The Honda CRX. Why? because it's light and even with about 100 horsepower, it still feels like a sports car

This one's easy, cuz I still own it. In 1993, I was still driving my 1989 Mustang LX 5.0. No thoughts about getting a new car were floating around in my head. A green (or was it blue?) car passed me and it struck me immediately. On first impression, it looked like a Viper had been shrunk down and de-chunked. It's probably the first and only time I would've even thought of breaking out some cheesy cliche involving a car's curves and a woman. I accelerated a bit to catch it, but not enough to scare it. I had to rub my eyes to make sure the tag on the rear end said "RX-7", since I'd never really liked any of the early body styles. I still own it, and there still isn't a car made that looks better to me. We won't get into a reliability discussion.

Nissan 300ZX. Damn thing was sexy esp after they got the headlights right when they replaced the flip ups. And, it looked like it was smiling!

1990 Corvette ZR-1 Sure, it was still sportin' a digital dash, disco-riffic styling, and had a huge doorsill you needed a rope ladder to climb over. But who cares... with a Lotus-engineered DOHC 32-valve all-aluminum bullet under the hood and extra-wide meats out back, it was the first American supercar since the '67 435hp Vette. Pure Beast.

MAzda Miata and the 2nd gen RX7. Mazda was building great sports cars that were reliable and good looking. The Miata was the definition of fun to drive.

Nissan 300Z Twin-Turbo. No contest I even knew a hot, Jewish dominatrix who drove one... man...

I love me some CRX. The Del Sol was one of the dumbest moves Honda ever made.

I'd have to say my favorite is the '91 Camaro Z28 my friend Tyler's mom drove. We were at summer camp back then and one day she showed up in this electric turqoise blue be-winged bomb that was everything the standard New Englandmobiles (mainly European wagons and Jeeps) weren't. And when she stepped out--overly tanned, southern fried hair--it just completed the image (they were from Florida) that was so contrary to that of everyone else's Pine Manor mom. Ever since, I've wanted a bitchin' '91 Camaro.

RX-7 Game Over!!!

E34 M5. It doesnt matter if you're talking about the 310 HP U.S Version or the 340 HP Euro version that arrived in the last couple of years. A truly amazing car, and a real sleeper. I had the 'Poor man's version' (535i) for several years and I still get a smile on my face when a nicely maintained one passes me on the road.

2nd gen RX7, 5.0 LX notchback, 92 16v GTi.

A hot jewish dominatrix? Did she inflict pain on your credit cards, or drill you with complaints that the humidity was making her hair frizz...

'91 Mustang GT. Got it new & kept it for 13 years and 315,000 miles (& 3 engines, 2 trannies plus one set of Coddington billet wheels that I beat to shit driving every day).

I drove a 87 944s for 9 years. I'd be driving it today, but I forgot the part in the owner's manual about running into things. I still miss it.

Red 3rd gen RX-7.

Back in the early 90s I knew a not-so-hot shiksa dominatrix in Culver City... and she drove a '90 Sentra. Oooh, baby, make me feel the hooves of each and every one of those 80 Nissan horses on my cringing flesh! I am not worthy to sniff your Ozium!

"1990 Corvette ZR-1 Sure, it was still sportin' a digital dash, disco-riffic styling, and had a huge doorsill you needed a rope ladder to climb over. But who cares... with a Lotus-engineered DOHC 32-valve all-aluminum bullet under the hood and extra-wide meats out back, it was the first American supercar since the '67 435hp Vette. Pure Beast." And do you know where that engine was built? It was built in Oklahoma (where I live) by Mercury Marine. The same company who makes outboard motors for boats. But I agree, the ZR-1 was sweet.

2nd place -- even though I prefer the 70s versions, the Porsche 928 GTS-R (or whatever the alphabet soup is) was pretty damn sweet.

-2nd Gen RX-7 for sports car because they were so light and nimble. -VW Corrado for sporty hatchback because I still love the looks of it, even today. -If I could import a car it would be a Lancia Delta Integrale EVO 2...boxy, but fast as snot

I'm driving a 1988 Saab 900 Turbo. Simple,safe, and oh yeah, speed! No ABS, airbags, traction control, or "nav". 165BHP and easily tunable to double that. Only downside is a weak tranny.

