These Cars Were Too Ahead Of Their Time, According To You

There are some cars that move the automotive industry forward, even if they're not appreciated when they were new cars that for all intents and purposes were well ahead of their time. They brought about new design, technology and industry ideas that eventually trickled down to the rest of the market, or in some cases were just copied verbatim by another vehicle further down the road. Cars like those inspired the question I asked you all last week.

I wanted to know what you all thought was the best example of a car that was too ahead of its time for its own good, and you folks really delivered. We had a lot of varied answers that spanned decades of the automotive industry. One automaker stood out above the rest: General Motors. It would seem GM has a real knack for coming up with a great idea years before anyone else, getting scared, killing it and then watching everyone else copy its work. It's happened countless times, and you all noticed this trend, too.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. Why don't you all drop down below and check out some cars that were just too far ahead of their time?

I'm gonna say the Suzuki Sidekick/Geo-Chevy Tracker. It was both of its time AND ahead of its time.

A compact SUV that could be had as a 2 door, 4 door, soft top, hard top, 2WD or 4WD that was tough as nails, extremely reliable (at least the one I had was), was very affordable, AND it regularly got close to 30mpg? ThevXL-7 version could even be had with a 3rd row! Who among us wouldn't sign on the dotted line?

It's the CUV we all need.

Submitted by: Stillnotatony

It was released just as a pickup market was supersizing. But now it would form a perfect competitor to Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick. I think Subaru should revive the model line.

Submitted by: Igor Getsin

I think the original Honda Insight and the CR-Z were a bit ahead of its time for its own good. It was small, relatively inexpensive to run, hybrid with a manual transmission. Perfect commuter car in my opinion.

Submitted by: Sennamp4

I think the Citroen SM (or maybe the DS) is a pretty obvious pick here. It was years ahead of its time and failed to sell.

Submitted by: Joe Chip

It was ridiculed by everybody except the owners (who loved them). It didn't last long on the market.

Fifteen years later and everybody has a similar vehicle, especially considering the Toyota Crown.

Submitted by: Longboat

The AMC Eagle. A jacked up 4WD wagon in the early 80s? It was practically predicting the future. Subaru took its entire playbook and ran with it.

Submitted by: PLAN-B 77

Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo with the CRT touch screen controls and other GM cars of that era with CRT screens like the Buick Reatta and Rivera. However, as a whole car the Olds seems like it was so high tech it alienated the core customers who were older age 50+ and grew up with primitive cars like the pony cars or economy cars like the Pinto or Vega. The leap forward was too wide. I think I saw a junked Trofeo as early as the late 90s and remember thinking it was so sad that such a special car was not preserved.

Submitted by: Tex

A first-year 928 (1977) is fast, stable, comfortable, and practical. A 1977 911 is slow, noisy, and has heat/AC that is more theoretical than actual.

The 911 has since evolved to a size, weight, and "GT" level of docility that makes it feel much like a 928 than like an old 911.

Submitted by: Commentariat

Saturn. A cheap car you just show up and buy? In the current era, you would 100% be able to order one from an app if they got to keep progressing the car buying experience.

Submitted by: engineerthefuture

I also think the Chevy Volt. Before a wider acceptance of PHEV vehicles, it came out. If it came out now, it wouldn't have died....

Sennamp4

The Porsche 959 had active suspension, ABS, TPMS, twin (sequential) turbochargers, torque-biasing AWD, composite and aluminum body panels...all in 1987. The power and speed for the time was on a completely different level for the day, and remains very impressive even by today's standards.

The 959 may not have been the first to implement all of those things, but individually all those features certainly weren't common at the time. It's easy to draw a line to several current sports cars (and non-sports cars) and see a lot of the same features are basic expectations today.

Submitted by: Stephen.

Nothing like being 10 years early to the EV party only to leave and then show up again up a year after it ended.

Submitted by: TB01