Here are the Top 10 sales flops for luxury and sports cars (80s-2000s)
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- Опубликовано: 11 июн 2024
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In this episode I provide my picks for the top 10 luxury and sports cars from the 80's to mid-2000s that were sales failures. Although these are my picks, let me know which others you think should have been included, and I may include them in a follow-up list for a future episode.
00:00 Start
01:05 Number 10
03:30 Number 9
04:53 Number 8
07:14 Number 7
08:58 Number 6
11:09 Number 5
13:22 Number 4
15:33 Number 3
17:54 Number 2
21:11 Number 1
this guy made a 25 minute video that went by quick. this channel is truely one of youtube's hidden gems
The Alante is typical GM. Take a great concept, let the bean counters ruin it, gradually upgrade it until it's right, then cancel it because the reputation of the car is already destroyed. They did this with the Corvair, Vega, and Fiero as well just to name a few.
exactly
Cimarron
The Cadillac XLR & Chevy HHR & Sky/Solstice come to mind. The V/SS/GXP & Red Line were great but late.
The bean counters, have been trying to get rid of the A/10 close air support aircraft for decades. Arguably the best ever. All because getting cash in their hands
@@whirledpeas3477the A-10 sucks lmao. It does more friendly fire damage than actual operation effectiveness. People just think it's good cos brrrt. Any even remotely modern air defense system shreds it.
The VW Phaeton was an excellent concept and a beautifully engineered car - anyone owning one today could attest. Just very surprised at how the MARKETING EXPERTS at VW failed so dismally.
The Phaeton was a rebadged Bentley. I wanted to buy a used one a few years ago. The interior was luxurious and it drove great but the VW dealer who was a friend of mine told me that I needed deep pockets if it needed repairs and if there were service issues, I would have to go to a Bentley dealership.
@@MonGoalian can confirm the deep pockets problem. Cheap to buy, but expensive to own.
The winner is actually VW other cars. Having Phaeton actually raised the price of Passat and Golf.
@@MonGoalian Wrong - It was the other way around. The Phaeton was the platform built by VW and then shipped to UK as a base for Bentley and to Porsche as the base for the Panamera.
I think one of the problems with the 8-6-4 engine wasn’t necessarily the software, but the fact that early ‘80’s microprocessors weren’t fast enough to process the data at a rate that was needed to do so smoothly and efficiently.
I would agree with this assessment.
It's a good idea, just well ahead of it's time
Heck yes we would love a Prowler episode! 😁 I had forgotten all about the Blackwood, but it certainly deserves its place at #1
I agree!
Prowler EPPISODE
The Prowler is the ultimate conversion starter.
A Prowler had a decent look but lacked everything else. ESPECIALLY in the Pony department. It really was the black dog in the family cause the HOT car at the time was / and still may very well be THE VIPER. I had a chance to pick up a prowler, but, for nearly the cost of one brand new, I made a quick HARD PASS on that notion. Yea, I bought a VIPER instead. ( and it rarely gets driven these days with gasoline prices out of sight and a V-10 that gets 8 gallons a mile)
And FORD still makes the Lincoln Blackwood, sans the special truck bed. BUT instead of dedicating another LOSER to the game, they instead market it as the Ford Platinum F150 which ironically is also available all the way up to a F450. If you got the Dough, Fawd can make it yours for the unbelievably highest of high prices. All the features of a Blackwood's high class style and features with a price tag to match. The Ultimate Cowboy Cadillac.
The blackwood's rear is still massively beautiful, it was super weird though because from the bed forward it was trash 🤣 (cosmetically)
The Cimmaron should’ve been on the list but I understand that 50% of this list didn’t need to be just Cadillacs
and the Opel based Catera.
Really it was a chevy cavalier cadillac
The Allente was nice. Still a relevant design.
@@GS-zc4sk it was nice but still an overpriced flop. The problem with the Allanté was that it was outrageously expensive to produce due to putting them on 747s and flying them from Europe to America during the assembly process. And Mercedes-Benz also redesigned the SL it was competing with. Also the Mercedes was rear wheel drive versus the Cadillac’s front wheel drive, which was its biggest pitfall.
