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Quintessential Mid 90's Loser Cars

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Comments

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. My girlfriend wife had this guy who's now a lawyer who still had a crush on her from high school driving around our house and neighborhood in a brand-new black Mercedes E-Class. She saw him once in 20 years at her high school reunion and he cried when she told him she had a boyfriend (me). After the reunion, he drove around our house looking for her for the next five years and only spotted my ugly mug instead! Finally, the guy gave up and married this big nasty girl who probably kicks his butt every night. Speaking of loser cars, didn't your cow-irker have an Olds Silhouette minivan?
  • tjc78tjc78 Member Posts: 15,850
    Olds Silhouette minivan

    The "Cadillac of Minivans" lol

    2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve

  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    I had a Corsica, while not the most exciting car it certainly wasn't a loser car. It had decent acceleration and gas mileage ran pretty much trouble free for me until about 140K miles when I sold it and the buyer (a friend) drove it close to another 100K with little trouble.

    I can vouch for that. Had one for a rental back in the day and managed a speeding ticket in it.

    Cadillac of minivans - almost cost me a keyboard.

    The Yugo is its own little category. Didn't they only go to 1992? Not quite mid-nineties. One of the best arguments against Reaganomics was the fact that it produced Yugos in the marketplace.... Fiats without the world famous Italian quality control....
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    They made the Astro and Safari vans up to 2005.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    I'd definitely vote for the Metro and Aspire. The name 'Aspire' always cracked me up...like, "Next time I'll aspire to move up to an Escort"!

    The GM dustbuster minivans...at least they were original and had dent-resistant body panels. The 'softening up' of the front end near the end of the model run, was an improvement IMHO.

    I'd better watch it..my Edmunds 'handle' was put out there some time back when I couldn't think of anything else. I'm sure my wife's Uplander will be on a similar list for the decade after the '90's!

    Bill
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • extech2extech2 Member Posts: 120
    I can't believe that no one mentions the Honda del Sol (or was it del Stol) can't remember
  • uplanderguyuplanderguy Member Posts: 16,055
    I'm amazed at how many cars on this 'list', I've owned or had close contact with.

    I bought a brand-new bright red '89 Beretta GT, which I enjoyed (before they started putting large graphics to differentiate the GT model); I also bought a new '90 Corsica 4-cyl. 5-speed which was reliable and still good-looking after 108K miles (in fact I think Corsicas looked good for a four-door; better than the Beretta), and I bought a new '93 Caprice Classic with F41 suspension. I was 35 and my wife 28 when we bought that car; I'm sure we were Chevy's youngest Caprice customers that year!

    My mother-in-law had a bright blue Honda delSol bought by her gentleman friend because he thought she looked 'cute' in it. Yes, I had a Caprice when my mother-in-law had a Del Sol!

    Bill
    2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,818
    i just found this discussion.
    wow, you guys are rough...

    i've owned two of the vehicles on the list, and i liked both of them... an 89 LeMans that my wife drove for 2-3 years, and a 92 aerostar that, mile for mile, was probably the most expensive car i've owned... it leaked something different every 3 months, it seemed. so yeah it was a piece all right.

    for all that, i really liked the aerostar for hauling, traveling, and canoeing. a very pleasant vehicle for a family with a small child.

    And the LeMans was cool because (i) it was a carbon copy of the mid-80s Opel Kadett (E); (ii) i got it for $1,500 bucks, and (iii) it was dirt-cheap to run, easy to fix, and fairly reliable. of course, ours had no p/s no a/c no cruise no nuthin.. there wasn't much left to break.

    i'm gonna also have to disagree with the suzuki sidekick someone mentioned; those are considered excellent off-roaders. not that i'd want one myself.

    most of the others, esp. the corsica/beretta/skylark/... are just foul.
    cheers -mathias
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    wow, you guys are rough...

    Notice that there's little, if any, consensus. :)

    My neighbor has an Aerostar and it is a good hauler, 4x4 to boot. His drives like a sick pig however.

    OT - I haven't thought about an Opel Kadett for years. Wasn't there a Miata-like one that had flip up headlights?
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    I agree with you about the LeMans. I was too young to apprecaite the original, and having just moved here from Europe, it reminded me of the Opel Kadett, which was a decent hot hatch back then. So here as a teen I actually wanted to get a LeMans.

    I wonder if the car would have more success under a different name. Maybe the fact that GM took a legendary name and slapped it onto a Korean subcompact ticked off and turned off people from trying it that otherwise would have bought it if it were named something else.

