I think another factor is that Hyundai and most third world auto manufacturers besides Smart stopped buying Mitsubishi engines en masse about 10 years ago. That didn’t really help their economy.
Interesting thread… I do have a few opinions that go against the norm or otherwise stand out.
Likes
-
All pre-Renault Nissans and Datsuns; especially Skylines, Silvias, and Altimas. I also have a fondness for the Patrol/Safari. Special mention to the Nissan Skyline R32 GTR; I consider this to be the best car ever built by all factors. It had performance superior to most “supercars” of the era, while it was still perfectly suited to being a daily driver, with usable space and excellent reliability and drivability, with reasonable comfort. It wasn’t exactly inexpensive at 65K usd, but it was still attainable, unlike other cars in its performance class which cost around twice as much, and couldn’t be used as a “regular” car.
-
Mercedes GLA. Normally I hate all crossovers and non off-road capable SUVs… but something about the GLA appeals to me for whatever reason.
-
Mercedes W201. One of the very few German cars I like… and I genuinely adore the W201.
-
Volvo C30. “Dat ass”.
-
3rd generation Kia Optima. I find her to be the most beautiful sedan ever designed; especially in white.
-
1st generation Skoda Octavia. I know it’s just a Jetta… but she’s certainly more attractive than a Jetta. I’ve always found her to be a very elegant car.
-
UAZ-452… the “Loaf”. It’s soooo cute >.< … and has serious offroad capabilities.
-
All cab-over vans. Purely aesthetics… they all look so cute to me; with the UAZ-452 being the cutest.
-
Subaru WRXs. I’d like them to be more reliable and have better build-quality… but you can’t really beat its car-per-dollar ratio. I like them more in theory than in practice though.
-
Porsche 944. The only production Porsche I’ll ever like. The engine was on the correct end of the car, it was relatively affordable, beautiful, and over-all a good car.
-
AMC Pacer and Gremlin. Everyone seems to find them ugly… I think they’re cute. I do agree though that the Pacer wasn’t a good car.
-
2/3 door wagons and hatchbacks… specifically the longer ones. Examples includ the 1990 VW Parati, and Nissan Lucino Hatch / Pulsar.
-
Citroen DS3; especially the rally versions.
-
Maserati Ghibli II GT from the mid-90’s. Not the car that comes to mind when you hear Maserati; but I adore how it looks.
Dislikes
-
New cars; meaning cars designed in this millennium. I understand they are as bad as they are because of the ever tightening regulations on all fronts… but that doesn’t make it better for me.
-
SUVs that aren’t off-road capable. I just don’t understand the point. If you want comfort, get a luxury car. If you want space along with comfort, get a minivan. If you’re worried about snow, get a Subaru WRX that at least has a limited-slip differential. Your semi-bullshit “AWD” in a Honda CRV won’t do anything for you without an LSD. You’ll have more sucess with RWD sports car and an LSD than an AWD “SUV” without one in snow.
-
Porsche. So many years… and they still can’t figure out that they’ve been putting the engine in the wrong place all this time.
-
Bugatti Veyron. I hate everything about this disgusting vehicle. It is the epitome of excess, and is absolutely useless as a vehicle. I also find it hideous and obese. Its top speed means nothing because there isn’t a single place in the world where an owner of one can reach said top speed. All those special runways are closed to the public… so what’s the point? apparently to be a poser. Nissan GTRs own Veyrons on the track and cost 1/10th of the price. I do like the flip-up air-brake spoiler though… have to give credit there; though it wasn’t the first car to employ such a thing.
-
Most “supercars”. Yes, Lamborghinis are very aesthetically attractive, but they are very overpriced and tend to be owned by people I’d rather not associate myself with. I’ll grant Lamborghini a waiver because I find most of them uniquely beautiful… so mostly it’s Ferrari and Bugatti, who bug me.
-
Ferraris after the late 60’s. Especially the F50. Those nostrils look so grotesque.
-
Honda NSX. Almost twice the price as a Skyline R32 GTR, half the performance, and an eighth of the practicality. Sudden and violent snap-oversteer doesn’t rate as “good handling” in my book either.
-
7th generation Toyota Celica. Celicas were never pretty after the 3rd generation… but the 7th gen looked extremely grotesque to me. The 6th gens were really ugly too, but I can’t knock them because of their effectiveness in rally. They were good cars.
-
Newer Audis. I just don’t see why people like them. In the 80’s, certainly… but now they’re nothing but dressed-up Jettas for twice the price.
-
1st generation Chevrolet C/K pick-up from the 60’s. That wierd twin-hull design is a unique kind of ugly for my eyes. After that was removed in the 2nd generation, they were fairly good looking trucks.
-
Pop-up headlights. Even though they came on one of my favorite cars… I still hate them. To me, they are air-brakes. If I ever own a 240SX, I will disable them the first day I own the car, or remove them completely when a set of stationary headlights gets shipped to me via Next Day Air Mail.
-
Anything with a Continuously Variable Transmission. I’ve had the displeasure of being in two different generations of Altimas with CVTs. I loathe those things. I don’t understand what it’s doing… and I have a feeling the car doesn’t understand what it’s doing either. Engine speed jumps around seemingly randomly, even under a constant throttle position. Really a WTF moment when it does that. I much prefer an old 4-speed automatic to this abomination. The Jatco units in older Altimas were excellent automatics with coherent shift algorithms.