QOTD: Can You Build an Ideal Crapwagon Garage? (Part V: Coupes)
We’re strolling through the various sections of our Crapwagon Garage, and are just over halfway finished with this series (unless I can add extra vehicle segments without any hair-splitting). Each week we’ve scaled somewhat upward in either size or utility — hatchbacks came first, then sedans, trucks, and wagons. But in this fifth entry we pare things back down to cover the Crapwagon coupes of your dreams.
Browsing through your wagon selections from last week, this one wins the You Should Remember This ribbon:
It’s the ’92-’96 Mitsubishi Diamante wagon. Luxurious in intent and styling, it was the upper class alternative to the plebeian Camry and Accord alternatives. They’re so rare that it’s difficult to find a good picture of one these days. Props go to Tonyola for this suggestion. The Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart was a close runner-up, by the way. Let’s get to the coupes.
The now-familiar list of rules for the Crapwagon Garage game:
- A crapwagon must be a vehicle which is relatively easy to find and purchase using an internet.
- All vehicles in the crapwagon garage must have been sold as new, in the North American market.
- Said vehicles must be obtainable to the casual crapwagon collector (CCC). This means in clean, running condition each one asks $7,000 or less on a normal day.
- Your suggestions must fit into the vehicle category of the week. If you don’t like the category, that’s tough. We’ll get to a category you like eventually.
- There are five rules to this garage game, and that’s the maximum number of vehicles you may submit for each section. Just five.
All coupes this week will feature a fixed roof and an actual trunk (not a liftback/hatchback). If one of your choices was sold as both coupe and cabriolet, the former is a valid choice. But if a vehicle had a removable hardtop as standard or factory option and a soft top underneath, that’s invalid. No Chrysler TC or final-gen Thunderbirds here today. My first pick:
The Acura Legend coupe, first generation. The first generation’s purity was somewhat diminished by the more bloated and luxury-heavy styling and equipment of the second generation. Two-tone and fan alloys are right up my alley, as well as the frameless windows. Not many are out there, but there are some.
And here’s another coupe which comes to mind — a Volvo 780 as styled by Bertone. These were very expensive and not that popular (still aren’t), as nobody turned to Volvo for their luxury coupe needs. They can be found in good or serviceable condition for cheap, and have interiors of serious Swedish luxury.
Let’s hear your coupe picks, and make sure they’re not liftbacks.
[Images: Lexus, Acura, Volvo, Mitsubishi]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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96 Lincoln MarkVIII 94 Mercury Capri XR2 91 Buick Reatta 92 Ford Thunderbird SC 98 Nissan Silvia 240SX
I owned a '96 Lincoln Mark VIII and would love another, so that'd be at the top of my list. Currently have a 780 so I guess that takes a spot too. I'd give the other 3 spaces to: -1999 Lexus SC400 -1995 Acura Legend coupe (I love the 1st-gen too, but the 2nd-gen really gets me going) -1980 Dodge Mirada (only year for the 360)