Useless cars?

[BoberFett]

And I thought the PT Cruiser was a lame convertible...

 

[Dr. Detroit]

oh that's true. no sebring or solara convertible anymore so these are probably popular rentals in sun country.

The Sebring is now the Chrysler 200. They refreshed the car in 2011 making a few body tweeks and massive improvements to interior, engine, trans, and suspension.

 

[Midwayman]

For the wanna be middle class yuppie that needs a minivan but wants both a SUV to keep up with the Jones but also entering midlife crises and wanting a convertible sports car.

The only thing that's missing is a BMW/Mercedes badge and they could have it all in one car.

So true. Though probably not someone who really needs a minivan has this would be way to much hassle. Probably a buyer with one or no children or at least children who are already driving on their own. Its a woman's mid-life crisis car.

 

[Vic Vega]

I'd say the Hummer H3 ranks up there.

I know several people with H3s that get good use out of them.

The H2 is fairly useless but the H3 is a good vehicle on and off road.

 

[ElFenix]

The Sebring is now the Chrysler 200. They refreshed the car in 2011 making a few body tweeks and massive improvements to interior, engine, trans, and suspension.

i knew it was the 200, i thought they'd dropped the convertible. apparently not, it's still being made.

fwiw i still think lumina when i see an impala.

 

[Doppel]

Smart car is the worst. The convertible murano makes SOME sense, it's just ungodly ugly and a 100% unequivocal chick car for fat middle aged divorced women.

 

[thomsbrain]

Nothing is more useless than the Chevy SSR. That set the gold standard for uselessness.

Passengers: 2, not comfortable
Cargo: None
Handling: None
Speed: None
Style: None
Price: Expensive

 

[phucheneh]

Most SUVs are pretty lame these days. More car-based unibody crossovers than anything. This just makes it that much worse I guess. But hey, if someone wants it that's fine. Free country, after all (sorta, some people are control freaks trying to micromanage everybody else). In the meantime, I'll keep my real SUV that can do a lot more than sit higher 😀

*edit* holy crap, that thing is lamer than I thought. Rated at only 1mpg higher than my Trailblazer, while having a smaller, weaker engine, little towing capacity, smaller, seats 1 less person, a small trunk... 😵 I know that's not what you'd buy it for, but still :|

Well, that was kinda my point. With most SUV's, people are throwing away the finer points of a good medium-to-small car...performance, for one- even small cars with 'base' engines lay down some pretty good numbers these days, and there are a lot of competent handlers. Plus fuel economy. And purchase price. Ect.

Why do they cast these things aside? To have things that they won't use...or simply things that they think the car has, but doesn't (but they'll never know, 'cause they wouldn't use it). Payload/cargo/towing capacity. Off-road prowess. Superior safety (either by simply being big or with the perceived invincibility of AWD/4WD). Ect.

So the RogueMurano is the perfect 'crossover' replacement for the Jeeps, Trackers, ect that many women drove in the 90's. Sit high. Top down. Wooooo.

(and yeah, I know a Wrangler is a legit off-road machine...but it doesn't mean you didn't used to see tons of women driving basemodels on-road-only for the 'cute' factor.)

 

[phucheneh]

I hate them a lot.
A pony car has to be a V8... Just my opinion.
Not that the V6 is a bad performer, its just not the way a Mustang or Challenger should be. 😀

You realize that the current ~300hp V6's have twice the power that the V8 versions of these cars once had, right?

IIRC, Mustang hit rock bottom somewhere in the 140-160 range at either the end of the Mustang II or in the early foxes (or both). Rose to 200, and stayed around ~200-220 from....87-98, I think? '99 Finally saw a bump up towards 300. The only way to get significantly more than that was to buy a supercharged Cobra...of which the new V6 makes ~80% the power of.

Not exactly shabby.

The 90's V6 Mustangs, by comparison, had about the same numbers at the super-smogger Windsor motors (~150hp).

 

[nerp]

I know several people with H3s that get good use out of them.

The H2 is fairly useless but the H3 is a good vehicle on and off road.

Maybe I was thinking of the H2.