Sometimes, bad cars are like wine — they need a few years of aging to become something usable. Here's your choices for ten cars that improved with a little distilling.
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10. 2001 Toyota Prius
Suggested By: Jagvar
Why it Got Better: Man, was the Prius ugly or what? It's no Miura now, but I'm sure glad they fixed that car. The story goes that Toyota held a competition between its design departments for the Prius, and that the California office won. Wow, Toyota California Design. You guys sure know how to build 'em.
9. 1984 Pontiac Fiero
Suggested By: AMG=OMG
Why it Got Better: The Fiero has gained a rabid following in the years since its release, but as a newborn, it wasn't without problems. The car was too heavy with the underpowered Iron Duke four, which hurt both straight-line performance and handling. A V-6 was eventually fitted, and performance improved, but GM lost patience with the model and pulled the plug shortly after.
8. 1997 Porsche Boxster
Suggested By: yoda2
Why it Got Better: Along with the Miata, the Boxster has come to represent the modern two-seat convertible sports car. It's the "affordable" Porsche, and the low price of entry may have something to do with why it was plagued with a number of quality and reliability issues from the start. The newest Boxster has style, speed, and, by all accounts, reliability. You be the judge.
7. 1991 Ford Explorer
Suggested By: Scandinavian Flick
Why it Got Better: The one that started it all. What a brilliant idea, Ford: Let's build an SUV for people who don't go off-road! Also, one that rolls over in a stiff breeze. The rollover beast has long been tamed, however, and the current car is actually somewhat — kind of, sort of — pleasant to drive.
6. 1981 Ford Escort
Suggested By: eaglescout1984
Why it Got Better: The Escort promised the sportiness of a well-sorted European compact but delivered the underwhelming performance of a 68-hp engine in a car seemingly cobbled together from whatever parts Ford had lying around. The Escort was a "world car" in the worst sense — as almost always happens, the rest of the world got a better version. Those changes eventually trickled down to our showrooms.
Photo credit: Airliners.net
5. 1979 Toyota Supra
Suggested By: TraderCoz
Why it Got Better: At the start, the Supra was more of a grand tourer than the focused sports coupe we know and love. It wasn't particularly quick, but it handled well. The car eventually matured into the monster turbo beast that we know and love.
4. Chevrolet SSR
Suggested By: ikaiyoo
Why it Got Better: It was ugly. It was big. It was heavy. It was way too expensive, and in the beginning, it was underpowered. Later SSRs got Chevrolet's legendary LS2 V-8, giving the model the power it deserved. Even so, it was too weird to sell. Who wants a "sporty" pickup that can't be used as a pickup when the folding hard top is down?
3. 1989 Land Rover Discovery
Suggested By: zacarious
Why it Got Better: The original Discovery had a tough time on anything that wasn't a rutted jungle path or desert sand dune. It was unstable in crosswinds, it made tons of noise on ordinary pavement, and — surprise! — it had the usual British-car electrical issues. Thankfully, the current model (sold here as the LR4 but known as the Discovery 4 almost everywhere else) has solved most of the early cars' problems.
2. 1988 Hyundai Sonata
Suggested By: zacarious
Why it Got Better: The Sonata has been the butt of a bad joke its whole life. The ribbing was once deserved, but the car has evolved into a relatively interesting, well-rounded sedan. (And as Jeff Bridges will tell you, Hyundai will buy it back from you if you need them to.) The Sonata has come a long way from its boxy roots, and with Hyundai's 2.0-liter turbo four coming, it's moving away from its past very quickly.
1. 1981 Dodge Aries
Suggested By: timbuktu
Why it Got Better: It's the original K-car. Uninspiring performance and boring styling made the Aries a car for people who found "meh" to be more than enough. The K-car platform eventually spawned the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler LeBaron, and a host of Chrysler products that people actually wanted to buy, thus saving the company from bankruptcy... for a while.
Photo credit: Autoshite.com