As someone who lived through the 1990s, I feel like the decade is hard to pin down. A lot of what is called 90s is actually an 80s aesthetic, and everywhere you look there are claims that 90s fashion is coming back. But are graphic T-shirts and cargo pants really exclusive to the 90s? The automotive realm is one area where the 90s have a distinct look, with simple and organic soft shapes and just enough but not too much in-car tech. And, of course, it was a time when Japanese cars shined bright. With Y2K nearly 25 years behind us, is there a single car that can be called emblematic of the decade?
What’s the most 90s car?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How would you make a Mazda ad?“.
It’s so hard to come up with an ad that catches the eye of the average car buyer but that doesn’t betray enthusiasts. That might explain why it’s so hard for Mazda to come up with commercials that stand out. Enthusiasts like Distilled Water and daniel still love the Zoom-Zoom era, as do we. Images of Mazda’s many gorgeous concepts like the RX-Vision and Iconic SP are soul-stirring to us, but do they grab the eyeballs of someone who’s eating Cheetos at halftime? Perhaps a humorous approach works best. That’s why this week’s winner was Land Ark:
The shot fades into a Soul Crystal Red Miata convertible with the top down in a white room. The THX sound affect starts playing just as the camera starts to move toward the car and it turns to face the camera. The camera moves over the hood and points toward the interior and just as the THX effect comes to creshendo the camera zooms, focuses, and holds on the manual shifter.
As the effect fades out, text appears at the bottoms of the screen that says “We also make crossovers.”
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
EG6 Civic…
1995 Corolla!
One that’s fully paid off!
To get the discussion started, cuz someone out there is askin’ “what category, sports, econobox, truck, SUV, sedan”, but I’m guessin’ the motivation is to get people to post their favorite and see who’s reading the article.
I’ll throw out there Nissan products that start showing up in the 90s. The 1993 Stanza, the 300ZX, the Pathfinder, the Infiniti Q45, the Sentra, the Pulsar, the Skyline GTR. the Cefiro, the Leopard J Ferie. the March.
Econobox – Saturn SL/gen 1 Neon (tie)
mid-market sedan – XV10 Camry
premium sedan – E36 3-Series
SUV – Ford Explorer, the early Ranger-wagon ones.
truck – GMT800
sports car – NA Miata
This is a very solid response.
I was in high school and college in the ’90s, so for me the cars of the ’90s were old rusty Japanese hatchbacks from the ’80s.
I thought all day about this one.
I reckon the criteria should be:
1) new design – should reflect the era and the future.
2) heritage – must have a solid history, robust foundation in the market it’s aimed at
3) global appeal – it should not just be JDM or NADM.
4) fun – it’s gotta be fun to drive and own.
5) value – ideally, it will still be valued and have value.
After I set these parameters for myself, honestly, I came up with only 1 car:
Acura/Honda NSX
The first thing I thought of was the XV10 Camry. It certainly won the 1990s since it absolutely crushed the competition with regard to build quality, long term reliability, and of course sales. It might have been the 2nd best car ever built in that regard behind only the mighty LS400/Celsior. The main difference being that the common man could afford the Camry. And afford them they did, since they became ubiquitous. Seamlessly blending in for decades going from family car, to first car, to abused 3rd ownership, and on to take whatever owners could throw at it and keep running. It became the defacto car for enthusiasts to recommend to non-car enthusiasts. It’s design is the embodiment of the 1990s 3-box sedan. Plus it came as a coupe and wagon with dual rear wipers.
There are still quite a few of them and AE10x Corollas running around here in Oregon. I really think Oregon is a bit of a hidden jem/hotbed for finding old cars in decent shape. There’s no salt on the roads and the sun and UV damage isn’t as bad as SoCal or Arizona so things don’t really rust or degrade that much and it’s a lower income state than many others with less of a cultural emphasis on flash and style so people tend to hang onto and keep driving their cars forever. I count myself among that group. My wife’s AE102 Corolla wagon is up over 318k miles now, but I do all the work on it and it still runs and drives well and cracks 35mpg on the highway so why not keep running it. It’s also the newest car in our family.
P90 starlet, in one of those funky teal colors with unpainted plastic bumpers and those squiggly blobby graphics on the side.
Now I was not around for most of the 90’s but I know this much, some crazy stuff happened then and the P90 starlet survived it all and will most likely keep on going effortlessly until the 2090’s.
Just as picking up a copy of final fantasy VII for your PS1, or unwittingly having bought the eternal soundtrack of adolescent angst In the form of the Nirvana MTV Unplugged album a teal P90 starlet will remain fresh forever. It’s the type of trivial thing younger Millennials and elder Zoomers will obsess over, trust me, I am one!
– Typed from the clunky comfort of my 30 year old beige keyboard plugged into a new computer through about 2 adapters…
Speaking of P90 Starlets, I think the Starlet Remix could be a candidate as well. It has the offroadey plastic cladding and external spare (and I think AWD as well) like if it badly wanted to be a mini-RAV4. Back then small crossovers were seen as some fun youthful having-a-picnic-with-friends kind of vehicles that were usually owned by people who actually like going outside and not those that tell everyone that “a big car gives off a feeling of safety”. If CUVs stayed like that I bet most of the people here wouldn’t be so mad at them.
danggit, i fell into the spam filter again…
Got it!
