As many of you know, the A1 Golf remained on sale long after it was yanked from US shores for 1985, built in South Africa using the name CitiGolf and sold in some right-hand drive markets. This light blue charmer, caught by KiwiBryce, is one of the earlier CitiGolfs and looks to be used quite regularly. I can imagine its owners have a hard time finding anything nearly as satisfying to replace it; Lord knows I couldn’t substitute one with a Mk7.
The CitiGolf, which debuted in 1984, didn’t spend its twenty-five year tenure in South Africa without competition, mind you.
Toyota of South Africa built the E90 Corolla from 1996-2006 (that’s the we got from ’88-’92), and sold it under the name Tazz, using a 1.3 liter version of the twelve-valve E-block unit sold in 1.5 form in North American Tercels from 1987 until 1994.
And local manufacturer Samcor (partial remnant of Ford of South Africa, post-divestment) continued building the BF-series of the Mazda 323 (sold in the US from ’85-’89) until 1994, with an additional twin-cam two-liter engine option (from the 1987-1991 European and Japanese market 626). But these were never as popular as the pre-divestment European Fords, despite the factory-approved hot-rodding. This might have made for an intriguing US market offering, if it could’ve been made in Hermosillo, Mexico.
I’m getting off track, of course. Cars long gone from North American dealers are still sold new globally, and possibly the most famous example is that of the B13 Sentra aka Tsuru. Which of the cars listed above would keep you happiest as a modern day North American motorist? Actually, I’ll extend the question to our global readers: which discontinued car do you most want to see put back into production?
If, as a lover of domestic cruisers, you can’t easily answer that question: what older, discontinued US model would you like to see put back into production as a set cheap wheels?
And for those concerned about crash safety, which discontinued platform do you see as having the greatest potential to meet foreseeable standards with minimal changes?
Us Americans are allowed motorcycles and death trap/causing lifted trucks, but any third world type decent car, such as Mexico’s Nissan Tsuru, née early 90’s Sentra, are verboten. Allegedly for safety. Why not allow us something like this; or as the earlier comment, let Honda make early late 80’s or early 90’s Accords. And the Chinese VW mk 2 Jettas could be good candidates, too– let only modern emissions compliance be mandatory. The lawyers could write safety releases for buyers to sign, and the cars could be sold in the low $10ks. A new old design Brazilian VW Fox could potentially be well under 10 k. (The simple VWs are proven tough and reliable, versus complex examples and Audi.)
Realistically would never happen, the press would cry murder.
Or at least offer a real Hilux in our market, Dear Toyota.
A new B13 Sentra 2 door would be nice, but also:
1) mid-’90s Honda del Sol and Civic coupe,
2) Toyota Corolla FX16
3) any Acura Integra coupe
4) any Toyota MR2
5) ’76-’77 Toyota Celica liftback
6) late 1st gen VW Scirocco (fuel injected)
7) early ’70s VW Beetle or Karmann Ghia
8) ’71-’74 Ford Capri
9) Porsche 914 2.0
10) ’71-’74 Opel Manta
I was deeply disappointed when Toyota discontinued the T100 in favour of the Tundra.
I’d also like to see the return of the compact pickup truck. You can’t please everyone. There are people who prefer the full-sized truck, and that’s fine. But the compact should have a place in the North American market once again.
+1 on the compact truck. I should of added the pre-2004 Tacoma to my list.
That’s a good truck. When I was a boy, my dad had a 1977 Toyota Hilux pickup truck. I’d buy one like it if I could find one in good condition. 🙂
Exactly! 🙂
Something like an truly original bodied, interior and outfitted 62-64 Impala, with perhaps GM’s 3.6, no Powerglide please, would be a home run. But not a retromobile, but an authentic remake or clone of the real thing, down to the details and materials, allowing for only a modern drivetrain and brakes. I’d be OK with signing waivers for no airbags, shoulder harness, abs, etc.
