The most underestimated shite of all times

[Junkman]

This is about really good cars, that somehow missed the mark in popular folklore.
 
Still my favourite are the 1957 -1963 Imperials.
 

 

 

 

 



 

 
 
If you can look past the rather esotheric Virgil Exner styling, which admittedly is a love it/hate it affair, they are arguably the best highway cruisers ever built.
There are no known common trouble spots. They were essentially hand-made from the thickest sheetmetal ever used in automotive mass production and thus
rust less than anything else made at the same time. Driveability is heads and shoulders above their contemporary competition from Cadillac and Lincoln.
When Chrysler switched to monocoque construction across almost the board in 1960, and built a new factory just for that, Imperials proudly remained
body-on-frame cars and continued to be built at Chrysler's old Highland Park facility in downtown Detroit. Advertised as "America's most carefully built car",
such was the confidence of Chrysler Corp, that you could order a new Imperial, travel to Detroit, watch your own car being built, and then drive off with it.

 

Edit: They also pioneered curved side windows in mass produced cars. I thought you might like this bit of useless trivia.

[Junkman]

1977 - 1979 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

 

 

The first downsized full sized Chevies are just darn good cars regardless whether they are yanks or not. They provide a ride comfort and handling I find unequalled by anything else.

This is probably due to a rare coincidence when things just work well together. I bet they weren't intended to be that good, they just turned out that way.

By 1980 they watered them down with stiffer suspension and by 1981 the 350 was no longer available.

Only who has driven a 305 powered car vs. the same car with a 350 can understand that the difference is the same as between sun and moon.

 

Hint: If you ever buy one, check whether it has a rear stabiliser bar. Many export cars do. If it has, remove it.

[Junkman]

Peugeot 405.

 

 

 

The first one was bought as a WBoD. Little did i know at that time, that a life without one of these isn't really possible.

This is my track record so far:

 

 

 

 

 

If you really want a car, that never gives any trouble, and at the same time transports you and your's in total comfort for silly money, this is it.

Add the best heater of ever and sheer endless space.

[Ghosty]

I don't know what would persuade anyone to replace that white 405 wagon with a Punto, then again my extended family can be an interesting bunch.

 

People underestimate the Hondas a few of us run - there've been a few in this manor.

 

-The Moog has a Civic 5dr.

-There are two Accord 2.0 Coupés doing the rounds.

-Station Hirst has or had a Prelude. (whoops)

-Skattrd has an Aerodeck.

-Before he became an Audi wanker, dad had a Prelude 2.0i, and Y-reg Civics in both three and five door flavour. He considered a 2001-4 Civic Coupé 1.7 for a while, but it was too bland and too like the Prelude he'd had.

 

I never hear of any problems with any of the Hondas, except those that arise from lack of maintenance.

 

Capable, dependable cars, all-round independent suspension, and a surprising amount of power from the 1.4s compared to European offerings.

[mercrocker]

Plus one on the 350 v.305 comparison ref Impala/Caprice.   Particularly if the 305 is California spec (don't think they were allowed 350 from 1978).   

[twosmoke300]

Toyota Starlet and bug eyed corollas

[John F]

The most underestimated car of all time is some hideous finned yank barge that was made for 6 years? Not fucking likely.

 

Something from this list has a much better claim to the title.

 

http://jalopnik.com/5903819/whos-left-in-the-old-folks-home-now-that-the-lada-rivas-gone

 

My vote goes to the Mercedes-Benz G Wagen... first built in 1979, still in production today.

[castros_bro]

TofaÅŸ Dogan / Åžahin / Murat

[Junkman]

The most underestimated car of all time is some hideous finned yank barge that was made for 6 years? Not fucking likely.

 

Drive one of them, and you will understand. Guaranteed.

[Junkman]

Another one is the MKII Granada, especially in V6 Ghia flavour. OK, they are getting on with age a bit now and spares availability is an issue,

but in their day, they were largely unproblematic fast quiet comfy mile munchers. I'd take one on a continental trip today without thinking twice.

[John F]

Junkman, on 24 Sept 2015 - 11:36 AM, said:

Drive one of them, and you will understand. Guaranteed.

 

No thanks, I'll stick with my own opinion about what I'll 'understand'.

[J-Rod]

I don't know what would persuade anyone to replace that white 405 wagon with a Punto, then again my extended family can be an interesting bunch.

 

People underestimate the Hondas a few of us run - there've been a few in this manor.

 

-The Moog has a Civic 5dr.

