QotW: What’s the last year that had cars which interested you?

If you’re a glass-half-empty type of person, you’re probably not excited about where the automotive industry is headed. Each year that passes, there seems to be fewer and fewer enthusiast cars, and the ones that come out are compromised in some way. If you’re a glass-half-full type of person, you might think that the best is yet to come. With the advancement of technology cars perform better than ever, and new architectures like battery-electrics and PHEVs will offer things traditional combustion engines could only dream of.

What’s the last year that had cars which interested you?

The best comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your Honda Civic story?“.

If you, as a car enthusiast, were alive and licensed in the 90s, driving a Honda was a unique experience. Before Fast & Furious came out, the tuner scene was still somewhat underground. Every outing was an adventure, scanning the road for other Hondas. Sometimes it was a hunt-or-be-hunted situation, other times a friendly rev to let others know you were in the same “club”. Those were the days. The winner this week is Azfer, who regales us with a story from that time.

Oh boyy…I have a few but the best one that I remember vividly is from Dec 2001 where I got to live out my Fast and Furious/Grand Turismo fantasy in a 5 spd 92 Civic LX with 140k on it. I drove from Philly to Chicago in 9 hours (normally it’s a 12 hour drive) in my friend’s car with him enjoying the action from the passenger seat; what his reaction was when he woke up and witnessed what was going on is a story in and of itself (keep on reading).

It was on Christmas Eve and there was literally no one on the road, except another random 97 Civic that we saw some time after we’d left. The Grand Turismo part of the fantasy was being able to experience drafting which was INSANE to the newly licensed me. The Fast and Furious fantasy was, well, Civic vs. Civic showdown on the interstate. To my friend and my surprise, our Civic was always able to pull away from the 97 Civic, even though both were stick shift and the other one was obviously newer. When the stranger and us had to part ways, we both smiled at each other, waved our hands, and wished each other safe travels.

So my friend had fallen asleep fairly quickly when we set out. I saw the 97 Civic and can’t remember how it started but we both just sent it. When my friend woke up, he looked at the speedometer and rubbed his eyes a few times because he couldn’t see the needle, LOL. He then quickly put on his glasses and tried to look at it again and still couldn’t see it. He asked me what’s going on and I told him to look over to his right and there was the 97 Civic. When he realized what was going on, he peed his pants (hahaha, j/k!). He got an adrenaline rush and he just couldn’t believe what was going on and double checked his seat belt.

When my friend bought the Civic, he had no idea about how cool they were. After this trip, he found a new love for it. I knew the Civic was special but having to experience it that way is a memory I’ll never forget.

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16 Responses to QotW: What’s the last year that had cars which interested you?

  1. Art says:

    2023! I’m all excited for the Crown to be sold in the US, especially the RWD sedan! Unfortunately Toyota has no plans in selling the Crown in Europe any time soon, so hopefully we can get some grey imports.

  2. kyushanerd says:

    Like 1997. You know, the EK9 was pretty cool, I love watching the best motoring and Hot version videos about it.

  3. dankan says:

    2023. I find EVs really interesting, and some of the stuff which is coming in the near future looks really great. Yes, the sound is a loss, and there is an enormous charm to ICE cars, but I don’t find the future bleak at all. If anything, it’s more exciting than the now, with a very few interesting cars for normal people, and everything else being exclusively for the very, very rich.

    And the opportunities for homebuilt EVs with 3d printing becoming more available is also quite thrilling.

  4. RainMeister says:

    “Each year that passes, there seems to be fewer and fewer enthusiast cars, and the ones that come out are compromised in some way.”

    I would beg to differ. Cars have become so good, even the no-frills basic entry models, that the only things that differentiate cars today are style, options and power. Most are reliable, cost very little to maintain, and can be driven with exuberance out-of-the-box, without bringing harm to yourself.

    Back in the day (as us old timers like to crow), some cars stood out because there were so many mediocre cars about. It didn’t take much effort to exceed enthusiasts’ expectations, particularly during the ’70s malaise era. But when those of us “in the know” discovered a gem among the sea of garbage, we worshipped those cars at the altar of fanboidom.

    Today, the new Z doesn’t spark the rush to place an order that the original did in 1970 because it’s performance (and even looks) don’t quite stand out. One can say the same about the Miata, although I love the current generation, or the first RX-7. And where is the modern day equivalent of the original CR-X, a car that many of my teenage friends lusted after when it debuted. Or the S2000 when it was released (which I finally bought new in 2005 and have kept)? There were initially long waiting lists and silly premiums being paid for them, such was their superior goodness.

