Car design is like carcinization: everything trends towards one ideal shape. In the biological world, that shape is crab. In cars, it’s the Honda CR-V. But that endless march towards the singular best-selling silhouette has left a plethora of body styles in its wake, all killed off at the altar of shareholder value. Yesterday, we asked what kinds of cars should be resuscitated, and today we’re combing through your answers. Let’s see what you came up with.
The coupe. Manufacturers keep shrinking the size of door openings such that in anything but the largest cars you sit directly adjacent to the b-pillar and can’t see out to your left. It’s no wonder accident rates keep going up. A coupe gives you long enough doors and big enough windows to eliminate this effect.
The tradeoff with those long doors, of course, is that you’re then stuck opening them in tiny spaces. Luckily, there is a solution: put Lambo doors on every coupe.
The FWD “sporty” coupe w/manual transmission, especially what was on offer in the 90's. Not every teenager can (or should) have access to a beast like a Mustang or Porsche. Sometimes the best a 16 year old can do is to walk the walk, even if the car is all show and no go. Sure, there is a small smattering of affordable cars with a manual still, but I can’t think of a single one that has that “boy racer’s first car” appeal that the Toyota Celica/Paseo, Honda Civic coupe/CRX, and Mazda MX-3. Heck, I’ll even throw a bone to the Mercury Cougar coupe if it gives us another go at the Ford Probe.
RIP to a real one, the CRX. I’ve never even sat in one, yet I know it to be one of the best cars we’ve ever been graced with.
Not nescessarily a specific car, but in general, we need to renew the concept of smaller cars being anything other than econo-box crap.
Literally just this last weekend, my dad found the original window sticker for his 1988 Beretta. That was his “I’m an up-and-coming go-getter in the financial industry” back then! He was so goddam proud of it!
Now if you own a FWD 2-door Chevy, it’s because your life is in the toilet. Do they even make such a thing anymore?
Fun fact: if you Google “luxury kei car,” just to see if Japan has anything to fill that niche, the first image that comes up is a Honda Beat. Those are great and all, but maybe not the most luxurious.
Less a type of car than a look, but here goes:
We need to bring back happy cars.
Cars that don’t look like they’re going to eat you. Cars that don’t have angry faces, cars that don’t look like they were designed by the same guy who designs semi automatic rifles. I want to see cars that, when I see them in my rear view mirror, I feel like, “Aww, look at that thing” not “Holy fuck WTF is that?”
Miatas, Mazda 3s, Neons, even my old VW sportwagon (my daughter said it had a face like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch).
Cars today are a lot like comic books from the early 2000s where everything was dark and brooding and edgy. I don’t want an edgy car. Please stop.
Sometimes, you can still get a smile on a new car. It just has to be a mischievous little smile, like an ND Miata.
Saab 900. Even ABBA came back...
The Saab 900 isn’t a genre of car. It’s a specific make and model. But it’s a make and model you all starred in the comments, and a make and model I love. It stays.
Minivans.
Not the huge, bloated “I wanna be an SUV when i grow up” vans on the market today, but the compact, FWD 5-passenger vans that Chrysler pioneered back in the ‘80s.
I’d even buy one with the white walls, wire wheel covers and fake wood paneling - That’s right, I said it... you wanna fight about it?
My current DD is a Mazda 5, which I purchased because I can get myself and my wheelchair into and out of the vehicle easily. I am honestly surprised how much I enjoy the car and how practical it is. It’s all the vehicle I need.
I am concerned what my next car will be since the mini-minivan segment is dead and at 175K miles, my current 5 probably only has a few years left.
Modern minivans are very good, but they’re far from compact. If you’re regularly in tight traffic (say, within earshot of New Jersey) you might be better off with something smaller.
affordable mid-engine sportscars
Pontiac Fiero. Toyota Mister Two. We had such luxuries, an embarrassment of riches, and they’ve all been taken from us.
Wagons, specifically ones that aren’t raised and saddled with hideous plastic body cladding.
Subaru will still sell you an Impreza wagon. Audi sells the RS6 Avant. Won’t someone give me the latter for the price of the form
Dune buggies; lightweight, stripped down, sealed bearings and mechanicals to protect against sand etc, simple motors exposed to the elements, roll bars and metallic paint. When I was a kid Meyers Manx dune buggies were everywhere and I loved them. They still bring a smile to my face.
We need to see a resurgence of a class of vehicles that are the modern take on a factory-built dune buggy.
A Meyers Manx is another bucket-list vehicle for me. I wanna drive one through sand.
Bring back Stripper cars. True, poverty spec trim levels.
Unpainted bumpers. No chrome. Steel wheels. No radio. limited carpet Just cut cost and weight everywhere and sell cheap. But not just for cheapest car in the lineup, give it to us for every car.
The Toyota GR86 RC fits this bill, but you can’t get it in the United States. Getting this treatment for every single car in a lineup sounds very fun, though. Where’s my no-carpet, no-radio BMW X7?
The Subaru Baja. Turn the back of the current Outback or Ascent into a truck bed, give it the Wilderness trim, then print money.
This could be the return of the Baja or the Brat, so I’m counting it as a genre of vehicle. Give us more open-back Subies.
Small cargo vans.
Besides being as cheap as possible (I mean, it needs to focus on utility and ergonomics, so it’s not just understandable and acceptable, it’s the standard!), I think they’re extremely capable, and I definitely wouldn’t mind owning one.
We can’t even keep small American vans here. Sure, we’re losing the Metris, but the Transit Connect is on its way out too.
RWD, stick shift, n/a engine, analog instrument panel, two doors, no driver aids.
Ooooh...a passing cloud. I’ll be right back.
I’m just saying, this was the dominant form of vehicle for a very long time. They’re still out there. You can find a Chevelle on Craigslist, or accept modern safety features and buy a Camaro, Challenger, or Mustang off a dealer lot.
El Caminos or Rancheros.
The smaller 60's ones not the ridiculous 70's ones. I’d like a truck with a bed I can actually see and load stuff into.
I wonder if these would have sold here.
Holden made nearly-American utes for a while, but they always remained just out of our chicken-taxed grasp. We weep, for what could have been.
American Flagship Sedans.
Mercedes, Audi & BMW have no problem selling their S-Class, A8s and 7 series sedans. Each of the Big 3 should have a long wheelbase, hybrid (600-ish HP), luxury flagship sedan stuffed to the gunwales with tech, carbon fiber, leather, wood, billet aluminum, concierge service and 6“ deep carpet. There have been half-hearted attempts but they really need to put their backs into it. May not sell in large quantities so limit the number each year (“somethingsomething...only 500 will be commissioned...”)and use them to promote the brand and introduce emerging technology. I want to see:
Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
Lincoln Continental
Chrysler Imperial
And they need to be beautiful! Shame on you, Chrysler for that butt-ugly Imperial concept and Lincoln for that orphaned Continental. We know you can do better.
Pour one out for the CT6, gone too soon from this world. It even got a performance trim, and then was announced to be discontinued within the same year. Big brain business moves.