Car Lusts of the '00s: The List

  With the introduction outta the way, let’s begin listing the (probably) lust-worthy vehicles of the 00’s. A quick reminder: This list doesn’t list said vehicles from model year 2000 to 2010 one by one but categorizes vehicles that fit into the Car Lust way of thinking, so that means that obvious choices aren’t included unless given an explanation. Yes, there’s gonna be exceptions. Yes, there will be disagreements, but just give ‘em time to grow on you, like a decade. Or three. Now, onto the wall of text list.

• SUVs – Ford Excursion, Honda Pilot, Volvo XC90 (because safety), Chevrolet Trailblazer/Oldsmobile Bravada/Buick Rainier/Saab 9-7X/GMC Envoy (don’t forget the XUV version)/Isuzu Ascender, Axiom; Mitsubishi Montero, Mercedes-Benz G-wagen (2002 was the official USDM release), Dodge Durango/Chrysler Aspen; Jeep Commander, 3^rd-gen Grand Cherokee (HEMI!!), Liberty (because one day, XJ Cherokees will get hard to find) and Wrangler Unlimited (that’s the extended cab version, in case you didn’t know about it); Land Rover LR3 and Freelander/LR2; Saturn Vue, Volkswagen Touareg, Lincoln Aviator (even if it’s only for its 32-valve engine), Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Mall Runner 4Runner, Sequoia; Lexus GX-series, Kia Borrego, Sorento and Santa Fe. What’s the New Millennium without a wide array of the then-still hot SUV market?
• CUV’s and Minivans – Pontiac Aztek (can’t forget that one!), Nissan Cube, Honda Element, 3^rd-gen Odyssey (if only for its 1970s van-homage commercials); 2^nd-gen CRV; Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, Edge, Freestyle, Flex; Dodge Journey, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mercedes-Benz R-Class, Toyota Venza, 2^nd and 3^rd-gen RAV-4, Matrix/Pontiac Vibe; Chrysler Pacifica, Mazda 5 (the minivan), Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Soul (stupid hamsters and LMFAO…). Given enough time, there will be a small fanbase involving any vehicle that one grew up in. These are some that might have a following someday. Maybe.
• Muscle trucks and SUVs – Chevrolet Trailblazer SS and Silverado SS, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Dodge Ram SRT10, Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, Toyota Tacoma X-Runner. Might as well mention appearance packages like Chevrolet Xtreme S-10 and Blazer; Harley-Davidson F-series and Rumble Bee and Daytona Dodge Ram trucks. If they have performance, or at least performance flair, not to mention their downright outrageousness, they’ll be lusted afterwards.
• Midsize Trucks that isn’t the Tacoma – Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Nissan Frontier/Suzuki Equator, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon; Isuzu i-Series, Dodge Dakota/Mitsubishi Raider. Ask yourself: How much do I want to avoid becoming yet another Toyota Tacoma owner? Honorable mentions goes to the Subaru Baja trucklet.
• Alternative Full-size Trucks – Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra Quadrasteer (4-WHEEL STEERING!!!),Nissan Titan, Toyota Tundra (get the T3 Terminator Edition for extra ‘00s kitsch points!) Honda Ridgeline, Chevrolet Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade EXT, Lincoln Blackwood and Mark LT (you know there’s people who dig these); International CXT (if full-size is not enough). Because F-150s are so mainstream.
• Non-Ford Econoline commercial vehicles – Ford Transit Connect (you can fit a motorcycle in one), Mercedes-Benz Dodge Sprinter. Even though there is choice for commercial vehicles if you look hard enough (Dodge Grand Caravan C/V, Chevrolet HHR panel van and Express/GMC Savana, etc.), it was this decade that will pave the way for a little more variety to come.
• Retro-styled machines – Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chevrolet HHR and SSR; Ford Thunderbird, Toyota FJ Cruiser. Quite the variety on this segment.
