These Cars Never Lived Up To Their Potential

There are some cars that just miss the mark despite the fact that they had so much promise. They're meant to be so much more than they turned out to be, and that's a damn shame, because it leaves the rest of us thinking about what could have been. These types of thoughts are what keep me up at night, so I decided to spread that silliness to you all, and it's what led me to the question I posed last week.

I wanted to know what car you all thought never lived up to the hype. Surprise, surprise, there were a hell of a lot of General Motors products on this list. I know, it's shocking that a company like GM kneecaps itself so often. Don't worry, though. There were plenty of other interesting suggestions from your fellow Jalops. We've got sports cars with nowhere near enough power, luxury cars that — well — missed the mark and stuff that should have been good but was just outright trash.

That's enough out of me, though. Head down below to check out some cars that just never lived up to the hype. I'm sorry in advance if your car is on this list. I promise, no one meant any offense.

The Toyota T100, Toyota's first attempt at a near full size pickup.

They did a TON of research to figure out what full size truck buyers really needed in a truck. They discovered that the VAST majority of light duty truck owners were driving alone, didn't haul or tow all that often, but liked having a truck for the image and occasional usefulness.

So they built a truck that was slightly smaller than the offerings from the Big 3, base engine was a 4 cylinder with the top engine as a V6, and initially, regular cab only. It was EXACTLY what most light duty, full size truck owners NEED.

Nobody would buy them. Toyota had to resort to something they almost NEVER had to do: cash on the hood to move the iron. Toyota knew what truck buyers NEEDED, but not what truck buyers WANTED.

Submitted by: Stillnotatony

Definitely the Volt. I had the first gen, and then second gen, and while they were not perfect, they were legitimately very, very good. GM axed the Volt right before the start of the current golden age of plug-in hybrids.

If they had just kept going for another 2 years, the market would have been ready for them, and they would have had a huge head start.

Such a shame. I still think that my electric blue gen 2 is my favorite car that I have ever had.

Submitted by: Doom Rooster

Gotta agree with the Buzz take. As VW has seen all the same negative reviews (and poor sales), dont know why they wouldnt make the adjustments to improve the range and clean up the interior.... then release it as a long range version.

&

20 years too late, and $30K overpriced. not shocked this vehicle failed.

Submitted by: Not Me & Larry Silver

The Ridgeline... sure, it's still for sale and may see another generation but it should have had the success the Maverick has had. It's 100% of the truck that 99% of truck owners need, but the first gen was a little too quirky in its styling and the 2nd gen looked like a minivan like the Pilot it was based on. If the new Ridgeline looks like the current Passport and isn't competing in price with the Tacoma it will do very well.

Submitted by: cintocrunch1

Showing my age here, and I'm not a Chevy person, but the Vega could have been a contender if GM hadn't rushed it through development and made some unfortunate choices that ultimately the car couldn't recover from. Ask me how I know – I owned one!

Submitted by: JimmieG

taking the easy road here and picking the oft mentioned CRZ. Coulda been a great little commuter ripper but it was both too much and too little, you got more CRX DNA in the Fit that was offered at the time for way less money and got way more fun and practicality.

Submitted by: JaredOfLondon

Nobody's spoken up about the Fiero.

Typical GM botched execution where it was purposely a bunt for fear of cannibalizing Corvette, Camaro and Firebird sales.

Submitted by: DungBeetle62

The Tonale/Hornet twins come to mind. Compact CUVs are flying off dealer lots, and yet these two- with hybrid options, great handling, and good power- languish in incentive-land.

Submitted by: Mike Beranek

The last generation of the Buick Riviera. It was a beautiful GT coupe but it was heavy and could have used a few more ponies. It fell short of what makes a great GT when competition from German brands cost about as much and were so much better. Buick had a chance to make an M or an AMG fighter and delivered your Grandfather's boring retirement car. Still, I loved my 1999 Riv for long road trips. It was a good long haul cruiser.

Submitted by: Old_SLAAB_Guy

The most powerful Honda Fit to roll off the assembly line had a 130hp engine. IIRC all Fits were 1.5L NA SOHC as well. The Fit was always begging for a comprehensive Si or Type-R treatment. The Ford Fiesta ST was a similar size and was always well-reviewed, and I feel like Honda could have made a killer competitor.

Submitted by: Stephen.

Nissan Titan with the Cummins turbo diesel. I remember reading about it in depth. That Nissan had done a lot of research to determine that there was high demand for a truck like it. Then it came out and completely flopped in sales and was even worse in reliability. I think they took it off the market in less than 2 years

Submitted by: Gerrit DeBoer

Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, they seem to be nice handling cars but they were afraid to give them horsepower for some reason.

Submitted by: Psycho78