I liked the neon ACR. Fun little package. Surprised not to see the Syclone/Typhoon. 13yr old me wanted one pretty badly!
I liked the neon ACR. Fun little package. Surprised not to see the Syclone/Typhoon. 13yr old me wanted one pretty badly!
The 1984-85 Ford Escort Turbo GT
93EXCivic said:In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
That was going to be mine choice.
But second choice, Lotus Cortina.
Good one, especially the early cars with the cool rear suspension. Later cars went back to the stock cars Hotchkisa rear end.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I thought that was a Lotus Seven only thing. Didn't know they did that in Cortinas, too!
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I thought that was a Lotus Seven only thing. Didn't know they did that in Cortinas, too!
They soon got rid of it on the Cortinas, as in typical Colin Chapman fashion it was designed to last the race plus 100 feet past the finish line. The A arm mount to the diff housing was particularly weak and tore off a lot. Once the homologation cars were out, the pedestrian cars reverted to leaf springs.
Geo Storm GSi, engine by Isuzu.
Cadman5 said:Geo Storm GSi, engine by Isuzu.
All Storms had engines by Isuzu 
Mr_Asa said:wvumtnbkr said:Wasn't there a 4 door fix body that was like a Mustang gt except with 4 doors?
Like a Ford Ltd lx or something? Those seemed really cool when I learned about them.
Ford Fairmont, Mercury Zephyr, both Fox platforms and both available as a two or four door as far as I can remember.
I do remember a Reader's Rides section where some guy took a four door, stuck a Mustang nose on it and then did all the typical Fox body tricks to it. Said he got a lot of looks of confusion.
I posted some video of a guy who made a brown Ford Fairmont wagon into an undercover Mustang 5.0.
It was awesome
In addition to several already mentioned,
'05 Pontiac Bonneville GXP........but er.....not with these hoops
In reply to 759NRNG :
The Northstars in those are terrible. I know a few people who have swapped in the L67 out of the SSEi.
My first "good" car was a 1990 Suzuki Swift GT. 100 hp from the screaming 1.3L twin cam.
it was a riot.
Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I thought that was a Lotus Seven only thing. Didn't know they did that in Cortinas, too!
They soon got rid of it on the Cortinas, as in typical Colin Chapman fashion it was designed to last the race plus 100 feet past the finish line. The A arm mount to the diff housing was particularly weak and tore off a lot. Once the homologation cars were out, the pedestrian cars reverted to leaf springs.
The April issue of Octane has an article about the Alan Mann Racing Cortinas. They reinforced the diff attachment and never had a problem with it afterwards. Their suspension tuning was different than Team Lotus, it was pointed out their cars wouldn't be on 3 wheels like the famous Jim Clark photo.
In reply to j_tso :
The lower A arm made for a low, stable roll center. This meant that one should have been able to up the rear spring rates and/or soften the front. It was a great idea as long as the axle was reinforced enough to accept all the different side and torque loadings in that one point.
The common photos of the Cortinas and Escorts on three wheels was mostly because the rear suspension didn't work all that well so they had to stiffen up the front to keep it from moving and highlighting the rear's inadequacies.
Nismo version of the Juke, specifically the RS version.
Additional 27hp, a real helical limited slip, stiffer springs/shocks/sway bars, 280 treadwear Contis, and my favourite part the Recaro Sportster seats.
Focus SVT.
Toebra said:I posted some video of a guy who made a brown Ford Fairmont wagon into an undercover Mustang 5.0.
It was awesome
It is awesome. I've ridden in it. (It's probably not the one you're thinking of, though.)
I really like the special editions of cars that turned them into beach/open weather toys. They're ridiculous.
Mini Moke. Fiat 500 Jolly. Trabant Tramp (I had the pleasure of riding in one once, it was oddly smile-inducing.)
Most recent factory-built open air conversion I can remember is the Smart Crossblade.
This conversation starts and ends with the Toyota Camry Collector Edition.
Nothing says "I'm special!" like Beige-on-Gray and alloy wheels! For the discerning Camry collector.
Other favorites (that are actually favorites):
Toyota Avalon TRD
Not sure what it is about these, but I love them. It's big, dumb, and sharp looking, and I want one as my "old man" daily driver in a few years. The front end styling is polarizing, but I think they did a better job with these than the Camry TRD.
Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Widebody
Kind of a stretch, but hear me out. The chassis is from an early 2000's luxury car, and the base Challenger is a rental fleet special. They took that, bolted big flares to it, dropped in a nearly 500hp engine, and put 305's on all 4 corners. They even made the rear seats optional for added stupidity. The result is something that is as big as a boat that handles like a Miata. I tested this example here almost 5 years ago and I still can't get it out of my head. This was the most fun to drive car I've driven that did everything well. When a car downshifts at 60mph and tries to break the rear loose, I'm entertained, and this does that! It's the teenage dream car I doodled in high school study hall come to life.
Nissan Altima SE-R
(Honorable mention: 2002-03 Nissan Maxima SE before the designers OD'ed on DMT) This was one of the last "cool" Nissans before everything was cursed to resemble butt ugly melted ovals with wheels and festooned with unreliable CVT's. This one had the same V6/6MT that came in the Maxima SE, but looked WAY better than the Skunk Stripe Maxima could ever hope to. These were a hoot to drive, and there are probably zero of them left on the road now. Haven't seen one in at least a decade around here. I've heard rumblings that Nissan is finally emerging from the CVT Dark Ages, so there could be hope to get a fun mid-sizer again from them.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
Having never driven or owned one, I imaged that the Malibu Maxx SS took the most boring car in history, added all of the go-fast bits from the fastest FWD car around the 'Ring at the time (Cobalt SS) and stuffed them into a practical wagonette body. What's not to like about a turbo (or super?) charged compact wagon with amazing handling?
I am guessing the reality was far from my fantasy.
You actually chose the wrong SS.. This is the droid you were looking for
Basically a Cobalt SS station wagon. 260 hp unless you got the automatic, then they only give you 225..
You all have hit a bunch of nice cars.
I will throw this into the mix. 1984 GTi
In reply to Run_Away :
I had a Juke Nismo and it was an absolute blast to drive, even as an auto. Sport mode was great.
It was right at the end of no one using Bluetooth in their cars. I bought it used and couldn't believe I could only connect a Samsung for calls but not audio. Had an ipod jack in the glove compartment.
Almost forgot one that I owned:
The regular Intrepid could be pretty slow and boring, but the R/T was a different animal. Yes, it had a boring 4 speed auto and 240hp sounds weak by modern standards, but back then it was pretty wicked. The cab-forward shape and excellent aerodynamics made it great for long distances at high-speeds.
Guy I bought my 914 from has one of those SRT4 Neons, black with shiny factory wheels. It is a hoot.
Oh, and as a blanket statement, special editions that had Yamaha do the motor are my favorite.
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