The Eagle brand wasn't created to fight the upcoming Saturn. The early Eagle products were created for AMC and were rebadged Renaults, as Renault owned majority share by that time. Chrysler obtained those designs when they bought out AMC/Jeep and opted to keep the cars in their lineup, thus creating the Eagle brand. The GEO line was not all Isuzu based. GEO was captive imports, sold by GM to capture some of the successful import market since American based cars at that time were not as successful. While the Storm and the Spectrum (the latter formally badged as Chevy) were Isuzu products, the Impulse and I-Mark respectively. The Tracker and Metro were the Suzuki Sidekick and Swift, and the Prism was a rebadged Toyota Corolla. The line ceased due to a non successful identity and the remaining GEO products were merged into the Chevrolet brand. The 1st generation Ford Probe was to be the replacement for the Mustang. A massive letter writing campaign against that change was made to Ford by Mustang enthusiasts and Ford caved. This is why the Fox body Mustangs soldered on for so long (79-93); a redesign was now needed for the Mustang, giving us the 94 version.
@@GreenHawkDrive no problem. That era is a whole lotta craziness due to American companies trying to find successful footing since they were getting bludgeoned by the foreign companies.
The 3.4L DOHC in the Lumina Z34 was a much more potent engine than it ended up being. The prototype engine originally put out close to 285 hp, but the people working on the transmission for the car dropped the ball, so Chevy had to use an existing transmission that could only handle about 220 hp, so they detuned the engine to 210/215 (pending the year). It was possible to retune them up to about 275 with the right parts.
@@canerguener8664 Yes and no. It had good potential, but like a lot of engines that tried to push the boundaries, it was, by all accounts, a maintenance nightmare.
Some others: Ford Escort GT, Ford Contour SVT, 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Quad 442 W41, Dodge Spirit R/T. Though, not American but an oddball...Hyundai S Coupe
It's like this, Green Hawk, I don't subscribe to you tube channels You, young man, are the exception! I hope all of the annoying pop up ads, keep you around. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. the very fact that someone from your generation loves old cars enough to research cars that weren't around when you were a kid speaks volumes. So happy to see someone from your generation keeping the love of old cars alive. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, KEEP THOSE VIDEOS COMING, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
One of my aunts gifted me her Tempo. It was a 4 door, 4 cylinder, automatic in blue. A very slow car but I loved it. The A/C on that thing was a beast (It would fog the side glasses even at 12 noon sun) Replaced the back bumper and painted the hood black. Loved that thing! Apart from brake works the car only needed basic tune ups.
I was an Auto Glass Tech in the 80’s - today, I can say I worked on all the cars on this list. The domestic cars were mostly junk, that’s why most of these cars are mostly forgotten. This video did bring me back, thanks for posting.
Ninties was amazing! There were dozens of makes, each had many model options, and varying options at different price points. The likes of Isuzu added to the different Japanese cars, and you had choice. Also, Pontiac, Mercury, Oldsmobile and many others are long gone. Where we lived, we literally lost a dozen dealerships by 2000.
I bought a Ford Probe GT (1995) in metallic laser red, 5 speed manual. Going to fix it up and take it to local car shows eventually. Got plenty of parts on order and being shipped to me!
Growing up in the late 80s and 90s I remember there were so many choices to choose from concerning Coupes. My Mother had a '89 Mercury Cougar and my Aunt had a '91 Chevy Beretta. Had a Teacher who had a Chevy Lumina Coupe. Our Neighbors daughters had a Mitsubishi Eclipses and the other a Ford Probe. Now that SUV's have taken over the Road. Coupes are a thing of the past. I also miss car Colors. Everything is Black, Silver, White or Beige 😒
I drive an '02 Cougar and while I love that car, I hate that I'm tiny compared to just about every car on the road now Headlights shine directly into my mirrors and finding my car in a parking lot and backing out of parking spots is a pain I've seen trucks where the hood is at my roofline!
Loved your video. Brings back a lot of memories as I grew up with these cars. Always owned the Camaros of the time and still do. A Camaro currently. A 94 Z28.
Oh snap, I had a 91 Eagle Talon TSI back in the day! That car was pretty dope! Back in high school my buddies girlfriend had a Geo Storm that she would let us drive around while she was at work at Blockbuster haha!
It honestly amazes me that any of these cars are still on the road today. I still see the Sunfires and Cavaliers on occasion, and they're all rust buckets that sound like they're missing a cylinder or something. I don't remember the last time I saw any of the other models, except for maybe at a salvage yard.
I remember everyone of those cars , it was a great time for coupes and are sadly missed . It's to bad how the BIG 3 and the LITTLE 3 thinks everyone wants the same cars as there neighbors. Not everyone wants a SUV or a 4 door . I own 2 coupes 85 Celica convertible a MINI Paceman S and a gen 3 Outback wagon .
I had a 1992 Capri xr2. Fun car. Wasn't slow at the time and handled well. It was a Mazda drive train with odd ball parts. I had to replace a front brake caliper once, it took 3 weeks to get one from Australia. I had no trouble keeping up with fox body mustangs in the straights and pulling on em in the corners.
@@GreenHawkDrive I only remember the Mercury Capri because at the 1991 Chicago Auto Show my best friend's girl couldn't decide between the Capri and the Buick Riviera.☺ Or was it the Reatta??
Maybe you kept up with a 4 cyl Fox body driven by a middle aged hairdresser, but your xr2 would have been totally embarrassed by a 5.0 Fox. Even IROCs had trouble keeping up with a 5 liter Fox body back then, your old xr2 would have had absolutely no chance.
Hey, those are my cars featured in the Topaz section!! 3:06 is my 92 Tempo GLS V6/5-spd and at 3:53 are my 93 Topaz GS 2door (with an XR5 front bumper), my 92 GLS V6/5spd and my friends 1992 LTS V6/auto (4-door version of the XR5). I love the inclusion of the XR5 in your video, but the information is incorrect. Yes, the XR5 did come with the Vulcan V6 and 5-speed manual from the SHO, along with the body cladding, 15" wheels and fog lights... that was unique to the 1992 year model only. The XR5 from 1988-1991 had the 2.3L HSO inline 4-cylinder, 14" wheels, and no body cladding or fog lights.
I love the look backs to yester years. If Pontiac was allowed to make the 2nd gen Fiero it would have been a highlight of this video. But it was getting dangerously close to GM's goldeny boy, the Corvette. So they got it axed.
I was showing my son this video as I and his uncles owed many on this list. The only good one was the eagle talon, i found the Probe was fun to drive as I had the GT. Berreta, Sunfire, Cavaliers were the worst cars I've ever owned. Great video.
