The Forgotten Cars Thread

[Turbo]

The 605's cousin, the Citroen XM, is equally as forgotten.





I mean, just look at it. The car is gorgeous. It's a shame how overshadowed it (and the 605) was by German rivals, and even Alfa Romeos... big French saloons have a certain charisma that other types of cars just don't have.

 

[homeforsummer]

The 605's cousin, the Citroen XM, is equally as forgotten.

Well, maybe to you poor, denied-French-cars Yanks it is...

 

[Dennisch]

The 605's cousin, the Citroen XM, is equally as forgotten.





I mean, just look at it. The car is gorgeous. It's a shame how overshadowed it (and the 605) was by German rivals, and even Alfa Romeos... big French saloons have a certain charisma that other types of cars just don't have.

What? No! This is a collectors item just as the DS is. How bad it may be.

The 605 was just a dull turd with an awful reputation.

 

[VXR]

The best two cars in Ronin were the XM and the 605!

 

[TexRex]

The best two cars in Ronin were the XM and the 605!

What? There was onle one car in Ronin, and it was a 450SEL.

 

[Turbo]

What? No! This is a collectors item just as the DS is. How bad it may be.

The 605 was just a dull turd with an awful reputation.

People collect these? That I didn't know.

 

[Dennisch]

People collect these? That I didn't know.

As a rule of thumb, if it's a Frenchie and quirky looking, it's a collectable. And they're usually collected by quirky people.

 

[homeforsummer]

People collect these? That I didn't know.

Big hydropneumatic Citroens always end up collectable at some point. They started rising out of their cheap hooptie phase a few years back, and good ones are starting to fetch reasonable money. Still four-figures money, but considering they were three figures not so long ago mid-fours are pretty good...

 

[StreetHawk555]

I feel like most of GM's lesser known cars from the 80's are mostly barely even talked about.
Pontiac 6000

Pontiac J2000

Pontiac 1000

Pontiac Sunbird

Buick Century

Buick Skylark

Buick Skyhawk

Buick Somerset Regal Coupe

Oldsmobile Omega

Oldsmobile Firenza

Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera

Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency

When was the last time you ever saw these on the road?

 

[Turbo]

I feel like most of GM's lesser known cars from the 80's are mostly barely even talked about.
Pontiac 6000

Pontiac J2000

Pontiac 1000

Pontiac Sunbird

Buick Century

Buick Skylark

Buick Skyhawk

Buick Somerset Regal Coupe

Oldsmobile Omega

Oldsmobile Firenza

Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera

Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency

When was the last time you ever saw these on the road?

Out of all those GM boxes, the only ones I still see on the road on occasion would be the Century and the Ciera, since they made them all the way until '96, and they were probably the best built of the cars you listed.

Once in a blue moon, I'll see a Ninety-Eight. That's also the age of the average person who drives one.

Everything else has completely rusted to death.

 

[homeforsummer]

Just discovered that a bunch of Mk1 Fiestas were converted by Crayford in the early 80s into the "Crayford Fly".

While I'd normally put that in the "cars you didn't know existed" thread, it instead reminded me of all the convertible superminis that have been sold over the years...

Vauxhall Corsa

Rover Metro/100

Fiat Punto

...And of course, the Peugeot 205

And that's to say nothing of all the more recent ones - folding metal roofed cars like the 206CC/207CC, Micra C+C, Mitsubishi Colt CZC, or the Citroen Pluriel, or the half-hearted roll-back roofed versions of the Fiat 500 or Citroen DS3, or the Renault Wind, or all the soft-top Smarts over the years... some were better than others of course but they're doing a good job of distracting me from the wind and rain outside.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Just discovered that a bunch of Mk1 Fiestas were converted by Crayford in the early 80s into the "Crayford Fly".

View attachment 726406​

While I'd normally put that in the "cars you didn't know existed" thread, it instead reminded me of all the convertible superminis that have been sold over the years...

Vauxhall Corsa

View attachment 726409​

Rover Metro/100

View attachment 726410​

Fiat Punto

View attachment 726411​

...And of course, the Peugeot 205

View attachment 726412​

And that's to say nothing of all the more recent ones - folding metal roofed cars like the 206CC/207CC, Micra C+C, Mitsubishi Colt CZC, or the Citroen Pluriel, or the half-hearted roll-back roofed versions of the Fiat 500 or Citroen DS3, or the Renault Wind, or all the soft-top Smarts over the years... some were better than others of course but they're doing a good job of distracting me from the wind and rain outside.

But really, they are absolutely abysmal.

 

[-Fred-]

I feel like most of GM's lesser known cars from the 80's are mostly barely even talked about.
Pontiac 6000

Pontiac J2000

Pontiac 1000

Pontiac Sunbird

Buick Century

Buick Skylark

Buick Skyhawk

Buick Somerset Regal Coupe

Oldsmobile Omega

Oldsmobile Firenza

Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera

Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency

When was the last time you ever saw these on the road?

It's always funny to look back at these malaise era cars, they look beat up and well used even in the press pictures.

 

[homeforsummer]

It's always funny to look back at these malaise era cars, they look beat up and well used even in the press pictures.

I think the mind fills that kind of stuff in from repeated exposure - a bit like one of those optical illusions where you stare at a coloured square for a while and then look at a black and white image and everything is in colour. You're so used to seeing rusty and beaten old GM stuff that even immaculate examples look rusty and beaten...

 

[-Fred-]

I think the mind fills that kind of stuff in from repeated exposure - a bit like one of those optical illusions where you stare at a coloured square for a while and then look at a black and white image and everything is in colour. You're so used to seeing rusty and beaten old GM stuff that even immaculate examples look rusty and beaten...