It was a cavalier with Cadillac badges
Here in the U.K. we are baffled by the ability of U.S. engine designers / manufacturers. You have the skills to produce some of the most glorious V8 engines, engines with bucketloads of character and strength but on the other hand you made some engines that almost defy belief, large capacity, V8 engines with ridiculously low torque and power figures that almost defy belief.
I had a 96 mustang v6. Never figured out what it did with the fuel. Didn’t turn into power, didn’t turn into torque and certainly didn’t turn into sound. It wasn’t even reliable. Worst car I have ever owned.
I owned a blue convertible 2005 crossfire. Had it for over 10 years. It was wonderful. Loved the 6 speed stick. Beautiful car.
Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear compared the rear end of the crossfire with a dog squatting to take a dump..which is hilariously accurate.
Clarkson is terminally braindead, it's beautiful, inspired by coachbuilt prewar sports cars, if it had been made in Britain he'd have said it was brilliant
The worst thing with the Blackwood is it was all the downsides of a pickup truck with none of the utility. It didn't have a bed, it had a 5.5' long trunk. At least the Mark LT is proof they learned that lesson.
And absolutely yes to the Prowler video! Hell, make a series out of it.
A regular customer of minen drives a blackwood. It's the only blackwood registered in the state
I never realized they'd made the bed so useless, even compared to many four door trucks, but I always thought the pinstripes looked kinda sharp. :)
Funny you should ask that I make a series about the Prowler. I already did: @patrickomeara9420
22:28 - Hmm, I hope that was a shot of a scrapyard special, because otherwise the rustproofing looks a little suspect.
@@benjaminrobinson3842 probably just a random shot of an F150 rear end.
Total failures - the entire Daewoo brand in the US.
Except rifles
Ditto Daihatsu
@@andrewgates8158 Even those are questionable.
Do they still make Chevy small cars since GM bought them? I lost track haha
@@highoctaneadventure I believe Daewoo corporate was broken up to a degree and auto manufacturing was taken over by GM wholly. It was rebranded as GM Korea and I believe is an on-going concern and making a lot of smaller GM cars under the Chevy brand.
I’m sure someone will be excited to correct anything I got wrong and half of what I’m right about.
I worked for a Ford supplier when the Blackwood came out. All we could do was shake our heads in wonder that somebody at Ford sure didn't understand what a Lincoln was all about.
I'm still holding out for the Canyonero.
Phateon was arguably a better car than the S class or 7 series of the time. Even it’s own Audi cousin. Just should have been marketed as a Audi.
I took a test drive, and fell in love. The price was steep, even for an Audi, but if it had been an Audi, I may have bought one.
The Phaeton was pretty much designed as a testbed for the Bentley Continental, sharing a lot of parts with it and the Audi A8. The Continental uses a lot of the same parts, only with two turbos.
Likely as the Audi A10.
Or as a Horch, as Audi is reportedly doing in China.
It had some pretty innovative stuff, especially the AC they developed to be blow-less, the suspension is said to be very comfortable and the full LED rear lights (while the W220 S-Class just had LED brake lights).
But it stumbled across its own Volkswagen feet, for Piëch's credit: He managed it to make Audi, a pretty boring brand in the 70s (probably even Opels at that time were more exciting) evolve to a premium brand beginning with the quattro, the full zinc-plated Audi 100 C3 and so on.
But as told offering a luxury Volkswagen was too much (it's also said that they've lost around 30k €/$ per Phaeton), they even planned the Nardo/Syncro W12, a mid-engine coupé/roadster (IMHO it still looks really nice) that was axed in favor of the Bugatti Veyron.
They should've better put these efforts into the A8 (at least the contemporary A8 D5 seemingly has got the AC with these vent covers) directly or sell it together with the Touareg under an independent brand name or just as the "Phaeton" (with less optical resemblence to other VWs) maybe similar to the Toyota Century.
Yes, I’m the only person that like the rear of the Crossfire. What can I say, I also like the AMC Marlin too.
I've been a Marlin fan since the day they came out.
I love the looks of the Crossfire. And the Marlin. And the Riviera boat-tail.
The Marlin is a fantastic lookin body style, the only things it's lacking is a AMC 401 big block, 4spd manual, and "Sure-Grip" posi rearend...
And you probably loved the AMC Gremlin also huh?