Geo Strom, Isuzu Impulse/Storm/Piazza (depending on the market), Asuna Sunfire, Lotus Elan (2nd Gen)... they were all variants on the same car. Fun fact about the Beretta: the initial concept, known as a Feretta (Because it was initially planned as a FWD replacement for the F-body Camaro/Firebird) included a V8 option. On the subject of the Pontiac Sunfire, it was a rebodied Cavalier and the '95 Z24/GT has a 2.3L 16 valve Quad4 Engine which was replaced in '96 with the 2.4L based on the Quad4 but with increased displacement and balance shafts to reduce vibration. Also, the base model Sunbird and 2nd gen. Cavalier put out around 100hp (give or take, depending on the years and whether it was the Chevy 2.2 OHV or the Pontiac 2.0 SOHC) but 3rd gen Cavaliers and First Gen Sunfires came with a base 2.2 OHV SFI engine which produced around 130hp. The Quad4 was rated at 150hp and the 2.4L 16 valve was rated at 160hp. Lumina Z34, Lumina Euro 3.4 (the 4 door version) Grand Prix GTP and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme all used the same 3.4L DOHC 24 valve 60 degree V6 based on the pushrod (OHV) 60 degree GM V6 but modified by Lotus. I was unfortunate how unnecisarily complicated this motor was, using the pushrod version's timing chain to run a balance shaft where the pushrod version's camshaft would be and then a timing belt from there to the four cams in the heads but it was a powerhouse. Fun fact, it was initially tuned in a FWD converted IROC Camaro to produce 300hp but was down-tuned to 215hp to avoid breaking the automatic transmissions which were more common than the manuals.
I owned a purple 1995 Beretta Z26. It was a great car, kinda slow, but had almost 275k miles before it caught on fire (leaking hydraulic fluid on exhaust manifold).
Maybe someone already mentioned it in the comments but I didn’t see the dodge stealth mentioned. Especially the twin turbo model. I personally preferred the stealth over the Mitsubishi 3000 which pretty much shared the same engine
Fun video, some cars I haven't thought about in a long time. Oldsmobile Achieva 😅, sheesh. The Talon tsi with turbo and awd was a fantastic car. I find it a little odd that you included all 3 Diamond Star coupes which are very much the same car, yet you omitted the Cavalier Z24 because it was so similar to the Sunfire. BTW, the second gen Probe GT was a very good looking car, really loved it.
Surprised you left out all the supercharged 3800s from GM in the 90s. Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, Buick Rivera, etc. They supercharged the 3.8 V6 starting in 95 and by 96 they offered it as an option in everything. 250HP stock and that's only because GM neutered it. My regal hit 300fwtq on the dyno with nothing but intake, exhaust and a mail order pcm.
For 1996...and for the Grand Prix GTP, the supercharged 3800 wasn't available yet. It was still LQ1 powered. The 3800 didn't become available until 97 when the platform was redesigned. Same goes for the 96 Cutlass Supreme, Lumina LS sedan, and Monte Carlo Z34, (95-97).
Side note, the Geo cars were like all rebadged vehicles from multiple Japanese car brands. The Prizm was a Toyota corrola, the Tracker was a Suzuki. All good vehicles. My family had a Prizm hatchback, which was cool because there wasn't a hatchback version of the corrolla.
In the 1990's, I woulda NEVER thought these cars'd become softcore collectibles. Or at least endangered species. 😢 GreenHawk, when you can check out the Nissan Pulsar.
I respect your opinion on the Mercury Capri (1990-1994). I actually prefer it over the Foxbody Capri which is just a Mustang with a different grille. Like the 1st-gen Capri, it is not based on an car that Ford sells in North America and that’s what makes it special to me. And keep in mind, the Lotus Elan M100 was also front-wheel drive and was actually pretty good. As good as the Miata is, it can never top the Elan in terms of exclusivity. Lotus made the last of the Elans front-wheel drive because they wanted to show people that front-wheel drive can surpass rear-wheel drive cars. Front-wheel drive cars have better grip than rear-wheel drive cars and it’s why the Honda Civic beat rear-wheel drive touring cars in JTCC. Front-wheel drive cars have their ups and downs. But, they can just as fun as rear-wheel drive cars and it shows with cars like the Honda Civic Type R and Mitsubishi FTO.
You missed a couple of the most iconic coupes of the nineties. Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring, Saturn SC, Ford Escort GT, Neon R/T, Dodge Stealth and Cadillac Eldorado/Buick Riviera
My Prizm GSi is a 'yota slo-rolla with 4A-G. Geo is GM just grabbing at Japanese revenues after USA gave up on engineering in favor of business majors (if you can't go to university, at least get an MBA)
A lot of badge engineering in the 90ties... Especially GM and Chrysler. Ford changed the body but take a lot from mazda. I remember when my uncle bought a 1992 Ford Probe in Germany and my dad bought a 1992 Mazda 626 GE model. My uncle was totally pissed off when he saw some Mazda logos on some engine parts. He saw the Mx6 Mazda coupe and said that for 1 ford he could have 2x mx6. Explanation: 1992 a Ford probe in the best trimm costs 56000 DM An 1992 Mx6 costs 26900 well equipped by the way. Luxury Mx6 was 29600.
The Beretta was pretty decent my uncle got divorced sold everything he owned including his business and drove it to Texas with a box of cash in the trunk
I am an older car enthusiast and appreciate the trip down memory lane. Sad though to see that there were so many small, sporty coupes available then, but none today by a U.S. manufacturer. Even Honda has discontinued all 2 doors, and other Asian & European manufacturers have done so or are quickly going in that direction. In my younger days a 4 door was considered an "old man's car" and the cool folks drove coupes, or better yet, convertibles. Watch any old TV comedy & drama shows from the 1960's and you will see what I mean. Times certainly do change. I remember well when Ford intended to replace the Mustang with the Probe, but fortunately there was such tremendous push back that Ford thought better. A good thing as the Probe is long gone while Mustang will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next spring.
man, the shyt hot the fan when Ford hinted that a JAPANESE designed fwd car would replace the mustang. I remember that. I think 90 or 92 was meant to be the last year for the Fox rwd one... until the backlash.. ahh the good ole days.. thank god we didt have to hear.. Ford introduced the new for 2024 Ford PROBE!
I still have my Cavalier Z24 with almost 200k miles on the clock. It’s actually a pretty reliable car, never had any issues with it. It’s still a fun car to drive, specially with the 5 speed manual.
These cars are real fun to drive and still quick for today's standards. I recently bought a dead '88 Z24 convertible to restomod and saved a solid '93 RS from the yard whose V6 and 5 speed were highly neglected; couldn't be happier
Geo sold cars for gm that were made all over the place. One was isuzu, the metro was suzuki, the Prizm was essentially a toyota corolla and was made at the nummi plant in California. The Spectrum was a rebadged Isuzu and was developed with the code name R platform
I laughed reading this. Seems like gm back then did business in a funny way. No wonder they were killing everything they touched. The company was run by people like such.
