NASCAR's current lineup of Chargers, Fusions, Impalas and Camrys is getting stale. Newer, interesting cars are needed to liven things up. Here are the ten cars Jalopnik readers would like to see in NASCAR.
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!
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10.) Ford Crown Victoria
Suggested By: Toshi Station
Why It's Cool: Maybe NASCAR's inclusion of the Crown Vic would bring it back from the nearly-dead. It would be an old-school, body-on-frame shot in the arm to the boring, cookie cutter cars of today. It's already as close to a NASCAR stocker as you're going to find on a dealer's lot.
Photo credit: Highway Patrol Images, flickr
9.) Lexus IS-F
Suggested By: GR1M RACER
Why It's Cool: Toyota already has a presence in NASCAR, so dropping their luxury brand in shouldn't be too much of a stretch. The IS-F would be a load of fun, hanging the tail out and smoking its tires all the way around Talladega. The NASCAR guys probably wouldn't even know what to make of its eight-speed transmission.
Photo credit: Mr. Donut, flickr
8.) Buick Regal GS
Suggested By: no_slushbox
Why It's Cool: The base Regal would be alright, but what we really want to see on the banking is the forthcoming Regal GS. The real version has 270 horsepower and 295 pound feet of torque sounds putting power down trough a six-speed manual transmission — in a Buick. NASCAR needs this sort of racy influence from brands that had lost that spark. Seeing the GS out there, dicing it up with the Corollas, Fusions and Chargers of today would do wonders for both NASCAR and Buick.
Photo credit: Automotive Rhythms, flickr
7.) Volkswagen Passat
Suggested By: Screamingsloth
Why It's Cool: Volkswagen's been hyping their brand new Chattanooga, Tennessee manufacturing plant like there's no tomorrow. They're really proud to be building the new Passat there. So Volkswagen, if you're so jazzed to be building cars in America, how about you step up and start racing them in the most American racing series? It's a car built in NASCAR country, by NASCAR fans, who I'm sure would be thrilled to see their work out on the track. Let's slap some numbers on a Passat and git 'er done!
Photo credit: Dave Pinter, flickr
6.) Porsche Cayenne, Jeep Cherokee SRT-8, BMW X6M
Suggested By: Picarso
Why It's Cool: Hear me out. NASCAR's already got a racing series for "pickup trucks," right? So let's put some numbers on the side of a bunch of luxury SUVs and let 'em loose on a tri-oval. Bonus points if they cut across the infield or roll straight over their competitor's wreckage. Points off if their drivers stop for Starbucks along the way. Throw a Lamborghini LM002 out there and you've already got a vintage support race!
Photo credit: The Car Spy, flickr
5.) Fiat 500
Suggested By: rawtoast
Why It's Cool: Again, bear with me. I think this could be another winning idea. Imagine 50 little Fiats, scattered in amongst the NASCAR regulars. If you want to make it complicated, split them into classes, but otherwise let 'em rip! I can see packs of Fiats drafting up on the Fusions, Chargers and Impalas and swarming them, forcing the bigger cars to the back of the group, or conversely, a Fusion rolling through a school of 500s like a bowling ball. It could go either way, but the racing would probably be great.
Photo credit: Paulo Keller, flickr
4.) Jaguar XF
Suggested By: brettwmorris
Why It's Cool: Jaguar alctually already has some history in NASCAR. Before Kyle Busch took the checkers in Atlanta in 2008 behind the wheel of a "Toyota," the only other foreign car to have won a NASCAR race was a Jaguar XK120 in 1954, driven by Al Keller. The race was held on a two-mile road course at an airport in New Jersey. So while a modern Jaguar seems like an outrageous choice for NASCAR, it's not as crazy as it would have been in 1954.
Photo credit: sarkofucker, flickr
3.) Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Suggested By: IGNTNUNLMTD
Why It's Cool: In order to continue their march into the hearts and minds of American consumers, Hyundai is going to have to pull a Toyota and infiltrate their most sacred racing series. The Genesis Coupe is going to need Hyundai's Tau V8 and a whole lot of gumption to stick it to the good ol' boys in Bristol.
Photo credit: theKCB, flickr
2.) Cadillac CTS-V
Suggested By: fordrunner
Why It's Cool: C'mon, who didn't see this coming? Any excuse to race a CTS-V is a good one. Corvette power in a big Caddy is a sure bet when trying to win on Sunday and sell on Monday. And of course, while racing the coupe or sedan would be alright, what we really want to see out there is the wagon.
Photo credit: gregory_gdp, flickr
1.) Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
Suggested By: True-Blue
Why It's Cool: Two tons of German engineering speeding at 180 miles per hour around a banked oval banging fenders with a Chevy Monte Carlo and Ford Fusion sounds like just about the best thing ever. Especially when that German-engineered two-ton missile has a six liter, 621 horsepower V12 under the hood. A couple of rules rewrites would be necessary to shoehorn the S65 in, but they'd be worth it.
Photo credit: ben010783, flickr