@@henryhawkins1194 So what if he does? Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
Interesting take on the Crossfire. In high demand now, I've had two and currently have a roadster. Handles as if on rails, quick enough, great touring car, and is bullet proof. Glad folks have re-discovered this gem
I had an '87 Merkur XR4ti in 1994. That one's a good story! It was actually VERY nice to drive - fast, quiet on the road, cool looking... until the timing belt slipped. I sold it to a guy who was buying up all the California Merkurs he could find and selling them them in Colorado.
And those were non-interference engines. So a timing belt is a 30 minute inconvenience.
Turbos did great in the Rockies
I also thought the Merkur was awesome too! They were popular in France.
Is that model the same as the UK Ford Sierra XR4i?
@@71simonforresterYes, with over 800 differences to make it pass US safety and emission requirements. I currently own an ‘87 model and have had another ‘87 and an ‘88 in the past. Fortunately there are several vendors here in The States who can provide spares to keep them on the road.
Please Do a video on the Ford Explorer sport trac pickup
Yes ong
I've always liked the Crossfire and a SRT6 man trans sounds amazing.
The Blackwood was just ahead of its time. Today there are dozens of gas-guzzling, overstuffed, leather-lined trucks and SUVs that are bought to haul groceries and pint-sized soccer players. Flaunting wealth and adhering to style trends is more important in the US than most countries. As for Iacocca, he did have his spark of genius, seeing that practical K-cars and minivans could be sold to Americans with enough hyperbole, discounts and rebates, in spite of poor build quality. Thanks for an enjoyable video. ✌️
I thought the Crossfire was the only redeeming thing to ever come from Crysler since 1975 or so.
Had one and loved it!
Actually the Caravan saved them.
I work for an auction, the SSR still pulls a lot of money especially the LS2 powered ones.
I'll take an SSR over an HHR any day. 😄
That is true but I think he deemed a car a sales failure based off initial interest
@@jrussellcase Well .... yeah
Auctions=/=dealer lot
@@jrussellcase HHR = Chevy Cobalt with a retro SUV body. Junk.
When I worked at Enterprise Rent a Car we had the Crossfire in fleet. It was constantly having broken wheels suspension damage from potholes to the point we had to remove them from fleet.
Probably bc those that rented them tended to drive them hard.
Wow! Tell us about success you had with Land Rover discoveries
@@KevinBullard they’re pretty solid for the first 75-100k miles. At least new ones are.
@@orangecayman520 Kind of like BMWs-they're only designed to get through the first lease term and then they start becoming maintenance headaches.
The Phaeton is an astoundingly good car and an extremely good buy now for less than 10 % of new price.
except the repair costs, like all German cars they have terrible electronics
I do disagree that the Crossfire was their biggest mistake, i really really appreciate when companies try to be quirky.
Yes for the prowler . How about a vid on the Isuzu trooper
I've seen 2 or 3 of the Blackwoods. They are a good looking truck most who own trucks today hardly use them for what they are intended for.
A gentleman daily drives one in the town I live in. One of the sexiest "pickups" ever built.
The vast majority of pickups are 95% of the time doing little else than “haulin’ air”.
80% of truck owners hardly ever use it to haul. The Blackwood was ahead of its time.
@Heaven Help Us thank you, I understand this guy based it on sales alone but the Blackwood was a far better vehicle than everything else on this list.
Gorgeous for the time but the split gate and carpeted bed with aluminum trim made it unappealing to me when they became reasonable used and was interested
I had 2 Prowlers at a car dealership I ran in 2005…. Rich guy made so much on real estate he spent twice what he earned so we were liquidating his cars when he got into financial trouble. He bought random dumb stuff like motorcycles he couldn’t ride, Van Conversion so he could have a luxury office at the beach, 2 prowlers - 1 for him and one for the wife under 2000 miles on each. I was at the car wash with one and people were coming up saying wow did you build that thing yourself, lots of thumbs up, the whole time I was cracking up because it drove just like a Dodge Neon but with a worse turning radius for U turns. Garbage car that too economy power train and a body built for show.
I have to say... The Crossfire SRT-6 was one of the most exciting cars I ever drove.
I kinda wanted one!
Ngl I want more than half the cars on this list!
I loved the Allante!
