On the more trivial side, why did the last of the VW TDI Jetta / Golf wagons in the US only come with a crack-prone, sweat-maximizing set of vinyl seats? Want cloth or leather with your diesel wagon? Sorry, you have to get a gas motor.
On the more trivial side, why did the last of the VW TDI Jetta / Golf wagons in the US only come with a crack-prone, sweat-maximizing set of vinyl seats? Want cloth or leather with your diesel wagon? Sorry, you have to get a gas motor.
Utes. I just want utes in the US!
In reply to ShawnG :
That is exactly what they did. And it was beautiful.
They sold these and viva performance stocks K16 manifolds and turbos stateside. It takes some hunting to find the S40 in this configuration as the V50 is more common to find in it, but they are out there, it may take a month or two to find one for sale within 1000 miles, but they exist.
1989 Fiero? They did make one - and judging on the styling, I'm glad they never put it into production. Looks too much like a Firebird.
I wouldn't have minded an LS engined variant of the Kappa (Solstice/Sky/Open) sports car, but that's just dreaming - GM has never allowed any competition from within to the Corvette (the mid 1980s turbo Fiero prototypes were quickly killed and hidden. They only had 190 bhp but gave performance very close to the rather lackluster Corvettes of that era).
I really wished for that to have been made a factory model - so much so that I created a 300 bhp version using a 1988 GT and drove it happily for almost 20 years.
Volvo toyed with the idea of making this out of the bones of the 164, with sweet inline-6 power:
My picks seem rather mundane and are basically engined swapped, mostly JDM, cars.
Twin Cam Mazda 808 / RX-3.
Rotary Powered Datsun 1200; Nissan had a prototype, 120hp in a 1600lb car would have been awesome.
Turbo Cressida.............because I still want a 200hp Cressida.
V6 Chevette, GM did a prototype, it was just painful to see GM's half arsed approach to small cars and it would have been nice for them to do something cool with a small car.
A GT version of the Fairmont; V8, 5 speed with good suspension. A lot of people of built these but Ford should havedone it.
The Ford Capri mk1 and mk2 should have been the one car America got completely negating even the concept of the Mustang II. They should have hung Mustang II and then Mustang III badges on them (mk1 Capri = Mustang II, etc). Top spec would have been a Cobra or Boss model with the 302 V8 like the Perana in S. Africa. The increase in volume would have allowed for a front suspension re-design which was basically the Mustang II front end to go under the Capri in all markets improving "both" cars.
America should have gotten the Aussie Ford Falcon instead of the Mustang.
k series fit
that chrysler demon concept that used the 2.4 and put it in a RWD roadster platform
1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass with a W43 - (455 heavy duty block, Pent roof 4 valve per cylinder heads, 7200rpm redline). DOHC and turbo versions were also in the works before GM killed Oldsmobile's entire experimental division over it. And Yes, they had every intention of putting it into production.
Turbo 300 Ford or better yet the Aussi 4.7 Turbo I6 in an F150
ShawnG said:America should have gotten the Aussie Ford Falcon instead of the Mustang.
and not the Falcon from Argentina ?
or Chevy pick-ups - Suburbans from Brazil ?
V8, 5 speed, rear wheel drive first generation Dodge Avenger. Like the 1994-95 IROC series teased us with. Love the look, available drive trains, not so much.
In reply to asphalt_gundam :
This is what's so maddening about liking any GM division other than Chevrolet.
Anything cool or interesting gets killed off because the Corvette is king. Never mind that Chevy is the entry level brand and the wayward redheaded stepchild of GM that nothing will interchange with.
Turbo T/A = dead
Buick GN = dead
Sy/Ty twins = dead
Fiero = dead
2nd gen S Jimmy 4 door Typhoon
LHD 90s Rover Minis, Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino.
+1000 on non-rotary RX-8.
Electric or plug-in hybrid new version of Element.
Appleseed said:You dont like Chargnums?
They look more natural with 300 front ends...because they actually did that in Europe. Because nobody knows what a Dodge is.
This, with a Hellcat and a proper manual transmission!
Also: Fiesta RS, Holden Crewman with an LT1, and I really want an e90 M3 Touring. We need more sporty manual RWD wagons.
The one "What If?" that always gets me is one of these:
With a multiport fuel injected one of these:
The 1982 debut of the 3rd Gen Firebird Trans Am was supposed to sport a fuel injected Pontiac 301 Turbo. It was yanked from the plans late into development of the 3rd Gen cars due to the consolidation of engine divisions. In typical GM fashion, all that made it to production were the turbo fan wheels and the turbo bump hood. And before we crap on this idea, remember that one of the hero cars of the 80's, the Buick Grand National, started out with a carbed 3.8L V6 that was even more anemic than the 301 Turbo. Imagine how ridiculous an even more mass-produced EFI turbocharged engine in a better handling lighter car with two more cylinders would have been. Cheap, factory turbo V8 power could have been everywhere back then, but GM deprived us of that future.
People love to poo-poo the second gen Turbo T/A but the WS6 had better skidpad numbers than the Corvette and with 210 hp and 345 lb/ft, it had more power too.
The third gen Turbo T/A was faster than the Buick GN that it got it's engine from. IIRC, it's still the fastest Trans-Am ever built.
Mazdaspeed 5.
my wish list
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
They sold these and viva performance stocks K16 manifolds and turbos stateside. It takes some hunting to find the S40 in this configuration as the V50 is more common to find in it, but they are out there, it may take a month or two to find one for sale within 1000 miles, but they exist.
Must be '04-05 to legally make the swap, though. Also, must be automatic, because Pete don't do clutches on a daily basis. Not that it matters when doing a drivetrain swap anyway.
The engine in an S40 is much different, doesn't have the same performance capacity. Block is different and head is significantly different.
I'd also want to try to mangle the 4C active damping/chassis control system into the S40.
For the same expense, and far less effort, I'd rather just buy an S3, here in the world of not-make-believe. 
Miata with a full roof (not targa) and hatchback .
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:The Ford Capri mk1 and mk2 should have been the one car America got completely negating even the concept of the Mustang II. They should have hung Mustang II and then Mustang III badges on them (mk1 Capri = Mustang II, etc). Top spec would have been a Cobra or Boss model with the 302 V8 like the Perana in S. Africa. The increase in volume would have allowed for a front suspension re-design which was basically the Mustang II front end to go under the Capri in all markets improving "both" cars.
That's the first time I've ever heard the Mustang II suspension called better than the Escort/Capri front end.
Is300 2jzgtte/v160
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