-There are two Accord 2.0 Coupés doing the rounds.

-Station has or had a Prelude.

-Skattrd has an Aerodeck.

-Before he became an Audi wanker, dad had a Prelude 2.0i, and Y-reg Civics in both three and five door flavour. He considered a 2001-4 Civic Coupé 1.7 for a while, but it was too bland and too like the Prelude he'd had.

 

I never hear of any problems with any of the Hondas, except those that arise from lack of maintenance.

 

Capable, dependable cars, all-round independent suspension, and a surprising amount of power from the 1.4s compared to European offerings.

You can add me to that list. I had a 99 Prelude for 3 and a bit years. Only had to get rid of it due to water ingress in the boot (common Honda issue...) which was starting to cause a bit too much brown stuff for my liking. Apart from that, the car was sound. 

 

Here tis... 

 

[Junkman]

So those Hondas indeed never break if you don't treat them like an idiot?

[J-Rod]

Apparently so; nearly forgot, had a CR-X Del Sol at the same time as the Prelude - damp started to kill that one too but again, solid as a rock apart from that. 

 

 

The bass player in my band, who could not care less about his cars - seriously, we're talking fleas in the seats here - has a 54 plate Accord which he takes all over the country every few weeks in an attempt to kill it. It's got 1AU on the clock... and the only problem is *10 points for guessing* 

[Bone]

 

2.8 Pajero, it took 6 years of this abuse finally carking it at 320k miles.

 

 

[Junkman]

I must enter another Peugeot, the 304.

 

 

I bought a clapped out estate as a WBoD for the extremely harsh Winter of 1984. There were sustained periods of below -20.

The Pug was pretty much the only car in the entire 'hood that never refused to start in the morning, so for weeks it served as a shuttle bus for several people to get to and fro work.

I worked for BMW at the time and was one of the very few who were always punctual in the morning.

We also used it extensively for going skiing. Left at the car park of the cable car station for the entire weekend, we often had to find it back and dig it out of the snow, but again,

it never refused to start on first try. In these temperatures, you had to let it run for a few minutes until you could shift it into gear, the gearbox oil must have frozen solid.

I never fitted show chains, unless they were mandatory, but even then, I only put them on to avoid running into 'the law'. It would scrabble itself through the deepest snow.

[wuvvum]

I took my 304 estate down to the Ace Café and back once in temperatures well below zero, with Spottedlaurel formerly of this parish riding shotgun.  Apart from the almost completely useless heater, it never missed a beat.

[Junkman]

The heater was an issue, yes. Four people coming back to one on skis carried enough snow inside that a layer of ice formed on the floor.

You also had to scrape the ice off the windscreen on the inside.

[barrett]

The most underestimated car of all time is some hideous finned yank barge that was made for 6 years? Not fucking likely.

 

Haven't you sort of just proven Junkman's point, though?

 

I'd disagree with the 405 though. Perhaps in this country, but I don't think many French or African drivers underestimate them. I'd still take a BX though.

[Barry Cade]

I'd go for one of these, but of course without the "slam" and no pineapples. Strong, powerful, characterful,decent to drive and surprisingly economical. Roomy, cheap and very strong. I had 4 or 5 many years ago, not including a Santana and a couple of Audi 90's. never gave any issues, took the family to Germany loaded to the roof, towed a car trailer and caravan everywhere and none of them ever gave any grief. VW? What the hell happened...

 

[Junkman]

 

OK, you have to live with such Italianisms as the glue holding the material covering the posts giving up during the first Winter and you can watch the seat material and carpet bleach in the sun, but I don't know what surprised me more - that it isn't a sports saloon, but a comfy cruiser instead, how fast it is even with the base engine, how big it really is, how little petrol it needs, or that it just doesn't give any mechanical troubles. Anticipating a relationship with an Italian primadonna who is totally bonkers, it turned out to be a very docile and agreeable romance instead. The relationship would have lasted much longer, if there hadn't been the lure of replacing it with a Buick Electra Park Avenue and me not yet having been mature enough to appreciate Euro barges.

I took it on a holiday to East Prussia Poland in the early Naughties and it didn't get nicked, while the Audi of the German foreign minister was. That's how underestimated they are.

[J-Rod]

The heater was an issue, yes. Four people coming back to one on skis carried enough snow inside that a layer of ice formed on the floor.

You also had to scrape the ice off the windscreen on the inside.

