrysler Prowler. Got the looks but not the horsepower
To be fair, it made pretty good horsepower for the time.
It came out years before the modern Hemi V8s or even the Pentastar V6. The Prowler looks disappointing under the hood, but the V6 it came with was Chrysler's most powerful production engine at the time, save for the monsters they were cramming into the Viper.
If the Prowler had released with more gears to play with and a Hemi V8 or even the Pentastar V6 it would've been a modern classic, rather than just a cult classic.
The EGG was making 30 more horsepower than the mustang GT when the prowler debuted
Its main issue was its misuse of the Chrysler LH Platform powertrain. They had to mount the transaxle in the rear because it was meant for fwd cars. I think they could have used the 3.5 HO V6 with a turbo in order to mitigate the lack of power.
They had to mount the transaxle in the rear because it was meant for fwd cars. I
This is a benefit in terms of weight distribution. The Vette did the same thing for a reason
think they could have used the 3.5 HO V6 with a turbo in order to mitigate the lack of power.
I don't understand this line of reasoning. The 3.5 EGG was up 30 horsepower on the Mustang GT when it debuted and was only down 5hp on the New Edge, all while being 600lbs lighter. The issue was the 4 speed slushbox
The layout really should have had an inline engine, but of course they'd already killed the Slant-6 several years before. A modernized aluminum block with fuel injection might have been a contender in both weight and power.
Scion tC2.
A recognized platform after the success of the tC1 but it didn’t deliver on performance, styling, quality, or efficiency in the second generation like it probably should have.
Stiffer competition and a lack of effort made it bound to not be nearly as successful as its predecessor or the competition (Volkswagen beetle/ GTI, civic Si, Hyundai Veloster, Kia forte coupe) nevermind it competing with another car within the company in its later years. The frs.
As an owner of a first gen I thought the second gen was a much nicer car. I can't see any area in which the first gen was better (especially being plagued with the oil burning engine)
Better than the competition of the era was my point. I have a tC2.5.
It’s a better car but it sold worse than the first gen for a reason
I bought one because I think they’ve aged better than a lot of the other cars I’ve listed. Also, 2AR and 6 speed manual.
Coupes were dying anyway and it had to compete in the showroom with another one. I dont think there was any path to success.
If it stuck to its Toyota Celica roots and was actually fun, it probably would have held some staying power
The new (2023-2025) Acura Integra :(
Just a really pricey civic si/type r...
For nearly $10k less I can get a fully loaded Civic wagon with a 6spd. Yeah the Acura has ~20 more horsepower, but to me it’s such a negligible amount.
But both come with leather interiors, premium sound and turbos.
To me it makes little sense to get an Acura.
There is a civic wagon? I didn’t know that.
Well hatchback, I just call it a wagon, though technically it is a wagon because it has a D pillar- four pillars.
Hatchbacks generally only have C pillars or only 3.
I actually really like it, a Civic with nicer options. Shame about the 1.5T though.
The Integra should have gotten the 1.5t or 2.0t in type s trim with stick or dct
The CTR should have kept the k20c and the SI should have kept the k24z7 with 6 speed sticks
Don’t insult my favorite car ever. Omg the CRZ changed my life. I had it for 3 months before a deer jumped out and took her from me. Terrible and insanely dumb animals.
Oh deer
That must have been fucking terrifying in such a small car.
I always find consumer reaction more disappointing than the cars themselves. Especially something like the CR-Z.
A lot of people would say the BMW i8. Any time they get mentioned in the BMW subreddits, the comments are always:
- "it's slow!" - it does 0-60 in ~4s with launch control, ~3.8s tuned. It was quicker off the line than the contemporary M4.
- "it should have had the V8/N55/B58" - that wasn't the point; it was the flagship of the PHEV lineup.
- "it should have had more EV range" - in a pre-Tesla world, it had the same EV range as the contemporary Prius PHEV.
Realistically, the main issues were that it was slower than people expected it should have been, but BMW wasn't trying to make a 200mph supercar. It came with eco tires and a 3-cyl motorcycle Mini Cooper engine.
It also didn't help that they launched at an awkward time - by the time it hit showroom floors, Tesla had just released the Model S which stole all the headlines and press. 10 years ago Teslas battery tech was king.
In the end, the killer was the price. IIRC they started at $130k or so, and by the time the run ended in 2021 I think it was up to $145k.
All the same could be said for the i8s sibling, the i3. We had one, absolute blast to drive, cheap, efficient, comfortable, practical, but there's no way I would have paid $56k for one brand new. For that price, I could have gotten a Tesla 3/Y and saved $15k. It also should have had more range and more power (the i3S was not a big upgrade).
