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Nice! I love the 80s Japanese sports cars.
Calling all car "nerds": strangely optioned vehicles you've owned?
- Thread starter 14Accent
- Start date
I can't fulfill "strange" but I had a minimalist 'special order' car.
A 2002 Volvo V70 base was ordered with a 3rd row rear facing seat and a self dimming mirror.
I was the second owner @ Not only was the fluid claimed to be "lifetime" (a near industry-wide lie) but Ford added the immeasurably stupid "Stop Neutral" feature.
The hit the poor trannie took was the reason it went up for sale.
A word on "hodge-podge" vehicles: Like the F-100 mentioned above with clashing interior/exterior color or singular engine/trannie packaging; I'm a firm believer in those odd vehicles coming down an assembly line during 'the end of the day' or when the feed to the line is not complete.
I had a '76 Nova 4 door with the 250 engine and T200. It was a "GM Scandal" car of its day. Engines and transmissions from differing divisions were assembled. My transmission was the smallest and was used in European snow blowers. The interior was insanely bright red, no AC, crank windows, AM radio and a 28 gallon gas tank. That tank was actually a comfort more than once.
A 2002 Volvo V70 base was ordered with a 3rd row rear facing seat and a self dimming mirror.
I was the second owner @ Not only was the fluid claimed to be "lifetime" (a near industry-wide lie) but Ford added the immeasurably stupid "Stop Neutral" feature.
The hit the poor trannie took was the reason it went up for sale.
A word on "hodge-podge" vehicles: Like the F-100 mentioned above with clashing interior/exterior color or singular engine/trannie packaging; I'm a firm believer in those odd vehicles coming down an assembly line during 'the end of the day' or when the feed to the line is not complete.
I had a '76 Nova 4 door with the 250 engine and T200. It was a "GM Scandal" car of its day. Engines and transmissions from differing divisions were assembled. My transmission was the smallest and was used in European snow blowers. The interior was insanely bright red, no AC, crank windows, AM radio and a 28 gallon gas tank. That tank was actually a comfort more than once.
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I actually have one of these come through the shop every once in a while. It's a little older, 2004 maybe, but it's a tan on tan leather ZTS model, fully loaded. Sunroof, heated seats, wood trim, the 2.3 engine, everything. Yes, it's a 5-speed.
I have an even more oddball come in now and again: an early 2000's Saturn L200 that's basically loaded to L300 level other than it's a 2.2 and the manual. Like the Focus, it's got leather, roof, premium sound, the works. So strange.
Warner M50.
I have one now-2009 Accent. It's a base model, with AC, but 5 speed, crank windows, steel wheels, no ABS, no cruise. But...it has the high-end stereo with XM. Saw one with cruise, power windows, alloys, XM, and no AC.
Duster is a little odd: it's a 3-speed base car, no power steering, no power brakes, no radio. Only options were 318, disc brakes (may have been required for the V8), and the...light package??? Seriously: no radio, but a map light and fender-mount turn signals.
Saw a Fury I wagon...six, 3 on the tree, manual drums, manual steering...and factory AC.
Duster is a little odd: it's a 3-speed base car, no power steering, no power brakes, no radio. Only options were 318, disc brakes (may have been required for the V8), and the...light package??? Seriously: no radio, but a map light and fender-mount turn signals.
Saw a Fury I wagon...six, 3 on the tree, manual drums, manual steering...and factory AC.
1995 Trans Am, hard top. A relatively rare choice.
The summer before I started university I worked at a Pontiac Buick GMC dealership. Canadian Pontiacs were not the same as American Pontiacs. Though they had Pontiac styling, they were built on a Chevrolet Chassis and had Chevrolet engines.
A few days before I left for school an auto transport dropped off the strangest car - the most basic Pontiac (a stripped black StratoChief) Sedan with a 427 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 engine, the largest available at the time. That combination made it pretty much unsaleable and it was being foisted off on the dealership. They hadn't ordered it but couldn't refuse it. For a short period new inventory didn't attract interest costs, but unless sold pretty quickly, there would be a monthly interest charge. I expect they sold it at a loss just to get it off the lot.
Nowadays that strange beast would probably be a highly desirable classic/performance car.
A few days before I left for school an auto transport dropped off the strangest car - the most basic Pontiac (a stripped black StratoChief) Sedan with a 427 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 engine, the largest available at the time. That combination made it pretty much unsaleable and it was being foisted off on the dealership. They hadn't ordered it but couldn't refuse it. For a short period new inventory didn't attract interest costs, but unless sold pretty quickly, there would be a monthly interest charge. I expect they sold it at a loss just to get it off the lot.
Nowadays that strange beast would probably be a highly desirable classic/performance car.
