Was 1999 the greatest year in cars?

So I've realized that of the 5 cars I own, 3 of them are from 1999 and they are special in their own little way. Makes me think special things were going on in 1999. Do any other 1999 model cars have special characteristics?

1999 M3 - last year of the E36 M3, got a slightly new transmission, different leather (maybe bad), and rear seat headrests (actually started in 1998.5).

1999 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) - got the revised intake manifold but not the restrictive exhaust, and still had the old non-coil on plug head so no fears of cracked heads. Ofter considered the best year of the XJ.

1999 Miata - supposedly best power to weight of all the non-turbo Miatas. New body with new engine but not all of the heavy stuff that went into the later NB body styles and can still burn 87 octane (2001+ went to 91+).

VIVA 1999!!!

Hmm... I also have a 99 M3 and 99 Miata (turbo). Easily the best cars to drive that I have ever owned. '99 was also the debut for the Ferrari 360 Modena, the most impressive automobile I have ever driven.

check you XJ's front axle. They stopped using the high pinions around '99 or 2000

Tell me more about the restrictive exhaust on 00-01 XJs? Is there cheap power and fuel economy to be gained for me on my 00 XJ?

Since I am a crusty old fart and the original icky old man, I must beg to differ! I like cars that I can fix . . . see 1965 or 1973 above.

I'd say you're a decade off. Rewind ten years and you can walk into a dealer with a stack of cash and get any of the following brand sparkly new: Porsche 930 (incl. slantnose), 944 Turbo S / SII, the last, best year of the Starion, very early SW20 MR2, very early Lotus M100 (both technically 1990 models but a few were sold in '89), newly redesigned Peter Stevens Esprit, E30 M3, Z32 300ZX twin turbo, or even a first-year R32 "Godzilla" GT-R. It was like the golden age of small sports cars.

2002 due to the 405hp Corvette Z06. 1998 911 Turbo. 1969-70 for various cars.

I do admit openly that the late 80's were great too. Lots of other good cars in the other years as shown, but I'm not talking about the best cars ever, I'm talking about a single year that had the highest percentage of great cars.

a401cj wrote: check you XJ's front axle. They stopped using the high pinions around '99 or 2000

Yeah that was '00 and '01 as the production started to slow down they started using whatever they had left...and yes sadly they went back to the LP front axle.

Mine is HP front axle.

miatame wrote:

a401cj wrote: check you XJ's front axle. They stopped using the high pinions around '99 or 2000

Yeah that was '00 and '01 as the production started to slow down they started using whatever they had left...and yes sadly they went back to the LP front axle. Mine is HP front axle.

What does this mean?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Tell me more about the restrictive exhaust on 00-01 XJs? Is there cheap power and fuel economy to be gained for me on my 00 XJ?

It was an emissions thing which was why they created the new intake manifold. They also made the exhaust ports slightly smaller in 1999 to increase combustion temps. Some if not all 00+ XJs got dual pre cats and more O2 sensors which caused them to bake the injectors and give CELs.

Best junkyard 4.0 would be a 95 or 96 block/head with a 99+ intake. I don't know if any of the exhaust manifolds were any good but I do remember having an equal-ish length manifold come off my scrapped '95 XJ. Renix were horrible and 91-96 were just okay (not a log but not a header).

2012 is the greatest year in cars. For now.

'99 is also when the Mustang Cobra got IRS, the SOHC 4.6L got the PI top end, and the 3.8 V6 got a ~30hp bump up to 195hp.

First year of the MR-S.

First year of the C5 FRC, too.

I agree that 1999 was the best year for Miatae. Finally a body that was decent looking. I've had a couple.

But there have been several years lately that have produce good cars.

I can't agree on the DeTomaso and Cobra. Having had several of them both, they were long on the looks for the time, but have fallen WAY by the wayside in the looks, handling and power department since they were new.

1999 - don't forget the ridiculously loaded Honda coupe lineup. Insight, Civic Si, Integra Type R, Prelude - very hard for my dad to choose one.

I ALMOST bought another Jeep Xj that happened to be a 1999. It is considered the best year Cherokee by the Jeep guys like the OP said.

In reply to chaparral:

I just dropped my Civic off for a timing belt service this morning at a Honda dealership. I told the guys Honda should go back to the 90's lineup. I also heard in the news that the new Civic released this spring will already be revamped by the end of next year. I hope they are wising up to the complaints.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

I can tell you that they went with a redesigned head for the last two years of production. If you have the "0331" head, which you probably do, be careful. It is actually stamped on the right side toward the top if your standing in front of the engine. They were prone to cracking because they got hotter.

Yeah, i have the hotter head w/ COPs and all that. 177k miles and no issues so far.

Thinking about maybe i/h/e for more power, sound, and MPG.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

miatame wrote:

a401cj wrote: check you XJ's front axle. They stopped using the high pinions around '99 or 2000

Yeah that was '00 and '01 as the production started to slow down they started using whatever they had left...and yes sadly they went back to the LP front axle. Mine is HP front axle.

What does this mean?

Low Pinion vs High Pinion

NOW is the best year for cars. Because you can purchase cars from every year previous. Want the 99 Jeep? Done! Want a Z4 M Coupe? That wasn't around in 1999 but you can buy one today!

I think it all depends on the cars you lusted after when you were a kid. While I appreciate the cars of the 80s and 90s I prefer the mechanical simplicity and visceral feel of earlier machines.

I pick 1969

It was a great time for American Muscle, the Porsche 911 was still simple and pure, If you stretch a 240z was available, and I could go into the local dealer and buy one of these brand new:

This is a car I'd much rather have than any new flappy paddle, computer controlled Ferrari. You can't even buy a new Ferrari with a clutch pedal anymore for Chrissakes! That's just wrong

Joe Gearin wrote: I think it all depends on the cars you lusted after when you were a kid. While I appreciate the cars of the 80s and 90s I prefer the mechanical simplicity and visceral feel of earlier machines. I pick 1969

I like the look of the 1930s talbot....very classy

miatame wrote: So I've realized that of the 5 cars I own, 3 of them are from 1999 and they are special in their own little way. Makes me think special things were going on in 1999. Do any other 1999 model cars have special characteristics? 1999 M3 - last year of the E36 M3, got a slightly new transmission, different leather (maybe bad), and rear seat headrests (actually started in 1998.5). 1999 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) - got the revised intake manifold but not the restrictive exhaust, and still had the old non-coil on plug head so no fears of cracked heads. Ofter considered the best year of the XJ. 1999 Miata - supposedly best power to weight of all the non-turbo Miatas. New body with new engine but not all of the heavy stuff that went into the later NB body styles and can still burn 87 octane (2001+ went to 91+). VIVA 1999!!!

That's a question that has no real answer. I'll give you this,to me, around 98 or 99 is where a great era in cars ended, it started somewhere in the early 80's with the intro of the urquattro during that time we saw the rise of the Japanese turbo supercars and all the great porsches mentioned above. We also saw the whole import racing craze that led to some great developments. By 99 the air cooled Porsche was history, all the Japanese supercars were canceled or on their way out (at least in NA), the E36 was at its end, the CRX was gone and all the Honda products were being replaced by more "family friendly" alternatives. Also, I think, that era provided a great balance between technology snd the mechanical aspects of a car. Where before, things were just to raw, and now its just overboard with technology as others have mentioned.

1999 P71 was the only lowered model. Unfortunately cops like to drive over curbs.