Cars that could have been... or wouldn't have been

Ohhh...what could have been, but likely never will be...

In reply to Klayfish:

They did offer the Accord V6/6spd sedan for at least 2 years, '06-07. The K series needs a stick. That V6 did just fine with an auto. That said a V6/6spd coupe is top of my wish list for my next car.

Pontiac G8... I was selling when these came out. Everybody asked where the manual was. By the time the GXP was release with the stick, Pontiac was already dead.

Cosworth Vega, Twin cam rwd goodness but emissions and NVH killed it.

Mercury Marauder, cool for what it was. Brought some sex appeal to Mercury (after the quasi-successful Cougar) which Mercury proceeded to not capatilize on. Would have been great had they brought over an Aussie-Ford Falcon to follow up on the success.

Pontiac seems to have a penchant for killing its own just when they get it sorted.

1988 - Fiero finally got the suspension it had needed from the beginning, to replace the Chevette/Citation garbage they had used at first, it got a decent 5 speed, and they had produced a pair of turbo mules that could have transformed the performance (and probably would have put it too close to the Corvette) ...and then they axed it.

2009 - do it all over again with the Kappa platform (Solstice/Sky)

But bean counters will always trump sports cars because they aren't money makers.

The 454ss seemed cool at the time, but wasn't the performer that I would have hoped for with only 230 hp.

The specs haven't aged well with less hp than my minivan and only a few tenth a quicker in the 1/4.

Lincoln LS should've had the 4.2 jaguar v8 instead of the 3.9 that was in there. And a better front suspension. And a v8 manual option to keep up with the e39 540i 6spd. And a 5x114 bolt pattern.

Toyota Celica should've stayed rwd.

Oh and Tahoe and Suburbans should've had diesel v8 options.

yupididit wrote: Lincoln LS should've had the 4.2 jaguar v8 instead of the 3.9 that was in there. And a better front suspension. And a v8 manual option to keep up with the e39 540i 6spd. And a 5x114 bolt pattern. Toyota Celica should've stayed rwd.

At the time the two cars came out, the engine choices were 3.9 or 4.0. The 4.2 came later.

The front suspension was really good. But tuned really badly. The same suspension showed up on more than one Aston Martin- using the subframe directly.

The problem with LS was that nobody could figure out what it was. Technically, it could be superior to the BMW. But it was tuned like most other Lincolns. It drove really well, until you drive a 5 series. Should it be a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus.... or none of the above- which is what it ended up being.

For sure, a woulda, coulda, shoulda car.

I drove and fixed my grandfather 1st gen LS 3.9 for a year. Front suspension couldn't last and I didn't like the gel of it. The car was a good cruiser but even a 530 e39 did everything better.

The 4.2 was from 2003 onward. The 2nd Gen LS should've gotten it too.

BlueInGreen44 wrote: Also, how have we not mentioned the Ford Thunderbird reboot of the year 2002

I was coming to say this^^^^^^

RevRico wrote: I'm also in the Prowler camp, but I'm glad one of the first threads I ever saw on this board was everyone complaining about it being ridiculously expensive, if not impossible, to V8 swap. I almost bought one thinking it would be fun to build up.

I've seen a Hemi powered Prowler. It's a tight fit and the guy invested quite a bit of money in it but it's every bit the car Chrysler should have built.

yupididit wrote: I drove and fixed my grandfather 1st gen LS 3.9 for a year. Front suspension couldn't last and I didn't like the gel of it. The car was a good cruiser but even a 530 e39 did everything better. The 4.2 was from 2003 onward. The 2nd Gen LS should've gotten it too.

Didn't last because the spindle exploded, or the hub froze up, or the arms broke, or did just the bushings/shocks not survive? Not sure if you mean the car collapsed or what....

BTW, the 4.2 was a jag motor that they wouldn't let Ford use. Just like the 4.0. I learned to really hate Jaguar as a company.

The Prowler never quite did it for me, however a year or two into production they did a "Howler" concept that fixed every complaint. It had a V8, trunk space and I believe a manual trans. Of course it never got built

G-bodys of the 80's not offering manual transmissions

GM didn't have a good sportscar 5-speed for the TPI 350. The Vette had the 4+3 and later the ZF 6-speed that was judged to pricey for the Camaro/Firebird. The 1992 Camaro 35th Z28 nearly got it with a 275hp 350, but was axed at the last second.

Never liked the Quad 4 Fiero idea, most people who have built them at home were dissappointed. Now a supercharged 3800? Yes please!

