Our Two Cents: Dream Vehicles That Don’t Exist
For this installment of Our Two Cents, we asked the team here at Hagerty Media about their dream vehicle. But we aren’t talking about a vehicle they can buy, rather we asked about one that doesn’t exist on the market.
Many of us wanted a new vehicle with features of older ones, but that wasn’t all we came up with. I bet you’ve never considered some of these ideas until now, so let’s get right to it!
A Throwback Truck?
“Brand new, full-size pickups that just do pickup things well, no excessive luxury items, that costs under $25,000. I appreciate the old days where the trusty pickup was a means to do work, and not a luxury vehicle. In reality, I think what I am asking is for GM to just bring the GMT400 back.” – Greg Ingold
A Legit Fast Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ?
“A BRZ/FRS with reliable 300hp. I don’t have a ton of time in these cars, but the small amount I do I really liked the feel and experience, I just wanted a little more under my right foot. Sure, I should just buy a C5 Corvette but it would be cool to not have to shop a 25-year-old chassis when a new platform is so close to what I want.” – Kyle Smith
The Best of Japan, Inc?
“I want a new, AWD Honda wagon with clean, timeless styling and a 300-hp inline-six mated to a 6-speed manual. Then add a Mazda-gorgeous instrument panel, and an efficiently packaged cargo hold that will swallow my bike.” – Joe DeMatio
All Or Nothing?
“A front-engine, rear-drive, stick shift convertible that has a V-12, Italian styling, and a sophisticated European interior, but the reliability and running costs of a ’99 Camry. It’s trackable but not uncomfortable around town. It’s inexpensive enough that normal people can afford one and stays that way. No flipping. Only genuinely cool people buy it.” – Andrew Newton
“When I grow up, I want to live in Andrew’s dreams. They seem like such a cool place.” – Kyle Smith
“Now I want a beige Ferrari 812 with a slush fund, ensuring I have a comprehensive ownership experience that mirrors the reliability of a Camry.” – Sajeev Mehta
The Ultimate In Auto Transport?
“I want a C-130 cargo plane with electric props that can haul my favorite cars wherever in the world I wish to drive them, but won’t give me the equivalent CO2 footprint of France.” – Aaron Robinson
The Most Practical Off-Roader?
“Oh man! Tons of great ideas here! Big fan of Joe’s wagon idea. Can’t decide if I want to say something that would actually be possible to create/build or just go full-on dreamland mode. How about both?
Dreamland: full-size 4×4 camper van that seats/sleeps six with plenty of cargo room for skis and bikes. It will handle/perform like the best off-roaders on earth, and on dirt it handles/performs like the best hypercars do when they are on the road. Is that too much to ask for?
More realistically: I would love a full-size SUV with minivan sliding doors. Give me plenty of ground clearance, decent 4×4 performance, excessive towing capabilities, and the greatest doors ever conceived in the history of the automobile, all in one package! Oh, and add a hybrid drivetrain of some sort for amazing MPGs and fuel-source flexibility!” – Ben Woodworth
A Gran Touring Minivan?
“It’s hard to argue that the most sensible vehicle available isn’t a minivan, because it is. New ones handle adequately and some have decent horsepower—Honda Odysseys have 280—but my issue remains that no manufacturer has ever built a genuinely performance-oriented, fun-to-drive minivan. I’m not talking a sliding-door Hellcat here, and of course, it would be a niche version of whatever minivan it was based on.
But give me seven seats, a taut, lowered suspension; maybe 325 horsepower with a snorty exhaust, a pair of Recaros up front, Brembos at all four wheels, reasonably wide, sticky tires on good-looking wheels, plus an all-wheel-drive option and a Class 3 towing package, which can handle a reasonable number of towable toys. Suddenly you’ve got a bunch of potential customers who have never seriously considered a minivan before»like me.” – Steven Cole Smith
Chop ‘Em Down?
“Mine is simple, yet complex: I want trucks/SUVs to sit as high as modern CUVs, and CUVs/cars to sit as high as cars from 20 years ago. Then we can have less frontal area, better visibility, and smaller wheels with taller sidewalls. What I wouldn’t do for vehicles with smoother rides and better outside views!” – Sajeev Mehta
***
Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. To get our best stories delivered right to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.
I still have sellers remorse trading in my 1997 Suburban. Over 100K and only maintenance item was rear brake pads.
