well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse.
discuss
well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse.
discuss
Chevy II/Nova.
mid 70's Cadillac Seville
Bronco
Bronco II was a bit of a step down! (not sure if that counts)
All of them? I can't think of any rehash of a old style that was better. Different, more modern maybe, but not better.
tjbell wrote: well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse. discuss
The '99 NB Sport is often more desirable than the rest of the NBs (up to 05).
Nailed it with the Nova, although second gen was no step down.
I'll throw the Monte Carlo in the mix.
The S2000 comes to mind. Agile and fun but then had to be reworked with more understeer so moronic jackwagons would quit complaining that it was "too twitchy" and the feature bloat for things like clocks and such.
The Maxima (as mentioned in another thread) was a fast and cool family sedan. Bloat and a CVT have made it into a Camry.
Dodge Charger. The first and second gen are gorgeous, but everything after that is lacking severely
I think many of you failed at reading the original post.
tjbell wrote: well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse. discuss
I think what he meant is about a given model run. Like the 97-03 dakota. Same model before the redesign. The early models had the magnum la as the v8 options, where the later ones got tbe E36 M3ty 4.7. Earlier ones also had a better interior and were simpler. The later they got, worde intetiors and engine options.
Give me a 97-98
An obvious answer here is Thunderbird.
most cars in the 70s.. many of them came out in the late 60s and early 70s.. and with long body style runs, were forced to endure emissions and safety regulations.
Think Fiat 124 and X 1/9, the originals of both were near perfect.
The MGB was forced to endure smogging and those hideous bumpers
Corvette even suffered
As for modern examples.. I will agree with the Honda S2000. They were about as perfect as you could get.. and then got worse to "tame" them for the Honda fanbois who were used to FWD
ProDarwin wrote:tjbell wrote: well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse. discussThe '99 NB Sport is often more desirable than the rest of the NBs (up to 05).
From a stock class autocross standpoint, sure. But the 01-05 is a better car overall.
Funny, EVO magazine complained about the original S2000 handling.
Agreed. And yes, the AP2 is a better car than the AP1 as well.
aircooled wrote: An obvious answer here is Thunderbird.
Oi!
Okay, I'll admit, there were a lot of awful cars in between.
And if the OP is asking about cars that got worse with refreshes within a design cycle, I'm going to say Acura TSX based on the awful chrome beak it got.
Pontiac Lemans for a nameplate taking a dive. For a single platform the C3 Corvette.
240z, camaro and firebird transitioning into 5mph bumpers. Alfa spyders got the kamm back, not nearly as pretty as the duettos.
It seems there was a lot of this during the 70's. Models were released, and during their run, regulations were imposed that required the bolting on of compliance adding hardware. Look at the MGB. It started life just early enough to avoid all emissions regulations. It ran through the fuel crisis and died somewhere around 1980. Abingdon pillows, rubber bumpers, engine changes, third wipers, all manner of ride height changes, and power numbers that were all over the place.
Maybe not "nailed it" the first year... But has been on a downhill slide for quite a while now. Nissan Maxima
The SN95 Mustangs from 94-98. The 5.0l available from 94-95 then the most anemic 2v 4.6l from 96-98. IIRC 99+ had much better flowing heads so it became less of an issue. Then 05 to now it's just been getting betterer 
For a single platform definitely the C3 corvette. Not only did they use the same body style from 1968 to 1982, the late 70's cars were unfathomably worse than the '68-'70.
Sure, they had to choke them due to emissions, but they didn't do anything to make the later C3's better in any other way. At least the '82 Special Edition is decent looking.
tjbell wrote: well, most of the time it is best to by the latest model of a given body style (last year run) and I was wondering, are there any cars/trucks that they nailed it the first year, then by the 3rd or 4th of the given body style they got worse. discuss
ALL OF THEM.
I can't think of a car that got better as they progressed. Well, maybe the Grand National's best year was the last one. But I am thinking of cars like the RX-7, the MR2, the BRZ, where the first model year was the Raw Intent, and then they get focus-grouped into blandness afterward. The original RX-7 weighed under 2400lb and had a gigantic rear sway bar, in 1981 they made the car heavier and have it a rear bar with half the stiffness, in 1984 they made it a 280ZX Lite with more luxo crap and they buggered up the rear suspension geometry to make the car even more boring. Bleargh. The original MR2 was good but after a couple years they buggered upo the rear suspension to make it "safer" (read: blandified for the dipwad brigade). The first year BRZ had an engine powerband that you had to DRIVE, second year they took all the fun out of it.
And don't get me started on the 911.
drdisque wrote: For a single platform definitely the C3 corvette. Not only did they use the same body style from 1968 to 1982, the late 70's cars were unfathomably worse than the '68-'70. Sure, they had to choke them due to emissions, but they didn't do anything to make the later C3's better in any other way. At least the '82 Special Edition is decent looking.
You know, I felt that the C3 was a raging piece of S-word because they all felt so crappy to drive. Because I only ever got to drive late C3s.
Earlier this spring I had to drive a restified '68. (HAD to. It was a drivability concern. The E36 M3 I put up with at work some days, I tell ya...) All stock suspension but a newer SBC converted to fuel injection. It shocked me in that it wasn't a piece of crap to drive. By which I mean, the steering wasn't vague and the car didn't give me the impression that the suspension travel consisted entirely of copious amounts of chassis twist and flex. I've felt uncomfortably fast driving C3s at 35mph before. This example felt solid and great at any speed, even better than I remember new C4s being.
AAaaaand now I realize that I can remember driving new C4s.
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