QOTD: What Vehicles Trumped the Previous Generation?

Keeping things fresh and interesting (or boring and CUV) is what drives models to the top of the sales charts. As designs age out of the public’s collective (un)consciousness, they need to be replaced. And unless you have some Impala Classic soldiering on and breaking all the replacement rules, the standard consumer will expect a new generation of their vehicle every five to seven years. The Laws of Advertising mandate a claim of superiority be made about each new generation upon introduction, like in the delightful vintage Plymouth ad you see above. Something to the tune of, “This new and redesigned Sportslife XLS is best in all things car!”

Sometimes, the OEMs get the new generation of a model just right, and really hit it out of the park compared to the prior version. Which of these generation gaps stands out most to you?

When you clicked through, perhaps you thought I’d leave you hanging with no example this time around. Sad! Take a look at my first generation relative fail.

After 1995, the quite expensive Legend Coupe was axed alongside its sedan brother, as the new 3.2 RL debuted the following year. This left Acura in a spot without a coupe model, and thus the CL you see above was born. Not intended as a direct replacement for the Legend Coupe (happily), the CL was instead a coupe version of the TL, which was — of course — based on the ubiquitous Accord. The first car built by Acura in the United States, it was screwed together in the Marysville, Ohio plant that still makes many Hondas today.

Equipped with a 3.0-liter V6, or a 2.2-liter inline-four for 1997 only, this first CL featured a very unique design, which I’ve decided is part of a design aesthetic known as “Shovel Face.” The front and back ends had their own shovel shapes. I didn’t like it when it was new, and I don’t like it now. It hasn’t aged well, and the CL is notorious for automatic transmission issues. Acura customers were stuck with this as their coupe option from 1997 to 1999. After that, Acura called it all off for a year, and took a moment to get it together.

Then in 2001, the second generation CL came around. This time, styling was massively improved, and there was a much better 3.2-liter V6 engine. In 2002, the star-of-the-show Type-S model became available, featuring a six-speed manual transmission and limited slip differential. There was also a considerable jump in horsepower, from 225 to 260.

In stark contrast, this generation CL got a lot of things right (but still not the automatic transmission). It looks great today, even though it drew its last breath back in 2003. It’s also still desirable on the used market, particularly in the more rare colors of Type-S trim.

While I wouldn’t touch a first generation CL, a Type-S generation two is something I’d gladly have parked in my fantasy garage, driven only on nice days. Which cars do you see as standouts compared to the generation that came before?