Crossfire.
The AMG engine was the Mercedes weakest one. The car had so much potential.
Haha must be a Honda thing. I drive an Accord Crosstour. I call it the Honda Blindspot.
After my CRX, I was so enamored with the CRZ that I created a full-size, full-color, tri-fold sales brochure for it as a final project in one of my design classes. My instructor even asked me when I was going to buy one.. lol
Went Mopar instead... damn near completely opposite, in fact (RT Magnum). Now I've got a Challenger that I am head-over-heels for... but I still will sneak an appreciative glance or two when I see a CRZ out in the wild.
I can't justify driving a challenger or a charger these days with the reputation people have given those vehicles. Drive smartly, my friend. I have no doubt you're not "one of them."
Those RT magnums were cool though! Some of the university police where I used to live had them.
She was definitely a great car... unfortunately, the previous owner sucked at maintenance, and she turned into a money pit. I hope to have another one someday...
Pontiac Fiero.
Put a lousy 4 cylinder that didn't rev in it.
Finally added a v-6 to it.
the fiero is classic GM. you can tell the engineers had some good ideas but were hamstrung by the beancounters
Mazda Mx-3: They should have made more of them. I never got to own one. sad face
Mazda Demio/2: They really should have offered it with the 2.0 from the 3, in North American markets.
2020+ Mazda3: The window sills are too high to rest my elbow on while I grip the roof.
Wankle Rotary engines aren't reliable enough to daily.
Audi TT.
On paper, it didn't have a high HP, but the acceleration was pretty decent for most of the years. The interior quality was also pretty good and the exterior is definitely fun, between a sporty beetle and small R8. It turns the corners pretty well too, feels grippy.
The biggest letdown is the responsiveness of the steering wheel.(I tried both second or third generations) It could be so much more fun if it responded quickly to turning input.
Also, for the US, the lack of a manual transmission option..
The only Audi I've ever considered in my life. A 1st gen.
What turned me off was the aerodynamic instabity at higher speeds.
And umm... pretty sure the 1st gens didn't even have an automatic as an option. At least the early ones AFAIK.
Hmm maybe cause I only looked at the 2nd gen and 3rd gen. Those were only automatic in the US.
I think the second gen was the best value and could use minor improvements, but steering response was the deal breaker for me.
I never looked into the 2nd or 3rd gens... but if they were auto only that would've been a deal breaker for me right there.
I know later 1st gen had some design changes made to make them more stable because of a number fatalities due to loss of control during "abrupt lane changes"... and probably some of those changes included dialing back the steering ratio or something to that effect and it probably carried over to the later gens.
That makes sense. I guess everything has pros and cons, but safety definitely takes precedence.
Yeah, I suppose it does... but what exactly constitutes an "abrupt lane change", ya know?
Kinda seems to me that maybe... I dunno, don't jerk the wheel while doing 100mph might be a good thing? Haha
but thats most german cars, slow steering is how they prefer it. People love old bmws and they have very slow steering.
I had a friend with a new cr-z about 8 years ago or so and he thought it was super fun!
The new Blazer could've been Chevy's answer to the Wrangler and (later) Bronco. But they got lazy and cheap and just slapped a body kit on the utterly mediocre Equinox.
And it didn't save GM money. All it did was leave money on the table.
The Citroen DS would have been great with maybe 180 to 200hp.
considering it came out in 1955, i can forgive it a horsepower deficit
Plymouth/Chrysler really dropped the ball with the Prowler’s powertrain.
The Veloster
I love my 6-speed manual CRZ. It's not fast, but it's great on gas and a blast around corners. People were hoping for a new CRX-Si, but it's more like a new CRX-Dx. Would an Si trim level be awesome? Yes. But Honda never promised that. Folk's expectations were too high.
They literally marketed it as a hybrid sports car though, not like a base model CRX. Still a fun car though and literally the only stickshift hybrid you could buy in America.
My first car was a 2011 CRZ. Good to see you guys showing it some love
Scion tC. If Toyota wanted to make a serious Civic Si competitor, they could've done so much better. It's not a bad car, granted, but a Camry motor could never compete with a K24 in a supposed enthusiast car.
The whole idea behind the Tc was to make a good looking coupe with as many features as possible for not a lot of money so the Camry four cylinder had to suffice to keep costs down. It was never supposed to have any real sporting intentions like the Celica GTS.
The new redesigned lexus IS. Dont get me wrong its a great looking car with solid v6 but come on, that interior is so outdated… and in 2024 it still comes with a cd player.
