Yes , I know that you all know I hate them.

But, I also know not all of you do - so I have a question.

What FWD cars (if any) do you think will be collected and preserved a decade or two down the road?

Will any of these be someone's pride and joy at the local car show?

If so, which ones?

Even I can think of one...

Civic since its styling is very different.

aurora and seville from the 90's.

eldo/riv/toro from the eighties

original toro

original taurus

citation/omega/etc.

citation/omega/etc.

Ha ha ... c'mon, how often do you see an X-body going down the street? But when you do, it's funny! Kind of like seeing a Maverick with plaid seats, for God's sake!

one FWD car id pimp is a Caddy Allante!

I think the LH cars...they were breakthrough designs that the rest of the companies tried to copy in the 90's...plus they were and are excellent handling cars...

My list is short:

L29 Cord

810 Coffin Nose

Razorback Eldo

First gen. Toronado

Original Austin Mini

There are many FWD cars that could fit that description. Too many for me to list.

Ha ha ... c'mon, how often do you see an X-body going down the street? But when you do, it's funny! Kind of like seeing a Maverick with plaid seats, for God's sake!

:rotflmao:

My list is short:

L29 Cord

810 Coffin Nose

Razorback Eldo

First gen. Toronado

Original Austin Mini

I can agree with this list and add these:

The new Mini

Certain convertibles

Not so sure about the others listed so far.

Riviera: Final Gen, 79-85 gen

Aurora: First Gen

Allante

Reatta: already being preserved in great numbers, there is a Reatta club

Toronado: pretty much all of them

the last FWD Chrysler Imperial

80-85 Seville

probably some oddball original Tauruses will be saved

I wouldn't be surprised it you saw some well preserved Park Aves and Ninety Eights

edit; also... Cutlass supreme coupe and convertible

Edited April 11, 200718 yr by Oldsmoboi

Shame on me for forgeting the Bustleback Seville. 1980-85.

Even the 1979-85 Eldorado is quite nice stylistically and like

the Razorback it has a longitudinally mounted motor, which

eliminates 50% of what I hate about FWD.

Any Olds Toronado

Any Buick Riviera

1979-85 E-Body coupes and convertibles

1980-85 Seville

1995-99 Olds Aurora

Cadillac Allante

Buick Reatta

Olds Cutlass Supereme convertible

1990-91 Olds Quad 442 Cutlass Calais

1992-02 Cadillac Eldorado (esp. convertible conversions)

Ford Taurus SHO

Ford Focus SVT

Ford Contour SVT

1995-2002 Lincoln Continental

Chrysler TC by Maserati

1990-93 Chrysler Imperial

Dodge Neon SRT

That's all I can think of now. Many of those are already 'collectable' now, especially most of the GM cars I've listed. Allantes still command high prices and Chrysler TCs are worth a decent amount in good condition, too.

And for anyone who says "out of every FWD car, that's it?!?!" remember that not every rear-wheel drive car is worth keeping either...

another one that will be preserved simply due to rarity

pontiac bonneville gxp

I conceed that a few of just about everything will hang around, so I guess I should clarify a bit.

What will be saved/preserved on a regular basis?

From Fly's and Oldsmoboi's lists I will definitely agree on a few:

Reatta

Allante

The convertibles generally

Taurus SHO

Neon SRT

TC (God only knows why people save this POS)

Some of the Eldorados,Rivieras and just about any Toronado

1st gen Aurora

there are enough fanatics of the Park Ave, Aurora and Cutlass coupe/convertible for them to be aggressively saved. there are a number of clubs for each.

the other W-body and H/G body cars don't seem to gather the same enthusiasm as the rest

Most of them have been mentioned so far:

Chrysler's TC by Maserati (DOHC models)

Cord L29 and 810/812

Early Mini and late "original" Mini

Probably:

Buick Reatta (specifically the convertible)

Cadillac Allante (specifically the Northstar)

Ford Taurus SHO

Oldsmobile Toronado (possibly first and second generation)

More models (not necessarily in this order):

Lotus Elan

Shelby GLH-S

Shelby Lancer

Shelby CSX and CSX-T

Dodge Spirit R/T

Dodge Daytona IROC

Ruxton (I keep hoping...nobody seems to care)

NSU Ro80 (probably a long-shot because it's a four-door sedan)

Subaru SVX

Chrysler Town & Country convertible

Toyota Corolla FX16

Buick Riviera convertible (especially the XX model)

Chrysler Limousine and Executive Sedan

Renault GTA (especially the convertible)

Honda Civic CRX SI (first generation)

Lancia Thema 8.32

Rare FWD models that nobody will ever care about:

Mercury Monterey

Saturn Relay

Datsun F10

Suzuki Swift GT/GTi

Yugo Cabrio

Ford Escort EXP

Mercury Lynx LN7

Ford Escort Diesel

Ford Tempo Diesel

Dodge Omni 024 deTomaso

Pretty much everything that's agreed upon so far, plus the Turbo Grand Prix

Hudson:

I guess the Plymouth Horizon TC3 fits your last category too. :AH-HA_wink:

You are the first to mention ANY Japanese cars.

