a friend and myself had dinner last night and of course we ended up talking about cars and how i liked the "redhaired stepchild cars". we name cars this that either the model before it or after it overshadows it.
examples i own and maybe you guys can think of others
Nissan S12 200sx i own 5 of these cars. i bought one brand new and always loved them but have no real following the s13 and s14 took all their thunder
Nissan R30 skyline in the big scheme of skyline this is the least liked i own one
BMW e21 i have 2 one for sale here on the forum. these cars are looked down on by BMW people because of the e30
and now i am thinking of trading my 911sc for a 912. when i get into this 912 (its a friend car) i just want to put on a pair of driving gloves...its so crude its fun
i know there are other models that got pushed a side when the new and improved came out or it did not stack up to the older model
<-- AE92...will always live in its older brother's shadow.
Um, Falcon. Lives in the Mustang's shadow.
260Z would also in there. There are many that were outshadowed.
But then there are those that leave you scratching your head, going why on earth did you even make that?
The 4 cylinder Toyota T100 for example. Or the 4 cylinder Camaro. Really? You guys thought those were good ideas?
The GM 350 diesel would be another.
C4 Corvettes, particularly the TPI models. Not quite as classic looking as the C3, engine is no match for the Gen 3 motors that powered the C5.
Easy answer:
THe cars most GRM'rs like. 
Volvo 140 series - the 140 is twice-damned. It followed the beloved curvy Amazon, and preceded the reliable stalwart 240.
MadScientistMatt wrote:
C4 Corvettes, particularly the TPI models. Not quite as classic looking as the C3, engine is no match for the Gen 3 motors that powered the C5.
Yes. The C4 is a good performing car that never got the credit it deserved.
In 1989, I really wanted a new CRX Si, but couldn't afford the car or the insurance. I "settled" for a new Civic Si, which I drove for 12 years and 300k miles, loving the car but all the time longing for the CRX.
In December, I bought a very good, one owner unmodified CRX Si. Within a few hours, I knew that my Civic was a better choice.
Volkswagen 411/412, the Rodney Dangerfield of the aircooled veedubs.
"I get no respect"
Yugo, its a Fiat 128 with a smaller, beefier body, shorter wheelbase and communist electrical system(though the ignition is Bosch). Enzo Ferrari of all people liked the 128 so much he allegedly DDed one, but the even more fun edition gets no love.
z31maniac wrote:
Easy answer:
THe cars most GRM'rs like.
well the thread could have stopped right there.......there is no better answer
Not sure if this is what you are after but.........I think a lot of the re-badged cars or for lack of a better word "bastard" cars fall into that category like the Saabaru, the front wheel drive Isuzu powered Lotus Elan, the front wheel drive Mercury Capri from the early 90s and of course the abomination from Daewoo, badged the Pontiac Lemans also in the 90s. Anybody remember the Dodge Challenger which was just a 2 door coupe from Mitsubishi in the late 70s/early 80s? Of course the late 70s and 80s were basically just plain bad anyway, the Grand Prix, Charger, TBird, Cougar, Cutlass etc. had all morphed into bloated luxo barges.......mere shadows of their former selves. Or the 4 cylinder Camaro/Firebird or Mustang II. Yuck. Actually, I think I could go on and on as there seems to be more bad examples than good.
yamaha
UltraDork
3/14/13 2:27 p.m.
Until the new SHO came out, the older ones were very much castaways from Ford. Enough so that there was a site formed for them and the other ford castaways(csvt, t-bird, svtf, lincoln marks, probe, marauder, etc) http://www.fordbastards.org/
FB RX-7, the 81-83 S2 version; FC RX-7, the 86-89 S4 version; the 79-84 fox Mustang; the 79-86 fox Mercury Capri; the 83-88 fox Thunderbird and Cougar; the 71-74 non-AMX Javelin; the 944 2.5 na; the the 1.7 and 1.8 914; the non-S Boxster; the regular Mazda3; the 93-97 LT1 f-bodies; and the AMC SX/4 all come to mind...
The MX6/Probe/626 prior to the 1993 model year. More so the MX6 and 626.
There aren't a whole lot of them, and a large amount of people don't even know that they exist. When someone says "MX6" to you, you think of the later curvy sexy-looking V6 ones.
You don't think of a boxy grandpa-looking coupe capable of making obscene amounts of power.
It's a better car than the curvy ones that everyone knows about, but nobody cares.
Mid 70s to early 80s american cars... Nova, Camaro, Chevelle/Malibu, Corvette (I love the '80-'82).
How about the 2.7 liter Porsche 911?
M030
HalfDork
3/14/13 3:05 p.m.
Porsche 996. And for the record, I WANT a VW 412 wagon :/
Targa 911's. They don't have the racecarness (that's a word) of the coupe and the money that cabriolets bring. I loved my 75 911 targa but in general they are lokked down upon.
And of course the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4. The 308 GTS gets all the curves, credit and acclaim but I love my wedge more and it was FIRST.
1980-81 Pontiac Trans Am and the 1982-84 Trans Am.
On the 1980-81, the "hot" motor was the Turbo 301, widely regarded as a boat anchor. The regular 301 was a total turd, but the turbocharged version was just too complex for most rednecks to understand and saddled by poor factory tuning. You see, the 3rd gen cars were supposed to debut in 1980, but were held off until 1982.
The really sad part is that this motor was supposed to be developed alongside the Buick 3.8 Turbo V6. And you know what happened with those.
Ever see an early 3rd Gen Trans Am? Look at the hood. That offset bump was supposed to be there to make room for the turbo and induction system. Pontiac was supposed to install the Turbo 301 in the 3rd Gen, but the engine program was cancelled at the 11th hour. This motor was supposed to be developed alongside the 3.8 Turbo, and yes, be converted to a complete EFI/intercooled setup, just like the ones in the later T-Type/GN/TTA. 
Can you imagine an 80's factory-built V8 turbo pony car with EFI and an intercooler?
