There are many reasons why The Autopian doesn’t make those hackneyed “worst car” lists. First of all, they’ve been done to death, and second, we’re pro-car here. “Bad” cars from the Yugo to the Lexus SC430 all have their merits, and their makers tried, and they aren’t nearly as bad as those click-bait posts would have you believe.
That said, we readily admit that there have been cars over the years with more than their fair share of issues. However, certain versions of these notorious rides were a lot better than the run-of-the-mill examples. They usually had plenty of the same imperfections to be sure, but enough positives to possibly outweigh the negatives. And those are the cars we’re Autopian Asking about today.
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The new-for-1980 GM X-Body cars were revolutionary front-wheel-drive replacements for ancient compacts like the Chevy Nova, and it’s hard to think of a more dramatic one-year change in almost any car line ever produced. It could even tow a trailer with just THREE of its wheels!
Mercedes Streeter would get some twin-turbo, ten-liter F850 thing to tow that boat, but a Citation and three good tires is all anyone needs.
Sadly, in the typical fashion of GM at the time, many of the bugs were worked out by the first buyers instead of the engineering team, resulting in what was possibly the most recalled car in automotive history and a horrible reputation.
Chevy’s version of the X-Body was the Citation, and the initial X-11 “sporting” version wasn’t much more than a cosmetic package. Most people rightfully turned away, but in 1981 GM turned the X-11 into something far more formidable than a mere sticker set. The X-mobile’s suspension, tires, and V6 engine were all changed, tuned, and tweaked to make a spacious manual-transmission driver’s coupe that could get to sixty in a then-speedy 8.5 seconds and pull over .8g on the skidpad.
In size and spec, this thing compared favorably to the far more expensive Saab 900 Turbo, at least on paper or a smooth road. Need proof? In 1982 and 1984, the SCCA Showroom Stock Championship for the import-packed Class B was won by a 1981 Citation X-11.
If we fast-forward a couple of decades and swing by Chrysler HQ, we find the PT Cruiser is making its debut. Performance of the initial rental-car-spec models wasn’t thrilling and the PT Cruiser’s funky styling was lambasted mercilessly by the unimaginative, but buyers loved the retro look, and the Cruiser gained performance cred when the GT model hit the streets with 230 turbocharged horsepower and a five-speed manual.
While not earth-shattering, the GT’s zero-to-sixty time of under seven seconds and sport-tuned suspension made for a rather formidable and extremely unlikely “hot hatch.” So much for your “PT Loser” jokes, haters.
There are plenty more examples of cars that went from sad to solid, but I’m just going to stop here and leave it to you. What are some of the best versions of maligned cars can you think of?
The humble Geo Metro shared the same body as the Suzuki Swift GT which was as good a pocket rocket as there ever was. Similarly, the Chevy Sprint Turbo was a great sports car spawned from the blue-light special Sprint (which honestly wasn’t bad). The VR6 engine popped into the Golf A3 GTI totally woke up that sleepy car. In more recent times the Fiesta ST similarly spawned out of the rental lot fodder Ford Fiesta. The BMW E82 128i was the cheapest car in BMW’s line up when it was released, but it was arguably the best driver’s car, and it stands up to the test of time even now. The Fiat Abarth turned the very cheap,plasticky feeling 500 into a real enthusiast’s car.
In Europe, the Fiesta in all forms while still “rental lot fodder” has been considered a great driver’s car since the 1995 introduction of the rather fish-faced BE91 generation, so the fact it could spawn the ST shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.
Pontiac GTO from the Tempest. As the first ‘muscle car’ it managed to spawn what basically became a new class of cars.
But was the Tempest known for being “not good”? I always got the impression it was a fine but not memorable car.
Holden Commodore. The first 3 generations took some pretty ho-hum Opels, stretched a bit here, widened a bit there, strengthened a bit in the midriff so they wouldn’t fall apart on shit Aussie roads… and installed some more exciting power plants than what were being offered in Germany. Result – an Australian institution for three decades.
The Chevy Syclone and Typhoon form the very pedestrian S-10.
The Grand National form the generic Regal.
***GMC
I stand corrected.
Grand National/T-type is a great example of elevating an otherwise boring car.
Normally I’m all about the Grand National, but the G-body Regal was a perfectly OK car to begin with, not a clunker.
I suppose it depends on what we’re talking about when we say ‘not good’. Overall, quality, desirability, drivability…? Yes the Regal was a perfectly ok car but it was in no way shape or form an enthusiasts car. Vague, overboosted steering, floaty suspension, unsupportive bench seats. So in looking at it from that perspective, for someone who considers himself an enthusiast, the base Regal was not good. The GN was transformative in many ways.
So was the Regal crap? No, just painfully generic. Would I want one as an enthusiast? No. But would I want a GN? Hell yeah.
Don’t forget the Neon ACR and SRT-4.
Especially don’t forget the SRT-4
Came here to say this! Also, the Tiburon V6 from a distant era where Hyundai made reliable engines made that car soo much better then the tough but bland 2.0 liter powerplant..
The original Mustang (from the Falcon).
The Mustang II (from the Pinto).
The 1979-2004 Mustang, Ford Durango, 1979-1986 Capri, 1980-1988 Thunderbird/Cougar 1984-1992 Mark VII (from the Fairmont, I skipped some of the more pedestrian models).
The Karman-Ghia (from the Beetle).
The Fiero (from Chevy Citation).
Ford Capri (from the Cortina).
TIL that the Ford Fox ute was called Durango and not a Ranchero like I always thought. I’d have me one of those!
The original Ford Ute was called the Ranchero here, through the 1970s. Then they introduced a very short-lived version named “Durango” based on the also short-lived Fairmont.