The Lincoln Mark VIII is a notable omission as it was the last of the old school luxo-barge style V8 RWD American “personal luxury coupes” and it was the first to birth the 32V “Cobra” variant of the 4.6.
The 90s early 2000s was the last of great cars and honestly everything imo...cars during that time was so fresh different and fun, please keep these wonderful nostalgic videos coming
Yep loved all gm cars with the indestructible 3.8L v6 the 231… in so many cars .. they ran forever … that motor was replaced by a 3.9 short lived and then a high feature 3.6 overhead cam v6 which is junk and don’t last … nothing lasts anymore… you buy a 2800 fridge and get 3-5 years and it done … miss the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s up to about 2006
I actually saw one of those Achieva's a couple of weeks ago. I don't think it was the one you were referring to but it was a coupe and looked to be in pretty good condition. I even liked the base model ones too!
My first car was a 1993 Ford Probe GT 5speed, and to this day, it is one of the best handling fwd cars I've ever owned. That Mazda KL-DE 2.5 V6 produced decent power and sounded awesome
There was so many different cars to choose from back in the day! These vehicles that we have to choose from today are so bland and lifeless. I mean when three different brands have basically the same vehicle but each were unique on their own. Oh how I miss those days..... 🥹
Everybody forgets about the Beretta GTU trim. My mother bought a brand new black one with red accents. She thoroughly enjoyed it and still to this day says that she wished she still had it. It was pretty quick with an automatic transmission. The lettering was red with ground effect spoilers all around and a pop up sunroof. Not long after she got it she dragged the front spoiler off on one of those concrete things, needless to say my Dad was livid! It was a beautiful and very mechanically sound car with the only problem being the interior started falling apart. They redesigned the door panels into one big molded piece of plastic instead of several parts fastened together. Not sure what engine was in it but it seems like it was a 2.8 liter V6. It had the skill saw blade aluminum wheels too!
The GTU had slightly upgraded suspension over the GT, unique side mirrors (I think) and of course the appearance package that included directional wheels and tires. In 1990, essentially the same package was called the Indy, and only offered in 2 colours (teal and yellow) as the Beretta was the official Indianapolis 500 pace car that year. It was supposed to coincide with the release of a convertible version, but GM engineers had too much trouble with the rigidity of a roofless chassis on the car, and never sold it, despite an advertising campaign. An enthusiast with the skill to make one roadworthy has since purchased one of the pace cars, IIRC. The same year the GTU became the Indy (which was then discontinued) the GTZ was released. Truly the ultimate Beretta, it came with the Oldsmobile designed Quad 4 mentioned in this video that powered the Achieva SCX. It had 180hp (the SCX had a more aggressive camshaft to push that to 190, and was the only car with the top of the line version). The Beretta GTZ, though, also came with a very aggressive suspension package, and from the factory was one of the best handling front wheel drive cars of its time, if not the best (until the Integra Type R showed everyone who's boss). The GTZ would last until it got replaced in 1994 by the Z26 mentioned in the video. The quad 4 would lose power to emissions regulations, losing some horsies in 1993, then again in 1994 (the only year it was offered in the Z26). The ultimate Beretta from the factory was no doubt the 1992 GTZ. That year, all Berettas (and their sister car, the 4 door Corsica) came with ABS as standard, and also came with larger front brakes. The Beretta was certainly not a perfect car by any means, but I do feel it was underrated. A clean GTZ still looks great today, and so does the GTU you mentioned (so long as the sun hasn't destroyed the dash...they had that issue)
@@TheNuje All very true though I disagree about the 92 being the ultimate GTZ. I understand your points with bigger brakes and abs, but the 90 GTZ wasn't governed. It'd bury the speedo in 4th gear (roughly 130mph). All others were restricted. Really it comes down to what's important I suppose.
I owned a 1990 Eagle Talon. I loved that car. It was easily my favorite to drive. Very quick, and the all wheel drive made it great for driving in the winters in Minnesota as well. Wish I could find one to rebuild now.
Fun fact: the SHO motor and transmission were a direct swap into to the Tempo. Both the Taurus and Tempo used the same engine mounts and spacing at the time. I'd love to see a Topaz SHO swap.
@@AnonOmous-hs4gbif your talking about the 97 Taurus sho with the 32 valve v8 making 235 then no the 97 Camry was not faster in any trim including the 194hp 3.0 v6. Not much slower but still slower at a 0-60 of 8 seconds flat we’re the v8 sho was at 7.4 seconds. Also if your mentioning the 92 Taurus sho and below with the v6 then your Camry gets gapped!! Even the automatic 1st gen show was much quicker then a 97 Camry. It would take Toyota till 2007 to make a Camry faster than the 10 year old or more ford sho’s. Now you wanna talk reliability then the Camry wins hands down!!
I had a Probe GTS 5-speed as my first car back in the early 2000s. Low miles, meticulously cared for, and was my uncle's & then my parents'. He went from a 5.0 fox body to that and went right back into a Mustang(Mystic Cobra) because of how slow and underwhelming the car was. It became my dad's daily before they gave it to me. For a 16 year-old, it wasn't bad. But it turned low-16s with speed shifting. It wasn't fast lol. My cousin in-law's 3.4 Grand Am GT could slightly beat it.
I looked at the Geo Storm rather differently, apparently. It looked to me like if you painted the small piece of glass behind the door, it would look exactly like a pocket sized Camaro. It's a shame that there aren't still cars like these available. I appreciate the look back.
Geo as a brand was GM’s attempt to compete head on with Honda and Toyota. The cars were a mix of builds rebadged from Isuzu and Suzuki. The Storm was a case of “all hat, no cattle”. The prototypes looked awesome, but after the bean counters got through with it, it was a bland little car with only moderate performance. (It was also several years late coming to market - at least in Canada). In 1990, I was looking for a car, and the Storm was on my list - alongside the Corolla GTS and Civic Si. I did look at the Isuzu Impulse, but two things turned me off: Interior materials were markedly poor quality, and the engine was rough - powerful, but noisy and unrefined. A few years later, a colleague of mine had a Storm when they finally hit the market - it pretty much started falling apart the day he drove it off the lot. I bought a Civic Si - still one of the best cars I ever owned. I haven’t seen many Impulses or Storms after 2000.
