Ten Cars We Regret Lusting After

Whether you actually pulled the trigger and bought a car you knew you shouldn't have or just lusted after it from afar, don't feel bad. We've all been there. Here are the ten cars you regret lusting after.

Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our Jalopnik summer feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

10.) Pontiac Aztek

Suggested By: accipiter

Why It Was A Mistake: Versatility and a tent that folds out of the trunk are no reason to want a vehicle this ugly. There's no excuse to sear your eyeballs every time you look at the monstrosity that is the Aztek, just so you can cart around your family when you go camping. Has anyone ever even used the tent? Is it any good? Does it protect you from angry onlookers forced to see your car?

9.) 1987 Mercury Cougar

Suggested By: irishman72

Why It Was A Mistake: Sure, in 1987 one could buy a 20th Anniversary Edition Cougar. The special birthday cat came with all kinds of special badges (some finished in 24k gold), a book about the history of the Cougar, and a 150hp 302 V8. The only problem is that it still looks like an old lady's car. To be fair, the car's styling would only get worse as the year's progressed, getting more and more boring, but in 1987 at 20 years old, the Cougar didn't look like it had an exciting future ahead of it.

Photo credit: CarDomain

8.) Chevrolet Citation X-11

Suggested By: CobraJoe

Why It Was A Mistake: GM really wanted to remind Citation buyers that they were entering the family that brought the world the Corvette and Camaro. They created the X-11 as an attempt to inject some sportiness into the otherwise yawn-inducing Citation line. On paper, it looks like they did their job: stabilizer bars front and rear, Iron Duke or 2.8 liter V6 engine, all kinds of go-fast stickers and badges, and a slightly changed interior. In the real world though, all this did little. The X-11 was still, unfortunately, fairly boring.

7.) Renault Fuego

Suggested By: fintail

Why It Was A Mistake: At the tender age of six, reader "fintail" went all out, going so far as to march down to the local Renault dealer and get a Fuego poster to hang on the wall. Now, fintail understands (along with everyone else who commented later) that in order to make the Fuego tolerable, everything on the car involved in forward motion would have to be replaced.

Photo credit: WorldTopCars

6.) Infiniti I30

Suggested By: Jagvar

Why It Was A Mistake: Jagvar made a classic mistake back in 2000 when shopping for a used car. Assuming that Infiniti meant "better than Nissan" his snobbery blocked him from seeing that the i30 was, in fact, little more than some nice wood grain interior bits and a shiny trim package. Thankfully his mom talked him out of it, saving him from driving something boring for the next few years.

5.) Cadillac Allante

Suggested By: eforeal

Why It Was A Mistake: Three words: front. Wheel. Drive. For a car that was meant to compete with Europe's best in the Mercedes Benz SL and Jaguar XJS, the Allante's wrong wheel drive was a major flaw right out of the starting gate. To make matters worse, the car was woefully underpowered when launched making do with Cadillac's V8 of the day, which should have been enough, but in a car that tipped the scales at almost 4,000 pounds, it wasn't going to cut it.

4.) Triumph TR7

Suggested By: geistkoenig

Why It Was A Mistake: Why wouldn't it be a mistake? The TR7 may not have looked like any other British sports car of the era, but it sure acted like one. Of course, production was hampered and build quality suffered when the manufacturing plant that originally produced the Triumph went on strike. The already not-so-stellar reliability dropped through the floor, and the TR7 was less "The Shape of Things to Come" as it was "The Shape of Things That Leak Oil and Don't Start."

3.) Plymouth Prowler

Suggested By: yoda2

Why It Was A Mistake: The idea was that baby boomers really wanted a hot rod without having to own a hot rod, so Plymouth stepped in with an "I Can't Believe It's Not A Hot Rod!" substitute. The Prowler was underpowered by its V6 engine, stuck with a four-speed automatic, and would have looked a whole lot better if it had gotten its big rubber bumper mustache shaved before production began.

2.) Porsche Panamera

Suggested By: Spiegel

Why It Was A Mistake: I think Spiegel says it the best, to himself:

Me: Hey Spiegel!

Myself: Yes Spiegel?

Me: Porsche is making a sedan!

Myself: Really Spiegel? That sounds awesome!

Me: Yeah! and they're keeping the same style its 2 door counterpart has.

Myself: So it's going to have a touch of sports car with the roominess of a sedan? I hope it keeps the engine the same!

Me: Yeah!

Myself: That's a great idea! I wonder what it will look like.

Me: Who cares, it's Porsche. They can't fuck it up!

1.) Fiat X1/9

Suggested By: spacewanderer

Why It Was A Mistake: How do you spell "rust"? I spell it F-I-A-T. Coincidentally, that's also how I spell "electrical failure" and "ridiculously slow." No amount of futuristic wedge styling could save the X1/9 from its unreliable, tortoise-like fate.