I love my 90s cars, some more than others. I had thought of all the super cars that came out during those times, but then took a step back and put a bit more effort into this response. There was mention of the 3rd gen Camry, and that was the category of cars I was leaning towards. I had thought about the second-gen Ford Taurus, but that’s not JDM. My submission is the 4th generation Honda Accord, which started in 1990. Just picture this: You close your eyes, and hear that distinct Honda “door ajar” beep, and then you hear the distinct Honda starter, and when you open you eyes, you see that signature “Hampshire Green” color that Ford copied onto their Taurus, Saturn copied onto their cars, etc. Get into the car, and if it’s automatic, you are reminded of the hard 1st-to-2nd gear shifts.
Having lived through the 1990s, I’ve seen friends’ parents buy those Accords as their family car, and then hand those down to the friends as their high school car. Therefore my exposure to these cars were definitely not uncommon. Add some clear corners, fuba antenna, some eibach springs along with DC Sports header and RS Akimoto intake, not to mention a GReddy muffler (too cheap to buy full-on exhaust), and it’s definitely listening to PM Dawn again! If it wasn’t a riced-out car, it was definitely one of the most common cars around the block.
I had thought about the 5th gen Accord, but even though they were prime 1990s cars, their popularity definitely rolled into the (then) new millennium, whereas the 4th gens sorta stayed behind as that decade’s placeholder.
I was thinking of the 3rd gen Acura Integra as a contender as well. Such a symbol of the 1990s, with “VTEC” belching out of everyone’s mouths. The Paradise Green, the fat fives, the oh-so-common clear corners, the throaty intake noise when you punch it, and everyone giving you so much respect when you roll into the school parking lot with one. I know Integras were still rolling off the production line in 2001, but its presence in the 1990s really sparks up nostalgia (along with the Accord).
Just try this; find an Accord or Integra and bring it to a car meet, and most everyone will say, “Man, I remember these from back in the day…” where “back in the day” will most certainly be the 90s.
Beepbeepbeepbeep. Beepbeepbeepbeep. Beepbeepbeepbeep.
But for me, when I think of that generation it was Seattle Silver, or maybe Laguna Gold – they both look the same to me.
When I drove my friend’s ca r(in gold) I told him there was something really wrong with his transmission. He said that it was normal but I wasn’t convinced. That was the only time I drove an Accord of that generation despite family and other friends having them.
Couldn’t agree more, but I’m biased too…
For me, the simple sports coupé is the ’90s-est ’90s car. Any sports coupé. They represent this era when pretty much anyone could afford a cheap, or cheap-ish, or expensive, good looking and fun sporty car, and this era ended during that decade. Cars made for fun. For looks. For enjoyment.
The ’90s marked the end of the sports coupé with some of the best ones out there, over here and everywhere else. Sure, there were some in the ’80s and even before. They were precursor to the greatness of the ’90s sports coupés. There were some that made it to the naughties too. These were survivors, throwback to the greatness of the ’90s.
90s would be represented by the very Japanese Supra, Skyline, 3000GT and NSX? These were cars that took the world by storm more to do with the cult status and the technical wizardry. These were cars born in the bubble era where money was not an issue and they all strived for who could make the best. The European would call them bland too many gadgets no soul. But they were what defined the Japanese sports cars, they told the world we are coming for your best and you need to be afraid. How many cars of the time had active wings? How many had 4 wheel steer? I guess none of the other could take so much extensive modifications that these could take. Spoke volumes of technology and R&D that Japan had and could go through.
What happened to Japan after the 1990s with recession was they started making bland cars again.
And for those who called these bland, up yours! The interiors though may have been boring they have worn better than contemporary European cars and they still drive and sell for much more than your BMW / Merc.
I think the Toyota MR-2 Gen I to Gen II delineates the decades the best. The hard edges giving way to softer edges.
I’m going with the classic Japanese bubble era over-engineered approach. While I would love to say the LS400 or SC400, I think the Previa is going to be my pick. The Lexi were stout and everything was better than it needed to be. The Previa, while probably still having some of those qualities, is really more about the statement….FWD V6 car-based tall wagons from the Big 3? We’ll throw a mid-engine RWD (or AWD) supercharged 4 at ya underneath a positively from-the-future design. Unconventional but extremely well-done.
The Sileighty. For those who don’t know, a Sileighty is the result of a Nissan 180SX meeting a tree, guard rail, hydro pole, lamp post etc….and the front bits being replaced with those from the S13 Nissan Silvia. A somewhat popular mod in Japan during the 1990s, enough so that one was featured in (and this was how I learned about them as a teenager) the anime Initial D.
Had to think on this one for a bit, but thinking back to the 90s. I was born in 87 so mid-90s is when I really started to notice different cars and read car magazines.
My dad was big into muscle cars, but my grandfather had an S130 so I started to pay attention to Japanese cars. I remember when the second gen Eclipse came out and I started seeing them in person. I thought “Man, that is a cool looking car!” and that was pretty much all I knew about it.
Honestly that was as far as my love for Eclipses went, but thinking back that was the first Japanese 90s car that really stood out to me and I think the styling is very 90s and honestly, very nice.
Geo Storm? Isuzu Impulse? Have these been mentioned? The NX2000 I had with t-tops was gloriously ‘90’s!