Interesting video! It's fun seeing these cars again. I worked as a lot attendant at a Ford dealer from 91-95 and drove all of these cars. The 93-97 Probe GT was and is my favorite of this group. The design is clean, the interior had nice control feel and design, and the engine was responsive. It was a major improvement over its predecessor. The Topaz/Tempo V6 would've been a Cimarron repeat which I'm sure is why Ford did not sell it as a Lincoln. My parents had a 4 cylinder Tempo for 20 years, and it was relatively durable but very slow, noisy, and cramped. V6 cars (I only saw V6 Tempos, never a Topaz V6) were slightly better, but not as nice as an 80s Cavalier with a 2.8 V6, so it'd have been behind the Cimarron before it was even introduced. The GM DOHC 3.4 in the Z34 was a nice engine, and the Talon/Laser Mitsu knockoff had nice interior material feel. I worked at an Oldsmobile service department during the summer of 1998 while in college, and Olds was dying fast. "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" was an awful campaign because old Toronados, Cutlasses, and Ninety Eights were awesome cars. Abandoning and alienating your base with rebadged, unremarkable cars (except the first gen Aurora) and dumb marketing slogans is a great way to sabotoge sales, and Olds accomplished their suicide mission by 2004. I was in my early 20s back then, and even at that young age Oldsmobile's mistake was painfully obvious.
All Gm cars looked pretty good back then , better than the other 2 automakers.. always drove gm.. their products junk nowadays , but so are the other 2… gms designers just got it in design all their cars were attractive, in my opinion.. fords stuff was barf, just like today and dodge ewww… ugly…
I got my license in the mid 90's and remember ALL these cars fondly. I even owned two cars on this list, a 94 Beretta z26 and a 93 Probe GT. Many senior year dates in the Beretta!
Mid to late 90's as a teenager we always cruised around in my buddies Beretta. Had some insanely wide 15x10 Daytons and 2 15's in the trunk. That car scraped on the slightest road imperfections. The good ol days. 😆 🤣
All I could say is that..riding on the school bus, I remember all these cars being on the road in the early 2000s..like..I would see them parked randomly somewhere next to older and newer cars....and they all came in different types And colors...it just added individuality...I mean, there's still uniqueness.. but nothing like it was.....My opinion.
I owned several Beretta GTZ's, but if you wanted performance, you needed to get the Quad4, not the 3.1 V6. 180hp from a four cylinder back in the day was very rare. They were a bit trashy and eat head gaskets, but they could move with good authority when well maintained. I miss those cars.
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The Eagle brand wasn't created to fight the upcoming Saturn. The early Eagle products were created for AMC and were rebadged Renaults, as Renault owned majority share by that time. Chrysler obtained those designs when they bought out AMC/Jeep and opted to keep the cars in their lineup, thus creating the Eagle brand.
The GEO line was not all Isuzu based. GEO was captive imports, sold by GM to capture some of the successful import market since American based cars at that time were not as successful. While the Storm and the Spectrum (the latter formally badged as Chevy) were Isuzu products, the Impulse and I-Mark respectively. The Tracker and Metro were the Suzuki Sidekick and Swift, and the Prism was a rebadged Toyota Corolla. The line ceased due to a non successful identity and the remaining GEO products were merged into the Chevrolet brand.
The 1st generation Ford Probe was to be the replacement for the Mustang. A massive letter writing campaign against that change was made to Ford by Mustang enthusiasts and Ford caved. This is why the Fox body Mustangs soldered on for so long (79-93); a redesign was now needed for the Mustang, giving us the 94 version.
I appreciate this, really. Thank you
@@GreenHawkDrive no problem. That era is a whole lotta craziness due to American companies trying to find successful footing since they were getting bludgeoned by the foreign companies.
Too bad Ford didn't get that type of a letter campaign when they threw the mustang name on that suv monstrosity 😂😂
@@repnatlNow That's Funny!!!😅 But to be fair, did any1 see That badge coming?!?
No mention of Mitsubishi?!?!?!?!
I worked for Enterprise from 97-98. We had the Sunfire in our fleet. It was really fun to drive.
The 3.4L DOHC in the Lumina Z34 was a much more potent engine than it ended up being. The prototype engine originally put out close to 285 hp, but the people working on the transmission for the car dropped the ball, so Chevy had to use an existing transmission that could only handle about 220 hp, so they detuned the engine to 210/215 (pending the year). It was possible to retune them up to about 275 with the right parts.
We had a ‘95 Monte Carlo Z34. I always felt Chevy left a lot on the table with that engine.
Sounds like a good engine.
@@canerguener8664 Yes and no. It had good potential, but like a lot of engines that tried to push the boundaries, it was, by all accounts, a maintenance nightmare.
@@Blackferret66 Thought is an underrated engine at the level of European or Japanese manufacturers.
That engine was a pos... Thank God it's gone
Some others: Ford Escort GT, Ford Contour SVT, 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Quad 442 W41, Dodge Spirit R/T. Though, not American but an oddball...Hyundai S Coupe
Definitely contenders for an upcoming video, thank you
Spirit isnt a coupe but the Dodge Daytona R/T with the same engine was badazz
No Impulse RS either. Or del Sol VTEC with the B16A3. Or Integra GS-R.
It's like this, Green Hawk, I don't subscribe to you tube channels You, young man, are the exception! I hope all of the annoying pop up ads, keep you around. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. the very fact that someone from your generation loves old cars enough to research cars that weren't around when you were a kid speaks volumes. So happy to see someone from your generation keeping the love of old cars alive. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, KEEP THOSE VIDEOS COMING, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
I'm just now seeing this as I'm making a Part 2 for this video. Thank you so much!
One of my aunts gifted me her Tempo. It was a 4 door, 4 cylinder, automatic in blue. A very slow car but I loved it. The A/C on that thing was a beast (It would fog the side glasses even at 12 noon sun) Replaced the back bumper and painted the hood black. Loved that thing! Apart from brake works the car only needed basic tune ups.
I was an Auto Glass Tech in the 80’s - today, I can say I worked on all the cars on this list. The domestic cars were mostly junk, that’s why most of these cars are mostly forgotten. This video did bring me back, thanks for posting.
Thanks for sharing!
I have a 1993 Ford Probe GT and I absolutely love it!
Ninties was amazing! There were dozens of makes, each had many model options, and varying options at different price points.
The likes of Isuzu added to the different Japanese cars, and you had choice. Also, Pontiac, Mercury, Oldsmobile and many others are long gone.
Where we lived, we literally lost a dozen dealerships by 2000.
Being 61 years old I sure have seen all of these makes. I sure miss seeing them on the road.
I love learning about wired and obscure ass cars, thank you for video!!
Anytime man!
The Mercury Topaz XR5 was a really nice car!!!👍 And yes the 5 speed would get up and go.
I bought a Ford Probe GT (1995) in metallic laser red, 5 speed manual. Going to fix it up and take it to local car shows eventually.
Got plenty of parts on order and being shipped to me!