My wife had a '92 red Sentra for quite a while. I hated that thing until I visited Mexico and rode around in "Tsuru" (sentra) cabs everywhere. I came back with a keen appreciation of its complete unflappability. My mom had had a '92 Eclipse GSX. It was a rocket when the turbo kicked in. Yikes.

VW Corrado & 300ZX are my two faves, hands down.

I second the 90 Legend Coupe. I still miss mine. Nothing else I've ever owned is as graceful, elegant, and silent. Nothing else had brown tinted glass, four high beams, and the cool seat belt presenters. I actually liked the overboosted steering. Of course, when I owned that car I didn't drive RWD cars much, so I imagine if I drove it now I'd just think it was trying to pull me everywhere.

Definitely the pre-95 W124 platform Mercedes-Benz (AKA E class) and also a pre-93 Saab 900. Simple, well-built, easy to maintain luxury and sportiness.

Just thought of another one: 1992 Mercedes 500E Look like a Brentwood soccer mom, drive like a smack-addled hoon

Subaru SVX. Just look at the windows. Isn't that a good enough reason to buy one?

My dad had 88 5.0 convertible, red with a white interior. When late 80s Ford build quality came to call, it was replaced with a black 3rd gen RX-7. Have to say that the silver ones looked best, though. He sold the 5.0 before I could drive, but I still compare all modern exhaust notes to that rumble. For as long as it was there, I'd look in the performance charts in the back of Motor Trend to see all the cars it was faster than (which is funny because most high-end SUVs can outrun it now). It just symbolized then end of the wussified lameness that came with the 70's and early 80s. A RX-7 remains my standard of automotive beauty.

The RX-7 from then was a looker, wasn't it? And I always wanted a yellow Corrado, black interior.

i'd have to say the car i still drive today, my 91 toyota celica GT liftback. when it's all cleaned up and waxed, it still can hold its own, and always gets me to say "hey, that's not bad lookin'". as for others, i'd have to go with CRX and the legend coupe. man, those were sweet cars.

I actually liked the Legend's steering a lot. Perfect on the highway, a breeze in a parking lot. Never too heavy, never too light. Really, the most perfect steering of any FWD car I've ever driven, I think. Torque steer was present, but controllable. I hit 135 in it once on I-5, and it felt totally controllable and composed. The one thing I'll say about that thing is that the turning circle absolutely sucked, and every other car I've owned was easier to parallel park.

Like a couple before me, the Nissan 300ZX twin turbo. One (and IMHO, the best) of the big 3. Or a R33 Skyline.

Lots of great Japanese cars from the early 90's. Legend Coupe. Lexus SC. Supra. The gorgeous RX-7. Mitsu 3000 GT. I drove them all before choosing the one that I still have, a '94 300ZX ragtop.

GMC Typhoon. Ya gotta love the idea of a two-door Jimmy that'd out-drag a 'Vette. I'd still like to have one, if I could find a clean one ...

After playing a little Golden Axe, I'd lust after a '91 Corvette Callaway Speedster.

1992 Honda Civic DX Hachback. No power anything; not steering, brakes, windows, or locks. Windows felt like a luxury item in that car--clearly A/C wasn't even an option. But it was light, responsive, reliable, and well connected to the road ( in part due to lack of any sound-dampening material). It did the things a car should do and that's it. And that's why I love it.

I'd be playing Gauntlet but I had a silver Corrado back in the day. VR6- that was the only way to go. What an awesome car that was. It had all kinds of wicked gadgets on it my Spyder would never have. The ladies always liked the moving rear wing, like a miniature 911.

Dig the Benz 500E mention - very true. Had a '93 VW Corrado for a brief while after lusting over them for years. Solid, fun, and (in the early '00s) still got a lot of comments for its clean design ("Is that a new BMW?"). Upsides: torquey, luxurious, relatively rare. Downsides: horrid windshield wipers, VW reliability, FWD. Oh, and the G60 engine sucked - VR6 much better. Honestly, though, my dream early-'90s car would be an Audi RS2. Whee!