When multiport injection came to the 2.8 V6 in lots of the GM car line up, they cheaped out and gave the S trucks TBI. The MPFI engine would have been a nice sporty option with a good suspension package. Mini trucks were hot and this would have been a great seller!

snailmont5oh wrote: The V-6 Ford Tempo was a car that should've really ripped, but for some reason didn't. Also, the SHO engine was originally designed to power a mid-engined two-seater, but Fiero had already ruined that.

While the mid engined car is true, I heard the Explorer killed it. Could spend money on making the mid-engined sports car or the Explorer. Based on the profit sharing checks I got in the 90's, economically, the right choice was made.

alfadriver wrote:

yupididit wrote: I drove and fixed my grandfather 1st gen LS 3.9 for a year. Front suspension couldn't last and I didn't like the gel of it. The car was a good cruiser but even a 530 e39 did everything better. The 4.2 was from 2003 onward. The 2nd Gen LS should've gotten it too.

Didn't last because the spindle exploded, or the hub froze up, or the arms broke, or did just the bushings/shocks not survive? Not sure if you mean the car collapsed or what.... BTW, the 4.2 was a jag motor that they wouldn't let Ford use. Just like the 4.0. I learned to really hate Jaguar as a company.

I'm just being a bitch because I hate working on them. Ball joints were terrible though, had to replace the entire control arm to replace them. And sway bar bushings didn't last long either.

I too hated Jaguar during those times. Not to mention the car ate coils. And the clock spring sucked ass and window regulators like to go out in a moments notice.

I did like driving the car though. And the 3.9 sounds great.

I'd still buy a 05-06 LSE if I found the right deal.

Could and should? Ford should build a posh luxurious/sexy/cruiser version of the Mustang and sell it as a Lincoln.

Probably not a brilliant business idea... Which is why I'm a school teacher and not an auto exec.

Klayfish wrote: Ohhh...what could have been, but likely never will be...

Is that a Dale?

jstand wrote: The 454ss seemed cool at the time, but wasn't the performer that I would have hoped for with only 230 hp.

230hp, though, was like 30-40% more power than anything else you could get in a half-ton.

I think the Lightning killed the 454SS

yupididit wrote: I'm just being a bitch because I hate working on them. Ball joints were terrible though, had to replace the entire control arm to replace them. And sway bar bushings didn't last long either.

I only did lower ball joints on one once. The wheel bearing has to come out to get the ball joint out. The wheel bearings would not come out. $2000 ball joints because it also needed uprights and wheel bearings.

The funny: When we were doing a scrap run, I sawed most of the way through the uprights, put them in a 20 ton press (only thing to push on is the VSS componentry, oh well it is scrap anyway!), heated them with a torch, and buzzed the things with an air hammer, and the thing STILL would not come apart, stalling the 20 press's relief valve,, which is scary as hell when you have things under that much tension at crotch height and then you go in with an air hammer and tickle the lion's belly.

I said, screw it, I'll take the mix-metal weight instead of the pure aluminum weight for the uprights. But at least I didn't feel too bad about having to replace everything just to do a pair of lousy ball joints.

Shelby series 1 never quite took off

Three pages and no mention of a rwd Saab?!?! C'mon guys...

Klayfish wrote: In reply to dean1484: Yeah, that would make them depreciate like a rock, and it would be awesome for us GRMers...

Modern 6+ speed automatics are actually faster than manuals and can be fun if they are programmed properly.

wspohn wrote: Pontiac seems to have a penchant for killing its own just when they get it sorted. 1988 - Fiero finally got the suspension it had needed from the beginning, to replace the Chevette/Citation garbage they had used at first, it got a decent 5 speed, and they had produced a pair of turbo mules that could have transformed the performance (and probably would have put it too close to the Corvette) ...and then they axed it. 2009 - do it all over again with the Kappa platform (Solstice/Sky) But bean counters will always trump sports cars because they aren't money makers.

The Fiero didn't meet the sales numbers needed to stay alive. That was the deal made and the market for them just wasn't large enough, especially after the early teething issues. Those that wanted one, bought one.

The Solstice/Sky died when Opel killed the platform, especially when combined with GM's rebirth.

yupididit wrote: Oh and Tahoe and Suburbans should've had diesel v8 options.

Well, from '83-'99 they actually were available with diesel

In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):

Why would it matter if Opel killed the platform when they were building the cars in the US? They surely could have kept building and improving on it here except both Saturn and Pontiac were shut down so neither car had a marquee to be sold under.