These Are The Cars You Respect More Now Than When They Were New

Last week we asked you do something very brave and admit that you’ve had a change of heart. Though it’s not actually a bad thing to change your mind about something, it can be quite difficult to admit, so I’ll start off by applauding y’all for being vulnerable on main, and sharing what car you respect more now than when it was new. There were lots of great and very thorough answers, so I implore you to go back and read through the ones that didn’t make it into this roundup.

I said I respect the Toyota MR2 Spyder more now than I did when it was new, and in a rare turn of events, a lot of you agreed with me. In fact, it seems like a lot of us failed to see the allure of early 2000s Toyotas when they were new. Now that everything is filled with smudgy and infuriating touchscreens, electronic power steering systems that feel like a Cruis’n USA game at a lightly bile-scented arcade, and tiny engines that are turbocharged to within an inch of their life, it’s easy to look upon those simple times with kinder eyes. These are a few of my favorite answers.

I would say the Saturn Aura. It was a good mid-sized car built on a shared (?) Saab 9-3 chassis. Used the same 3.6 V6 as the Cadillac CTS and STS. It was a really attractive car and appeared to be put together better than other GM products at the time. Saturn in general was taking on a more “European” vibe and I wish they would have stayed around longer.

Submitted by: DimStyle1

The red Solara convertible in the top picture. I had one and it proved to be a very good car. It was not really sporty, but it was fun to drive. My top was seldom up. Our grand children loved it and liked to be seen in it.

Submitted by: Huttersfield

If Honda reintroduced the Element and let me spec mine with AWD and a 6-speed manual I’d be at the dealership door tomorrow morning when they opened.

Submitted by: BuddyS

E120 Toyota Corolla from 2003 to 2008. My parents bought a 2008 brand new as our family car and I thought it was the most bland and boring thing ever at the time. Now with every new vehicle so over-computerized, I miss the analog, bulletproof, and simple nature of that car.

Fun fact: This generation actually first came out in 2001 in Southeast Asia as the Corolla Altis which means, yes, SEA examples with right hand drive become U.S. import legal this year. If money, space, and time were no object, I might bring one over for the heck of it.

Submitted by: Giantsgiants

Pontiac Aztek, when it came out, what they were thinking, what an ugly vehicle, why? Now, it is still ugly, but it is cool, especially with all the quirky options, got to respect Pontiac to come up with it and actually produce it too.

Submitted by: towman

My grandparents had an Acura TL that was beige on beige, kind of quick in a straight line, but genuinely boring. I though nothing of it. Now I’ve grown to appreciate all of the good parts of that car: a naturally-aspirated V6, a clean set of analog gauges, and buttons.

Submitted by: JonRob 951

I would say my 1991 Caddy Eldorado, held up quite well, simple no fuss. Also had a really neat feature, it had it’s own built in jump box, battery goes dead, when you turn it on the little in car computer would give you a countdown, then crank it, worked 100% of the time. I honestly can’t believe that never caught on as a feature, it’s SUPER handy.

Submitted by: Liffie420

Early CUVs.

At the time I didn’t see the point. They couldn’t off-road, and they weren’t a car, so why bother?

But now I see them as what they are. Tarted up 5 door hatchbacks.

A year or so ago, my car was in the shop and a friend loaned me an ancient Highlander (1st gen). It was shockingly good given its age and miles. What stood out is it FELT right. I feel the tires turning when I turned the steering wheel, I could feel the bumps in the road, without being hammered, stepped on the gas and I could feel mechanical bits moving in response to my foot. By the standards of the time, this thing was numb, boring and bland. But we have lost so much road feel in all vehicles that that ancient Highlander was actually pretty darn fun to drive. It also had all the room I needed but wasn’t huge and hard to park since there was no wasted space. I remember thinking “If I could get a vehicle exactly like this new, I would buy it.”

Submitted by: hoser68

The e9x generation of BMW 3-series. When it came out, it seemed like a ugly, bloated, muted, and just generally unappealing update from the e46. I was still in college then, but all the media was talking about how they were unable to be wrenched on and were losing some of the soul of the 3-series. So they were never on my radar.

Fast forward to two years ago and I came across a great deal on a 328xi wagon when I needed a car for hauling the kids around. I wasn’t sure, but I’m glad I pulled the trigger. It’s no e36 (or even e46) but it is still an enjoyable enough car to drive that also happens to be comfortable, practical, and to my surprise, the look has grown on me.

Submitted by: Santa Cruzin

the OG Prius. Between being in my teenage brain and the media like southpark, top gear etc telling me it was dumb and bad and for smug hipsters I hated it.

Now I recognise what an important trail it was blazing

 Submitted by: JaredOfLondon

Geo Tracker-first generation.It doesn’t matter if it’s a 2 or 4 door as long as it’s a stick and four wheel drive.They ran forever and had just enough room and power for everyday driving.They were great in the snow and were relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain.My friends and I would always laugh when we saw on drive by but god I wish I could find a clean one to buy….as long as it’s not pink.

Submitted by: Bruno