mrtheedge2u2

Was reading some car mags last night and it got me thinking... most cars are made with a specific target in mind..... but then you get some vehicles what are only made because company execs know that some people have a lot more money than brains..... eg

Range Rover Sport
BMW X6

Any others?

PeteBrant

M3 4 dr saloon - Utterly pointless.

Klaatu

Soon, it'll be all cars other than those deemed "green" enough to "save the planet".

Dave Bullock

Pete,
I'd be first in the queue if there was an M3 touring..........

Dave.

TelBoy

The offroad Volvo seems like the biggest white elephant to me. Also X3, X5, X6, Cayenne, Land Cruiser, Nissan Warrior, the great big Ford truck, the even bigger Harley Davidson truck, and most things by Chrysler.

Wenker Man

M3 cabriolet. Unless your a proud ***** waver or have shares with companies producing Hydrogen Peroxide (or should, at least).

Any high performance drivers car that is only available with an automatic or automated gearbox (basically any "R" badged Jaguar and AMG merc, now the M5 too ).

And don't fob me off with a SMG or DSG or similar, No matter how superior it maybe considered, its an automatic. No matter which way its dressed up with paddles, manual modes, race modes. Even if its a gear-based cog swapper internally, its function is still automatic.

Prius. Should have stayed as a prototype/investigative research vehicle. Maybe if it had a diesel engine it would make sense to drive one.

Any front wheel drive car with more than 200bhp, especially without a limited slip differential. Remove the built in throttle management (in addition to the traction control) that many have which prevents it from using full power in low gears and then it would become obvious how limited they are traction-wise.

r32

Smart for four .......

Turbo2

Nissan Figaro: the 3 speed auto 1 litre toy car that Andrew Maher apparently drives.

They only built them in 1991 and you'd see a few new imports back then (particularly in London), and then as the novelty wore off they rightly disappeared again.

However, bizarrely 10+ years later we were suddenly inundated with the pointless things. It seemed to be a regional issue: I was living in Southend at the time and the dim old WAGS of wealthy businessmen couldn't get enough of them. I'd see one parked down every street. Since I moved back to normality, I don't think I've seen a single one! It was the same with those Mitsubishi FTO things: they were suddenly everywhere down there, but fortunately hens teeth where I now live. I guess there must have been a very active Jap importer in the SE Essex area.

coolangatta

Last model Volks Beetle

TelBoy

There is! On the A13 just near Somerfield in Leigh. Japanese Performance Car Imports i think he calls himself. He's currently got at least ten on the forecourt, in any colour you could possibly wish for sir/madam

dazdavies

iTrader: (22)

The New Mini Clubman.

Rear passenger door on the wrong side. Good USP that...Not!!

Turbo2

You're right: I've just looked up their website on Google (Japanese Imports Essex Ltd). It states:

"About Japanese Imports Essex Ltd
Darren Hawkins has specialised in Nissan Figaros since the year 2000. In the last six years he has imported and sold hundreds of Figaros...."

So it was all his fault. I'd like to punch him on the nose for that.

NB: take a look at the prices he charges for these? Somebody else was asking on here about cars that don't depreciate. These are 17 year old cars selling for 6K - 8K! There's no catering for taste.

Welcome to Japanese Imports (Essex)

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Not with you there at all; since when has it been a requirement for a performance car to be a PITA to get in and out of? Is a 4dr classic scooby 'pointless' just because there are 2dr shells too?

What about cars like the RS4 Avant - pointless too?

The BMW X6, on the other hand, now THAT is a pointless car - huge, thirsty and top heavy like an SUV with all the practicality of a coupe... the worst of both worlds

pwhittle

No they didn't, they came up north!

austinwrx

can't include landcruiser in the right env-- like africa and australia

landrover had 95% of 4 x 4 share in oz till japs came along- they have 95% now. land rovers out there are too unreliable.


cars like the rover 25 streetwise, vw and renault do similar-

normal hatch covered in lots of plastic to make it appear off-road.

Fantom

Yep I've seen them there so many times!
Dodgy looking cars

PeteBrant

Two words...

Emm five.


My point was not that 4 door performance cars are pointless, they aren't , my point was that a 4dr M3 is pointless when the M5 exists.

want a 2 door coupe? M3
4 door saloon? M5

BMW tried it before , remember? They sold about three 4 door M3's.

TomR555

iTrader: (1)

got to agree with Andy,the BMW X6 what is it suposed to be

billythekid

The only pointless car is the one that never sells.

Almost all the cars listed on here have sold bucket loads.

The only car on here that I would agree with is the Rover Street Wise... I think they sold 4 of them, 3 to blind people and 1 to a guy who had just escaped from a mental hospital so would take anything he could get.

TomR555

iTrader: (1)

G-Whizz

Turbo2

Somebody loves them: anyone fancy joining the owners club? It's even got a forum where they're probably always boasting about handing it on a plate to Impreza drivers

Reva G-Wiz Electric Car Owner's Club

ScooByer Trade

The new Landcruiser is rediculous, waaaay to big for going off road.Also paying £50k + for it, you wouldn't want to scratch or dent it.A swb 4wd is better off road, but usually are not fitted with all the drivetrain like 3 locking diffs.

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Pug 206 Gti Estate
BMW M6 - Isn't an M5 big enough (and it has the same engine)
Porsche Cayman (& I am a Porsche fan)
Range Rover Sport - Handles like a Sport.......stadium.

Brun

Lotus Europa - Just as difficult as the Elise to get in and out of with not much more boot space and no more performance????

scooby L

Do you mean the Porsche Cayman, or the Cayman & Cayman S

The Cayman (Generic descriptin) is a great car..just under-mined by Porsche when they didn't put the 997 power plant options in it.

The Cayman (ie 2.7 flat 6 boxer engine) is a bit dull compared to the S

Turbo2

Our neighbour bought a Cayman for his girlfriend: 245bhp ain't a lot for your 37 grand. My 6 grand JDM Bug WRX has 2bhp more than that as standard!

Mind you he has just bought himself a 385bhp 997 Carrera S cabrio. List price = 70+ grand, so I won't be trying to race him!

Devildog

X6..LOL...

Drove one at the weekend. Absolute blast.

Much better looking in the flesh than an X5, awesome road presence.

Great for couples who will only ever use the back seats for luggage.

I would have one tomorrow if it wasn't for the fact that the Shogun is better off road, and the boot/tailgate arrangement isn't great for the dogs.

Pete - your 4 Door M3 issue, would be fine were it not for the price difference and the fact that you can't buy a manual M5.

My pointless list would include cars like the Lexus 400H. If you are that concerned about the environment, don't buy a fecking Lexus.

scooby L

I had one too... lacking in straight line performance (6.1 seconds to 60) but once driving, it had a superbly smooth power delivery, and very slipery co-efficient... the acceleration from 60-120 felt the same as from 0-60...Just wish I got the S.
As for the handling..well.... It was worlds better than my STI... but it's a proper sports car, not a family hatchback with a big turbo

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Lol The X6 might have 'awesome presence', but then so would walking along a crowded street with your dick hanging out...

GC8

Not for most X6 drivers: I fear.....