Growing up in the late 80s and 90s I remember there were so many choices to choose from concerning Coupes. My Mother had a '89 Mercury Cougar and my Aunt had a '91 Chevy Beretta. Had a Teacher who had a Chevy Lumina Coupe. Our Neighbors daughters had a Mitsubishi Eclipses and the other a Ford Probe. Now that SUV's have taken over the Road. Coupes are a thing of the past. I also miss car Colors. Everything is Black, Silver, White or Beige 😒
I agree man😕
I drive an '02 Cougar and while I love that car, I hate that I'm tiny compared to just about every car on the road now
Headlights shine directly into my mirrors and finding my car in a parking lot and backing out of parking spots is a pain
I've seen trucks where the hood is at my roofline!
3:05 in 1991 I bought a 88 Mercury topaz LTS 5 speed it was a great ride and comfortable...
Loved your video. Brings back a lot of memories as I grew up with these cars. Always owned the Camaros of the time and still do. A Camaro currently. A 94 Z28.
Thank you man! Good shi-!
Very cool. I still have my 96 Probe. 330K miles later. I only drive it on weekends when it's nice. It's not a powerhouse, but it corners really well.
Holy crap man, that’s crazy
The way things are going that Probe might be worth something.😮
I had several of these and I would still like to have a few today.
Fun cars
That Plymouth Laser commercial is a solid 10/10
My cousin's girlfriend had a '93 Laser brand new at the time. That was a sharp @$$ car. Didn't know it had awd standard.
Oh snap, I had a 91 Eagle Talon TSI back in the day! That car was pretty dope! Back in high school my buddies girlfriend had a Geo Storm that she would let us drive around while she was at work at Blockbuster haha!
It honestly amazes me that any of these cars are still on the road today. I still see the Sunfires and Cavaliers on occasion, and they're all rust buckets that sound like they're missing a cylinder or something. I don't remember the last time I saw any of the other models, except for maybe at a salvage yard.
I remember everyone of those cars , it was a great time for coupes and are sadly missed . It's to bad how the BIG 3 and the LITTLE 3 thinks everyone wants the same cars as there neighbors. Not everyone wants a SUV or a 4 door . I own 2 coupes 85 Celica convertible a MINI Paceman S and a gen 3 Outback wagon .
I had a 1992 Capri xr2. Fun car. Wasn't slow at the time and handled well. It was a Mazda drive train with odd ball parts. I had to replace a front brake caliper once, it took 3 weeks to get one from Australia. I had no trouble keeping up with fox body mustangs in the straights and pulling on em in the corners.
Exactly why they are forgotten!
@@GreenHawkDrive I only remember the Mercury Capri because at the 1991 Chicago Auto Show my best friend's girl couldn't decide between the Capri and the Buick Riviera.☺ Or was it the Reatta??
Maybe you kept up with a 4 cyl Fox body driven by a middle aged hairdresser, but your xr2 would have been totally embarrassed by a 5.0 Fox. Even IROCs had trouble keeping up with a 5 liter Fox body back then, your old xr2 would have had absolutely no chance.
@@johnjones393 naw, stock 5.0 were slow. The Capri only topped out at 130 redlined in 5th. The gearing mated to the turbo was great
My old hs best buddy had that fully loaded Talon. It was an awesome car. So many fun times back then.
Hey, those are my cars featured in the Topaz section!! 3:06 is my 92 Tempo GLS V6/5-spd and at 3:53 are my 93 Topaz GS 2door (with an XR5 front bumper), my 92 GLS V6/5spd and my friends 1992 LTS V6/auto (4-door version of the XR5). I love the inclusion of the XR5 in your video, but the information is incorrect. Yes, the XR5 did come with the Vulcan V6 and 5-speed manual from the SHO, along with the body cladding, 15" wheels and fog lights... that was unique to the 1992 year model only. The XR5 from 1988-1991 had the 2.3L HSO inline 4-cylinder, 14" wheels, and no body cladding or fog lights.
Appreciate it man, it was hard finding information on them😅
My first car was a 1996 Sunfire in red. Loved that car, had it for about 6 years, and it had 280,000 km when I got another car.
7.1 seconds for a 0-60 back in the 90's was pretty quick. For reference, a Vette, Supra and NSX were doing it in the mid to low 5's.
I love the look backs to yester years. If Pontiac was allowed to make the 2nd gen Fiero it would have been a highlight of this video. But it was getting dangerously close to GM's goldeny boy, the Corvette. So they got it axed.
I was showing my son this video as I and his uncles owed many on this list. The only good one was the eagle talon, i found the Probe was fun to drive as I had the GT. Berreta, Sunfire, Cavaliers were the worst cars I've ever owned. Great video.
Man I really appreciate this comment, thank you!
The tempo was a beast. O-60 in 100 sec flat
Geo Strom, Isuzu Impulse/Storm/Piazza (depending on the market), Asuna Sunfire, Lotus Elan (2nd Gen)... they were all variants on the same car.
Fun fact about the Beretta: the initial concept, known as a Feretta (Because it was initially planned as a FWD replacement for the F-body Camaro/Firebird) included a V8 option.
On the subject of the Pontiac Sunfire, it was a rebodied Cavalier and the '95 Z24/GT has a 2.3L 16 valve Quad4 Engine which was replaced in '96 with the 2.4L based on the Quad4 but with increased displacement and balance shafts to reduce vibration. Also, the base model Sunbird and 2nd gen. Cavalier put out around 100hp (give or take, depending on the years and whether it was the Chevy 2.2 OHV or the Pontiac 2.0 SOHC) but 3rd gen Cavaliers and First Gen Sunfires came with a base 2.2 OHV SFI engine which produced around 130hp. The Quad4 was rated at 150hp and the 2.4L 16 valve was rated at 160hp.
Lumina Z34, Lumina Euro 3.4 (the 4 door version) Grand Prix GTP and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme all used the same 3.4L DOHC 24 valve 60 degree V6 based on the pushrod (OHV) 60 degree GM V6 but modified by Lotus. I was unfortunate how unnecisarily complicated this motor was, using the pushrod version's timing chain to run a balance shaft where the pushrod version's camshaft would be and then a timing belt from there to the four cams in the heads but it was a powerhouse. Fun fact, it was initially tuned in a FWD converted IROC Camaro to produce 300hp but was down-tuned to 215hp to avoid breaking the automatic transmissions which were more common than the manuals.
VW Corrado would’ve been a great selection, lots of humans don’t know that ever existed
My Dad had the Laser in the 90s when I was a kid.. It had two turbo buttons in it.. That car was fast..
I owned a purple 1995 Beretta Z26. It was a great car, kinda slow, but had almost 275k miles before it caught on fire (leaking hydraulic fluid on exhaust manifold).
