More Motorhead Madness!

Alternate title: Friday Fun Thread - Favorite Cars of the 1990s.

Last week's Fun Thread on cars from the 1980s was so enjoyable, I figured I'd go for the next decade, the 1990s. We started out the decade with a Bush in the Oval Office, and ended with a second Bush waiting in the wings. Along the way, we saw Saddam Hussein take Kuwat, grunge rock's rise (and fall), and a young intern named Monica blew into our collective conscious (sorry, couldn't resist).

But what about the cars of the 1990s? The 1980s saw the American Automobile take a definitive downward spin towards the craptacular, as new emissions standards choked the horsepower out of even the largest engines. The 1990s saw the start of the resurgence of the American automobile, with great strides made towards relability, longevity, and styling.

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In that vein, allow me to present my favorite American cars from the 1990s:

1. 1991 GMC Syclone. Four wheel drive. Automatic. Six-cylinder. Pick-up truck. Doesn't sound like a recipe for a vehicle that can take a Porsche 911 in a drag race, does it? Well, unless that pick-up happened to be a Syclone, that is - a compact truck that could go from 0 - 60 MPH in 4.6 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 13 seconds...

2. 1992 Dodge Viper. Chrysler Motor Corporation, under the guidance of Lee Iacocca, took a bold chance on the concept-car-turned-production theme with the Viper. An 8.0 liter (488 cubic inch) V10 engine making an astounding 400 HP powered Dodge's street-legal dragster (complete with side pipes) to go even faster than the Corvette.

3. 1990 Corvette C4 ZR1. The ZR1 featured a 375 horsepower V8 engine made by Lotus that was rumored to cost some $27,000 on its own. The ZR1 was, at the time, the fastest American car on the road, bar none. Sales were hindered by the price tag: the ZR1 sold anywhere from $60K to $80K (rumor has it that some dealers charged - and got - $100K!) when a standard C4 Corvette was selling for slightly over $30K.

4. 1993 Cadillac Allanté. With the addition of the Northstar V8 engine to finally provide some much-needed power to the Allanté, Cadillac finally had a winner in its luxo-sport-convertible. The Northstar provided some 295 horsepower for the Caddy coupe, with rumors that it was de-tuned so as to not compete with the Corvette. Naturally, being General Motors, this would be the last year of the Allanté, the only year with the Northstar V8...

5. 1990 Chevrolet 454 SS. Chevrolet claimed the horsepower to be 230, which seemed awfully low for a 7.4L V8 monster more suited for heavy towing in the 3/4 and full ton models. Looking at the power curve, it appears that they started measuring well before the power band tapered off to achieve such a low figure...

6. 1997 Ford Thunderbird. The last model year of the T-bird (before being resumed as a "boutique" model in 2002), the 1997 T-bird featured Ford's "modular" 4.6L V8 and not much else save number of doors to differentiate it from a standard Crown Vic. But the end of an over-40 year run of the model means something, at least to this sentimental motorhead...

7. 1999 Ford F150 Lightning. What's not to like about a production pick-up with 360 horses under the hood??? The Lightning package started in 1993 to combat the Chevy 454 SS and GMC Syclone, and saw a significant power boost in 1999 with the supercharged 5.4L Triton V8 engine.

8. 1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ. With the introduction of the TJ model in 1997, Chrysler brought Jeep both closer to its roots with the return of the round headlights but also further away, with a coiled suspension akin to that of the Grand Cherokee. Purists loved the headlights and hated the suspension, but the general public, who by and large only left the pavement to park on the soft shoulder near the soccer field, appreciated the extra comfort.

9. 1997 Plymouth Prowler. Chrysler's attempt to capture the lightning-strike success of the concept-turned-production Viper wasn't quite as stunning with the Prowler, but it wasn't from lack of styling. The Prowler had world-class looks, a combination of old school hot rod with futurist drag racer. What it did not have, however, was a v8 engine or a manual transmission. The anemic 3.5L V6 coupled with an automatic tranny applied serious brakes to Prowler sales...

10. 1994 Chevrolet Impala SS. 4,200 pounds of LT1-Corvette-V8-driven sedan fury. A B-body with attitude, this was not your grandmother's Buick Roadmaster (my grandmother actually did own one. We called it the "Roadmonster"...) An ad campaign that showcased the black-on-black motif with the tagline: "Lord Vader, your car is ready." How could you not love this choice?

Anything I missed? I didn't leave a slot for reader's choice this time, but as always, feel free to suggest alternatives...

That is all...