    So there’s very little to evoke passion these days. But is that the fault of mfrs? I would argue that our current choices are a reflection of a marketplace where increasingly the younger generation no longer care to own a car, drive or even get a driver’s license, preferring to be Ubered. How do you get them excited about a new car, when the first thing they ask is “Does it come with Apple Carplay?” That’s the crowd that car companies are catering to these days.

    This is where our love of kyusha comes in. We can cherish a time when our old sleds were truly something special to behold.

  5. Azfer says:

    YAASSS!!! I’m surprised there were only 4 comments for the Honda Civic story. I honestly thought it was going to be a lot of responses. Oh well, better for me :).

    I was waiting for an email from you for my mailing address but haven’t seen it.

    Looking forward to putting these on my R51 Pathfinder. I know it’s not an antique but plan on keeping it for a while so it becomes one :).

  6. Steve says:

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    This can be answered in varying degrees.

    From a driving perspective, when cars went from throttle cable to a delayed electronic throttle which also took the fun out of driving in other areas as well. No left foot braking for front and AWD cars as it cut the throttle for you when you needed it to be full on. Also upon downshifting, the power was not drastically reduced to allow full engine braking, and with DSG for example, just kind of let you freewheel like an old SAAB.

    From a design perspective, when cars were jacked up and lipsticked into Cute Utes. Those all look the same and are just appliances. And why do they all squint at me from the rear end? Cute Utes also came with jacked up pricing, which didn’t help the finances for just appliance transportation.

    Now, to counter, I too agree the future with less costly, smaller electric vehicles will drive me to purchase one someday, although not for performance, but for economy, so that I can get around town and hopefully longer distances. This will allow me to spend more money on my Miata, my two 323GTX’s (one winter, one summer garage queen) and perhaps a Mitsubishi EVO in the future. More money for gas, fun parts, and not only that, but to get away from the monotony of the daily ride in congested urban areas in the electrified appliance, with spirited drives in the country or down some rally roads up north – defeating the hum drum with a big ass smile.

  7. Land Ark says:

    I’ve actually thought about this a bit. Not necessarily that cars today are worse, but there are aspects I do not like. The thing I like the least is constant internet connectivity. That can only lead to trouble – like, I dunno, say seat heaters by subscription. So around 2017-2018 was when things started to go awry on a large scale. Prior to that there were a lot of modern features that I like (Bluetooth, built-in remote start) without the constant monitoring of the manufacturer. It won’t be long before buying a used car doesn’t prevent you from paying the OEM since they can turn off features they don’t think you paid for (I see you, Tesla and soon BMW). Cars built before 2018 or so won’t ever have that problem.

  8. Tom Westmacott says:

    For me, while the absolute best vintages of cars are in the past (perhaps 1967 or 1999), I’ve not lost my interest in today’s cars either. Looking around Nissan Global Showroom in Yokohama and taking the Ariya for a drive, I feel that the passion and creativity is still there, just funneled in slightly different directions. Today’s cars are a fascinating mix of petrol, diesel, a whole range of different hybrid drivetrains, EV and hydrogen fuel cell – a diversity of fundamental principle last seen in the 1900s perhaps? You also have the car learning to drive with you, which is both impressive (when it works) and mildly terrifying (when the system disengages with a soft ‘beep’ as you hurtle towards the unforgiving concrete walls that line the Shutoku). But the potential for the car to interact with and even understand you is huge. We’re trying to take the human art of driving and deconstruct it so that a machine can do it, a fascinating task.
    So personally, I’m still fascinated by the cars of today – nearly as much as I am by the greats of the past.

  9. Elias says:

    If I was to look at the general direction of where cars are heading today (autonomy, electrification and all the weird stuff happening in our infotainment systems) then it’s easy to get discouraged. It makes me feel that the driver is becoming more and more of a mere passenger.

    At the same time, I am genuinely curious (and excited) to see what comes next, year in and year out. From the last/best of ICE-power cars getting released, to the new auto industry companies and the new technologies getting implemented.

    It’s messy, different and some times it doesn’t make sense but… that’s progress.

  10. エーイダン says:

    The last year I was interested in cars is to be determined. I assume it will align with exactly with the year I die in.