S1 Range Rover
As european car makers are upsizing their one time small and medium vehicles by their displacements, performances and of course allways higher and higher prices referring to different reasons like to sophisticated safety features, economic fuel consumption, more and more electronics. Golf/Jetta was an affordable model to almost everyone till its gen III. From gen IV. till now its price has increased too much and the whole Golf/Jetta conception went too far of its original conception. That’s what happened to the Kalos/Aveo too through the years. The manufacturers are putting more and more luxury features where many of them are useless or unnecessary in everyday terms. But somehow they have to explain the motivation of their consecutive price increases. As Daewoo has been renamed approx. 10 years ago to Chevrolet that was a combination of reliable but affordable cars for the large crowds of people especially in South-Eastern and Central-Europe. As GM Chevy Europe started to pump up their model’s sizes and prices the sales just dwindled and will lead to the discontinuation of the brand in Europe till 2015.
Citi-Golf could be an option for cheap affordable car. Volvo 240, Buick Century, the Vauxhall Astra Mk2 (aka Opel-Chevrolet Kadett/Daewoo LeMans Racer Cielo Nexia) and the E90 Toyota Corolla. All of them updated a lil’ bit by safety and ecological features and priced reasonably.
A Rover SD1, Peugeot 504 convertible and Mercedes W123 estate sounds like a nice set to me.
Peugeot 405 with XUD motor the petrol version has only recently ceased production in Iran great cars, The family that own that Citigolf have had it since it came out of the packet seems they never tried to replace it, I found it outside a local highschool obviously handed down to a student now.
405 is still in production AFAIK. And its bones are the basis of the Samand.
Or if you fancy a 206…
Among european cars, I would choose the Citroën AX.
It was cheap, lightweight, fast enough (0 to 65 in 12.2 sec and 100 mph max speed with a 55 bhp engine), with awesome mileage (Mpg Road/Highway/City : 44 / 34 / 30).
It’s engines were Peugeot’s famous TU units : strong enough, easy maintenance and fun to drive.
A diesel AX could get even better mileage (Mpg Road/Highway/City : 50 / 37 / 43) with only a small loss in performances (0 to 65 in 14.5 sec and 95 mph).
Among american cars, I would probably choose a 4-door G-Body Oldsmobile Cutlass hoping that 2014 technology would allow GM to build them with rear opening windows.
Nice to have, but can do without:
*W123 Mercedes-Benz 300D
*Original Dodge Tradesman/Dodge Sportsman/Plymouth Voyager full-size vans (don’t know why??)
*Dodge D100
*R-body New Yorker/Fury/St. Regis
*Various K-platform cars
*First-gen Caravan/Voyager minivans (I like them in the 1988+ facelift best)
*First generation Jeep Grand Cherokee
*First generation Dodge Neon, maybe a little sturdier
*a late-70’s, early-80s Chevrolet Silverado/Suburban (not really a GM guy, but these trucks seem simple and unkillable),
*a 70s-vintage Ford F-series pickup (not really a Ford guy either, but these were pretty stout too)
*1980-ish Lincoln Town Car (real classy even though it wasn’t much different from a Crown Vic or a Grand Marquis)
a MUST:
*Jeep Grand Wagoneer (I think these are great vehicles for camping trips)
*B-body Newport/Fury/Monaco (add to the Charger/300/Challenger lineup with a Hemi!)
*70-vintage A-body Dodge Dart (Slant six mandatory!)
*Third-generation Caravan/Voyager/TC minivans (they’re sadly starting to fade away, bring these back for a good-looking minivan that doesn’t look weird or pudgy, though the newest Chrysler minivans are fine)
*Second-generation Ram, third gen with 2006 facelift (The third-gen with the 2006 facelift to me looks the best)
*Second-generation Grand Cherokee (the Grand Cherokee’s highest point was the second gen. First gen was great, the second-gen builds really well on the first-gen’s design).
