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
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A small or even midsize truck regular cab. No one will sell you one so when you find a good one they go for a premium price
That’s why I intend to keep my ’96 Ranger Longbox (7 foot) 5 speed V6 on the road for another 10 years. 388000Km on it now – bought it 12 years ago for $1500 with 307K on the clock. Can’t replace it for $10,000 today even with more miles on it. Took the 14 inch scooter wheels off and put 235 70 16 rubber on and oversize front brakes – rides and handles like a ’50’s or ’60s sports car.
Thanks to the Specialty Auto Aftermarket/Customizing, retail, and services, you can have any vehicle you want, the way you want. Every new or late model truck, van, sedan, etc., I’ve ever owned got the personal touch. It’s a good thing.
C5 convertible. Best Buy out there. But for how long? I’ve had 4 of them since 1999, and my 2004 Arctic white convertible is the best of the lot. Drive it year round here in northern Virginia.
For me, a solid front axle GM truck with the modern drivetrain.
I loved my square bodies, but the smog equipment saddled Quadrajet and gutless TBI trucks needed more power.
New new IFS trucks are still too fragile for what I do, so I don’t own them.
But now I have the funds to LS SWAP a K/V series or solid-axle swap a modern truck.
Can someone please build a small pickup like the 90s era chevy s-10 or ford ranger with 2 wheel drive and no bells and whistles. PLEASE
Nissan Frontier…
The truck deals are out there if you look. I just bought a leftover 23 F150 Supercab STX with the 2.7 EB, 20 in wheels, center console, PW, PL, PM, SYNC 4 w/nav, no Pseat, manual AC. Good basic truck for 32K, stickered at 45. The deals are there if you look and you’re not too picky and don’t need heated massaging seats 😉
Okay so you want to get rid of vans? AS someone who is getting on in years I’m finding it tougher to toss bags of concrete or buckets of mud into the back of my stupid 4 door 6 foot bed truck that can’t hold a 4×8 sheet of anything with the tailgate up but the Grand Caravan can!!
A modernized El Camino-type vehicle, with great styling (like the 1978-87 El Camino), reasonably peppy powertrain (NOT EV – or at least not just EV), 1000# load capacity, 5000# towing capability, and no black/gray plastic cladding or wheel arches – and ONLY TWO DOORS. If it could be had with AWD, so much the better.
Can we just bring elegance back please?
I get nostalgic when I see a late ‘50’s Caddy or similar vehicle. America showing its pride
Been searching for a possible replacement for my wife’s 07 RAV4–AWD 260hp V6. Best I can find in that size SUV is a shade over 200 hp. No interest in giving up 60 or so hp for our primary road trip car, so long as it isn’t an old car meet or a beach trip…
Anything without all the electronic crap would be nice. Imagine if today’s chubsters had to actually turn around to look behind them before backing up?
Have been a builder for over fifty years and have found that a truck so tall that I can’t lean on the bed, beer in hand and talk to my buds or load it from the sides is useless. If the bed can’t handle a four-foot wide sheet of plywood or drywall is useless. If I can’t see over the hood or bed without a spotter is useless. If one can’t get in the cab without a step stool it’s useless. Perhaps it’s O.K. for a tiny self esteem to assert itself but for my business . . . Useless!
An affordable electric sports car. One that is designed to take advantage of the electric drivetrain for driving enjoyment but is not over the top expensive.
My daily driver is a 99 Chevy 2500 pickup… 350 ci engine, new brakes, shocks, tires. Just 120k miles. 8foot bed, no extra cab… simple, great truck for myworkshed… !! Looks just like the truck pictured in article…
Great article!
Certainly a great topic as current cars/trucks/suvs/cubs are essentially attempting to meet everyone’s needs and desires
I wanted a truck for basic duties but without the extreme cost and luxury interior.
I ended up buying a well used 96 F350 Powerstroke and rebuilt the entire truck for under 12k.
Rides exactly like an F350 and gets the job done without the worry of scratching my carbon fibre bed or paint.
Definitely a throwback, but one that is well suited to being used and without worry of breaking anything worth thousands of dollars or requires a dealer to code etc to get back on the road.
Very satisfying to have got a solid and simple vehicle vs the 100k trucks that are on the road now.
First comment on here and I have to say I look forward to this every week as the articles and comments are always valuable.
Cheers