Question of the Day: What's Your Favorite Flop?
Being a fan of cars, you might find yourself liking cars that other people don’t. In fact, you should in yourself in the minority in some cars, or else you’ve become one of the “Honda or Die” people and in that case you probably also only drink Heineken. So assuming you’re not in that category, you probably have diverse – even somewhat obscure – interests. That means perhaps that you have a perverse appreciation for the Suzuki Verona, because it did have an inline-6 engine. Or Subaru SVX because it looked like a showcar, and had AWD and a flat six. Perhaps you like the Dodge Neon SRT4 because the turbo was just nasty. And since many of these views are so deeply in the minority, many of the cars we like are often flops. The general public just doesn’t like them. And that’s fine, because it means that usually these cars are cheaper to buy used. A lot of the cars on today’s Bob Lutz list fit into the category of great flops: the Merkur XR4ti, the Pontiac GTO, and the Pontiac G8. And while I like those, I have my own favorite car that was a total sales loser: Chevy Corvair. I love the design, the looks, the rear engine, the optional turbo, and the weird bodystyles available (Corvair Van!) and the fact that after they finished development (several years after it was released to the market, of course) it was actually quite good. What’s your favorite flop?
Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.
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Ahhh, the XR4Ti, much like the lamented Capri of the early 70s, "Tuned" to the likes of the "American Public", in other words, they tried to make them handle like a mid 70s Crown Vic. Softening the suspension and removing any road feel, thats what America needs, another livingroom recliner on wheels... SteveL
Dodge Mirada Buick Reatta Suzuki X-90 (my current ride) 1983 Plymouth Scamp pickup (only made one year)
The last generation of Honda Prelude. It actually handled better than the RSX, not to mention a ton of other cars, and the styling was classic.
1) Dodge Rampage. Would have been perfect with fuel injection, vice the strange carb, and with galvanized floors in the cab area as well as the box. 2) Pontiac Aztek 3) The 5-speed stick version of the Chrysler minivan (