Ah, the 1990s. The East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud was in full swing, and the stock market was soaring to completely sustainable heights that were also totally different from our modern Silicon Valley venture capital craze. Things were good, they were going to keep being good forever, and automakers brought that mindset into their cars. Drivers deserved a treat, and every company from General Motors to Mazda made sure it had something pretty on the showroom floor. But of those perfect cars, which
was the best?
That's the question we asked earlier this week, and today we're combing through your answers. So many of you picked the Mazda RX-7, truly a staggering number of you, though I can't judge — I also picked it when asking the question. But it's not all Mazdas here; we've got Vipers and Lancias and Saturns galore. Let's see what you all picked.
Read more: These Are The Most Forgettable Cars
Dodge Viper RT/10
My two favorites were the FD RX-7 and first gen Viper RT-10.My dad worked for Mazda in Irvine when the FD came out. He was able to get two of the first red ones in the country before they went on sale to take to a local show, before the days of Cars and Coffee. Both were red with tan interior touring trims. My dad and I were in one, and my Uncle and someone else from the office in the other. On the way to the show, we came up on a 300zx, and they decided to pull up on either side of the Nissan on the freeway just to showoff I guess. When we parked them at the show, the crowd swarmed the cars. Even all these years later, I have never driven any car (Ferrari, Porsche, TVR...) that got that kind of attention. The way I felt as a kid, the way it looked, all just resonated with me. I was able to buy one 7 years ago (a '94 silver R2) and it did not disappoint. Definitely worth meeting my hero. My first car was an '85 RX-7 which I still own. My dad was the original owner.Also, as a side story, there is only one left hand drive Spirit R, and that car is in the basement of the design center in CA. That car is actually a 1993 touring trim (hence why it has a sunroof) that was converted slowly to a Spirt R. Mazda HQ in Japan slowly sent over parts along with the freight of cars (seats and wheels on a boat, then maybe gauges, wind and turbos, etc.). There was a small group of employees who spent time changing all of the parts over to convert it to a Spirit R.
Submitted by: Andrew William
Andrew, I understand most of your comment is about the RX-7, but I did feel bad not having a Viper in the list. Let's count you for a bit of both.
Nissan 300ZX
300zx twin turbo - I had a 1995 240sx that I always wanted to do the sr20det swap to but never had the money to do - had the opertunity to drive a 300zx twin turbo as a friend bought one and it was so much better than the 240, the seats were better, the cockpit was better, the steering, the grip, obviously the power - it was such a good car. On top of that it looked so cool for the 1990's - the RX7 and Supra and 3000GT also looked great the early 90's were full of great looking japanese cars. Even weird ones like the MX-3 with it's tiny v6 was super cool and weird looking
Submitted by: Kyle
I've always loved this generation of 300ZX — I came close to buying one, once — but I'm stunned to hear from a 240SX owner that you prefer the ZX. There's still a part of me that wants an SR20-powered Sileighty.
Saturn SC
The Saturn SCs of the era are basically imprinted on me. Certainly not the best thing out there at the time, but the my favorite of the 'slow car to drive fast' in that era. Very nostalgia based, but it was the first car that made me enjoy driving a car.
Submitted by: engineerthefuture
This is an absolutely wild pick, given the other cars in this list, and for that I love it. Sure, yeah, the Saturn SC. There's no Lamborghini Diablo in this list, but we have the Saturn.
Lancia Delta Integrale
Lancia Delta Hi Fidelity Integrale. The homologated street version of the cars that dominated the World Rally Championship, scoring 46 victories overall and winning the Constructors Championship a record six times in a row from 1987 to 1992.The roots of a humble Italian family sherpa. The very best way to experience your local roads...even today.
Submitted by: G-Reg
G-reg, I am absolutely fascinated by your insistence on spelling out acronyms. I've never seen anyone actually spell out the HF in the Integrale's name. All that attention to detail, and yet it slipped your mind that the HF Integrale came around in 1987.
Lexus SC
98-00 Lexus SC400Timeless styling, perhaps the best made engine of the 90s, comfortable seats, elegance, class, and still really affordable. The $55-58K they cost new is why there are so few of them out there. This is the only problem.
Submitted by: Tex
I'm sorry, engineerthefuture, but I do have to put my support behind this SC rather than yours.
Ferrari F50
Ferrari F50.Forget what an aging fat British man said about it in a video game monologue once (or twice, if you include the Top Gear special). This was exactly what a hypercar should've been. Derived from a race car and compromised literally everything to give us something that wasn't particularly fun around town, but a blast when you drove fast. Came from a time when unobtainium still had pedigree and had to prove its worth, instead of it given by birthright (looking at all the new crop of hypercars that are expensive for no reason these days).The closest you can get now is probably the new F80, which uses a similar formula (499P race car engine and hybrid drivetrain-- you get the idea). But the F50 does it better because it has twice the cylinders to compensate for its lack of electrification. If the Mclaren F1 was peak '90s, this was peak Ferrari.
Submitted by: Drift of Air
You know things have gotten bad when the Ferrari F50 is being presented as reasonable. How out-there are modern supercars if a top-tier '90s Ferrari is worth its MSRP by comparison?
Mazda FD RX-7
It showed up in yesterday's "Never Meet Your Automotive Heroes" post - the RX-7 FD. As a young person preparing to get their drivers license in the mid-90s, I was enthralled by the FD. I would often get my dad to stop by the local Mazda dealer whenever were out just so I could look, fail again to convince my dad he needed one, and pick up another brochure. I must have had a least a dozen of them that I cut pictures from and hung on my wall. I didn't really even know what a rotary engine was but found the exploded diagrams fascinating. I was determined to own a yellow R1 some day and can trace my love of cars directly back to pining over the FD.While I eventually came to own an FA, FB, FC, and RX-8, I never did get that FD and probably never will. Priorities change and I think I now prefer the memories over possession of the object.
Submitted by: Funky Dynamite
Consider, though: What if you got one?
Acura Integra
Mid 90s Acura Integra. Great car to drive and just a great build. Put 200,000 miles on mine without anything going wrong.
Submitted by: Not Me
When I got to drive a first-generation NSX, the biggest thought I came away with was "God I'd love to drive an Integra Type R."
Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
I run WRXs as my daily to this day because of 90s Subaru and I still lust after those late entry R-34 GT-Rs, but I got to hand it to either the 3000gt vr4 or the rx-7. Those are two timeless stunners. Honorable mention to the NA Miata and all it's amazing cuteness.
Submitted by: Snaab
I did consider the NA Miata for my own pick when asking the question, but that's a 1989 body style — no points there. Luckily, you get plenty for the VR-4.
BMW 850CSi
Lots of good options, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned the BMW 850ci/csi. Absolutely gorgeous design and available with a 12 cylinder, 6-speed manual drivetrain.
Submitted by: dire wolf
A friend of mine was semi-actively searching for 8 Series coupes a while back. He got a Boxster instead, a good car to get, but it doesn't have the same V12 energy as the BMW.
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