• Pre-metal beak-nose/Joker grin Acuras – TL, TSX and 1^st-gen RDX crossover (because turbo). Fine, the MDX, too. They look cleaner and tauter when compared to the facelifted ones. And we all know they’re good cars. Get one before more former Civic owners wise up and lowers the heck out of all the good ones.
• Early Art and Science-era Cadillacs – Cadillac CTS, STS, XTS, XLR and the Escalade/Escalade EXT. Fine, the SRX, too. They marked a new beginning for the brand. Enough said.
• People-movers – Mitsubishi Lancer (with a rear windshield wiper, please), Kia Rondo 1^st and 2^nd-gen Rio/Rio5, Spectra/Spectra5; Hyundai Elantra GT and Elantra Touring, 2^nd and 3^rd–gen Accent; Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit. There will always be an appeal to simpler, practical modes of transportation. If these are too mainstream for your taste, may I be so bold as to suggest Daewoo? Too much? How about other Korean captive imports (Chevrolet Aveo, Suzuki Forenza and Reno)?
• More-doors – Mazda 6, 3^rd and 4^th-gen Lexus LS-series and IS-series; Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart, Nissan Altima SE-R, 4^th-gen Subaru Legacy (in all its trims), Infiniti M-series, 2^nd-gen Toyota Avalon, Ford Fusion and 6^th-gen Taurus SHO; 7^th-gen Chevrolet Malibu, 1^st and 2^nd-gen Kia Optima, 5^th-gen Hyundai Sonata, Suzuki Verona and Kizashi; Volvo S60/S60R. More-doors that actually grabbed my attention? They’re going on the list.
• RWD American More-doors – Cadillac STS and CTS, Pontiac G8, Chrysler 300-series and Dodge Charger, Lincoln LS, Mercury Marauder. You know what’s better than an American RWD sedan? An American RWD sedan with power in them.
• Wagons – Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Mazda Protegé5, Mitsubishi Lancer (the first one, not the current one), Dodge Magnum, Audi A3, Lexus IS300 wagon, 4^th-gen Subaru Legacy Wagon (in all its trims), Volkswagen Jetta wagon. The entire “wagons are lame” argument is so 20^th century. Include your garden-variety, U.S.-spec Euro/U.K./Swedish wagons as well.
• Non-Turbo and AWD (both at the same package) Pocket rockets – Ford Focus SVT (introduced for ‘02), EP3 Honda Civic Si, B16 and B15 Nissan Sentra 2.5LE/2.5S/SE-R/Spec V, Saturn Ion Red Line, Mini Cooper S, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Acura RSX (in relation to its Integra forefather), Dodge Neon SRT-4 and Caliber SRT-4; Mazdaspeed Protegé, Volkswagen GTI R32 (okay, I broke the rules here, but how obvious was this choice?). Standard trim of these are OK, but if you’re after something fun, rather practical and sporty, you can hardly go wrong with these. Honorable mentions go to the Kia Forte Koup, final generation Toyota Celica, Scion tC and Hyundai Tiburon.
• Two-doors and/or Sporty – Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R (rarer and more, um, uniquely styled than any other ‘New-Edge’ Cobra Mustang), Pontiac GTO, Solstice/Saturn Sky; BMW 1 Series (the M version is already an instant classic) and 6 Series; 7^th and 8^th-gen Honda Accord Coupe; Volvo C30, Nissan Altima Coupe, Lexus SC430; 2^nd-gen Audi TT and S5; Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R230), CL-Class (C215), SLK-Class (R171); Jaguar XK-series (X150), Mazda RX-8 (it’s not for everyone) Honda S2000 (ditto) and 3^rd-gen Miata, final-gen Mitsubishi Eclipse and MR2 Spyder (not as desirable when compared to their forefathers). I found the lack of sporty coupes disturbing, so I couldn’t have been the only one, so whatever two-doors were available might have a fighting chance. Die-hard sportscar dynamics need not apply, but those that do are more than welcome, obviously.
• The First of the Scions – xA, xB, tC. Not only were these the first means of transportation for a lot or people, many also took to personalizing and modifying them.
• GM-era Saabs – 9-3, 9-2X (the Saabaru) and 9-7X (the Trollblazer). Better than no Saab at all… right?