I had a 2005 Crossfire. Loved that little car. Got rid of it for a couple reasons. Mostly cost of upkeep and because I was starting a family.
There's also the Peugeot 505 in the US. It competed with BMW 5 series and full sized Honda/Toyota's in the late 80's. The 505 Turbo was surprisingly quick and quirky.
The 505 was never a luxury car, the rarer 604 was, they sold a handful with the mini diesel boom
Only the non-carguy type of people had forgotten about the DeLorean. True "car guys" were very much into DeLoreans. When the movie came out it made the car cool and as a result priced it out of the normal car guy's toy budget. Most guys that are into "different" cars appreciate the engineering that went into DeLoreans, Bricklins, the iconic 300SL and even the BMW Z1, we are just too poor to afford one or ten of them. 😎
DeLoreans were loved while also kind of mocked by the same people. It was a “future car”.
True "car guys"? You talking about guys who think the Peugeot-Renault-Volvo engine with 130 HP is something to brag about? Them ain't car guys. They're kids who think it looked cool. But mechanically, it was under-powered junk.
It always has been and still is underpowered junk, but it's a piece of history anyway.
Delorean was a good car but it’s downfall was the drug charges and over estimating the market
PROWLER!! lets go i would like to see a video about it..maybe many people didnt like it but i did...at least the looks of it!!
LOVEEEE this vid! Awesome job as always! Love the idea of a 'top 10' and list type vids 👌🏼💯
Def looking forward to more!
#1: The Lincoln Town Truck!
And I would definitely like to see an episode on the Prowler.
I actually liked some of those flops, even though I never owned any. Thanks Pat
OMG I forgot about the Sterling 🤣🤣🤣
305 California can be fixed with either a worked 350 gen II V8 swap or an LS swap, and a 4L80E if you want a durable automatic transmission.
Agreed.
Easy enough to pop a much more powerful engine in there.
The DeLorean is an icon, and it makes so much sense that it has its fans, and I love it. The Chevrolet SSR is so quirky and has so much charm, and I'd also love to drive one. The Volkswagen Phaeton has that sort of "underdog" thing, and was supposedly a very good attempt at making the ultimate luxury car. Other than the W12 engine, there was also a 4,2 litre V8, a 10-cylinder turbodiesel and a V6. The latter probably having its work cut out, since the car weighed more than 2 tonnes.
Let's see that PROWLER video!
I loved the Plymouth Prowler & the Chevy SSR, they were cool looking as hell but just needed the right powertrains ✌💖☮
+1 for the Prowler episode.
The SSR is definately one of those oddballs, especially with it being a truck thats also a hardtop convertible. I didnt know it was bad, but i can see this car already having a following
Of course we want a video on the Prowler!
I'd definitely like an episode on the Plymouth Prowler!
Sport-luxury coupes of the 80s and 90s are interesting. Lincoln Mark VIII and Cadillac Eldorado were chief, but there are interesting oddballs out there, such as the Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo and the Buick Riatta.
Used Allante's actually went up in price over time.
I enjoy this channel very much and am glad you are able to continue doing it. That said if we’re talking about luxury car flops, the Cadillac Cimarron has to be a must mention. Also, yes. Please feature the Prowler in a future post.
Thank you for all you do.
The Allante was a great car that was pure 80’s - It’s electronic dashboard looked awesome. I guess you need to appreciate design to like it.
It was junk. Sure I too like the looks, but the quality, engineering, performance, anything you name was utter junk. Typical GM of the era.
I had a Berreta and it had a electronic dashboard.
Car looks cool but whoever thought of shipping the bodies by plane from Italy is bonkers
But presentation by Kelly Bundy was a fail!
Yeah you needed to appreciate design...
You also needed to have the equivalent of $130,000 to spend on a car genius
Would love to see you do a MOC of the 80s Bricklin SV-1, the obscure Canadian car that was modeled similarly to the Delorean and equally as infamous that near drove a province to financial ruin.
Yeah man a prowler episode would be great to watch.
Yes please, do a video of the Plymouth Prowler.
Chysler crossfire would have been a excellent car but got the wrong platform .when this car came it had a 1st gen slk platform while the second gen slk was already out.
Good point. But what killed it for me was the fugly factor.
