1. 1st generation Mercury Cougar: The Mustang got more attention, but it was a cool cruiser. A good friend of mine owned one.
2. BMw E3 (3.0CS). Sold in the US as the "Bavaria". Back when Bimmer focused on simplicity and quality and not technology. They still fly under most folks radar...
3. Ford Ranchero- As in Ford's version of the Chevy El Camino. The article showed an early version. As a pickup truck they weren't very good, but with a 351 Cleveland + 4 barrel carb, it could move pretty well for being so big, but it guzzled gas. My friend with the cougar also had one of these, Late 60's. It eventually succumbed to rust, but it was a better vehicle to be seen in than drive. Drew a surprising amount of admirers.
4. Datsun Roadster: AZHitman has one. More of a reliable Japanese version of an MG. Folks tend to focus on 240Z. I know younger folks would whine they need more power if they drove one, but they were addicting, fun "momentum" real sports cars. Am I right, Greg?
5. Fiat 600. Kinda the slightly bigger brother to the original 500. Tiny and tinny. I'm not sure I would have chosen it for this list. I think the 850 Spider or coupe should replace it, I thought the 850 had more charm and style, and could make it up hills.
6. Veedub Scirocco. I believe they meant the first generation, the one designed by Giugiaro. not the more powerful less stylish later ones. Those first gens were sexy little things. Peppy and agile, but not fast.
7. Studebaker Lark: most folks think of the stylish Avanti when they hear Studebaker. The Lark was a somewhat invisible pedestrian sedan except for the V8 Super Lark version which was a sleeper. I think the "Super" could be on the list or perhaps the Avanti, but not the base Lark.
8.Sunbeam Tiger. Before Shelby dropped a V8 into a little british AC and blew everyone's mind, he did the same thing stuffing a small V8 into a Sunbeam Alpine, a pleasant little 4 banger british sports car. It became a genuine sleeper. They were cool little cars, though could be a handful if you pushed 'em hard.
9. AMC AMX. They pictured the first gen. I was more impressed with the next generation Javelin AMX. They were built badly, unreliable, numb handling,, had dreadful brakes, but brutally fast in a straight line and looked cool, So all was forgiven.
10. Ferrari 308 GT4. It was one of the two Rodney Dangerfield Ferraris. It really wasn't a bad car. In fact it drove quite well compared to non-Ferrari's . The problem was that it wasn't dramatically styled, and not a V12, so it didn't get much respect by Ferrari purists. It's still probably one of the cheapest used Ferrari's you can buy. Yes, I test drove one. But at the time, I was more of a Ferrari snob. It just didn't give you the symphony of sensations that came from driving an old multi carb front engine V12. The other Rodney Dangerfield Ferrari? The 400i. Looks challenged and the first production Ferrari that offered an automatic transmission. Back then, an automatic Ferrari was considered sacrilege. It's still among the cheapest V12 Ferrari's you can buy. That could be on this list too.
Thoughts? Comments?
I thought there are other cars deserving to be on the list, like a Lotus Europa (insanely fun little mid engine car), the Corvair Corsa. (think 2nd gen corvair with a 180hp turbocharged flat6. They ate Porsche's for breakfast), I wanted one badly but could not find a good example. Oh well.
