Which new car were you most excited about?

Elantra N was the one I hoped lived up to the hype.

The WRX did not live up to the hype when it showed up in 2002.  Neither did the Evo.  "Surprise!  We're going to make the cars a lot bigger and heavier when we sell them in the US"

The Focus RS was good though.  It made no pretense of what it wasn't.

bobzilla said:

Elantra N was the one I hoped lived up to the hype.

It did not, it far exceeded it. 

I was pretty excited about the new Nissan Z car, hoping that it would slot slightly above the GR86 but below the Supra, maybe $35K with a sweet I6 and a curb weight of 3000 pounds? I based this on nothing but my own dreams, of course.  When it came out, I was disappointed at the looks, the price, the features, and the price. It's not a bad car I guess, but I was hoping for something brilliant, or at least that showed some some innovative thinking and passion. 

The Toyobaru, known as the "FT86 concept" at the time. I was a little let down by the final product's weight and looks compared to the concept (supposed to be closer to 2000lbs and had looks you can only recreate with a Five Axis body kit) but I eventually bought one anyway.

I liked the looks of the Supra concept, the final concept got pretty close and if they ever depreciate a manual could be tempting.

Honda S660/S1000 - great concept, too bad they're JDM-only and I can't really fit in one.

New NSX and i8. Two similar cars, both fun gadgets first and sports cars second, they're pretty cool but I don't think I'd spend my own money on one.

I was kind of excited about the CR-Z but that was a pretty big letdown performance-wise....

In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :

I definitely got excited about the new Z-Car. I didn't drive it, but hearing that it wasn't quite on par with the Supra when it came to on-track manners was a little bit of a bummer.

Nothing the aftermarket can't fix, though.

I was excited about the VW Buzz as at the time an EV minivan would have met my needs nicely.  Unfortunately, initial reviews have not kept up that enthusiasm due to the size and how the interior is configured.  And then the pandemic happened and how much I could make use of an EV was greatly reduced. 

Something that wasn't a super car when I was 10? The GT86. Liked it enough to buy one 2 years later.

In 1989 I went to the Chicago Auto Show to see the new sports car Mazda was introducing.  The new MX-5?  Does that car look the same as an old Lotus Elan?  Mazda's really going to make this?  WOW!

I was so excited until they arrived and the pricing came out with large markups so I bought a Datsun 1600 Roadster instead.  

You gotta remember we just suffered through some "okay" cars in the 80's (minus '83-'84 VW Rabbit GTI)

Live up to the hype? I guess.

It's hard to get hyped for new 'special' cars today because they sell out instantly