Today, November 24, is Evolution Day, marking the date on which Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published in 1859. Like in the animal kingdom, when cars go from one generation to the next, changes can occur. Sometimes they’re an improvement, sometimes they’re not. Purists may prefer the undiluted driving experience of earlier generations, while leadfoots might enjoy the advancements in performance that came with subsequent ones, and there are some generational changes in which everything just went to shit. Was it the quantum leap between R31 and R32 Skyline? Or perhaps the return to basics that characterized the Z32 to Z33 Fairlady Z?
Which car had the best evolution between generations?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “How do you satisfy your car addiction when you can’t access your actual car?“.
We worried about where Jim Klein‘s answer was headed, but we can’t argue with the ending. Still, it would be unfair to show favoritism to this kind of unabashed flattery so we must move on.
Some found solace in small versions of actual cars. Laurence A Simmonds collected 1:18 scale replicas of his real cars, エーイダン assembled a diecast dream garage of unobtainable real cars, and ynori dreams up concepts and creates them out of plastic model kits.
If you’re lucky enough maybe you can drive a friend’s car. as Ian G. does on the track or Negishi no Keibajo does on an extended road trip.
You can also bide your time like Kyuusha Corner by building a spreadsheet of parts that will eventually go in to the project and learning a new skill by watching videos online. Or, you can go for some retail therapy, browsing Craigslist and Marketplace like Taylor C.
The winner this week was Dimitry Mochkin, who hit the nail on the head regarding having to put a hold on projects due to weather. All you can do is cross-reference parts, plot, and plan on how you will tackle it when the climate improves.
Easy. Picked up a 1990 Miata a week before local Canadian weather started hitting sub-freeze temps, which didn’t stop me driving it top down, but unfortunately it had to be put away to save it from salt. so now I’m cross shopping various websites and either just staring or actually ordering little bit to bring the little 35 year old Roadster back to factory spec, with nicer plastics, new rubber bushings, you name it.
P.S. now I understand why my wife likes shopping so much…
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
The Honda Civic right up until 2003. 2000 Civic yes. 2003 wah happend ?
I do like my six speed 2019, but it does have too much driver assist stuff.
My first thought was the Civic, going from a normal little car during the seventh generation to the spaceship-like eight generation, pushed forward by the dominant Mazda 3 that got wider after ditching the Protegé name?
No! Not even close!
The Daihatsu Midget grew a freaking WHEEL going from its first generation to its next! Now that is an upgrade!
Toyota Supra Gen1 through 4. Each generation was unique and did not rely on the previous one (i.e. it was not an update but a fresh redesign). Each also offered significant performance improvements from the previous. I omitted Gen 5 since to me it not a real continuation since it is a collaborative engineering design (with BMW), does not use a Toyota engine (BMW), and IMHO is rather ugly with all its fake scoops.
The Toyota Prius.
I only say this, because the very first generation was ugly as sin. Even thought the gen 4 wasn’t all that great, Toyota came back with the current model that is absolute fire. So as far as progression through the entirety of its lineage, the Prius is definitely one the better looking cars manufactured today.
Mazda RX7. First gen SA/FB simple, cheap, light. Second gen FC sophisticated, comfortable, capable, easy to live with day-to-day, at least until it got old. Third gen FD world-beating street-legal race car of its day, light, fussy, spectacular, fragile. Choose your favorite, three distinctive flavors. As you move from one to the next, the driving excitement moves up the scale.
Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer
First gen created/revitalized the genre. NBs addressed refinements in a new package. Third gen had excellent handling with RX-8 suspension pedigree; and introduced the powered hardtop to the Miata world. NDs distilled the best of all three predecessors and pushed hard to get back to the NA standards.
it’s gotta be the Godzilla itself. from its humble Skyline beginnings as the little sedan that could, to its godlike R32 era dominance in Australia where they had to ban it from competing, to the R34 Japan highway patrol and Fast & Furious fame, its been pushing performance and cultural boundaries at every turn. even in the last 2 decades as the R35 GT-R it continued to evolve at every iteration, Nismo is constantly outdoing itself. it’s the no-nonsense warmachine that will absolutely leave european exotics in the dust, and at a fraction of their prices.
i was so upset when Nissan announced they are finally ending its line earlier this year. rip zilla. i will always cheer you on as the bestest monsta machine!
Probably the Infiniti G turning from a rebadged FWD Primera into a Skyline and somehow kept that concept to date
The second generation Infiniti G series (G20) went from lowly to world-beating G35. Until then the BMW 3 series always took top podium, but the G35 finally knocked it down. I’m a fan of performance in four-door packages, and the G35 was (and still is) on my bucket list. Although the Infiniti Q45 was updated the previous year(2003), I’d say the G35 largely saved the company back then.
I’ll take mine as a 2006 6MT in either Lakeside Slate or Twilight Blue and add the aero package.
the honda prelude,i mean the 1st gen was nice, not quite there in terms of styling and then BAM 2nd gen hit the scene, and what a wild machine it was, the one and only true ‘date car’ and a cultural icon in the Netherlands where a clown, a gymnast and a wise cracking robot drove one in a TV show called Bassie & Adriaan. and what a ride it is!
great suspension, amazing interior, pop up headlights but not quite the reliability i had dreamt of for my first honda…
Subaru Impreza/WRX
Each generation reflects its time period, from the rally origin 90s to a contemporary identity crisis in the 2000s, a departure from the Impreza base to its own WRX line in the 2010s, and the plastic takeover now in the 20s. AND perhaps a return to its historic DNA with the next generation?
The second generation Subaru Legacy was a giant leap from the first squared-off, bland, anonymous gen, especially the Japanese versions with the twin turbo engines. The reputation of Subaru really took off with this generation of Legacy They were some of the most attractively styled sedans and wagons of the time – and still look great today. I’d have mine in dark blue in GT-B wagon form with black cloth interior and 5-speed.
Some* might say the 3rd generation wasn’t as attractive and that the 4th gen was the peak of Legacy (*me). But it all started with the second gen and proved you didn’t need to wear Birkenstock sandals in order to own a Subaru. But if you did, hey, they had an Outback version for you!