Not a problem in the Sahara though  

[Taff]

The most underestimated car of all time is some hideous finned yank barge that was made for 6 years? Not fucking likely.

 

Something from this list has a much better claim to the title.

 

http://jalopnik.com/5903819/whos-left-in-the-old-folks-home-now-that-the-lada-rivas-gone

 

My vote goes to the Mercedes-Benz G Wagen... first built in 1979, still in production today.

 

to be fair to JM, he did say "underestimated shite" not "underestimated car".

 

IMHO, it's the mid-80's Toyota Hi-lux. Designed to carry bales of hay around rain-soaked farms, it can withstand the recoil of weapons up to & including multiple-launch 30mm rarden anti-aircraft rockets. If anyone underestimated, it was Toyota. Although I suppose putting 22 armed Talebs in your advertising brochure might be frowned upon in some markets

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Following on from Mr Junk's nomination of the Mk2 Granada. Might I suggest it's less glamorous successor.

Ok it hasn't got the glamour of being transport for Messers Regan or Cowley and it was certainly never revered for its Motorsport connections in the twilight of its days like the Mk1 and 2 .

But it was, at its launch, quite an adventurous design ( no saloon or estate for the first 5 years, remember) and was the first ' normal ' car to have ABS as standard.

They are massive inside, something the Mk2 couldn't claim,for all its comfort. Very practical - I once transferred the contents of a full W123 Merc estate into a hatchback Granada, ok it was dragging on the ground as it hadn't got self levelling but it all fitted and the wheezy 2.0 carb Pinto still sat at 90 all the way to Glasgow.

My favourite are probably the first saloons from 1990/92 with the 24v being the best. At the time they were always seen as not quite as good as a 24v Senator and I must agree they weren't quite as fast but as an all round package I just preferred them.

These days nice ones are still available for a fraction of the roughest Mk2s, get one now before we're all bemoaning the fact the OldSkoolRacists have got all the best ones.

[Junkman]

We might add the Mondeo to the list, although I have no real personal experience yet (some shiter might be able to fill us in for sure).

I've never heard anything negative about them.

I once drove a MKIII V6 as a hire car (in Turin, of all places!) and must say I quite liked it. I found it astonishing that it sounded like an old Granada V6,

just a lot more muffled. They must have tweaked the exhaust quite a bit to make it do that.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Most of these cars were very well estimated and sold by the bucketful, even in Blighty.

304s never sold well here as they were so expensive and OMGFWD but in France are legendary. There's loads of stuff which is desperately under appreciated here nowadays, frankly any car which isn't.....GERMAN.

[Bren]

 

A design tour de force let down by poor industrial relations and the meddling bean counters in the BL parts department.

 

A bad one will have you reaching for the razor blades - a good one you will want to keep forever.

 

Optimistic service intervals killed many six cylinder cars (I actually like the six pot), many person I gave a lift to could not fail to be impressed at a champagne car bought for Lemonade money.

 

Jeremy Clarkson once said you were not a petrol head if you had never owned an Alfa - sorry, but if you dont like the SD1 then you have no soul.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Here is an example though, independent rear suspension, excellent ride and handling, ultra good looks, good build quality, esp later ones which were galvanised.

Sold badly coz it said 'FIAT' on the hood.

[Uncle Jimmy]

image.jpg

A design tour de force let down by poor industrial relations and the meddling bean counters in the BL parts department.

A bad one will have you reaching for the razor blades - a good one you will want to keep forever.

Optimistic service intervals killed many six cylinder cars (I actually like the six pot), many person I gave a lift to could not fail to be impressed at a champagne car bought for Lemonade money.

Jeremy Clarkson once said you were not a petrol head if you had never owned an Alfa - sorry, but if you dont like the SD1 then you have no soul.

Then I am Faust himself. The SD1 sold fairly well and is well known despite being a lemon.

[MrBiscuits]

I'd go for one of these, but of course without the "slam" and no pineapples. Strong, powerful, characterful,decent to drive and surprisingly economical. Roomy, cheap and very strong. I had 4 or 5 many years ago, not including a Santana and a couple of Audi 90's. never gave any issues, took the family to Germany loaded to the roof, towed a car trailer and caravan everywhere and none of them ever gave any grief. VW? What the hell happened...

 

These are well loved in Brazil, where the Santana only went out of production in the early 2000s and there was even a Ford badged version for some obscure reason. Still a few on the road which is testament to strength as cars tend to lead short & brutal lives there.

 

Also ubiquitous in China where they've only just stopped making them.