It wouldn't be a Toyota product without a dated interior.
I like the interior more than the other cars in the class cuz you can keep the screen on carplay/aa and dont have to use some crap infotainment for climate or car controls. They lowered the quality on the refresh vs the older models tho and added that ugly piano black trim.
Cd player is a plus for me.
I wish cars still had CD players. The audio quality is unmatched
The Prowler. Now I know its design is either a love it or hate it thing but I’ve always felt it was a beauty and appreciated how different it was. Was actually discussing it with friends the other day and we all agreed they should revisit the idea using an electric platform. It could be such a fun car to daily and take on short trips and the range limitations wouldn’t be troublesome for a car you’d probably never consider taking on a long journey anyways.
Jaguar x350, held down by Ford design instructions and by a bad reputation from the 70s and 80s.
GR86
The Ford Durango. Complete shame they didn't fully flesh it out.
Ford? Dodge?
I just looked up the Ford Durango. It was an actual thing. I don’t think it was a huge loss tho.
beautiful little coupe ute. yeah ultimately a car produced in a dying era but I loved the look of it. like a Ranchero but with a much classier profile
LFA
That was expensive too.
Yea and Toyota actually lost money from production so that’s why only 500 exist
The Pontiac Aztek. Few will agree but Pontiac was really onto something here. If only they didn't make it look like the ugliest thing on the current market...
I know...I know.... What are you smoking up in Canada? But seriously it could've been as iconic as the Westfalia if only GM or some more thought into it
To be honest, any modern Dodge. Any Dodge vehicle that isn't the top of the line sport model is shit for what you're paying. Cheap interior quality, the Chargers and Challengers are sluggish with mediocre fuel economy while being land yachts coming it 3,900 pounds and 3,800 pounds respectively.
I was looking for one when I got my fusion. They were out of my price range.
CRZ, had a 2011 for a few yrs. fun car that rarer than a McLaren in my area. So much potential and Honda blow it, a roof, leather and a better engine would put it on the map.
Plymouth Prowler from the late 90’s
The final MR2, or "MRS". Talk about a fall from grace.
This, The honda cr-z, it looks like a modern civic cr-x but had a shitty hybrid motor attached to a gutless 1.5 I4, meaning it looks fast but will get beat by a fiat panda
Subaru tribeca. Kia carnivale
Kia Carnival is a great idea, a minivan without looking like a minivan. It just doesn’t seem like Kia invested a lot of time advertising it.
It's gonna be weird to say but the FK8 Type R Civic. It is such a cool looking car but the fact that it has so many fake vents instantly made it a quote on quote "ricer". I love the look of it honestly.
Pontiac Fiero.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say the 400Z and the new Supra.
I’m sure they’re good cars but I kind of think they missed the mark on price. The previous models were good, reasonably priced, bang for buck sports cars. Now you’re just paying for name recognition for these new ones.
The prelude. Went through all the engineering effort of rear steering instead of giving us rwd. That’s not what we meant by wanting the rear wheels to turn honda!
The prowler
I think the retro ford thunderbird would have been awesome if they had put bigger motors in it. The Pontiac Fiero was GMs first mid engine sports car. It could have been the Pontiac version of the Corvette if the Corvette assholes hadnt complained so much they cancelled it after 4 years.
Fiat Spider The Miata twin that was let down by the smaller engine. If they’d kept the Mazda engine and added a turbo it would have been an absolute blast. Would have made it way more appealing to buyers that wanted a small convertible, but also didn’t want the Miata stereotypes.
All of Saturn. The original S-series was peak economy car for the time but after the ION dropped the plastic panels it was all downhill. The Sky was a cool last hurrah, but it was no savior.
I miss my 02 SL-2…manual windows and all.
The mk5 supra. If only it wasn’t sourced from bmw…
As a Z car lover, the new Nissan Z :(
Glad they made the car and was happy they tried to do everything on their own instead of collaborating. Kudos to them, but the results definitely shows. Can’t blame them since they really don’t have the budget. They did some great things with the new Z, but it’s an improved 370z and not a new lighter faster redesign that I would have wanted. Don’t even get me started on the auto only Nismo.
New integra. Again, a decent car on its own but somewhat a let down when I think about the old teggy. I do hear it drives well though, kinda like a more mature type R.
Current gen bmw. Speaking solely on aesthetic. The front grill can die in a fire.
Acura NSX.
Acura completely failed that car. People point to its price, and hybrid system as being its weakness. But I disagree, I think it’s a brilliant car as is, and 100% lives up to the legacy of the previous NSX. But was completely failed by not only its launch, its marketing.
