As quickly as I conjured up today’s Autopian Ask, I already had my answer (which is only my answer, and needn’t be yours): the third-generation Ford Taurus as seen above, in all its ovoid jellybeaned glory. I was thinking more of the sedan than the wagon, but the wagon had a better pic, but anyway – it’s the Taurus for me.
… which is kind of an odd choice if you think about it, because as The Bishop noted, “[The] oval Taurus was too much of an outlier. It didn’t start a trend, and even Ford knew they fucked up right away.” That’s very true: I can’t think of anything that looks quite as soft and cornerless as the Taurus and Sable, but they were kind of the ultimate expression of the 90s trend toward softer shapes and a clear break from the crisp folds of the eighties. It didn’t start a trend, but it sure finished one. At least that’s what my zero-research, as-I-remember-it take is telling me.
Also worth noting: the third-gen Taurus didn’t arrive until 1996, well into the 90s. Before I went looking for pics, I thought it arrived around 1993 or so, but no! Ford was still on the second-gen, which wasn’t very (to my eye) 90s at all; just a handsome car really, neatly tucked and tailored compared to the plumper originals birthed in 1986. I think the Bishop is correct about the ovalized third-gen starting no trends, but I do think the success of the then-futuristic 1986 design did a lot to move mainstream car design to toward the rounder shapes that really took hold in the 90s.
Some other opinions from the team:
Your turn:
What Is The Most 1990s Car?
Top graphic image: Ford
Hunter Green w/ tan interiors aside, the most “‘90’s” car would be a decent used car from the ‘70’s or ‘80’s that you could still buy for less than $2k.
We’ve done this before, right?
Then, as now, the answer is a Saturn.
Saturn would be a great brand to reboot as an EV-only line.
Ford Foxbody Mustangs, Explorers, and the Probes (both generations)
BMWs when they drove great and were good looking too (the 3 and 7 series especially IMO)
Porsche 911s when they were still air-cooled
Honda CRX and Civic (especially the two-door hatchbacks)
Dodge Viper and Neon
Ford Taurus sedan and wagon
Chevy Corvette (C4/C5)
Lexus LS400 and ES350
Mazda Miata (NA/NB)
Mercedes C Class (W202 gen) and E Class (W124 and W210 gens)
VW New Beetle
Chrysler minivans
Audi A4 (first generation)
Anything still sporting pop-up headlights
Isuzi Vehicross (not popular of course, but very ’90s)
GM EV1 (also not popular, but in retrospect, sort of a failed/fallen ’90s icon)
Who’d have known at the time that the 1990s would represent peak automobile in terms of capability vs complexity? Cars back then seemed more attainable too, even accounting for the inflation since. Cars made in the ’90s often had the potential to be fairly durable and more easily/economically servicable (generalizing of course; compared to today’s cars anyway). IMO, peak automobile actually stretches from the ’80s into the ’00s, but the 1990s is smack-dab in the middle of the curve.
I’d very happily own a nice example of almost any of the cars I’ve listed above. 🙂
Man, the Lexus LS400, SC400 may be absolute peak ’90s.
I rode in an LS400 when they first came out, at 80 MPH on a dirt road, and I was flabbergasted at how quiet and smooth it was. I also test drove the SC 300 and 400 when I was shopping for my first new car and liked them both, but foolishly wound up getting a Mercedes CLK instead, which turned out to be the most unreliable car I ever owned.
The Explorer is the one. Any mall parking lot in the mid-90’s was chock full of those things.
IMO the early Evos (I-III, IV-VI) and the GC8 WRX. Just seeing one takes me right back to the era of Colin McRae vs Tommi Makinen.
Honda Civic del Sol. Only available from ’93 to ’98 models years.
Gotta be the Monte Carlo/Lumina siblings for me.
1995 Ford Explorer.
There are so many, and a surprising number of them are Chrysler products.
The Neon and ’94 Ram both rocked their respective classes. The Ram was the more revolutionary of course. The’ 96 Chrysler minivans that debuted dual sliding doors upended that class once again. And we can’t forget the Viper that started gracing our bedroom walls in 1992.
Diamond Star trio.
Either a magenta Geo Tracker (preferably with door art), or one of those teal Mitsubishis or Fords that seemed to be everywhere all of a sudden.
Any Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer in hunter green and tan!
On its side with a blown Firestone
I was going to say 2nd gen Chrysler minivan or 4th gen GM F body, but yeah – you’re correct.
The Firestone recall was, believe it or not, August 2000.
