Underrated Cars

"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15) 03/05/2014 at 22:57 • Filed to: None

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I feel as though I must redeem myself after the crap show that was my post the other day. Tonight will hopefully be much more positive.

Good cars come and go. Some leave an impact that lasts for decades while others are forgotten only to be recognized by former owners and people old enough to remember "when these cars were relevant." Driving a car that is rare or forgotten can be very good fun. You can get much of the recognition that a high end exotic could pull at a fraction of the price.

One of the great unknown is the latest incarnation of the Pontiac GTO. The GTO was really just a rebadged Holden Monaro with not much else changed, but why would you change it? it was already a very good car. In the US, the GTO with either a 5.7 liter LS1 V8 or a 6 liter LS2 in the later cars. The GTO was a conservatively designed sleeper, reasonably cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, endlessly tunable, and a hoons paradise from behind the wheel.

Despite being a good car on an already proven chassis, the Pontiac GTO did not sell very well in America. It was discontinued in 2006 and Pontiac as a whole fell by the wayside just 4 years later.

What are your favorite cars that don't get the recognition that they deserve? Let me know in the comments below

Sn210 > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:06

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From a car pron stand point:

And the curveball...

thedevilinside > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:06

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The GTO is good on paper, but some production/engineering problems really let it down.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:06

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I'd have to say the Pontiac G8

Outside of enthusiasts, no one really saw the G8 as anything really important or great, sales numbers will show you that. Most see it now as a failing companies final attempt at a turn around. When really, it's a performance bargain. Where else could you get a big V8 sedan for less than 30 grand?

Matthew Keyser > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 03/05/2014 at 23:11

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The G8 was such a good car Chevy has decided to start selling it again virtually unchanged mechanically. The G8 is really on my must drive list. The last really solid Pontiac.

Matthew Keyser > Sn210 03/05/2014 at 23:14

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That is quite the curveball. All the cars above it though really did get a lot of undeserved hate. I would be ecstatic to drive let alone own any of these cars. The SL Black is menacing and the DB7 is gorgeous from any angle.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:17

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I've adored the G8 since it came out. Tried to get my mom to look at one when she was car shopping back in '08, she wanted a Charger R/T until her friend's was stolen. So I thought, hey let's try a G8, same thing right? Nope, didn't happen, so we ended up with the snoozemobile Vue. I want to buy a GXP at one point

JR1 > thedevilinside 03/05/2014 at 23:22

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Such as?

JR1 > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:23

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I think it's beautiful

Matthew Keyser > JR1 03/05/2014 at 23:28

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I never got why people didn't like these. I always thought they were really cool! I would like to swap a 5.0 into one of these and just cruise around town with a great burbling V8 soundtrack. They are sweet cars!

JR1 > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:33

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Couldn't agree more, they never were sports cars. The Thunderbird was a great example of a car you could cruise in on a sunny day with a smile on your face

revrseat70 > thedevilinside 03/05/2014 at 23:40

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I'll give you some of the interior being cheap, but that's just GM. Other than that, I'm not aware of a single problem they had. All the engineering had been proven previously in the corvettes and monaros and utes before we ever got it

revrseat70 > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:44

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trollololollloll

revrseat70 > revrseat70 03/05/2014 at 23:46

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KINJA!!!!! It was supposed to be a toyobaru...

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Matthew Keyser 03/05/2014 at 23:59

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Instant classic, and it still is a looker.

I know, I've mentioned this one many times, but I'll do it again.

Replace the 5 in MX-5 with a 6, and you get this: 160 HP to the front wheels, and good handling.

I haven't seen much hype for this car for some reason, how so?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 07:51

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Obvious answer for me. Not the early carbed cars (despite the fact that they could out-drag an E30 M3, if not out-corner).

The later 2.5l and 2.8l injected ones. They still had issues with rust until about 1990, but they were monsters for their day and age. They're still quick cars now, and dirt cheap too.

The Biturbo saved Maserati. They used the platform for pretty much every car they made for a good 25 years. It evolved from a cheap exotic with good power but supercar maintenance into a disgracefully fast hardcore GT. The Ghibli Cup even held the crown of best specific displacement of its time. 330bhp from 2.0l, in 1992. People don't remember that though. They just remember the first couple of years of production.

Alright, I'll stop banging on about them now :)

thedevilinside > revrseat70 03/06/2014 at 08:09

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Suspension sag requiring new shocks and springs as well as rear radius rod bushings. Also noisy differentials that then give out. Other big issue is leaks where the water comes into the interior from underneath. And these aren't isolated issues. I actually had all of these issues by 50k miles and I wasn't a hard driver on it.

thedevilinside > JR1 03/06/2014 at 08:17

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See reply to revrseat70

Jay Lauer > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 10:36

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Mine, because I'm shameless.

Subary Legacy GT. Detuned STi engine, STi steering, brakes etc. wrapped in a decent looking sedan. Good-looking cars are new for Subaru.

Matthew Keyser > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/06/2014 at 11:00

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Cool cars! You have one?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 12:28

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Yeah, we've got a 228. It was a longer wheelbase GT version of the standard Biturbo. Unfortunately, it's met a number of mishaps as of this moment. It was layed up for a while where it started rusting. We started taking it apart for some rust detox, at which point we moved house :S

This was it just prior to moving:

We haven't done any work on it since moving over a year ago. It's on the list, but so are many other things.

Then, it got hit by a fallen tree on Christmas Eve :( the roof's dented in, but apart from that it's ok.

I reckon we will try to fix it rather than scrapping it. If only so I can all it 'Lazarus' :)

Matthew Keyser > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/06/2014 at 14:51

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Wow that is a great story man. Keep us all updated! Can't wait to see what comes of it!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 15:26

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Thanks :) fingers crossed it's something good

Matthew Keyser > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/06/2014 at 15:32

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Hope it is! we are turbocharged rare cars in arms! Stay boosty my friend!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 15:36

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Shall do :) which one have you got?

Matthew Keyser > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/06/2014 at 15:57

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1986 Merkur XR4Ti

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Matthew Keyser 03/06/2014 at 18:07

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Neat :) I tried to persuade my mate to buy a 2.0l Sierra coupe as his first car (the car the Merkur was based on). No dice though. Too image conscious and wanted something newer.

revrseat70 > thedevilinside 03/06/2014 at 18:32

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Wow that's awful. My dad and I shared one for a few years before he bought it out and its around 60k. None of those issues. It's been a tank. Only upgrades are IHE and shocks and springs (so that rules one out). His is an '06

ptak appreciates old racecars > Matthew Keyser 03/08/2014 at 01:08

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FSO Polonez + most Slavic cars

The Polonez was a lift/fastback sedan with RWD and manual standard on all models. Don't listen to Jeremy Clarkson.

evilfacelessturtle (Hooning a Ford is Domestic Abuse) > thedevilinside 03/10/2014 at 01:47

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I have a similar leak in my Grand Am. Seems to be coming from the firewall. not uncommon on GMs of the era, but I'm surprised to hear that of a Holden developed model.