    And steine, don't worry if you had these before. The whole discussions is whether anyone drives these cars now, and how they're perceived by others for doing so.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • otto8otto8 Member Posts: 116
    Those Lemans were just rebadged kias!
    And a POS to boot...........You must of been lucky!
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    I have to believe the Opel built cars were better than the Daewoos. There were tuner versions of that car in Europe, as you mention - none ever came to NA!
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    I must have been lucky? Why cause I never owned one? I never got around to buying one..

    I guess the Kadetts for the Euro market were built in Germany and were of much better quality.

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,818
    I guess the Kadetts for the Euro market were built in Germany and were of much better quality.

    except the one my uncle bought, which turned out to have been painted but not primed. really.

    i think that was his last opel... -mathias
  • stephen987stephen987 Member Posts: 1,994
    Those Lemans were just rebadged kias!
    And a POS to boot...........You must of been lucky!


    Half right. They were Daewoos, not Kias. Kia built the Ford Festiva, which was a heck of a lot more reliable, but not exactly a "winner car."

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  • anythngbutgmanythngbutgm Member Posts: 4,277
    image

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    Not sure if I'd consider them total "loser cars" as I remember the reviews saying they handled very sporty (might even have a lotus designed suspension under there) but they were damn fugly.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    I still see quite a few of those things around. I wonder if they had some Mazda input under them, as they seem better than later Kia products, and better than the Aspire which I believe shared many components.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    If they had introduced it 10 years later, it probably would have been a hit. Well, save for those plastic fenders.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    The vehicross is pretty good off-road just funky looking is all.

    I would drive one.
  • colloquorcolloquor Member Posts: 482
    Kia built the Festiva and Aspire. And, even though Kia is perceived as a POS manufacturer, Kia is head and shoulders above Daewoo. Actually, I'd say modern Kia's are pretty good products.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    I believe the Festiva was a rebadged Mazda 2, make by Kia. I understand they were good, durable cars, their appearance suggested otherwise. Although the Aspire is the next generation Festiva, for whatever reasons the quality took a dive.

    Neither the Festiva nor the Aspire were significant, but, then, much of what we talk about in these discusssions is trivial. Oh, well, it's harmless fun.
  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Those Festivas were tough, long-lasting cars. But even in the 90s when they were fairly new they were glaringly cheap and labelled their owners as such.

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Yeah, you're right. I remember that they were considered "throw-aways."
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,818
    the festiva soldiered on in europe as the mazda 121, same body style and everything, into the aughties. it wasn't a bad city car, just old and plain, and surprisingly cheap.
    and pretty well built, too, by all accounts.
    -mathias
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    You mean discussing bottom of the line cars introduced for model year 1988 is trivial? ;)

    Europe had that 121 for a long time as steine mentions - and they were never cursed with the Aspire, in the terrible period colors I remember. The car itself was bad enough, but it seems half of them around here were teal, purple, kind of a dark magenta, etc. I'd say the Aspire has to rank way up there for the subject of this thread - if not just for the stupid name, for the low quality, terrible image, and I bet the mileage isn't even that great.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,652
    I remember in college, one of my classmates had a Festiva. I rode in it once or twice. It was surprisingly roomy up front...I had adequate room, at least. However, the doors seemed paper thin, and the whole car just seemed like it would fall apart in the slightest impact. And the seats themselves seemed kinda small.
  • emmanuelchokeemmanuelchoke Member Posts: 97
    I bought a Festiva the first year they started selling them in the U.S. I drove it for 300,000 miles to work and school and it was probably the most reliable death trap I've ever owned. It was a great second car and was still running when I had it hauled off for scrap (truly disposable cars) but the blow by from the engine had become unbearable inside. It was clown car roomy inside (I'm 6 feet 5) and surprisingly fun to drive. I advanced the distributor a few degrees so even though it took about 12 seconds to reach 60, it could climb hills better than expected. People didn't like being passed uphill by a Festiva so downhill payback was a forgone conclusion, especially from drivers of small pickups with oversized wheels.
    It may have been a loser car but it never attempted to be anything but a dirt cheap commuter car and it served my purposes at the time. I think it had about 60 hp, but weighed less than 1900 lbs, about 41 mpg highway. I still think the name was horrible though. It was imported by Ford from Korea, but had a Mazda engine control system and the distributor was made by Mitsubishi.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,092
    I liked the Festiva "L" - the "Festival". That was the model driven by a girl I knew in high school...the car a half dozen or so of us teenaged boys picked up and moved into the entrance of a double door school building as a prank.
  • boomchekboomchek Member Posts: 5,516
    It may have been a loser car but it never attempted to be anything but a dirt cheap commuter car

    It's only a loser car if you drive one now. ;)

    2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX

  • otto8otto8 Member Posts: 116
    DUH! My bad!

    daewoo or kia.................both were/are a POS!
    :P
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    I remember several guys doing that to a Volkswagen. In this case they popped it between two pillars in front of the school.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • nyccarguynyccarguy Member Posts: 16,373
    The GEO METRO hatchback was the ultimate 90's loser-mobile. 3 cylinder (lack of) power, a true death trap, and styling that made minivans look cool. I can totally see Napolean Dynamite (Do the chickens have large talons?) driving a GEO METRO Hatchback.