Hudson:

I guess the Plymouth Horizon TC3 fits your last category too. :AH-HA_wink:

You are the first to mention ANY Japanese cars.

Too many on this site are blinded by their affection for GM to notice that there are some good cars on the other side of the Pacific.

I don't know that the TC3 was rare enough to fit into that last category...it was relatively popular.

I just thought of another Asian FWD car that should be included: Kia Elan.

Rule of thumb: classic cars need to fit at least 2 of the following criteria:

-Rare

-Interesting

-Beautiful

It doesn't matter what it is, if it doesn't meet at least 2 of those it ain't gonna be a classic.

Grand Prix GXP and Intrigue, and other Oldsmobile sedans?

The thing about the 1980-1985 bustleback Seville is that the current resale value is in the sub-$1000 range. This car is over 20 years old and it's still not considered by common buyers as a classic... At least in terms of financial worth.

Quick note for the uninitiated: I bought an 85 Seville in the summer of 2003 for $500, which I gave to my father-in-law as a gift in January 2006. Attempts to sell the car prior to that had failed.

Edited April 11, 200718 yr by aaaantoine

Rule of thumb: classic cars need to fit at least 2 of the following criteria:

-Rare

-Interesting

-Beautiful

It doesn't matter what it is, if it doesn't meet at least 2 of those it ain't gonna be a classic.

All three of those things are subjective....the first less so than the other two. Any car can be interesting and/or beautiful. But for it to be VALUABLE, you need two people who think it's "classic."

The thing about the 1980-1985 bustleback Seville is that the current resale value is in the sub-$1000 range. This car is over 20 years old and it's still not considered by common buyers as a classic... At least in terms of financial worth.

While I tend to agree with you on the Seville, near-term price does not equate to long-term price. In the 1960s and 1970s, you could buy Bugattis and Ferraris and Cobras and Mercedes-Benz SLs for very low prices...and don't get me started on the rise in prices of muscle cars.

i would expect no less on a GM board,

but look for Integras, Civics, Corollas, Preludes. these were the cars of the youth of that generation. (few folks were goo goo ga gaing over cavaliers.)

people with cash buy tri 5 chevys cause they grew up with them. the next generation is buying muscle cars. when it gets to the 80's it will be the japanese invasion.

i would expect no less on a GM board,

but look for Integras, Civics, Corollas, Preludes. these were the cars of the youth of that generation. (few folks were goo goo ga gaing over cavaliers.)

people with cash buy tri 5 chevys cause they grew up with them. the next generation is buying muscle cars. when it gets to the 80's it will be the japanese invasion.

I suppose over time they will. As the riced ones eventually find their way into junkyards, pristine stock examples will become harder to find. Modified cars seldom fetch as much as their original counterparts. At an auction scenario I wouldn't pay $2K for a first gen Camaro with a metal flake paint job, tunnerl ram hood, roll cage, drag slicks, tubs, engine that's been Edelbrock-ed to death, and headers, but I'd donate various body parts for one that's close to original. Get my drift?

Hudson:

I guess the Plymouth Horizon TC3 fits your last category too. :AH-HA_wink:

You are the first to mention ANY Japanese cars.

Oh, don't worry... My list would consist of some if I wasn't too tired to make one last night.

Plus, most Japanese FWD cars that could be considered collectible weren't offered in the US.

Acura Integra

Acura Legend

Alfa Romeo 164

Audi Coupe

Audi TT

Buick Reatta

Buick Riviera

Cadillac Allante

Cadillac Eldorado

Chrysler TC

Dodge Rampage/others

Dodge Stealth

Honda CRX

Honda Prelude

Lotus Elan

Mazda Millenia

Mitsubishi 3000GT

Mitsubishi Eclipse

Oldsmobile Aurora

Oldsmobile Toronado

Pontiac Grand Prix Turbo

Pontiac Sunbird Turbo

Saab Sonnet

Shelby GLH-S

Shelby Lancer

Subaru SVX

Toyota Celica

Volkswagon Corrado

Volkswagon Scirocco

Edited April 11, 200718 yr by blackviper8891

but look for Integras, Civics, Corollas, Preludes. these were the cars of the youth of that generation. (few folks were goo goo ga gaing over cavaliers.)

people with cash buy tri 5 chevys cause they grew up with them. the next generation is buying muscle cars. when it gets to the 80's it will be the japanese invasion.

