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Strange 1990s SUVs Most Drivers Have Never Heard Of

Amongst many other things, the 1990s were a time when the SUV came into mainstream acceptance. All of a sudden, it was chic to drive an oversized behemoth that guzzled gas. The SUV is a versatile kind of vehicle, and back in the 1990s, they were big business. The most obvious success stories to come out of this decade were the Ford Explorer and the Chevrolet Tahoe, as well as the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But there were also a few strange SUVs that you might not have ever seen.

We looked back at strange 1990s SUV models that most drivers have never heard of. These were not your average SUVs and nowadays they’ve gone on to become collector’s items. See if you’ve ever heard of them right here.

Photo Credit: Motorious

1996 Bentley Dominator

To the common driver, the Bentley Bentayga is referred to as the company’s first SUV. And that’s true in the fact that it is the first mass-produced SUV with a Bentley badge on it. But that’s not necessarily the full truth, as there was a Bentley SUV that was specially built in 1996. The Bentley Dominator was a custom-built model for Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei, who has a car collection spanning 7,000 vehicles (via RRSilver Spirit).

Photo Credit: Motorious

When you have that much money you can afford just about anything, and that’s the case with the Dominator. The SUV had most of its parts sourced from Land Rover with the exception of the Bentley 6.75-liter V-8. There are only six Dominators that were ever built and they’ve rarely come up for auction.

The post Strange 1990s SUVs Most Drivers Have Never Heard Of appeared first on Motor Junkie.

These Are The Best Cars Set To Come Out In The Next Five Years

It’s no secret that the car industry suffered a lot of problems in the last couple of years. From the global pandemic and chip shortage to the rising costs of materials, all of it spelled trouble for car brands. However, the future still looks bright for the auto industry since manufacturers are preparing to present a wealth of new models and technologies in the next five years.

As expected, most of those cars will be electric, but there are more than a few ICE-powered cars that will be on sale. We will also see the debut of new names as well as the return of old ones. New classes will be added, and the existing ones will get new players. Here are the best cars that are set to come out in the next five years.

Photo Credit: Top Gear

Hyundai N Vision 74

After excellent reception by car fans and the car press, Hyundai decided to put this fantastic concept into production. We don’t have an exact release date or specs at the moment. But, astonishingly, this incredible design will be born as a production car (via Top Gear).

Photo Credit: Hyundai

Presented last year, the N Vision 74 is one car we can’t wait to see on the road. Blending ’70s aesthetics with modern material and technology, the N Vision 74 looks like a long-lost concept car but with a modern twist, which was precisely the idea behind it. It was well-received and car fans are now waiting to see in what exact form will be resurrected. Will it have a hybrid or hydrogen powertrain, or will it be fully electric? A turbocharged ICE engine? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess.

The post These Are The Best Cars Set To Come Out In The Next Five Years appeared first on Motor Junkie.

Looking for a project F-100

Reflecting back on my life I found myself reminiscing about the times spent in a garage with friends working on my 1971 Datsun 510 and 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle. Both cars long gone because of life events I longed for another project… or two. So I bought a 2000 Yamaha Road Star and a 1969 Ford F-100 Ranger. All original the F-100 has a 360 cubic inch engine under the hood, and is the long bed 4×2…

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Long-Time GTO Affair

I purchased my first car a 1966 Pontiac GTO in May of 1968, and never parted with it. After enjoying the car for years, I performed a frame off restoration on the old gal that was completed in 2016. The car was originally built from the factory with a 389 cubic inch engine, 4-bbl carburetor, but now has been upgraded to a period correct factory Tri-Power setup and factory front disc brakes.

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Father/Son Malibu

When I was younger I used to race, legally and illegally, in the N.Y. / N.J. area. I made some money and won quite a few trophies at the track. About 13 years ago, my youngest son, after asking me about racing and the Muscle car era I grew up in, asked me if we could find something to build together. I naturally said yes! We found a 1981 Malibu 2 door coupe that someone had converted from a 6cyl.

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My First and Only Classic Car?

I got into the car hobby in the 80 s with my late brother John. It started by going to local car and cruise nights and elevated from there. John found a 1957 ford retractable from Iowa that needed work and bought it and drove it as is. As for me I never dreamed I would own or could afford a classic car but it all changed one Saturday morning in 1988. In the Boston Globe that morning one 1967 chevy…

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The Queen of Oklahoma

This photo is of my 1973 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, taken on Rt. 66 in Oklahoma. She was originally purchased by Vogue Magazine in London and made it to America in 1984 to a banker in Ada, Oklahoma. His estate sold it to an exotic car dealer in Kansas City where I acquired her in 2014. She is Caribbean Blue with tan leather interior and only 67,000 original miles. She has won several car shows and…

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1970s Cars That Deserve More Credit Than They Get

One of the most forgotten and overlooked decades of the automotive industry was the 1970s. With the fuel embargo and the fact that automakers had to downsize cars in size and power, the decade didn’t have very many hits overall. For the most part, it wasn’t a very exciting time in automotive design. But there were still quite a few well-known cars that came out of the decade. And some of these hidden gems have come to light recently.

Indeed, car enthusiasts are starting to experience more and more of what the decade had to offer. Cars like the AMC Gremlin that were once considered obsolete have now become classics. Even the Pinto-based Mustang has started to gain a decent following these days. It could even be said that the decade wasn’t as bad as most enthusiasts remember it being. Many of the cars had their own unique style, whether it was the velour interiors or the move toward digital dashboards there was a lot to like about the decade in general. We looked back at some 1970s cars that deserve more credit than they get.