They also had a two-year-only Granada based on the Fairmont after they discontinued the Torino-based Granada (my parents had an ’82 Granada and a ’79 Fairmont, awful damned cars).
The original 1960 Falcon was not a bad car at all – it was solid, well built and practical.
Nor were the Fairmont, Beetle and Cortina bad cars.
Opinions vary.
The first thing that comes to mind is the Lancer Evo. I’d put the GR Corolla on that list, too. Not that there’s anything wrong with a regular Corolla, but there’s nothing to get excited about either.
Don’t forget it’s older brother, the Matrix XRS – the Matrix was a Corolla.
Homologation rules for ’90s WRC and Group N rally in general have spawned some pretty great cars.
The addition of the legendary 4.0L to the originally ho-hum Jeep XJ. Transformative.
The original XJ was not crap, but the engine options were. It only realized its full potential with the 4.0.
Fox body Thunderbird Turbo-Coupe. Added a lot of spice to rather pedestrian roots.
The original 1964 Ford Mustang was based on bones of the very pedestrian Ford Falcon.
I was going to suggest the Ford Fairmont platform eventually morphing into the supercharged 03/04 Mustang Cobra, but I thought platform sharing wasn’t really in the spirit of the question.
Plus any of the Shelby mod’s to the base platform.
I would say the Jeep JK kind of fits the bill here. the 3.8 and many of the less than great systems that were replaced or upgraded over time are pretty well documented.
The Dodge Omni GLH changed the humble Omni commuter car that you bought because it was all you could afford into a pocket rocket/hot hatch that you actually wanted to drive.
I approve of this comment
The Nissan Murano spawned the Murano CrossCabriolet, and I have some internet friends who are pretty happy with theirs.
How about the Renault 5 that, while not a terrible car, was not exactly high performance machine. Just a fairly competent hatchback.
But it spawned the fire-breathing R5 Turbo.
Huh, when I saw the lede image I thought it’d be about the GM X-bodies spawning the much better A-bodies.
Same!
Really, the 1982-up Xs were as good as the same year As, it’s just that those bugs were worked out from day 1 for the As.
Fiesta ST
I gotta go with the Chrysler LHs, which were loosely based on the Renault Medallion and Premier that preceded them. Mopar took the awful PVR motor and turned it into something special, and no car that large has ever handled as well. They also Americanized the interiors, which was hit and miss. But the overall product was light-years ahead of what the French gave them to start with.
I had a ’00 300M. That pig destroyed front tires.
I had the first-gen Intrepid. I didn’t have wear issues, but I’ll admit the car leans heavy on the fronts during cornering.
It was a combination of front heavy car and the factory chome wheels never seating well at the bead. Had more inflation/low pressure tires/ leaks on that car than ANY other I have owned.
I drove a lot of those as a valet back in the late 90’s. They had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier.
Yup, my Maxima was even worse. FWD + wide tires = love boat.
The LH platform may have been vaguely related to the Premier, but the LH engines were entirely unrelated to the PRV V6 that was seen in the Premier/Monaco. The PRV V6 was an aluminum-block OHC engine with wet cylinder sleeves. The LH’s 3.3L V6 was an existing iron-block OHV engine from the other Chrysler FW cars and the minivan. The LH’s 3.5L V6 was an evolved version of the 3.3L with SOHC heads.
My bad then. It sure looked like a PRV when I opened the hood!
I’m going with the Cavalier Z-24. Kind of the “big engine in a small car” concept. I had one in the early 90s. It wasn’t perfect but man, was it fun to drive.
Came here to say the same thing! I had a 1990 one for a few months that was way more fun than I had ever expected it to be. Sharp handling, nice motor.
An MPFI 2.8 in a small car was an absolute hoot to hoon on in the ’90s
Mine was the 3.1 with 140 hp. It was a loaner after my I wrecked my ’97 240SX. I’ve had respect for these cars (the Z24 versions) ever since.
[obligatory Ferrari Mondial reference]
How about Callaway with the C4 Sledgehammer, or any other of his Corvette mods. There was also someone who used to improve on the 80’s El Camino, damned if I can remember the name.
Choo Choo Customs?
The Choo Choo customs was just a cosmetic upgrade, did nothing for the performance of the El Camino.
That’s what I thought, but that’s the only name I could think of. OP did say “improve”, which I imagine from context means performance, but maybe they meant appearance?
BTW, OP, a few years back, I saw a Callaway C4 for the first time (somehow) and it looks so much more exotic than a regular C4. In photos, I thought it looked more or less like a body kit C4, but it’s more impressive in person. They’re actually fairly reasonable to buy (or were a few years ago). I have no idea if they’re reliable or not. I’m pretty sure they had a factory-honored warranty, but they’re over 30 years old now.
I have no idea what contemporary thought was with the AC Ace, but I imagine it was not as good as the Cobra that it spawned.
English dandies like the Ace, Alpine, etc were just like MGs and Alfas, but then some crazy idiot decided to stuff Ford 260s and 427s in them, turning them into holy-terror Corvette killers. Certainly a big jump!
*crazy chicken rancher is more accurate and makes him seem more crazy. So perfectly on the money
Gotta go with the Shelby Charger GLHS in 1987. This thing essentially spawned from a Dodge Omni and had no right to be as good as it was.
FYI, I bought a new 81 Citation. Traded a reliable 79 Nova. If I’d only known…
While never maligned, the ’89 SHO transformed the base Taurus.
My god! Yes! Didn’t thought of that one!
The ND Miata.
*runs and hides*
If it’s always the answer; it’s gotta take the good with the bad.