Again, we're talking about collectable cars here, so I highly doubt any Corolla or Civic will be a part of it. I'd much more likely expect rare or limited-production versions of Celicas, Preludes, and Integras over anything else, I just didn't mention them because I have no idea what models they are.

The Neon SRT-4 Fly mentioned should definitely become a collectible. It represents the first time a US automaker has challenged the import rice burners and not only won, but blue them out of the water. It's not beautiful by any means, but it fulfill the mission so many cars before it failed to.

Edited April 12, 200718 yr by Dodgefan

Rule of thumb: classic cars need to fit at least 2 of the following criteria:

-Rare

-Interesting

-Beautiful

It doesn't matter what it is, if it doesn't meet at least 2 of those it ain't gonna be a classic.

Honda Insight and Audi TT in 67 years, I'd imagine. On Pebble Beach.

There isnt many Japanese cars from the 80's left here never mind the 70's. I would say all Eldorados right up to 85 as well as all its sister cars definatly.

Since I started the thread, and am a diehard anti-FWD guy, maybe I should pick my top ten once you guys are done thrashing this out.

Sound like a good idea?

Do you think you guys could narrow it down to maybe 20-25 nominees?

GM EV1

That's one point for Oldsmoboi!

Agreed about SRT4.

I'll throw in the 1987-1989 Le Sabre T-Type.

One of the more attractive GM front drivers.

'97regalGS' >>"...look for Integras, Civics, Corollas, Preludes. these were the cars of the youth of that generation. (few folks were goo goo ga gaing over cavaliers.)"<<

No one ever went goo-goo over a corolla, either. Ramblers were also inexpensive cars that people of the '60s bought- check their values today (beyond the Javelin/AMX).

>>"people with cash buy tri 5 chevys cause they grew up with them. the next generation is buying muscle cars. when it gets to the 80's it will be the japanese invasion."<<

For that to be true, the owners of Tri-5 Chevy would have to be getting steadily older and values would at the least level off if not drop, but they are not. The Tri-5 has trascended popular opinion right into permanent icon status. Muscle cars have already far exceeded '50s cars in appreciation and those numbers are still climbing.

Whether japanese econoboxes follow suit is unknown at this point. Somewhere, there is someone collecting any vehicle you can think of, but as a long-time auto enthusiast, I just do not see a great deal to indicate '80s japanese vehicles will catapault in value after musclecars...

Edited April 12, 200718 yr by balthazar

First gen PT Cruiser

Acura Integra Type R, in particular the 1997, as it is the most rare (only 2000 or so brought over here), and the only Type R available in the '94-'97 body style.

First gen PT Cruiser

Good call.

- WRX STi

- Hi-po versions of previous gen Impreza (don't know trim levels on that one)

- Insight (you may hate it but you know this will happen)

- Riviera

- Jag X-type (?)

- VW GTI

MINI because it's so fun to drive

WRX doesn't count as FWD.

X-type is AWD.

Thanks for pointing them out. I want to add the following to my list:

Buick LeSabre T-Type

GM EV1 (the few that GM hasn't destroyed)

Honda Insight

Toyota Prius (first generation, assuming it has low miles...since most will be daily drivers)

Chevrolet S10 EV

As a Jaguar fan, I can't honestly defend the X-Type (they are offered FWD outside of North America) as a future collectible. And the WRX was only offered as an AWD model.

Possible collectible Asian cars:

Toyota Corolla FX16 (previously mentioned)

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V (not actually built in Japan)

MazdaSpeed Protege

MazdaSpeed3

Mazda Millenia S

Honda Civic SI (the UK-built one)

Toyota Cavalier (yes, it was built in Ohio...but it was only sold in Japan)

More "rare" FWD cars that I feel have little or no chance of being "collectible":

Canadian-built Hyundai Sonata

Subaru Justy ECVT

Honda Civic GX or HX

Lexus ES250 (especially with a stick)

Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant with a manual transmission

Dodge 400 sedan

Peugeot-powered Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon

Cadillac Seville/Eldorado with a WORKING V8-6-4 engine or Oldsmobile diesel

Buick Electra/Oldsmobile 98/Cadillac Deville with a 4.3L diesel V6

Ford Taurus 2.5L four-cylinder

Cadillac Seville/Eldorado with a WORKING V8-6-4 engine --

Now THAT is a Seville I would be interested in seeing, since the word on Wikipedia is that Cadillac recalled these engines to disable the cylinder deactivation.

Now THAT is a Seville I would be interested in seeing, since the word on Wikipedia is that Cadillac recalled these engines to disable the cylinder deactivation.

That part of the Wiki entry is wrong. There was a way to disable the cylinder deactivation, but I don't think it was a GM sponsored or condoned event.

First-gen Golf GTI... classy, practical, quick, and cheap, it's the original hot hatch that started it all.