That's a very good point, though the pictures themselves being of poor quality (what is up with the lighting on the Cutlass Ciera!) certainly don't help.

 

[TexRex]

I don't know that I forgot about it per se, but I immediately thought of this thread when I saw one on the drive home.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Acura ILX Hybrid. A forgettable car to begin with I guess?

 

[Turbo]

Peugeot 405 Mi16

Overshadowed by the performance 205 and 309 models, the 405 Mi16 was the French saloon you'd get if you wanted a handsome sedan that is also a capable performer, but you thought Citroen's designs were too radical and couldn't quite afford a 190E. This sporty package for the 405 was available on sedan models only and was produced from 1988 to 1994 (only offered from 1989 to 1991 in America). Styled by Pininfarina, the 405 was certainly a looker, compared to other Euro saloons of the time. The Mi16 was powered by a 1.9L DOHC inline-four making 160hp, and had a 0-60 time of not far over 7 seconds and could reach speeds of 134mph. All-wheel drive, though not standard, was an option for the Mi16. Fortunately, the Mi16 received good reviews and was praised for it's sharp handling, some even saying that it "drove nothing like an FWD car" or "could almost be compared to a 190E 2.3-16". Almost 4.7 million Peugeot 405s were sold across the world, and only 25k of them were Mi16s (less than 5k sold in America).

And I won't forget to mention the 405 Mi16's presence in America; it was Peugeot's last attempt to win over the American market. Despite the Mi16's good looks, it still flopped, because of it's high price (most Americans would rather buy a BMW for the same price), and Americans had bad experiences with French cars in the past (the extremely unreliable Renault Dauphine, the bizarre AMC Le Car, and the clunky AMC Encore and Alliance). Because of poor sales, Peugeot abandoned the American market in 1991, for good.​

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ Um, that 405 is popular-ish.

 

[All Your Base]

I completely forgot Infiniti sold a rebadged 2nd-gen Nissan Pathfinder in the form of the QX4 until I saw one on the way to school today.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ Also known as the Nissan Terrano Regulus in JDM-Land. Rear drum brakes on these gave me a sour taste in my mouth...

 

[-Fred-]

^ Um, that 405 is popular-ish.

It's a shame the few we had in North America have pretty much rusted straight to nothingness, I always found them interesting. The ones that are still around are now fetching some insane amount of money...

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/peugeot/405/2089289.html

 

[TexRex]

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/peugeot/405/2089289.html

I'm not happy that you posted that.

Really, considering the rarity and obscurity in its entirety (not just US examples), 14 isn't that ridiculous. It's not like it's a Z24 Cavalier.

 

[Turbo]

It's a shame the few we had in North America have pretty much rusted straight to nothingness, I always found them interesting. The ones that are still around are now fetching some insane amount of money...

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/peugeot/405/2089289.html

Surprised to see that for sale in Kentucky of all places, but yeah, for 14k, you could buy a much more interesting car...

 

[-Fred-]

Surprised to see that for sale in Kentucky of all places, but yeah, for 14k, you could buy a much more interesting car...

In the grand scheme of things, I don't think you can do much more interesting than a French sport sedan for that kind of money. Show up in this at any Cars & Coffee meeting (or whatever you prefer) and you'll have yourself a great conversation starter. Problem is I don't personally think I'd want to bite that kind of bullet, considering how scarce replacement parts are, even on the other side of the ocean. It's cheap for what it is, but it's also kind of insane for what it is, if that makes any sense.

 

[TexRex]

In the grand scheme of things, I don't think you can do much more interesting than a French sport sedan for that kind of money. Show up in this at any Cars & Coffee meeting (or whatever you prefer) and you'll have yourself a great conversation starter. Problem is I don't personally think I'd want to bite that kind of bullet, considering how scarce replacement parts are, even on the other side of the ocean. It's cheap for what it is, but it's also kind of insane for what it is, if that makes any sense.

Absolutely. I've been toying around with the idea of another recreational vehicle, but something like this ought to be preserved as it's supposed to be for posterity, and unfortunately what it's supposed to be isn't all that special from an ownership enjoyment perspective. I think my money's safe for the time being.

 

[7up747]

Opel Tigra (second generation) Saw one for sale recently.

 

[CSMDuty11]

Now that one I can confirm, saw one that was parked not too long ago.

...All the while having seen dozens of 1st-gen Tigras before, and checking a used car site after seeing it that had only the 1st-gens on sale.
But at the same time, a western-European internet friend did claim they saw/see more of them there.

 

[Dennisch]

Opel Tigra (second generation) Saw one for sale recently.

When I worked at the Opel, those things were fairly new, and we had a mechanic who wasn't the brightest of the bunch. These roofs had to go up or down in one go. If you let go of the switch, you had to turn off the ignition and then back on, and then the switch would work again (this was later fixed in an update) and he didn't know that. Instead of asking what to do about the non responsive roof, he slammed it shut.

Try explaining how a roof got bent out of shape in every way to the customer.

 

[Turbo]

2005-2010 Cadillac BLS









Classical example of GM badge-engineering. The Cadillac BLS was a compact sedan/wagon built exclusively for northern Europe; almost all were sold in either Russia, Scandinavia, Germany, or the Baltic states. It was based off the GM Epsilon platform, which consisted of the Saab 9-3, Chevrolet Malibu, Opel Vectra, and Saturn Aura sedans, and was built in Sweden. In its top spec, the BLS was powered by a 2.8L turbocharged V6 making 250hp and a 6-speed manual, making for a decent driving experience. Curiously, it was never sold in America, which was especially odd since the American Cadillac market was void of a compact car on their lineup at the time. The BLS received average reviews but sold poorly, with less then 10k of them ever leaving the factory.

​