We basically saw the finished car in 2011, they straight up teased a convertible version we never got at the end of the first Avengers. Everyone knew the car was coming, and by the time it launched, the hype was dead.
The production Acura NSX was finally unveiled at the 2015 Detroit Autoshow. Finally! The legendary NSX is back, and looks pretty much exactly like we all expected. Just for the launch to be completely overshadowed by the Ford GT.
And then… Acura did nothing with it. Honda sold customer cars to partake in Super GT. Which, considering the second gen is well-known to have been developed by the American arm… I mean, did Japanese Honda fans even care? Then they offered a GT3 car, but to my knowledge never even launched a factory backed racing effort.
Acura just… stopped caring about the NSX. It never really even appeared in the background of marketing materials to help sell how sporty their cars are. I mean hell, compare that to this… well interesting Audi ad. That’s pretty damn explicit messaging.
Even when it finally left production in 2022, the only special edition the car ever got was a super limited 350 car production of a Type S… they couldn’t even be bothered to turn it up to 11 and give us a Type R.
If we had gotten the NSX in 2011-2012, I think it would’ve been an absolute hit. But the hype died, the hybrid system didn’t age well, it’s launch was immediately overshadowed, and then was immediately forgotten by Acura/Honda.
Buick Cascada, I really like it, but nobody remembers it
Kia K900/Quoris. It was less expensive than a BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus or even a Hyundai Genesis but it didn't get the attention of anyone who really wanted a cheap luxury car. Anyone who wanted a really cheap luxury car went with Buick, Chrysler or even the Kia Cadenza which left the K900 with a pretty useless argument.
The new BMW M5
Toyota 86. Just needed like 50% more power to be truly fun.
Acura tsx sportwagon. I will never understand why they put the appliance k24 engine in something that's supposed to be "sporty". And it's such a nice looking car too...
I wouldn’t call k24s appliances. Common, yes, but not soulless unmodifiable drones.
More the cars it's usually found in are appliances (crv engine, base accord engine, etc. Etc).
Pretty much every car these days
suzuki jimny
I always liked the looks of these but they were underwhelming in both their performance and economy
The Pontiac Fiero.
I would've loved to see a CRZ Type R
I'd say the Chrysler Crossfire had quite abit of potential
Subaru XV/Crosstrek. They should give it a turbo engine to make a quick yet offload capable car, something like old Impreza Gravel Express
Saturn EV1 was one of the first EVs only like 1k or so were made and it could have sold well and there were plans to make a hybrid a natural gas and a 4 door but they were cancelled by idiotic bean counters at GM and they destroyed all examples
Definitely the CR-Z.
Was excited to see a new "CR-X"... well... then we got we got.
Gt86 and BRZ , give it 300hp and it would be a beast. It’s current format is just ok
Chevy Citation. Right car, right time. Killed by GM build quality.
The whole X body platform, it was huge. 6 variants across 4 makes.
ahyes the CRZ a jcak of all trades master of none.
an SI version would have been sick
I love the CR-Z so much! I think they tried too much to do something different. It would have had more success if it had the base Civic engine (1.8 4 cylinder) and a Si model with the K20. More profitable for the company since lower production cost, plus selling more of them because they would have been less expensive and more interesting. Then introduce a Hybrid variant if there’s demand.
3rd gen MR2. It would’ve been a riot with a 2zz from factory. Or a turbo/supercharged variant.
Nothing like a next gen CRX with a hybrid engine!! Should’ve at least offered the civic si 2.2L I4 turbo as an option.
The Chevy Volt, 100%. The concept version had an amazing, sleek body style and the car was full electric, but had an onboard gas motor which was not attached to the drive train, but was just there as a backup to charge the batteries (an idea that you now see in that BYS Yangwang U8 SUV). Instead we got a production car that looked like a nondescript import and had two drivetrains because they had to make it a hybrid because everyone was afraid of full EVs back then.
P.T. Cruiser.
everyone knows why.
Same with the HHR and the SSR.
Why walk out onto the edge of a cliff just to tiptoe around for a minute and leave?
Edit: The what 08? Thunderbird too... a turbo rwd stick would've killed
So many people would have lost their sh*t over a 2.5T 2500 lb AWD crz with internals ready to be built
Mercedes w14 😂
1st Gen Venza
2013 - 2016 Dodge Dart. (SRT)
So, I looked at buying one in that exact color, 6mt, back in 2014.
I ended up test driving a comparable 2015 6mt GK5 (fit).
The fit blew it out of the water in every category.