Photo Credit: AMC

AMC Gremlin

If there’s one car that’s synonymous with cheap ’70s hatchbacks, it was no doubt the Gremlin. The car was designed and sold by cash-strapped AMC in an attempt to jump on the economy car craze of the decade. With stiff new competition from Honda and Toyota, domestic automakers had to come up with a plan. AMC recycled a lot of parts from their existing vehicle line and it showed in the quality of the car (via Motor Trend).

Photo Credit: Hot Rod

While the Gremlin wasn’t the most technologically advanced car, it did have a unique design. The interior of the Gremlin was a lot larger than other compact cars at the time, and that was one of the best-selling features. The Gremlin had a 304 V8 engine, which was unheard of in a compact. Its body was widely used in NASCAR and dirt track racing. There’s no denying that the Gremlin was one of the most underrated cars of the decade.

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Surprising Facts About The ‘Starsky and Hutch’ Ford Gran Torino

There have been many memorable cars featured on TV shows over the past several decades. From the original Batmobile in the early ’60s to Walter White’s beige Pontiac Aztec on Breaking Bad, many cars have become part of a popular subculture. Along those lines, millions of viewers will immediately recognize the bright red 1974 Ford Gran Torino from the legendary TV show “Starsky and Hutch.” This even includes car fanatics who weren’t born when this show was first on the air.

Even though the show and its plot are easily forgettable as a template of the “buddy cop” genre, the car isn’t. Overall it’s one of the most recognizable cars ever to be featured on television. Building on that recognition, the story of this famous red Gran Torino is an interesting one for car fans to dive into. We dove into the surprising facts about this legendary TV car you probably don’t know, so check them out right here.

Photo Credit: Motor 1

“Striped Tomato”

This nickname for the Gran Torino was used throughout the show but wasn’t part of the script. In fact, when producers saw the car, they weren’t very enthusiastic about the model and its color combo so they called it “Striped Tomato.”

Photo Credit: Ford

However, writers adopted the phrase and used it in dialogue, so the nickname stuck. After all, a big red Ford Gran Torino coupe couldn’t be called any different (via Star Cars). Now, the nickname will go down in auto history just like the car itself.

The post Surprising Facts About The ‘Starsky and Hutch’ Ford Gran Torino appeared first on Motor Junkie.

No Reserve: 383-Powered Ford-Style Roadster Hot Rod

This Ford-style roadster was the subject of a custom build completed in 2011 by Steve’s Auto Restorations of Portland, Oregon, and utilizes a Wescott fiberglass body over a custom boxed frame. Power is provided by a 383ci V8 linked to a Tremec five-speed manual transmission and a Kugel Komponents polished Jaguar-style rear end assembly with a Winters quick-change unit housing a limited-slip differential. The engine features a FAST EZ-EFI Eight-Stack fuel injection system, lake-style headers, and a polished stainless steel exhaust system. The car is finished in red over tan leather upholstery, and additional equipment includes a custom windshield frame, a Lion heater, a Hurst shifter, 17″ and 20″ Schott wheels, independent suspension with adjustable coilovers, stainless steel control arms, and four wheel disc brakes with inboard rears. This Ford-style roadster is now offered with a spare oxygen sensor, a wheel lock key, service records, a FAST EZ-EFI programming tool, and a Virginia title in the seller’s name listing the car as a 1932 Ford Roadster.

The Wescott fiberglass body was modified and mounted on a custom boxed frame before being finished in red. The roll pan was modified, the grille surround was smoothed, and additional details include a custom windshield frame, shaved door handles, and blue dot-style taillights. An area of touch up is present on the trunk lid, and paint chips are visible on the driver’s door and hood.

Polished 17″ and 20″ Schott Velocity wheels are wrapped in Goodyear Eagle LS 2 tires that show 2010 production codes and measure 205/70 up front and 275/50 in back. The car rides on Kugel independent suspension components including polished front control arms, a Jaguar-style rear setup, and adjustable coilovers. The steering system utilizes a rack-and-pinion setup, and braking is handled by four-wheel discs with inboard rear rotors and a Wilwood master cylinder.

The cabin features a bench upholstered in tan leather complemented by matching interior panels and tan carpets. Amenities include a refurbished Lion heater, lap belts, storage pockets, a windshield-mounted rearview mirror, a custom center console with cupholders, and a Hurst shifter with a custom knob.

A leather-wrapped banjo-style steering wheel is mounted to a tilting column and fronts a painted dashboard housing Classic Instruments gauges consisting of a 140-mph speedometer, a tachometer, and auxiliary readouts displaying battery voltage, fuel level, coolant temperature, and oil pressure. The six-digit odometer shows 6k miles. The odometer is noted to read inaccurately, and true mileage is unknown.

The Smelding Performance-built 383ci V8 is fitted with a FAST EZ-EFI Eight-Stack fuel injection system, and the results of a 2011 dynamometer test indicate maximum output of 404 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque. The firewall was smoothed during the build, and the most recent oil change was performed six months ago. The car is equipped with the following components:

  • MSD digital ignition system
  • Aluminum radiator
  • Electric cooling fan
  • Billet pulley system
  • Polished Billet Specialties valve covers
  • Electric fuel pump
  • Gear reduction starter
  • Polished stainless steel exhaust system with a custom finisher
  • Lake-style headers

Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual transmission, a body-colored driveshaft, and a Kugel Komponents polished rear end with a Winters quick-change unit housing a limited-slip differential. Additional underside photos are provided in the gallery below.

Records from the assembly process are included in the sale along with a spare oxygen sensor and a wheel lock key.

The car is titled in Virginia using the Idaho assigned identification number ID012834. The title notes the car as a “replica” and indicates a prior Idaho reconstructed brand.