Fortunately I kept a 1996 Yukon 2 door that I use as a plow truck in winter.
Mine exists, my daily driver is a ’69 Ford F-100 pickup, 6 cyl’ & auto’, no computers and you can fix it.
Dumbest idea ever – an electric C-130, Give me a break.
I would love to see a drop dead gorgeous wagon that was still utilitarian but didn’t look like the manufacturer simply tacked some sheet metal on to a sedan. Decent acceleration and can handle the curves pretty well (without the v12). Affordable. Oh wait-what about the Opel GM imported for Buick and named the Tour-X? Oh yeah, hardly sold in the USA but does (or did) fairly well in Europe and China. Then GM decided to offload Opel and that was that. Great to imagine a vehicle that doesn’t exist -doesn’t mean there’s a market for it.
You really have no idea what an OFF-ROADER is.
Nor do I want them anymore.
UTVs have destroyed numerous trails in the western U.S.
Overly capable SUVs in the hands of inexperienced or worse – irreverent owners is not wise.
UTVs rip around my group all the time, they can’t crawl or even creep, the CVTs slip too much, so it is hammer down.
I can creep up Poughkeepsie Gultch without spinning a tire, save for early open when there is still snow, leaving virtually zero trail damage.
Brake based traction control new trucks and SUVs have too much wheel spin as well, even if if is a couple revolutions.
Man, so many great ideas!
An AWD minivan that can tow would be my choice.
If the interior easily converts from hauling kids and groceries, to heading to the outback, to heading out on a date with the wife, I’m in!
In the spirit of the ‘basic pickup truck’ item, how about the same for the GMC Suburban? It used to be a real enclosed workhorse that wasn’t horrifically expensive.
Suburban is now a 3row luxury family school bus not much Utility as a SUV middle name was bring back the tailgate
A lot of good ideas, but I’m still waiting for the bubble top flying cars Popular Mechanic promised us.
If someone wants a car that is just fun to drive and you don’t need an engineering b degree to fix…for less than $20k…they are out there..they are used Miatas.
Want the same mechanical experience in a more rugged outdoor fashion?
A good Montana truck before all the would-be Kevin Costners of the world decided to fly up there in Gulfstreams, build $5 million “Ranch houses” and drive $120,000 pickups.
Get a CJ-5/M38A1. Real men don’t mind getting cold.
Aaron…A C-130? Ever flown in one?
Dark cabin, basic seats and slow. The noise and vibration might be fixed with you electric conversion….maybe.
But if you are going to dream, dream big…get one of those futuristic C-17s they had in that Marvel comics TV show. Maybe you can get Scarlett Johansson to fly it for you.
How about a NORMAL car that you can afford to buy; that will seat 5-6 COMFORTABLY; will last for more than ten years; doesn’t have a bunch of electronic garbage; that anyone can fix cheaply.
Those days are long gone.
Yes, you get more features and performance these days, but you have NO choice anymore in what the car comes with.
I am the second owner of a 1989 Chev K 2500 for $2700.00 back in 2009. Had 74,000 mi. on it. Now has 126K. No rust Colo. truck. It’s a “Rancher Special”. Std. cab, bench seat, no pwr windows, 5.7, std trans. Had to change out the water pump, $30.00 and some time. I think I will keep it.
Kyle has it right. I test drove an FRS and thought everything was great–except it felt like I had to wind it up to 5,000 just to keep pace with Camrys on the road. I left thinking that 100 more horsepower would be golden and I would have paid more for it.
I’ll take a throw back Saturn SL. Up grade the ignition system, fuel injection, and suspension. Keep the crank windows, the manual trans, and everything minimalist. You can even get rid of the air bags. I’m planning not to crash. Instead, spend the savings on on materials that are more corrosion resistant. I would buy it in a heart beat. A car like this could easily get 50 mpg and last the duration.
Sajeev is also right. Who else remembers when they could just lean over the grille of a truck and work on it without needing a step ladder? The hood height of current trucks is like 5 feet off the ground now.
Plus 1 for Big Joe’s Honda wagon. Must be able to carry at least 10 sheets of 3/4” plywood lying flat. A 2 door model with an open bed (think El-Camino) as brother model.
Like Sanjeev said, smaller rims and bigger sidewalls. Nothing crazy though. 14” is just fine for anything compact to midsized, 15” for larger cars. Weight per wheel assy goes down 20 pounds and handling is 2X better.