Speaking of E500 Benzos... Anybody remember the AMG Hammer? Hell yeah -- 180 mph station wagons rule!

Back in 1987, I had the hots for a 87 Dodge Shelby Charger GLHS. You know, the all black, turbocharged, intercooled version. I had a maroon and silver 87 Shelby Charger Turbo bought in 1988 off the lot. I had real envy for those luck 1000 buyer who got the last of the Shelby Chargers. It was a cheap built unrefined machine, but it would handle great and was fast (especially if you kept the turbo spooled up). I hade fun with it and I kept it in pretty good shape as I had a second car for school and work. Turns out they only built 400 or so of the maroon and silver 1987 Shelby Chargers (just like mine) and I did not know about it. I sold it to a friend back in 91, who sold it to his little brother who promptly wrapped it around a tree. He is ok, but the Charger is long gone.

Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Buick Sledmaster wagon. Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham.

What nobody mentioned the E30 M3??? I'll take a Euro spec convertible with the 215hp 2.3 please. I owned a '91 VW GTI 16V in the late 90's and that thing was the tits. Wasn't like the early Rabbit but fun as hell nonetheless. I would have preferred a '90 G60 Corrado or a '93 VR6 but alas, the wallet couldn't allow. If you like the no frills option, I vote '85 -'96 Cherokee. Though not exactly a 'car' from the literal sense, it was the vehicle that singlehandedly started the SUV craze that is only just starting to cool down. Gotta love an icon...

Wait...I have a better one. 1989 VW Golf G60 Limited. Supercharged four. AWD. 212bhp. Only 72 made. Hand built. The ultimate sleeper.

And yo, why isn't anybody playing RoadBlasters. That's still the best game ever.

Can't believe nobody's mentioned the Toyota Supra. I liked the 2nd generation Supras best (late '80's) but the 3rd gen machines are sweet. The MR2 is a close runner up.

323 GTX. 143 HP, 2,000 lbs. AWD. Way ahead of its time.

Just dave, MkII Supras were '82-'86, not late 80s So, I've got one per major car country: V8 Vantage 400GT R129 SL600 F40 R32 Skyline GT-R Viper RT/10 I think those are all great examples of what each country does best. Except the French one.

Not that Americans got it, but '94 was the first year of the Subaru WRX. Cult car. Affordable, Fast, Practical and Fun. Honorable mentions also go to: Mitsubishi Lancer GSR and EvoI 2ndGen RX-7 Mazda MX-5 (or Miata, as it is known Stateside)

The '91 Suzuki Cappuccino: DOHC, turbo 12-valve inline triple in a rear-wheel drive hard-top convertible the size of a shoebox. An absolute masterpiece of packaging, and my God, did it handle.

The '87 - '93 Bonneville SSE in Gunmetal Grey. Stealthy, good handling, and fast, before Pontiac went nuts with the cladding. Looked just like any Delta 88 or LeSabre, so it never looked like you were going fast to the authorities.

Nice Starion. How about its successors? Either a first or second generation turbo 4G63 powered Eclipse GSX with AWD would be fine with me. Both excellent nineties cars with huge power potential. You could go super obscuro and get an Eagle Talon or Plymouth Laser.

Does '93 Toyota Supra count as early '90s? I love that thing.

Or how about putting down my Stunts game long enough to gawk at a Cizeta?

1993 VW Gold Diesel (no turbo). Pounding out somewhere north of 60hp through a five speed with longer throws than Flutie. I once got 770km to a tank, which is an exercise in its own type of skill. Otherwise, get me a 944 Turbo. Or an Eagle Talon Turbo AWD.

Ferrari 348 GTS

There is simply nothing that compares with a mid-engine grand turisimo, and the McLaren F1 was a "late 1990's" car.

Well, I just wanted to mention one car that I believe surpasses all the previously mentioned early 90's cars.....the Acura NSX, what a machine.