• The Last of the Suzukis – Suzuki Vitara/Grand Vitara, XL-7, Kizashi, SX4 (especially the AWD wagon), Equator, Aerio (better known as Top Gear’s classic Reasonably Priced Car, the Suzuki Liana). Suzukis were much more than sportsbikes and old Samurais. Here we commemorate their line-up, which will remain largely unchanged until its departure the following decade.
• Shift_____ Nissans and Infinitis – Murano, Altima (including the Coupe), Maxima, 350Z (that one’s a given), Titan, Armada, Pathfinder (because body-on-frame and RWD), B16 Sentra SE-R /SE-R Spec V. Also include Infiniti G-series (coupe and sedan), QX56 and FX-series, which are from around the same period of Carlos Ghosn’s revamping of Nissan.
• Chris Bangle-era BMWs – 3 Series, 5 Series and 6 Series sedans, Z4 and the Bangle-butt 7 Series (iDrive and all). That’s right. All those weird looking BMW’s will all be desirable someday, not only because of ‘00s kitsch, but because they’re still BMWs.
• More-door Porsches – Cayenne and Panamera. These will take a stronger stomach to find appealing than, say, a Boxster or Cayman.
• Alternative Luxury – Audi S5, Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (because the E-Class is so mundane), Maserati Quattroporte, GranTurismo (because Ferraris are so mainstream); Jaguar S-Type R, XJ (X350); Bentley Continental GT, Rolls-Royce Phantom (those two may be a bit obvious, but they are the face of luxury for both brands into The New Millennium, so they go on the list), Maybach 57 and 62; Volkswagen Phaeton.
• Has-Been Exotica – Dodge Viper SRT-10, Saleen S7, Ferrari F430, Maserati MC12 (because the Ferrari Enzo is so mainstream), Porsche Carrera GT, Ford GT, Lamborghini Murciélago (less mainstream than the Gallardo), Mosler MT900, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (and all of its obscure variations) and SLS AMG; SSC Aero. I wasn’t going to add this category, but, like luxury vehicles, until nostalgia kicks in, these will suffer “last year’s model” syndrome.
• Hybrids – 2^nd-gen Toyota Prius, 1^st and 2^nd-gen Honda Civic Hybrid. They’ll be lusted by both hypermilers and tech-geeks alike. I’ll include all those hybrid variations of midsize sedans, luxury sedans and SUVs released closer to the end of the decade, just because of their novelty factor.
• Small (and small-ish) cars – Smart fortwo, the entire Fiat and Mini Cooper lineup until 2010. The polar opposites to the brodozer. Speaking of brodozers…
• Non-H1 Hummers – H2, H2 SUT, H3, H3T. The H2 will definitely forever be one of the automotive poster children of the decade, but it had family (and a fragrance!) to choose from.  
• Other – Razor scooters, Heelys, Hot Wheels’ Deora II, the Segway, the BRP Can-Am Spyder trike motorcycle, concept cars of the ‘00s, International LoneStar big rig, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, RMS Queen Mary 2, etc. This is where all those mobility devices that were part of the fabric of transportation of the ‘00s fall under. After all, we’ve talked about children’s two-wheeled mobility devices and toys, as well as other machinery as well, ranging from motorcycles to -in a way- ships. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started posting about airplanes in the near future. We’ve already talked about flying cars, so we’re close. And we haven’t even begun with pop-culture/fictional modes of transportation, like the Gone In 60 Seconds (remake) Eleanor Mustang that’s better remembered than the movie…

 

Pick a segment. Any segment. There will always be those that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. Unfortunately, there’s an abundance of candidates, and I can’t cover them all. If I missed one or three, or if there’s another category that further covers the motoring aspects of the ‘00s, sound off in the comment box below.

 

 --Tigerstrypes

 

References:

Segways! www.g4tv.com

International CXT and Volkswagen GTI R32 pic: www.trucktrend.com

Best Deals today in www.freepromonow.com