*Chrysler LeBaron convertible, Chrysler LeBaron GTS/Dodge Lancer GTS
*W140 S-class (give me a diesel, cut back on the computerized complexity a little)
*Second-gen Dodge Stratus/Chrysler Sebring, no 2.7 liter engine
*W204 C-Class (yes, it’s pretty new, but this is the best C-Class design in my opinion) with an overengineered inline-four diesel engine that will basically turn this car into a modern W123 in the future, reliability wise (they need to be much faster though, haha)
a “REALLY GOTTA HAVE IT, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT”
*First and second-gen LH cars, all of them except 300M and LHS (Intrepid, Concorde for both generations. For the first gen, New Yorker and Vision). LHS to me is pointless as it is a near duplicate of the NY’er in the first gen. But, the second-gen Concorde’s exterior looks better with the LHS styling. I never did like the 300M, at least the front fascia/grille and the unconventional dashboard that was also equipped in the Concorde Limited models. Stronger transmissions, definitely rear-wheel drive. The 3.6L Pentastar is a perfect match for these cars.
I’m probably missing a whole bunch more but this is just off the top of my head. I had to chime in because I have a lot of favorites that I’d like to see or possibly buy new again.
I liked the second gen Grands the best of that breed, too. The new ones look nice but they are HUGE.
68 to 73 510 in 2dr, 4dr and wagon form. No, never mind. The kids would just rice them into abominations.
Just give me a compact truck or a reasonable sized useful truck. A supply of NLA parts for my old Datsuns would be nice though.
Wow, a 323 with the FE3? That engine could make up to 170 hp, depending on the tune. One set up that way would be a real pocket rocket.
If I could pick any modern-ish car to put back into production, it would the third generation Mazda RX-7. IMO, the best styled car of the 90s. It would have been a touch slower with the 13B-MSP from the RX-8 than it was with the 13B-REW twin-turbo engine, but it would have been more reliable and able to meet emissions standards.
My second choice would be the EG Honda Civic (92-95) hatchback, the one with the cute little tailgate. They could sell it now with the K-series engine. 2300 lbs and 200 hp.
I would do:
GM2900 Saab 9-5, complete with B-series engines
Epsilon Saab 9-3
Zeta based Commodore… and some other variants
Falcon 1 tonne ute.
Previous gen Octavia, current Superb wagon
+10 to Don.
The XJ is still in production in China.
Hmmm, been mulling this. Here goes, in no order:
IH Scout II and 2G Travelall
Town Car
Ford E series van
Checker Marathon
64 Studebaker (like a junior edition Checker)
Avanti
+1 Scout
Third-gen Chrysler minivans. They really hit a sweet spot with those (early transmission issues notwithstanding). The 3.3l is a top-notch engine, but we’ve also been very happy with the 3.6l Pentastar in our Routan – it hits 30 mpg on the highway.
1992-1996 Ford F150, with a modern engine. The right-sized F150, if you ask me.
On that note, bring the Ranger back! I miss my 2007 4×4 every time I back my 2011 F-150 down the narrow lane on my property.
As for cars, Grand National. Do I need to explain?
As long as we’re dreaming I want a 1965-66 Cadillac Convertible de Ville, with some sort of modern engine/transmission. The engine should be some sort of V8 torque monster to try and replicate the 429 that Cadillac used; coupled to some sort of OD automatic for a reasonable shot at fuel economy. I know these things were huge and wasteful of resources but having one would make me feel 40 years younger, and that would be no small thing.
Saab 96, Volvo 140, Renault 16, Datsun 510 and Ford Panther.
I’d love to see the return of the BMW E3 Bavaria 3.0S. The only thing I’d improve is the fuel injection system.
The Toyota Platz based Echo may have ended production in the US and Canada after 2005, but they lived on as the Toyota Etios and Etios Liva in India and elsewhere. The Etios might have an updated body but its chassis were still the same as the ones used for the 1999-2005 Toyota Echo and the 2004-07 Toyota Vios.
Bring back the AMC Eagle wagon. I’ve always liked the 4wd version of the Concord.
I also like 1964 Buick Skylark and Sportwagon, and the 1964 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.