Maybe someone already mentioned it in the comments but I didn’t see the dodge stealth mentioned. Especially the twin turbo model. I personally preferred the stealth over the Mitsubishi 3000 which pretty much shared the same engine
There was also a Canadian only captive import brand Asuna. They sold a rebadged impulse as the Asuna Sunfire.
The talon was a very under rated car . Some i seen and remember others I never heard of so thank u 4 that
Fun video, some cars I haven't thought about in a long time. Oldsmobile Achieva 😅, sheesh. The Talon tsi with turbo and awd was a fantastic car. I find it a little odd that you included all 3 Diamond Star coupes which are very much the same car, yet you omitted the Cavalier Z24 because it was so similar to the Sunfire. BTW, the second gen Probe GT was a very good looking car, really loved it.
Talon was SO money - FAST and it would go through snow better than most 4 x 4s - the turbo was amazing
Haha the talon tsi wouldn't go worth a crap in snow. I had 1 and got it stuck too many times to count
I saw exactly ONE XR5 Topaz in my life.
Cool video I remember all those cars
Thank you man!
Dude, the Beretta! I had a base model back in the day and loved it. Good old car.
I actually wanted some of these cars, that is until I became fixated on REAR WHEEL DRIVE.
Surprised you left out all the supercharged 3800s from GM in the 90s. Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, Buick Rivera, etc. They supercharged the 3.8 V6 starting in 95 and by 96 they offered it as an option in everything. 250HP stock and that's only because GM neutered it. My regal hit 300fwtq on the dyno with nothing but intake, exhaust and a mail order pcm.
For 1996...and for the Grand Prix GTP, the supercharged 3800 wasn't available yet. It was still LQ1 powered. The 3800 didn't become available until 97 when the platform was redesigned. Same goes for the 96 Cutlass Supreme, Lumina LS sedan, and Monte Carlo Z34, (95-97).
Side note, the Geo cars were like all rebadged vehicles from multiple Japanese car brands. The Prizm was a Toyota corrola, the Tracker was a Suzuki. All good vehicles. My family had a Prizm hatchback, which was cool because there wasn't a hatchback version of the corrolla.
Appreciate it, thank you!
In the 1990's, I woulda NEVER thought these cars'd become softcore collectibles. Or at least endangered species. 😢 GreenHawk, when you can check out the Nissan Pulsar.
I respect your opinion on the Mercury Capri (1990-1994). I actually prefer it over the Foxbody Capri which is just a Mustang with a different grille. Like the 1st-gen Capri, it is not based on an car that Ford sells in North America and that’s what makes it special to me. And keep in mind, the Lotus Elan M100 was also front-wheel drive and was actually pretty good. As good as the Miata is, it can never top the Elan in terms of exclusivity. Lotus made the last of the Elans front-wheel drive because they wanted to show people that front-wheel drive can surpass rear-wheel drive cars. Front-wheel drive cars have better grip than rear-wheel drive cars and it’s why the Honda Civic beat rear-wheel drive touring cars in JTCC. Front-wheel drive cars have their ups and downs. But, they can just as fun as rear-wheel drive cars and it shows with cars like the Honda Civic Type R and Mitsubishi FTO.
My mom had a Beretta when i was little. Simpler times. Lol Italians sui ng for a quarter billion dollars in the 90s over a word
I had 3 tempos very reliable car i always wanted a 87 88 2 door 5 spd
great awesome video. 👌
Thank you 👍
I owned a ‘93 Z34 Lumina. Not the race car it pretended to be but it was comfortable. Impossible to work on and parts were hard to find.
Nah, they're not that bad.
Cos of the j series, i learned about imports. Never looked back
You missed a couple of the most iconic coupes of the nineties. Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring, Saturn SC, Ford Escort GT, Neon R/T, Dodge Stealth and Cadillac Eldorado/Buick Riviera
I think the first generation Dodge Neon ACR coupe would have fit right in with this list.
I have a Plymouth laser 92 awd now had 1 back in 2000s and now
My mom had a white 1996 beretta. Damn heads gaskets went up on it
My grandfather had 2 Mercury Topaz XR5’s
My Prizm GSi is a 'yota slo-rolla with 4A-G. Geo is GM just grabbing at Japanese revenues after USA gave up on engineering in favor of business majors (if you can't go to university, at least get an MBA)
The laser rs was awesome car
A lot of badge engineering in the 90ties...
Especially GM and Chrysler.
Ford changed the body but take a lot from mazda.
I remember when my uncle bought a 1992 Ford Probe in Germany and my dad bought a 1992 Mazda 626 GE model.
My uncle was totally pissed off when he saw some Mazda logos on some engine parts.
He saw the Mx6 Mazda coupe and said that for 1 ford he could have 2x mx6.
Explanation: 1992 a Ford probe in the best trimm costs 56000 DM
An 1992 Mx6 costs 26900 well equipped by the way.
Luxury Mx6 was 29600.
Looking for a z34 now
I had a Plymouth laser.
You forgot the Saab American brand. Super popular
I was in college in the late 90’s and my dream car was the Eagle Talom TSI 🥲
isn't the Berretta and Corsica about the same car? My mom had a Mercury Topaz once and a Chevy Lumina.
Yes. The Beretta is a 2-door Corsica. Or you can say the Corsica is a 4-door Beretta.😮
The Beretta was pretty decent my uncle got divorced sold everything he owned including his business and drove it to Texas with a box of cash in the trunk
The 90's was a baaaad time for cars.
SHO trans was in all of the merc ford linc cars in that era...
I like your vids keep making them
Thank you!
I miss automotive variety. Today, cars are mostly just as homogeneous and boring as the people who drive them. Great video, though! Subscribed.
Very true😂
I appreciate that man
I totally agree 100% brother
Cars nowadays = Too much computer and electronic gimmick.....
Older hot hatches is where it's at.
@@SnarkyRC It's not a hatch, but I bought a near mint 1999 Mazda Millenia. I daily it and it is WAY more fun, even with an auto!
I always thought the Talon looked better than the Eclipse.
Did the eclipse even have awd?
1. Eclipse
2. Talon
3. Laser
Same car
I am an older car enthusiast and appreciate the trip down memory lane. Sad though to see that there were so many small, sporty coupes available then, but none today by a U.S. manufacturer. Even Honda has discontinued all 2 doors, and other Asian & European manufacturers have done so or are quickly going in that direction. In my younger days a 4 door was considered an "old man's car" and the cool folks drove coupes, or better yet, convertibles. Watch any old TV comedy & drama shows from the 1960's and you will see what I mean. Times certainly do change. I remember well when Ford intended to replace the Mustang with the Probe, but fortunately there was such tremendous push back that Ford thought better. A good thing as the Probe is long gone while Mustang will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next spring.
