Sometimes a song cover is better than the original. You all my disagree with me on which covers win out — it’s okay, you’re allowed to be wrong about Grace Mitchell and Daddy Issues — but the idea remains true. Earlier this week, I asked you all what automotive covers are better than the originals, and boy did you have some answers. Let’s look through them.
Hurts me to say this, but NA Miata. I don’t want to call it a Lotus Elan ripoff, but for all intents and purposes, it was. It was the late 80's best interpretation of Elan. They even tested like 96 exhaust systems to come up with the sound best reminds of Lotus twin cam.
“What if British roadsters worked?” This was the bold question asked by Mazda’s designers and engineers, and decades later the answer has never changed: “It would be fantastic.”
Controversial point here but BMW in the late 1990's early 2000's made a surprisingly good copy of the harley sportster. It handled and stopped alot better and to my book looked better. Now ofcourse this didnt matter as the harley boys wanted a harley and the people who wanted the look but didnt care about the brand they got a much cheaper Yammer star or Honda Shadow.
The R1200C was objectively a well-engineered bike, with its low-maintenance shaft drive and fancy pillion seat that converted into a backrest. Unfortunately for BMW, “objectively well-engineered” is not a rallying cry that many Harley enthusiasts will flock to.
The late Seventies Toyota Celica fastback ripoff of the Mustang:
Compared to the ‘69 Mustang:
Echo, echo...even the tail lights. But the size and shape of the Celica has a more lithe appearance than the Mustang original, so “good” for Toyota?
Plenty of you said that this didn’t count, because the Celica wasn’t better than the Mustang. Well, you were wrong about Grace Mitchell too. The Celica rules.
The Subaru Outback is a total ripoff of the original Jeep Wagoneer, done much better, with the questionable bits of plastic trim standing in for the plastic wood of dubious quality on the sides of the wagoneer.
Same basic idea- let’s make a thing that’s comfy and good at highway cruising, totally fine for commuting to work, but is also completely capable of taking you places a regular car would never go. An interior that looks nice but is also SUPER easy to clean out. All wrapped in a package that stands out nicely in the parking lot and makes a statement.
At the office, there may be several larger and more imposing SUVs in the parking lot, but the Outback is the one that says, “yeah, but I actually went off road this weekend while you were at the mall.”
This is what we in the industry call a galaxy-brain take. I can see it, with the explanation, but... really?
How has nobody mentioned the current gen Ford Bronco? It copies the Jeep Playbook almost to the T but overall is a much better and more polished car IMO.
Other commenters pointed out that I did mention the Bronco, but I’ll still take this suggestion. It’s like Ford’s engineers owned a Wrangler for three years and just wrote down everything they didn’t like, then fixed the whole list.
While I can’t speak to the actual performance difference between the H1 and the Toyota Mega Cruiser, I do know which I would rather own.
I have long known about the Mega Cruiser, Toyota’s answer to the Humvee. I will never get over that it’s called the Mega Cruiser. Tonka-ass name.
[Just a photo of a Shelby Cobra]
The Shelby is, by all accounts, better than the AC Ace. Whether it counts as a cover, though, I think is more up for debate.
The Ford Capri (or in US guise, the Mercury Capri). Ford aped themselves in Europe to great success by capitalizing on the Mustang’s styling and success and created the Capri initially for Europe and then sent it here to the US. It went on in Europe until 1986, 8 years after the last ones were sold here.
Remember that the question here was for an automotive cover that’s better than the original. Are you willing to make that claim about the Capri, Monsterajr? Are you ready to die on that hill?
Can’t mention a better knockoff than the original without talking about the UJM (universal Japanese motorcycle).
Built to mimic what the Allies had, but better built and oftentimes cheaper than the rivals. And unlike the Allies, you still find several of these running around today.
The CB750 may have been built to compete with Triumphs, but to call it a ripoff seems farfetched. A ripoff of what famous four-cylinder Triumph of the day, I query.
I’ve gotta say as motorcycle rider I’ve been into the return of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) design. The throwbacks are looking very similar to the Japanese bikes of the early to late 70's with all the modern comforts of fuel injection, real seat cushions, cruise control, and increased reliability. I had a ‘79 XS750 and absolutely love the new XSR900.
There are certainly companies doing modern retro truer than Yamaha. There are even other Yamahas that are just straight up retro, and have continued to be built into the modern era. The XSR line is neither, but it has the vibe of a retro bike with modern flair. What’s not to like?
The most obvious answer is the Corvette, right? Chevy’s answer to the Nash-Healey.
Is there anyone out there who thinks the single-headlight C1s are the best-looking Corvette? I don’t think that’s an indefensible position, it’s just one I’ve never actually heard. Where are the early C1 likers?
[Comparison chart between the 1968 and 2020 Bullitt Mustangs]
I know which one I would still rather have, but the vehicle people deride as a sticker package for a marketing effort kicks the original’s ass in terms of every form of performance, safety, efficiency, reliability, and anything else related to daily use.
To quote Virginia Slims, [we’ve] come a long way, baby.
The 2020 Bullitt is far and away the best-colored version, with a depth and sheen that the earlier cars don’t have. Shame it’s associated with such a boring movie.
Cizeta V16T if ‘copy my homework, but change it a little’ was a car
next to the Diablo
Sure, technically the Diablo came first. And maybe the Cizeta was built based on a Lamborghini prototype. By former Lamborghini engineers. But was Giorgio Moroder involved with the Diablo? I thought not.
I mean...
[Photo of the 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental followed by the Bentley Continental]
We’re really reaching for the definition of “cover” here, but I love the idea that a shinier Ford Taurus is better than a Bentley. I can’t not include that in the list.