Would love to see a modern day version of the ’61-’65 Lincoln Continental, with the center opening doors, and while I’m at it, an updated version of the ’02-’03 Thunderbird with a retractable hardtop roof (of course, I’m prejudiced, having had a ’65 Continental in the family long ago, and my own current ’03 T-Bird).
Easy choices: 98 Civic hatch, like I had, 85 Mazda GLC hatch, like I had.
Ones I’d take a look at: DelSol, CRX, 1st gen Integra
Ones I’d take a look at, if VeeDub got it’s arms around the reliability issues, any Golf/Rabbit/Cabriolet from Gen 1 through the early 00s, before they got really huge. Saw a 80s Cabriolet a few weeks ago and was stunned how small it looked compared to my 14 Jetta wagon. And, headroom allowing, gen 1 or gen 2 Scirocco or Corrado.
I could be tempted by a current Polo or Gol, if they brought them in, 2 door hatches of course…but then the Fiat 500 has it’s charms too…maybe a Cabriolet
What I would buy now if they still made it:
1996 F-150 with the 300 inline six, but with a 6 speed with overdrive and a granny gear, as well as decent rustproofing
1993 Dodge Ramcharger- but with the modern Ram v6 engine that could actually get double figure mpg’s, and rustproofing as above
A basic K car with the 2.5 and 3 speed Torqueflite
+1 on the Saab 900 classic, but preferably with a modified firewall to enable servicing with knuckles intact, larger gearbox bearings, and windshield seals that actually seal.
And the one they DO make now, but you can’t get where I live (England) or where I grew up the USA, the Lada Niva- but with a fully galvanized bodyshell.
1st gen Toyota 4runner. Might as well bring back the equivalent pickups too.
* First generation Honda CRX
* Third generation Acura Integra
* First generation Toyota Tacoma
* Late 90’s era Ford Ranger
* Early 70’s BMW 2002
Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr or the later Fox LTD/Marquis. With the EcoBoost 2.3L.
Will probably catch H-E-double toothpicks, but based on my experience…
CHEVETTE!
My ’84 was cheap and reliable, and did not rust, despite 9 years of central Ohio winter road salt.
Would like it updated to 5-speed and fuel injection, though.
I’m with Hatman, though. You can leave off the airbags and ABS.
After all, who wants to live forever? 😉
I wouldn’t have minded the 1991-1996 Vauxhall/Opel Astra carrying on, it was a good, solid car, even wore the Chevy bowtie!
Heck, it should have been federalized for US/Canada sale. If it was available here now… as a budget car, it would have sold well. The 2.0 16V GSi was awesome!
Also, anyone remember the Chevrolet Classic, a fleet-only Malibu variant from 2004 to 2008?
I live in Japan right now, so I’ll answer the question about what I would like to see put back into production first. The Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4/Dodge Stealth R/T, the Honda Prelude Si/Si-R/Type R, the Toyota Supra Turbo, the Nissan Maxima (the 4DSC like in the early 90s), stuff like that. Those old Japanese cars from the era where they had all the money in the world were so interesting.
What would I want to see in production until the end of time? The second or third gen Subaru Outback, the XJ Jeep Cherokee, the second gen Jeep Grand Cherokee. I’d drive any of those forever and ever.
What of those cars listed at the top of the entry would I drive as a North American motorist? Probably that Sentra, if I could get one in SE-R trim, white with the rims painted black.
While I’m not exactly a lover of older American sedans, any of the LH cars would still be interesting if they were produced once again.
I’m not up on collision engineering so I won’t answer your last question.
Bring back the Subaru BRAT!!! Make my modern one with the WRX STi drivetrain please? A quick, reliable, mildly efficient, AWD, tiny pickup with a manual transmission just makes sense to me.
Bring me back those:
1. AE86
2. Suzuki Cappucino
3. Mazda AZ-1
4. Toyota Starlet Turbo
5. Honda Estilo (EG6 for you international folks)
6. Honda City kei car with Motocompo
Does R5 aka Le Car count as domestic?