Nine cars with underserved bad reputations

[ragmopp01]

Found this article in the Car Connection:

http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwkfLA2RE
(hope link works)

I have some experience as I have owned FOUR of them (I guess I am a loser)...

Corvair - I owned a 65 & 66, poor mans Porsche in its day. NO oil leaks.

Porsche 914. Coming from a a 911 Targa I wanted better gas mileage and less expense. Loved the 914. Like riding on rails

Isuzu Trooper. Fantastic SUV. Luxurious and you could load it like a mini van. It was perfect for tent camping which wife and I did in those days.

And lastly the Kizashi, which we are both extremely happy with.

Each of those cars was for a different need in my life, and each of them were fun to drive and have. I wouldn't have had it any differently.

[KuroNekko]

I agree with many of the cars in the article. Circumstances made them look bad, but the cars themselves were fine.

I also don't get the hatred and the ridicule people have for the Pontiac Aztec. Sure, it was ugly but it wasn't actually a bad car like the Yugo or Pinto. People seem to think because it was unsightly and did not sell well that it was some kind of horrible mess. Owners actually like them.
I was glad that it was featured in "Breaking Bad" to make it kind of cool in a retroactive way.

[murcod]

The "Civic De Sol" (it was sold as the CRX locally) was a great drive! When they were out new a friend threw me the keys to one he had as a company loaner. The 1.6l Vtec engine just loved to be caned ----HARD-----! We only got the lower spec engines in the previous shape, so it was a big improvement.

[KuroNekko]

The "Civic De Sol" (it was sold as the CRX locally) was a great drive! When they were out new a friend threw me the keys to one he had as a company loaner. The 1.6l Vtec engine just loved to be caned ----HARD-----! We only got the lower spec engines in the previous shape, so it was a big improvement.

Interesting that Honda kept the CRX name for that car in Australia. In the US, the Del Sol replaced the much-loved older CRX (a different car) and Honda fanboys hated it. The Civic, Prelude, and the Acura (Honda) Integra then became more popular as the Honda tuner cars. The current hybrid CR-Z was supposed to be the "new CRX" but no one bought into that for good reason. It's neither applauded as a sports compact nor a hybrid. The only person I know who owns one is a girl who does not care about cars.
Since the death of the S2000, Honda barely has a sports compact worthy of an enthusiast base. The Civic Si is greatly overshadowed by the Mazdaspeed3, STI, Evo, Focus ST, R32/Golf-R offerings. The "VTEC just kicked in, yo!" no longer cuts it in a world of:

[murcod]

Another take, from another country (not that I think they sell well here) http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/la ... 6246997201

"It's fun to drive and if this is the future it's something worth looking forward to," Wheels editor Bill Thomas said.

"And, as our judging panel noted, the CR-Z takes the car where it should be going, smaller, lighter, more efficient, more enjoyable."

Not having driven one, I won't pass judgement.

[KuroNekko]

Another take, from another country (not that I think they sell well here) http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/la ... 6246997201

"It's fun to drive and if this is the future it's something worth looking forward to," Wheels editor Bill Thomas said.

"And, as our judging panel noted, the CR-Z takes the car where it should be going, smaller, lighter, more efficient, more enjoyable."

Not having driven one, I won't pass judgement.

I personally like the looks of the CR-Z, but it's just too small. It's a 2 seater so if I was going to get something that impractical, I'd rather go for a Mazda MX-5, Subaru BRZ, or a Nissan 370Z.

It's not selling well probably because it's too small for many buyers interested in hybrids and it's too pokey for people interested in sport compacts. People loved the old CRX because it was lightweight, zippy, and easy to mod. I've read that the CR-Z is none of the above, especially compared to the shoes it was supposed to fill. It's also not the hyper-miler the first gen Insight was.

As a hybrid, the 2014 model gets 34 MPG combined for a manual and 37 MPG combined for auto. These figures are at least 10 MPG worse that the Prius and even the Fusion Hybrid. The Prius and Fusion are also 5 seaters.
The CR-Z's saving grace for people like me is that it's the only hybrid available in a manual transmission, but really, I'd rather go with something more fun.
What angers many is that Honda killed off the S2000 and gave us something like this. Many sports compact enthusiasts have left Honda merely out of a lack of choice.

[~tc~]

I test drove a CRZ when shopping for what turned out to be the Kizashi - it's the most "meh" of the most "meh" automaker's lineup ... Absolutely nothing remarkable about it good or bad in any regard.

[KuroNekko]

I test drove a CRZ when shopping for what turned out to be the Kizashi - it's the most "meh" of the most "meh" automaker's lineup ... Absolutely nothing remarkable about it good or bad in any regard.

Toyota used to be the most "meh" automaker, but they have started to turn things around. Aside from causing "excitement" from mass recalls, they've actually started to focus some attention on sports cars again.
Looks like they are bringing the Supra back. About %$(#*&^ time.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/02/18/toyo ... k-renewed/

[SamirD]

The CRZ was pretty hated on my forum as well for what it was not--everything the old CRX was.

Honda has introduced a lot of great vehicles that it promptly removed from production as fast as the Kizashi--Element, Ridgeline, s2000, and more. If they just brought back some of these cars from yesteryear and just manufactured them again, sales would soar.

[Woodie]

As a hybrid, the 2014 model gets 34 MPG combined for a manual and 37 MPG combined for auto. These figures are at least 10 MPG worse that the Prius and even the Fusion Hybrid.

And, just to point out the ridiculous, 15 mpg worse than my 1989 GEO Metro. I know it was pretty much a tin can in comparison to today's cars, but it was fun to drive and got 52 mpg in daily driving, 60 on the highway. Why is it that 25 years later, nothing even comes close?