Hey man I enjoyed reading what you had to say. It’s sad to see this direction that automation is taking.
man, the shyt hot the fan when Ford hinted that a JAPANESE designed fwd car would replace the mustang. I remember that. I think 90 or 92 was meant to be the last year for the Fox rwd one... until the backlash.. ahh the good ole days.. thank god we didt have to hear.. Ford introduced the new for 2024 Ford PROBE!
@@Butchcub75just the E-Stang...lol
@@Butchcub75 the Ford probe is a Mazda Mx6 made in the same factory.
no shyt sherlock.@@carlcofr
I still have my Cavalier Z24 with almost 200k miles on the clock. It’s actually a pretty reliable car, never had any issues with it. It’s still a fun car to drive, specially with the 5 speed manual.
These cars are real fun to drive and still quick for today's standards. I recently bought a dead '88 Z24 convertible to restomod and saved a solid '93 RS from the yard whose V6 and 5 speed were highly neglected; couldn't be happier
What color?
Geo sold cars for gm that were made all over the place. One was isuzu, the metro was suzuki, the Prizm was essentially a toyota corolla and was made at the nummi plant in California. The Spectrum was a rebadged Isuzu and was developed with the code name R platform
The Tracker was a Suzuki too.
I laughed reading this. Seems like gm back then did business in a funny way. No wonder they were killing everything they touched. The company was run by people like such.
They were going to name the Prizm using the first 3 letters from Toyota and the last 3 letters from Chevrolet. Toylet 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
I think Isuzu called theirs the I Mark and before the Prism came the Nova. A rebadged Corolla just like said Prism...
The Lincoln Mark VIII is a notable omission as it was the last of the old school luxo-barge style V8 RWD American “personal luxury coupes” and it was the first to birth the 32V “Cobra” variant of the 4.6.
owned two.. very fun and fast for a big car.. now I own a Mark VII LSC.
@@Butchcub75Yea my mom had the mark viii and it was a rocket lol. Cool car in my opinion.
@@Butchcub75do you live in the Midwest?
@@j.t.553 um why ?
The 90s early 2000s was the last of great cars and honestly everything imo...cars during that time was so fresh different and fun, please keep these wonderful nostalgic videos coming
Yep loved all gm cars with the indestructible 3.8L v6 the 231… in so many cars .. they ran forever … that motor was replaced by a 3.9 short lived and then a high feature 3.6 overhead cam v6 which is junk and don’t last … nothing lasts anymore… you buy a 2800 fridge and get 3-5 years and it done … miss the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s up to about 2006
100%. Which is don't buy recent
And all the reliability issues of the world 🤣
I actually saw one of those Achieva's a couple of weeks ago. I don't think it was the one you were referring to but it was a coupe and looked to be in pretty good condition. I even liked the base model ones too!
Very distinct styling, super easy to point out.
Achieva SC or even rarer SCX are a very very rare sight.
I am a proud owner of two 94 Lumina Z34s and a 95 Monte Carlo z34 love them!
That’s awesome man!
I also own 2 LQ1 cars and just adore them! 91 International Cutlass Supreme coupe and 93 Grand Prix STE sedan.
My first car was a 1993 Ford Probe GT 5speed, and to this day, it is one of the best handling fwd cars I've ever owned. That Mazda KL-DE 2.5 V6 produced decent power and sounded awesome
Not surprised to see so many comments on the Probe. They were just right.
There was so many different cars to choose from back in the day! These vehicles that we have to choose from today are so bland and lifeless. I mean when three different brands have basically the same vehicle but each were unique on their own. Oh how I miss those days..... 🥹
Me too, man!
Said well my friend!
We had No Idea how lucky we were!!!!!😢
@@landonbenford8369 Those were the days
Everybody forgets about the Beretta GTU trim. My mother bought a brand new black one with red accents. She thoroughly enjoyed it and still to this day says that she wished she still had it. It was pretty quick with an automatic transmission. The lettering was red with ground effect spoilers all around and a pop up sunroof. Not long after she got it she dragged the front spoiler off on one of those concrete things, needless to say my Dad was livid! It was a beautiful and very mechanically sound car with the only problem being the interior started falling apart. They redesigned the door panels into one big molded piece of plastic instead of several parts fastened together. Not sure what engine was in it but it seems like it was a 2.8 liter V6. It had the skill saw blade aluminum wheels too!
Thank you for sharing that man, I enjoyed the read. I definitely should have at least mentioned the GTU trim, glad you brought that to my attention.
The GTU had slightly upgraded suspension over the GT, unique side mirrors (I think) and of course the appearance package that included directional wheels and tires. In 1990, essentially the same package was called the Indy, and only offered in 2 colours (teal and yellow) as the Beretta was the official Indianapolis 500 pace car that year. It was supposed to coincide with the release of a convertible version, but GM engineers had too much trouble with the rigidity of a roofless chassis on the car, and never sold it, despite an advertising campaign. An enthusiast with the skill to make one roadworthy has since purchased one of the pace cars, IIRC.
The same year the GTU became the Indy (which was then discontinued) the GTZ was released. Truly the ultimate Beretta, it came with the Oldsmobile designed Quad 4 mentioned in this video that powered the Achieva SCX. It had 180hp (the SCX had a more aggressive camshaft to push that to 190, and was the only car with the top of the line version). The Beretta GTZ, though, also came with a very aggressive suspension package, and from the factory was one of the best handling front wheel drive cars of its time, if not the best (until the Integra Type R showed everyone who's boss). The GTZ would last until it got replaced in 1994 by the Z26 mentioned in the video. The quad 4 would lose power to emissions regulations, losing some horsies in 1993, then again in 1994 (the only year it was offered in the Z26). The ultimate Beretta from the factory was no doubt the 1992 GTZ. That year, all Berettas (and their sister car, the 4 door Corsica) came with ABS as standard, and also came with larger front brakes.
The Beretta was certainly not a perfect car by any means, but I do feel it was underrated. A clean GTZ still looks great today, and so does the GTU you mentioned (so long as the sun hasn't destroyed the dash...they had that issue)
@@TheNuje All very true though I disagree about the 92 being the ultimate GTZ. I understand your points with bigger brakes and abs, but the 90 GTZ wasn't governed. It'd bury the speedo in 4th gear (roughly 130mph). All others were restricted. Really it comes down to what's important I suppose.
@@BaconNarwhal310Both my ‘89 GTU and ‘94 Z26 both did 135-140 and they were completely stock, no governor at all.
I owned a 1990 Eagle Talon. I loved that car. It was easily my favorite to drive. Very quick, and the all wheel drive made it great for driving in the winters in Minnesota as well. Wish I could find one to rebuild now.
Although they weren't on every car, I do miss an everyday vehicle being available in such vibrant colors
Fun fact: the SHO motor and transmission were a direct swap into to the Tempo. Both the Taurus and Tempo used the same engine mounts and spacing at the time. I'd love to see a Topaz SHO swap.
