Readers Say These New Cars Are Unrecognizable From Previous Generations

We asked readers what cars are the most unrecognizable from previous models and generations earlier this week. It's amazing what a few decades will do to a person and/or car — for better or worse. Some models go from being beloved SUVs to blobby crossovers, while others go from being coupes or sedans to, well, blobby crossover and SUVs.

Still, others, like the Toyota Prius, go from being ugly ducklings to something graceful and less crossover-y. And others, such as the Ford Maverick, jumped entire segments altogether to become something unrecognizable — but cool, in the case of the 'Mav.

So many of the cars in this list could practically sing us the lines from Linkin Park's "In the End:" Things aren't the way they/were before/You wouldn't even/ recognize me anymore. And even if we did know them back when they were vastly different models, it doesn't make their transformations any less shocking. Here are the cars that readers say are the most unrecognizable from previous generations:

The Ford Maverick. Go from a chunky compact car:

[...]

To a well-at-least-it's-smaller-than-an-F150 pickup:

[...]

Rad.

Submitted by: the1969DodgeChargerFan

And...

Seriously. Ford should have named this the Sport Trac instead of the Maverick.

Submitted by: CarNerd4Life

How did this happen ?

[...]

Submitted by: Da Car Guru – 15,000 RPM daily driver

The Dodge Demon. Which went from a hot version of a Dodge Dart—a secretary's car—thanks to a tweaked 340 small block under the hood:

[...]

And the answer is simple: I completely spaced on that meh Dart even existing...had to duckduckgo it:

[...]

Submitted by: the1969DodgeChargerFan

And... a reminder in response:

Given the ~50 year gap, and that the "new" Demon is a Challenger, they look very alike.

A better one would have been the Dart.

Submitted by: Ente Süßsauer

I would have liked to say the Civic Type R, but the new one is much less Anima Mecha-Wannabe than the previous generation.

So instead, I will go with the M3. The new M3 looks like a 5- or a 7-series next to the original. It's cartoonishly aggro grille just looks silly in comparison.

[...]

Somebody who lives near me has one in that amazing green, but it has THAT GRILLE and it makes me sad when I see it.

Submitted by: Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death

Prius.

Chapter 1. There once was an ugly duckling.

Chapter 2. That became a bigger ugly duckling.

Chapter 3. That didn't change much as she got older until.

Chapter 4. She turned into a really ugly duck that got into meth and prison tats.

Chapter 5. Only Joking. She turned into a swan.

Submitted by: hoser68

From:

[...] [K5 Blazer]

to this:

[...] 2024 Blazer]

Submitted by: 4jim

And... a counterpoint:

Reminder that for most of the Blazer's life (and really, all of the TrailBlazer's life), it was a kind of middling SUV with cheap interiors (GMT360's got great engines, but still cheap). It's unrecognizable from the modern versions, but this is what we're mourning.

[...]

Submitted by: Maymar

Someone already mentioned the Mitsubishi Eclipse turning into an SUV.

How about the Dodge Avenger, which was a badge engineered Mitsubishi Eclipse. It went from a well proportioned two door coupe to a hell spawned abomination of grafting a Dodge Durango grill onto a Dodge Charger that shrank when it was washed.

From this:

[...]

To this:

[...]

Submitted by: gcodori

I would say the Corvette has undergone some substantial changes in the way it looks throughout the years. If you showed a non-enthusiast a picture of the C1 and C8 side-by-side, I doubt they would say the former looks like the ancestor of the later. There are even some notable design departures in between, from the C1 to C2, again to the C4, and finally the C8 obviously.

[...]

Submitted by: paradsecar

And... a counterpoint:

Just for the sake of argument, I'd say that there are more stylistic similarities between C1 and C8, than say between C1 and C7. The C1 and C8 both place the driver at roughly the centre of the car. C2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 have the long nose that defined Corvette for so long.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

The Blazer and TrailBlazer

[...] [Look how they massacred my boy]

Submitted by: Ente Süßsauer

Nissan Pathfinder

1980's

[...]

2024

[...]

Submitted by: FusiliJerry

And...

At least the 2024 looks like something a rational person would choose to drive. The previous version was a prime example of the Sad Jellybean school of design.

Submitted by: bfred

I mean, the Chevy Trax hits me as having a recognizable lineage, but man what a glow up.

(When the heck are they going to fix this damn board so I can insert a picture? How are other people doing it? Links don't work, you cant insert a single picture, you can insert the comparison photos but you just get an error messge. UGH)

Submitted by: PostOMatic2000

And...

I find Kinja way more agreeable if you start typing out a comment before adding a picture. But yes, the new Trax looks a ton better (and props to GM for making an affordable car that they don't seem hellbent on penalizing you for buying something reasonably priced).

Submitted by: Maymar

In 1976 this was the Ford Explorer.

[...][F-350 Explorer]

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

And...

It was an F100. The Explorer was the trim package.

Submitted by: The Kilted Yaksman

That's easy. Just look at 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe vs 2023 model.

[...]

Submitted by: Gaurav

I can't recognize the new gen of this car either:

[...]

Submitted by: darthspartan117

(Ah, I see what you did there.)

Well, there's this...

[...] [Hudson Hornet]

...that became this.

[...] [Dodge Hornet]

Submitted by: namesakeone

From this:

[...] [Blue WRX STI]

To This:

[...] [Blue WRX]

Submitted by: STIKleinWagon

And...

[Not sure if...]

Submitted by: Mehphisto