  11. speedie says:

    While I dream of owning lots of JNCs, for everyday driving I find the current menu of cars most interesting. This includes: Honda Civic Si/Type R, Toyota/Subaru GR86/BRZ, Toyota Supra, Nissan Z, Mazda MX-5, Mazda3 Turbo AWD, Hyundai/Kia Ioniq5/EV6, Kia Stinger… Now if I were to add European and American cars to the list I would be typing for quite some time. As the age of the electric car is emerging we are seeing the pinnacle in internal combustion engine performance and car design. This is indeed an interesting time to be a car enthusiast.

    BTW: The RX-8 R3 pictured in the article is the exact same model I currently own and drive every weekend. To me it is one of the most enjoyable cars I have every owned/driven.

  12. Taylor C. says:

    I have thought a lot about this question, and it’s definitely a tough one to respond to. Like others who have explained that it’s not so clear cut, there’s been a lot of other technologies that have been the focus, specifically all the connectivity. For example, if you look at a dying brand like Infiniti, most of them sales pitch nowadays are more biased towards ease of smartphone integration to the vehicle; for us mechanical folks, it’s as much a priority.

    But back to the question, there’s always been an unveiling here and there that’s kept the new-car automotive spirit alive (ND Miata, BRZ/86, Accord 2.0T manual, Mazda 3 / 6, 370Z, last-generation Nissan Quest, ). However, the peak, for me, was probably 2005, if not 2006. The 1990s were the best years IMO, but I’ll admit the 2000s, up to 2005/6, wasn’t so bad either. Here’s a partial list to substantiate my claims (in no particular order):

    G35 Sedan and Coupe 6MT (298hp)
    Legacy GT wagon 5MT
    Impreza STi (even though it was intro’d Stateside in 2004)
    refreshed TSX and RSX (less oil consumption, better looking IMO)
    LS430 with 6-speed and lengthened headlights (even though it came out in 2004)
    the last year of the Inifiniti Q45
    Lancer EVO
    350Z with the updated engine (like the G35)
    Miata NC (2006)
    RX-8 (although that came out in 2004)
    RL
    S2000 (although refreshed in 2004)
    Nissan Frontier (with the updated engine)

    I can’t seem to come up with another latter year where automobiles that attracted me hit this hard. Lots of the vehicles on that list were NEW or evolutionized models, this doesn’t include the other great cars as well. Offerings today are definitely more efficient and take upon lessons learned, but it seems like everything has become diluted, forgettable, or an aspiring jack-of-all-trades.

  13. Robin says:

    5 months and 1 day ago i would have said without thinking twice that my last year of interesting cars would be 2007 as our current family car is a Honda Fit (GD) and we have been for a while considering what we can get to replace this.

    unfortunately being in the motor industry and have driven many newer cars, we feel we keep coming back to an Altezza that could be a suitable replacement… but if we getting an RS200 we can’t be settling for the auto version.

    However current day, we need something a little bigger for a pram and things like airbags in every suitable place as most would advise (almost to a point of forcefully convincing) why this is a must.

    One car that has stood out is the new Corolla sedan, but i rather put that money towards my Daughters future (haha, nervously laughing).
    If the next qotw touches on What Japanese vehicle have you chosen to buy that’s suitable for a baby, i will update on this situation.

    For now the 2007 Fit is perfect and while typing this with one hand due to holding my Daughter i feel its only right to let her end this with some words of her own…

    .ml m .ljn b ,hn bul !!!

  14. Robin says:

    5 months and 1 day ago I would have said without thinking twice that my last year of interesting cars would be 2007 as our current family car is a Honda Fit (GD) and we have been for a while considering what we can get to replace this.

    unfortunately being in the motor industry and having driven many newer cars, we feel we keep coming back to an Altezza that could be a suitable replacement… but if we get an RS200 we can’t be settling for the auto version.

    However current day, we need something a little bigger for a pram and things like airbags in every suitable place as most would advise (almost to a point of forcefully convincing) why this is a must.

    One car that has stood out is the new Corolla sedan, but I rather put that money towards my Daughters future (haha, nervously laughing).
    If the next qotw touches on What Japanese vehicle have you chosen to buy that’s suitable for a baby, I will update you on this situation.

    For now, the 2007 Fit is perfect and while typing this with one hand due to holding my Daughter I feel it’s only right to let her end this with some words of her own…

    .ml m .ljn b ,hn bul !!!

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