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The 50 Most Underappreciated Cars of All Time
mystery-ak:
The 50 Most Underappreciated Cars of All Time
By Benjamin Hunting
Generational shifts almost always wreak havoc on accepted pop-culture wisdom. As one cohort ages out of a particular scene — be it music, movies, fashion or design — a new group rushes into to fill the gap, bringing with them their own ideas about what’s cool, what’s not and most importantly, where you should turn your attention next.
The automotive world has always lagged behind when it comes to recognizing which of its past efforts are worthy of praise. Seen clinically, old cars are just that: consumer products that are past due, vehicles that have fulfilled their original purpose and now serve primarily as money pits or recycling fodder so that the next set of shiny paint jobs can move on down the assembly line and keep feeding the retail flames.
From a cultural perspective, however, vehicles are often indelibly associated with emotions, experiences and eras in our lives. Whether it’s your first taste of freedom through an inexpensive beater, the sports car you lusted after in poster form on the wall of your childhood bedroom, the car you were driving when you met your significant other or the ride in which your mom carted you around to soccer practice, we form subconscious bonds with these useful objects that can last well into adulthood, especially for enthusiasts.
Currently, the collector car world is deep in a phase of introspection as the old guard’s definition of “classic†is challenged by a fresh wave of drivers eager to own an entirely different set of vehicles culled from their own cultural past. As the previous stalwarts of the high-dollar auction scene (muscle cars, ’30s to ’50s hot rods and pre-war cars, mostly) begin to slowly fade from the collective zeitgeist, a rising tide of previously underappreciated autos are poised to take their place as the go-to rides for the latest group of gearheads.
What qualifies a classic car as “underappreciated?†These are models that for the most part have been shunned by the Boomer-fueled industry surrounding collector vehicles, usually because they fell outside the narrow definition of what was desirable due to their performance, vintage, styling, or even country of origin.
With today’s car fans no longer prioritizing American-made over Japanese imports, showing increasing interest in workaday trucks and SUVs, and overall much more open to metal from the Malaise (mid-’70s to early ’80s) and Rad (’80s to ’90s) periods, the doors have been thrown wide open for an entirely new set of cars and trucks to finally have their moment in the sun.
So we reached out to nearly a dozen automotive writers, media personalities and experts to get their opinions on which classic vehicles are criminally overlooked. Here, in no particular order, are the 50 most underappreciated collector automobiles of all time.
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https://www.insidehook.com/feature/50-most-underappreciated-cars-all-time
mountaineer:
Now that I'm the owner of an antique car (1922 Chevy), I've been joining a bunch of Facebook pages dedicated to the subject. It's hard for me to appreciate many of the post-1980 models except Datsun Zs and Mazda Miatas, perhaps, but I sure do love a lot of the cars before that era, and especially would love to get my hands on a 1956 Ford. The main thing is that pre-1980s cars were distinctive. Now, it's hard to tell anything apart.
GtHawk:
The article mentions several Studebakers but I think it screwed up leaving out the 1956 Hawks
Even more than the Olds 88, the Hawk is deserving of “first muscle car†status because it essentially established the “big engine/smaller body†formula by which later muscle cars would be judged. The Golden Hawk subseries model, specifically, followed the exact same formula that Pontiac’s GTO would eight years later:
Big Engine + Smaller, Sporty Body and rear seats = Big Performance in a “practical†package
And, interestingly, the same man had a part in the creation of both—John Z. DeLorean, who worked for Studebaker-Packard in the mid 1950’s as a highly placed, albeit still young, engineer who’s idea for the GTO eventually lead to his promotion to head engineer at Pontiac years later.
Under DeLorean, a 1956 Packard V8 engine—boasting 352 cubic inches and prodigious power—was installed in the much lighter Studebaker Hawk (specifically, the upper-end “Golden Hawk†subseries). Ironically, the huge Packard V8 weighed only about 30 pounds more than the much smaller displacement Studebaker 259 V8 engine, but being physically longer, it really filled the engine bay.
On the street, the four-passenger Hawk was an incredible performer rivaled only by two-passenger Corvette, which cost more. (Base price for the Golden Hawk was $3,182 versus $3,321 for the highest-powered Corvette.
Smokin Joe:
--- Quote from: GtHawk on November 29, 2020, 04:54:36 am ---The article mentions several Studebakers but I think it screwed up leaving out the 1956 Hawks
Even more than the Olds 88, the Hawk is deserving of “first muscle car†status because it essentially established the “big engine/smaller body†formula by which later muscle cars would be judged. The Golden Hawk subseries model, specifically, followed the exact same formula that Pontiac’s GTO would eight years later:
Big Engine + Smaller, Sporty Body and rear seats = Big Performance in a “practical†package
And, interestingly, the same man had a part in the creation of both—John Z. DeLorean, who worked for Studebaker-Packard in the mid 1950’s as a highly placed, albeit still young, engineer who’s idea for the GTO eventually lead to his promotion to head engineer at Pontiac years later.
Under DeLorean, a 1956 Packard V8 engine—boasting 352 cubic inches and prodigious power—was installed in the much lighter Studebaker Hawk (specifically, the upper-end “Golden Hawk†subseries). Ironically, the huge Packard V8 weighed only about 30 pounds more than the much smaller displacement Studebaker 259 V8 engine, but being physically longer, it really filled the engine bay.
On the street, the four-passenger Hawk was an incredible performer rivaled only by two-passenger Corvette, which cost more. (Base price for the Golden Hawk was $3,182 versus $3,321 for the highest-powered Corvette.
--- End quote ---
A former boss had one of those, and let me borrow it for a week while my vehicle was being repaired. That Golden Hawk is a car I would love to own today.
That particular one had a quirk, though. A bad motor mount let the engine torque in the engine bay, with the effect of pulling the throttle linkage, causing even more acceleration. I burned rubber across a couple of intersections before I got it right.
roamer_1:
--- Quote from: Smokin Joe on November 29, 2020, 06:52:32 am ---That particular one had a quirk, though. A bad motor mount let the engine torque in the engine bay, with the effect of pulling the throttle linkage, causing even more acceleration. I burned rubber across a couple of intersections before I got it right.
--- End quote ---
I have that problem a ton... I bust left-side motor mounts like they're going out of style. To the point that I chain the motor down to the frame (with just a half a link of play) as a matter of course.
Big motors, and the relatively heavy weight of my right foot, I imagine. happy77
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