It handled better, was faster, way more practical, got similar, if not better mpgs and didn't have the spectre of replacing a huge battery cell anywhere in its future.
I had a friend with a hybrid civic that was going through a battery issue at the time and it was so bad. That it convinced me to buy the fit and I have never regretted it.
All the CRZs that are local have already or are running into batteries being out of warranty and losing charge capacity terribly.
Here in Brazil, I guess the Chevrolet Vectra GT/Vectra GT-X, which was essentially a rebadged Opel Astra H hatchback. It looked really cool (specially in the gorgeous "Azul Arian" blue paintjob), and it could have been a Golf GTI fighter, but its only engine option was the ancient SOHC Family II in its 2 liter version. Because of that, its performance didn't quite match its sporty looks. Can you guys imagine if Chevrolet put a DOHC turbo engine in it? Car enthusiasts from Brazil would absolutely LOVE the Vectra GT and the Vectra GT-X.
Ford Mondeo platform. Just didn’t do a damn thing here with the Contour/Mystique. I think a huge swing and a miss
Not to pile on Ford, but the Edsel. Just all the money dropped on that. Gone.
The 02-05 Thunderbird. Missed the nostalgia train by just a touch. Could have been a big hit if it launched after the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger hit the streets, not before
Definitely the new blazer. With the off-road market steadily climbing over the past few years, you would think Chevy would have the brains to return to their roots.
When I was in high school I lusted after the Dodge Stealth. Years later in my 20s I drove one. Great looking car, handled like a washing machine on wheels. Not as powerful as I had hoped, but then it was not the top trim twin turbo I had wanted in my youth… still though, for somebody who grew up with that car’s centerfold from Road & Track on the bedroom wall, big letdown
Honestly? Tesla. Any of em. While the idea of an electric car now scares me, at one point, I was actually excited to see where they would go. But now it's just bad infrastructure, poor build quality, and honestly boring vehicles. The interior design for the Cybertruck is just boring straight lines. Zero design went into it at all. As barebones as it could be, which is sad because it's a 6 figure vehicle. I want it to have mahogany in the interior or zebra wood, something above and extra. But straight lines and stainless? No thanks.
Volvo C30 T5. Really unique sporty looks, turbo 5 cylinder, but between the high curb weight, horrible weight distribution, FWD, and electric power steering it just isn't that fun to drive, even with the 6 speed manual. I still loved mine though.
Toyota Mirai
Ah yes, I remember this car. About the same 0-60 as a Civic EX, about the same mpg as a Civic DX. I guess at least the money got you no back seats, or something
C30 Volvo would have been killer if it was AWD and sport tuned
the 2002 ford thunderbird i love the retro looks so much but it's not like it's 50s grandfather that it's styled after. the first gen thunderbird was this corvette fighter sports car where as the 2002 is a personal luxury coupe with a Jag 3.9 V8. also the interior of the 02 thunderbird was a massive let down you get a cool retro body but a boring cheap ford interior. i wish ford made the 02 thunderbird lighter gave it the 4.6 V8 and really put effort into the interior and touched the exterior design to give us a Truly amazing throw back car like they did with the S197 Mustang, Ford GT and the New ford Bronco!
Honestly the R35. When it first came out it really was the supercar killer that it was supposed to be, but after 15 years performance is kinda meh compared to everything else in its price range. Nissan rode off of the clout they got in the first couple years of production and decided to stop innovating. Also, not to shit on Nissan, but the Z is kinda underwhelming as well. The new Z is built on the same platform as the 370z and sucks in comparison to the Toyota Z4, which is it's closest competitor.
Prowler.
I used to own a Lexus CT200h, I loved the exterior design but wished I could swap the Prius drivetrain for that sweet sweet 2ZZ. Conversely, I would head to a dealer right now if I could buy a GT86 with the rav4/camry 2.5 hybrid drivetrain.
The recent Subaru Impreza 2.5RS hatchback was such a missed opportunity. You have a great looking affordable hatchback with steering parts from the WRX but you're stuck with a CVT like 180HP. If this had a hybrid system and like 200HP it would have been a fuel efficient sleeper.
Pontiac GTO
Controversial opinion, but the XJ220. The concept was meant to be a high revving 6.2L V12 with AWD, but ending up being a (admittedly pretty good) TTV6.
Ditto with the C-X75. The concept's twin turbines charging 4 electric motors would have been a very interesting vehicle.
This thing looks like the Cadillac CTS-V and a hatchback Honda Civic had a kid, the bumper wedgie says it all
Yes the type s is awesome but overall the integra relaunch was kinda disappointing
i know 2 ppl that had CRZs, they LOVED it.