@@TooLooze agreed
owned a 79 Corvette. after all these years I still think it was the best looking Corvette ( it actually looked like a Corvette)
One request: I have an idea for a video regarding the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, it’s lore and why it failed despite being a good performance car.
A bit late, but it failed due to Lutz insisting on it being called a GTO right when Ford was remaking the Mustang into the super successful '05 version. If they'd just called it the Monaro that it was, & marketed it as a more upscale vehicle, it would've been fine.
I never thought of the Crossfire as a flop - or ugly. The Crossfire convertible was especially sharp. On top of that it was a Mercedes SLK under the skin, with all of that cars fine points and joy to drive. As for the Allante, I always thought it was let down by it's engine and electronic instrument cluster. If Cadillac had equipped the Allante with analog dash gauges and the Northstar engine from the start, I suspect sales would have been significantly higher.
I would never recommend the Northstar V8, because that engine had head gasket problems.
Fwd was the killer at that price point.
An estate sale had 3 crossfires that sold for $800 each. I thought they would be a fun car. 2 of them sold to high school aged kids.
A SLK Chassis on its way out while Mercedes was about to sell a new generation. The Crossfire was just another contender in a market segment with better or cheaper alternatives.
The Northstar is garbage
A Prowler video would be awesome!
A 25 min video?!?! Wow, that's a long one!
So excited for this, thanks for continuing to pump out quality content!
Some of these auto makers had quality problems during these times
Request: Plymouth Prowler
Nice List on Top 10 Sales Flops, Maybe you could do a top 10 on TV & Movie Cars in the Future.
The "luxury" CADILLAC CIMARRON (AKA GMs pimped out Chevy Cavalier).
The PONTIAC AZTEK -The "whatever" which came with a detachable camping tent (optional).
I'm definitely a huge fan of the Plymouth Prowler.
That would be a cool episode.
Absolutely! Do an episode on the Prowler! If it had more horsepower from its V6, that would have helped its success to some degree. I rarely see one on the road these days. 🚗✨
Tubular aluminum frame recall
Much to expensive for what it was…
Blackwood starting price on our lots was $55,000 At the time that was ludicrous.
The Classic Lincoln Town Truck! Amazing!!
In the mid 90s, I owned a 1986 Yugo GV. It was good around town, handled fine on the highway, and generally served me well. Pretty quick for a 1.1 L, and it had a top speed of 111 mph.
A knew a kid in Colorado who had one. When the chinooks blew, he couldn’t drive west.
Yes to a Prowler Video!
Agreed i also would like to see the prowler..💥💥💥💥
Funny to see Kurt Vile with the Maserati Chrysler... I grew up with Kurt and know his family. Its a trip to see him in a random car video
Pretty pimpin'
THAT was one of the most Enjoyable Videos you have made! Yes, I WOULD like to see a video on the Plymouth Prowler!
BTW< have you done a Top 10 Sales Flops of Strictly Imported Vehicles yet??? 😉
I had the chance to drive a Delorean many years ago. I remember being really disappointed with how slow it was, and wondering how much freeway I'd need to get it to 88 MPH. And yes, I'd love an episode on the Prowler, I've always wondered about them.
How much freeway to get to 88 makes that last line by Marty in BTTF funnier than it should be
@@86twin Haha. Because you'd need a time machine to get there on time.
Great video, as always. I was surprised that you didn't mentioned Bricklin SV-1
Bricklins were made in the mid 70s, out of the scope of the video. I thought of them too though.
The ford probe always deserves a mention, just because if it’s convoluted development, into what became an excellent car in its 2nd generation, and was also the 1993 motor trend car of the year.
A very interesting video would be the 85-92 Honda civic wagon, and 88-92 Corolla wagon, both available with AWD and are essentially the earliest crossovers.
Those vehicles were far ahead of their time and are the basis for almost all cars sold worldwide today.
The Eagle wagon would beg to differ.
@@wernervoss6357 Still own a pair of Talon TSI's in AWD, I concur with you sir!
I know the tercel wagon came in awd but 88-92 corolla?
@@wernervoss6357 yep. The Mitsubishi expo also. 3 rows of seats low and awd. Never knew why it wasnt a hit.
had a ford Probe 1993 GT, was a great car. I had a 4th gen honda prelude SI afterwards and it amazing how similar they were.