The peak for me was the Festiva SHOgun. Swapped the SHO drivetrain into the back seat. Unbelievable.
A 97 camery would still smoke it
@@AnonOmous-hs4gb not that far off but no, even with a 5 speed manual, both are slow tho
@@AnonOmous-hs4gbif your talking about the 97 Taurus sho with the 32 valve v8 making 235 then no the 97 Camry was not faster in any trim including the 194hp 3.0 v6. Not much slower but still slower at a 0-60 of 8 seconds flat we’re the v8 sho was at 7.4 seconds. Also if your mentioning the 92 Taurus sho and below with the v6 then your Camry gets gapped!! Even the automatic 1st gen show was much quicker then a 97 Camry. It would take Toyota till 2007 to make a Camry faster than the 10 year old or more ford sho’s.
Now you wanna talk reliability then the Camry wins hands down!!
I had a Probe GTS 5-speed as my first car back in the early 2000s. Low miles, meticulously cared for, and was my uncle's & then my parents'. He went from a 5.0 fox body to that and went right back into a Mustang(Mystic Cobra) because of how slow and underwhelming the car was. It became my dad's daily before they gave it to me. For a 16 year-old, it wasn't bad. But it turned low-16s with speed shifting. It wasn't fast lol. My cousin in-law's 3.4 Grand Am GT could slightly beat it.
I looked at the Geo Storm rather differently, apparently. It looked to me like if you painted the small piece of glass behind the door, it would look exactly like a pocket sized Camaro.
It's a shame that there aren't still cars like these available. I appreciate the look back.
That probe GT was one of the most beautiful cars ever
GT Probes were great, well balanced drivers. Made you comfortable by being predictable.
@@Ac_Adapter
Funny you mention that. I thought the same.
@@Ac_AdapterYou mean MX-6 sport coupe. The MX-5 is the Miata.
Prob my butthole
Probe! Had 4 of them 😍 Another honorable mention- the Escort ZX2 SR
4 is crazy man! that’s awesome😎
I love your videos. Keep them coming. They inspire me to restore one of these and avoid paying a car note 😂
Thank you man, go for it!
Geo as a brand was GM’s attempt to compete head on with Honda and Toyota. The cars were a mix of builds rebadged from Isuzu and Suzuki.
The Storm was a case of “all hat, no cattle”. The prototypes looked awesome, but after the bean counters got through with it, it was a bland little car with only moderate performance. (It was also several years late coming to market - at least in Canada).
In 1990, I was looking for a car, and the Storm was on my list - alongside the Corolla GTS and Civic Si. I did look at the Isuzu Impulse, but two things turned me off: Interior materials were markedly poor quality, and the engine was rough - powerful, but noisy and unrefined. A few years later, a colleague of mine had a Storm when they finally hit the market - it pretty much started falling apart the day he drove it off the lot.
I bought a Civic Si - still one of the best cars I ever owned. I haven’t seen many Impulses or Storms after 2000.
thanks for this, I enjoyed the read!
Interesting video! It's fun seeing these cars again. I worked as a lot attendant at a Ford dealer from 91-95 and drove all of these cars. The 93-97 Probe GT was and is my favorite of this group. The design is clean, the interior had nice control feel and design, and the engine was responsive. It was a major improvement over its predecessor. The Topaz/Tempo V6 would've been a Cimarron repeat which I'm sure is why Ford did not sell it as a Lincoln. My parents had a 4 cylinder Tempo for 20 years, and it was relatively durable but very slow, noisy, and cramped. V6 cars (I only saw V6 Tempos, never a Topaz V6) were slightly better, but not as nice as an 80s Cavalier with a 2.8 V6, so it'd have been behind the Cimarron before it was even introduced. The GM DOHC 3.4 in the Z34 was a nice engine, and the Talon/Laser Mitsu knockoff had nice interior material feel. I worked at an Oldsmobile service department during the summer of 1998 while in college, and Olds was dying fast. "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" was an awful campaign because old Toronados, Cutlasses, and Ninety Eights were awesome cars. Abandoning and alienating your base with rebadged, unremarkable cars (except the first gen Aurora) and dumb marketing slogans is a great way to sabotoge sales, and Olds accomplished their suicide mission by 2004. I was in my early 20s back then, and even at that young age Oldsmobile's mistake was painfully obvious.
I really appreciate all of this information/experiences thank you man!
@@GreenHawkDriveYour video is great! It made me think of many cars I had forgotten that I really liked. The early 90s were a neat time for cars.
Yes, the probe was an undervalued champion. I experienced them a couple times. Knew right away it was a great rig.
I absolutely love the Lumina. Mostly because of early 90s NASCAR, but I think even the road cars are things of beauty.
All Gm cars looked pretty good back then , better than the other 2 automakers.. always drove gm.. their products junk nowadays , but so are the other 2… gms designers just got it in design all their cars were attractive, in my opinion.. fords stuff was barf, just like today and dodge ewww… ugly…
The Beretta and Lumina looked great
I had a dream I bought a Lumina And a Corsica LT at the same time!😊
Great video! I used to own a Topaz XR5 and it's GLS twin.
I appreciate that man! That’s awesome, wow
I got my license in the mid 90's and remember ALL these cars fondly. I even owned two cars on this list, a 94 Beretta z26 and a 93 Probe GT. Many senior year dates in the Beretta!
Right on man!
Mid to late 90's as a teenager we always cruised around in my buddies Beretta. Had some insanely wide 15x10 Daytons and 2 15's in the trunk. That car scraped on the slightest road imperfections. The good ol days. 😆 🤣
All I could say is that..riding on the school bus, I remember all these cars being on the road in the early 2000s..like..I would see them parked randomly somewhere next to older and newer cars....and they all came in different types
And colors...it just added individuality...I mean, there's still uniqueness.. but nothing like it was.....My opinion.
The Talon and Probe were A tier at the very least, it depended on how hardcore or comfortable you wanted your ride to be.
I definitely think the late 90s early 00s Cougar should've just been a 3rd gen Probe
Downsizing Killed the Thunderbird/Cougar brand!!😢
@@Karmy. It was meant to be, but Ford wanted to downsize their lineup and basically fused the Probe and Cougar model lines together
I always wanted a lumina z34
Many examples are still available being for sale.
My first car was an '88 Beretta GT 2.8 V6 3spd autotragic . Miss that thing to this day 😢😢 I'd buy one again if i could find a good example
I owned several Beretta GTZ's, but if you wanted performance, you needed to get the Quad4, not the 3.1 V6. 180hp from a four cylinder back in the day was very rare. They were a bit trashy and eat head gaskets, but they could move with good authority when well maintained. I miss those cars.