Everyone seems to be forgetting the Mazda MX3 Precidia.
I never see these in the street anymore (sadly). I do see one or two each year at the big Japanese car show in Long Beach, and when I do, I feel such an intense wave of desire to own one of them, just to sit in it and experience its tiny 1.8 liter V6 engine. 🙂
I have a ’90s hardtop Miata in my garage and I love it, but it’d be so nice if I could get it a MX-3 as a playmate. 🙂
They were really unique. That 1.8 V6 was the smallest I’ve seen personally, and it was another interesting solution from Mazda.
The V6 had all the stuff and most of the weight of it’s larger 2.5 cousin, yet power levels were pretty close to the BP used in the Miata. I never drove one, but I’d imagine they may have had an advantage in the lower revs.
I think the real appeal is that you could simply drop in a cool 200+ hp JDM motor, like a KLZ or a BPT.
Bruno Sacco designed Mercedes
A teal Honda Civic hatchback.
Anything teal, really
How about a teal Civic hatchback parked in front of Blockbuster?
With the owner making a call on a payphone.
The 90’s Crown Vic / Grand Marquis very 90’s looking especially the aero body.
I’ll go with the Lincoln Mark VIII … an American interpretation of luxury through Ford’s jellybean styling; only existed in the actual 1990s; last gasp of the full-sized luxury coupe (along with the Eldorado) … and the car that birthed the Ford modular V8 (4.6L) that appeared in so many other Ford cars of the 90s.
Either the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the GMT600 platform. We had a ’94 and a ’97 and a lot of friends/neighbors had the Tahoes or Suburbans.
I’m going with the 1997 F-150 with its jellybean styling. It was a radical departure from the very squared off previous generation. These trucks looked happy, friendly, and kind of cute. So of course Ford went back to the all-business styling with the next generation. The 90’s were over, and it was time to stop letting our trucks smile.
I blame 9/11 for the decline of happy jellybean styling in our cars. I know that doesn’t make sense really, but it was a world-changing event that coincided with our auto design going from abstract styling to brutalist in a single generation. Thanks a lot Bin Laden, you dick.
It was an inflection point in society for sure; I remember the overall outlook of the future being so positive up until then.
Not just the towers coming down but also Mission (NOT) Accomplished, the Great Recession and the truth coming out about climate change had a way of souring the people’s outlook.
The latter half of the 90s (in the US, anyway) did seem like a calm before the storm in a lot of ways, though.
At the time I loved the styling of the ’97 F-150 and to tell the truth I still do. Probably has something with me not being a truck guy I guess (I like trucks, but haven’t had the need to own one yet). First time I rode in a ‘jellybean F-150’ I was a little let down in that from the inside, it really felt and rode like a Ford pickup: very rough and truckish (at least compared to a car). I gather today’s trucks are much more car-like in terms of ride/comfort.
OG Twingo! Took all the colour and and happiness of a growing world after the cold war, and built it in to one car.
My vote is for the third gen Integra sedan. Its a car that was made to be elevated over the 80s models for certain with soft lines but you would never mistake it for a car that felt new as it left in 2001.
Yet it doesnt have the bubble economy excess hangover that drove so much of the japanese cars.
Just a genuinely solid car that you needed to put in a garage because someone is gonna steal it in the night.
2 door too, I’d say. They still manage to look both from the 90s but not exclusively of the 90s.
Those were such great cars, it’s a shame that so many people today haven’t even driven one. I had one with GSR suspension package, it was truly brilliant to drive.
The Neon literally popped into my head from just skipping the headline, so 100% agree with Bishop on that one.
3rd-gen curvy Grand Caravan / Plymouth Voyager is up there too.
I was thinking that dustbuster Pontiac minivan. When I was a kid, I thought it was so much cooler than our boxy Chevy Astro.
Anything splashed with EXTREME!!! teal and mauve.
Saturn on the purple or goldish color. Close second for me would be the 2 door mini convertible SUVs (Geo Tracker, Samari, first gen RAV4) with body graphics.
So either the XV10 Camry or the ’94 Neon. Both were successful and set trends that their own marques and others followed for design.
*95.
I was about to argue that I know for sure they were available in 1994, but Google tells me they were available in 1994 but as a 1995 model year, so I stand corrected.
Yeah, that’s how it works for most cars. Idk why.
True, I should have said “early 1994” instead of the usual mid-year. I swear my neighbor had one arrive when snow was still on the ground the winter of 1993/1994.