I would love a prowler ep!
Excited to find this tonight!!! Always been a motor head & I can agree with you on the ones you listed in this compilation!! Keep it up…thanks!!
The TC and the Allante aren't really bad cars. They were just over-priced due to the unbelievably ignorant cross Atlantic building. If they were built here. They would've been successful. Or at least a lot more successful
Auto trans TC's got the lowly Chrysler V6 while manual trans TC's got the Maserati motor.
I see you everywhere!
@@jeffrobodine8579 it was still a Chrysler turbo 4 cylinder, just heads by Cosworth.
Their power-plants didn't match the hype. They always impressed me as cars built by slick car salesmen with really shiny shoes.
The car was called the maserati biturbo in the UK I think, at least it looks very similar. It had a shocking reputation as an underperforming unreliable money pit over here...
I’d love to see a Prowler episode, Pat.
Thanks for keeping the channel alive.
I liked the SSR! But I know the price tag was the problem.
I'm glad I found this channel keep up the good work bud
Make a Kelly Bundy video too!
Chevy SSR is an expensive cult classic now. I really want one with the manual transmission.
One of the two Gold Plated DeLoreans is housed at the Petersen Auto museum in Los Angeles. It’s been there for a long time now. I love seeing it when I go.
I'd love to see an episode on the 87' Chrysler Conquest / Mitsubishi Starion. It was the worst car I ever loved!
I would almost blame California more than Chevrolet for the 305 Corvette sounds like let's face it a couple years down the road that would be an easy fix
Thank you for adjusting for inflation in the prices!
Brilliant video. Thank you! Would love to see a video on the Plymouth Prowler. Happy New Year!
Yes to the Prowler video
A video on the Prowler would be 😎 cool!!
V8/6/4 never worked right. Scotty Kilmer says cylinder deactivation creates hot/cold cylinders which lead to premature engine wear
If it weren't for the time machine movies, nobody would know what a Deloran is.
Cylinder deactivation was a bugger for the otherwise excellent Honda 3.5 with VCM too, but at least Honda fixed those problems for free.
Isuzu’s cars during the early 90s were a huge sales flop, which were the Stylus sedan the last generation Impulse coupe, which sold far better rebadged as the Geo Storm. Therefore, Isuzu exited the US car market to focus on SUVs and trucks. Several of those models from the mid 90s-late 2000s were flops, such as the Oasis minivan (rebadged Honda Odyssey), the Hombre pickup (rebadged Chevy S-10/GMC Sonoma), the Axiom, the Ascender (rebadged Chevy Trailblazer and others) and I-Series truck (looked exactly like the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon.)
I used to have a Mitsubishi Starion. Really quirky car with automatic seat belts and automatic climate control. It was fast, too. Would make a cool story.
I had an '84 Dodge Conquest Turbo 5 speed manual - essentially a rebadged Starion, it was a lot of fun to drive!
I'd absolutely love to see a video done on the Prowler!
I always liked the look of the DeLorean DMC 12 , just needed a GM 400 and 5 speed manual.
Right?! It just needed to be actually sporty.
A lot of people think the Prowler was a failure, but it was never intended to be a massive success in volume. It was a halo car, but it’s bigger goal was real world R&D for new aluminum bonding processes.
I like the SSR
I spotted one in Europe with European license plates and it was weird and cool at the same time
Only good thing about the Caddy 4,6,8 engine was the oil pan and oil pump pickup. You could use them on the 500 Caddy engine to make them a rear sump engine so you could put them in older Caddies. I put a 500 in a 1963 coupe Deville much better engine for that heavy boat.
The Crossfire convertible was pretty decent looking, but the coupe was a "what were they thinking?" situation.
out of all of these, the DC-12 DeLorean is the only car technically still in "production". Well, the sort of. You can buy them from the DeLorean Motor Company down in Texas and they will assemble it from "mostly" original parts and some newly made parts made to order. It's pricy, but people still buy them.
There are also plans to build an all new version (most likely once they run out of original VINs.) Time will tell if they ever get that done.
In the 60's. A friend from Australia described American cars as Detroit dinosaurs .
I have to say I never minded the crossfire. Then again, I never owned one.