    As a sophmore in college (fall 1995 - spring 1996), the Residence Director (RD) (grad student in "charge" of 4 dorm buildings) of our dorm was a guy named Brian Klocke (Pronounced Clucke) drove a GEO METRO hatchback. The entire back of the car was covered in bumper stickers such as: VEGETARIANS ARE SPROUTING UP ALL OVER THE PLACE. Clukie had an assigned parking space next to a Handicapped space. We would come home late at night (on a Friday or Saturday) & 4 of us (I've seen 2 guys do it) would literally drag the GEO from his spot into the Handicapped space. The next morning before we went to breakfast, one of us would call Campus Safety to tell them his wheelchair bound uncle came to visit & needs to use the Handicapped spot, but there is another car without a Handicapped sticker or plates parked in the space. Campus Safety would come within minutes to tow the car away :P

    Now the best part about this is, that one day all of us are walking back from the dining hall and Cluckie stopped us. He asked us if we saw anything suspicious happening to his car in the parking lot (because some of our rooms faced the parking lot). With a straight face, I said to him, "what, someone's messing with your car?" He said "no, someone's been moving my car into the handicapped space. It keeps getting towed away" My friend Munch said "you mean someone took your keys and moved your car?" Cluckie said "no, it is a pretty light car & if you got like 10 or 12 guys, you could pick it up and move it."

    LOSER!

    2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD

  • emmanuelchokeemmanuelchoke Member Posts: 97
    Car and Driver from October 1994. "In traffic ( Rodney Dangerfield impression) the Metro don't get no respect. Other drivers give it the once-over and make it their mission to relegate it to the back of the pack. But the final insult is the rudeness shown toward Metro drivers by fellow road users." C&D predicted the winner (loser?) of this forum 15 years ago. Still interesting cars though.
    Human nature being what it is, in order to salvage any scrap of dignity, the drivers of small, slow cars would start feeding off each other. Our cars were so slow ( 0-60 in the 12 to 15 second range) that other drivers were probably unaware that a race was even happening.
  • stephen987stephen987 Member Posts: 1,994
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    The whitewalls and luggage rack just make this car, don't they?
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...even have a chance at being a winner or loser?

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  • nippononlynippononly Member Posts: 12,555
    Is that the little Daihatsu Charade? It had Toyota reliability in a Metro-size package, and without the Toyota name it sold for less when new. And with a name like Charade, well, how was it ever supposed to get respect??!! :-P

    2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)

  • lokkilokki Member Posts: 1,200
    Well, telling your girlfriend some girl you just met that you drive a Daihatsu Charade is probably a great way to say "goodbye" without actually having to say the words.

    They were actually pretty good little cars, but too expensive for the market. But yeah, loser material.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    I imagine Daihatsu Charades depreciated quickly, or the reasons mentioned, making them great transportation values. Of course, this assumes you didn't need to impress anyone. Unfortunately, just as what you wear makes an impression, so does what you drive.
  • stephen987stephen987 Member Posts: 1,994
    They would've been great used cars, but the dealer network (and the US parts supply) dried up after about three or four years, making them orphans.
  • oldie_loveroldie_lover Member Posts: 1
    1991 Chevy Suburban - although the newer models have modern and more accpeted looks, and these oldies may be good off road, great workhorses, and have a small following, to most people they conjure up images of gun toting trailer park living rednecks. Pull up in downtown in one of these babies with peeled paint and rusty fenders, and get disowned by your friends instantly.

    well..............you got this one wrong. i guess 6 outta 7 ain't bad.
  • mariojcgmariojcg Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2014
    Hi there, i saw your Geo Metro convertible picture here on this site i was curious to know if there is still, the luggage rack which is on your car for sale anywhere?

    I want to get one, thanks for replying.
    [Email removed]

    :shades:
  • stephen987stephen987 Member Posts: 1,994
    I have no idea--it's not my car.
This discussion has been closed.