I guess my 2010 Cobalt XFE is strange
Since it was similar to a base 2 door but had AC, Wing, Spare and Satellite radio/onstar (all optional)
Roll down windows, manual locks, antique key for entry, 5 speed stick and steelies
I wanted a base 4 door XFE with ac and nothing else but the dealer wouldn’t order it.
My 2001 Dodge Ram clubcab V8 (318) is a bit of an oddity being a Laramie SLT but 2wd with 2 row bench seats.
Since it was similar to a base 2 door but had AC, Wing, Spare and Satellite radio/onstar (all optional)
Roll down windows, manual locks, antique key for entry, 5 speed stick and steelies
I wanted a base 4 door XFE with ac and nothing else but the dealer wouldn’t order it.
My 2001 Dodge Ram clubcab V8 (318) is a bit of an oddity being a Laramie SLT but 2wd with 2 row bench seats.
Can't recall if I posted or not. My 2013 Ford Focus is odd - SE trim but with all options (winter pack, sunroof, appearance pack) AND manual. Tough to find that configuration. I had a real goofball back in the day, '89 Subaru GL 4x4 wagon, manual, touring package (raised roof). My current Golf Sportwagen is strange/nobody ever knows what it is b/c it's the rare base S trim but with 4Motion awd and that gave you either the 6-spd or the DSG. Not many of those around.
For some reason most were T tops. Took me quiet a while back in 99 to find a black 6 speed coupe in 94-95 years when I bought my 94 Camaro Z28. Finally found one and still have her to this day. Also fully optioned car with the exception of leather and rear defrost. I don't think I've seen another Camaro without rear defrost other than a base level V6 in the last 20+ years in a 4th gen body.
If it filled through the fender it was factory
My first vehicle that was truly mine was an 81 Toyota 4x4. It had a 4 speed manual when they had almost entirely been replaced by 5 speeds. AM radio with a single dash speaker, no AC, no power steering. It did have power brakes. Manual locking front hubs. Parallel parking that thing was an upper body workout, and in the summer you did it while sweating like a mule. When I totaled it my head broke out the back window. I found my eyeglasses in the bed after it was towed home.
The cheap 2019 Ford Fiesta I bought new was a slight oddity. Power locks, keyless entry, backup camera, but it had hand crank windows.
The cheap 2019 Ford Fiesta I bought new was a slight oddity. Power locks, keyless entry, backup camera, but it had hand crank windows.
Our family car for years (for a family of 6) was a 1989 Toyota Tercel 3-door hatch with only 1 option - a rear window wiper. That was it; 4-speed stick, radio delete, vinyl seating, nothing else. Dad just bought the cheapest new Toyota he could find bc he was obsessed with owning a Toyota, and we couldn’t really afford a new car.
My father worked as a Labor Negotiator for the teacher's union, and since he had to travel to many school districts for negotiations, he received a corporate car every 2-3 years, which he could pick from 3-4 different cars. In the early 80s, he picked a 2-dr 1980 Pontiac Grand Lemans - black w/black landau top & beige cloth interior. My mom and I are the car nut(s) in the family, and Dad was allowed to choose how to have the car optioned, although sometimes the options were extra, coming out of his paycheck. Somehow we convinced him to get the Sport buckets with console, which also included the Sport dash (w/tach).
The odd option? The kicker was I couldn't get him to opt for the Sport wheels, which were not bundled with the Sport interior (c'mon Pontiac!) so it came with steel wheels w/hubcaps... meh.
The other odd-optioned corporate car was a 2-dr 1986 Pontiac 6000 LE. Black w/gray cloth interior. It had the electronic dash, but my Dad stayed with the 60/40 bench seat with the column shift... 2nd meh.
The odd option? The kicker was I couldn't get him to opt for the Sport wheels, which were not bundled with the Sport interior (c'mon Pontiac!) so it came with steel wheels w/hubcaps... meh.
The other odd-optioned corporate car was a 2-dr 1986 Pontiac 6000 LE. Black w/gray cloth interior. It had the electronic dash, but my Dad stayed with the 60/40 bench seat with the column shift... 2nd meh.
That sounds like something someone would order as a racer.
Had a Granada 6cyl. 4 speed manual. It had economy rear axle ratio. Every time you came to a hill you had to downshift.
My first vehicle was a 79 Malibu wagon with a 3 speed manual on the floor. Got it from an uncle for $175. He used it for rural paper delivery or something.
Probably the most gutless vehicle I’ve owned. V6, IIRC it was a 229ci.
Every vehicle I've had with a sunroof.
If you open it, there's too much sun or too much wind, so why bother.
If you open it, there's too much sun or too much wind, so why bother.
