When it comes to the classics, there are plenty of cars that are simply unforgettable. Since Henry Ford first invented the production line, memorable and remarkable cars have been rolling out of factories all over the world. Manufacturers have spent time and money designing the most stylish and sophisticated vehicles they can, many of which are now thought of as iconic creations.
Looking good isn’t the only thing that makes for a classic car; they have to be well engineered too, which goes a long way to explaining why the most established names in motoring have been responsible for some of the best-loved cars in automotive history. Names like Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Oldsmobile, and Chrysler, as well as European car makers like Ferrari, Bugatti, BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes have created plenty of incredible cars over the years.
However, even those well-known car makers sometimes make vehicles which just completely fail to make an impression on the general public. They may sell a few thousand units when the car is first in production, but give it a few years, and no one will even remember that the vehicle existed in the first place. Even people who owned one of the vehicles on the following list have probably managed to block the car’s existence out of their minds!
These cars didn’t win motoring awards or sell millions of models, but they have definitely earned their place on this list of 25 vehicles everyone forgets exist.
25 Powell Sport Wagon
The Powell Sports Wagon was a vehicle that was thought to be way ahead of its time. In production for just three years in the mid-1950s, this was a pickup truck that actually had many of the features which make modern SUVs so popular with motorists. The Sports Wagon also boasted an intriguing innovation: a set of retractable bars in the rear of the truck, which created a handy shelf for extra storage. The Powell Manufacturing Company’s groundbreaking vehicle was thought to be the inspiration behind the first Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino models, and for that alone, it deserves to be remembered.
24 AMC Hornet SC360
In the 1960s and 1970s, it seemed as though every American car manufacturer wanted to try and cash in on the public's craze for muscle cars. Some have become unforgettable motoring icons, like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Pontiac Firebird, while others have been lost to the mists of time.
The poor old AMC Hornet SC360 is definitely one muscle car that belongs firmly in the latter category.
AMC, which itself has become something of a forgotten brand since its merger with Chrysler, wanted to develop its own muscle car to compete with their rivals, but they made less than 1,000 units before production was halted.
23 Lincoln Mark LT
“Pickups” and “luxury” are not two words that normally go well together when it comes to developing or marketing a new car, which may explain why the Lincoln Mark LT is one of those cars that everyone has forgotten existed. In production for just two years spanning between 2006 and 2008, the Lincoln Mark LT may have been the most opulent pickup truck on the market. But it came with a price tag to match, starting at (at least) $40,000 for the most basic model. Drivers who wanted luxury cars didn’t usually want or need a pickup, and motorists who wanted a pickup truck had many cheaper options to choose from.
22 Ford Probe
Ford has been making cars in America since the earliest years of the 20th century, and some of their vehicles remain among the top sellers in the US today. In over 100 years of history, however, there are bound to be a few cars that end up slipping the mind of even the most devoted Ford fanboy.
Specifically, cars like the Ford Probe come to mind.
The Probe was initially designed to take over from the much-loved Ford Mustang, but when there was a public outcry against ditching the Mustang, Ford changed their mind, and the Probe ended up with a much more low-key launch and marketing campaign.
21 Chevrolet Laguna
Ford is far from the only classic American car manufacturer which has experienced problems with disappointing and forgettable cars. The Chevrolet Laguna had pretensions of being a muscle car, from the looks of its exterior at least, but its engine just wasn’t quite up to muscle car standards. Even its outward appearance was somewhat unusual for the 1970s, which undoubtedly had a negative impact on motorists of that era. Few models were sold, which means that there are even fewer still around today on the secondhand market, which undoubtedly is part of the reason so few motorists remember the car today.
20 Muntz Jet
We're jumping from household names like Ford and Chevrolet to a car that was always a bit more of a niche interest. The Muntz Jet, a very 1950s-looking convertible, was in production between 1949 and 1954, a long time ago for motoring fans with short memories. Muntz is not one of the more familiar names in American automotive history, and the company only made 400 of its Jet luxury cars, which goes a long way towards explaining why this particular 50s classic has disappeared from our collective memories while others, such as the equally stylish Chevrolet Bel Air, remain motoring icons to this day.
19 Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo
The Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo is one of those forgotten cars that doesn’t really deserve to be forgotten. This stylish AWD vehicle, with a 220-horsepower engine, may seem a little too quintessentially 1980s for some people, but that doesn’t affect either the way it looks or the way it performs. There were three generations of the Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo produced between 1988 and 1993, and the car even won the World Rally Championship in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Yet while this particular Toyota may still have a place in the heart of rally fans, it has been long forgotten by most drivers.
18 Owosso Pulse
The Owosso Pulse is something of an anomaly on this list, given that it was never a production vehicle like the others. Devised as a concept car by the company Autocycles, the Pulse looks like an airplane and is powered by a motorcycle engine.
Only 360 of the unusual vehicles were built by the manufacturer between 1984 and 1990, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Owosso Pulse has faded from our collective memory.
And yet, the bizarre contraption featured in an advertising campaign for Coors beer during the late 1980s, so perhaps the Pulse should be more recognizable than it actually is!
17 Dodge Shelby CSX-VNT
The Dodge Shelby CSX-VNT is a forgotten car which deserves to be remembered by motorists. If the iconic “Shelby” name isn’t enough for this set of wheels to stay in the memory, then how about the powerful engine, capable of going from 0 to 60mph in just 7 seconds – not bad for a compact car built in the late 1980s. For some reason, Shelby opted for a limited production run of just 500 units. Perhaps they were trying to make the CSX-VNT a more exclusive option. Whatever their reason, this has definitely contributed to the Shelby Dodge CSX-VNT missing out on its rightful place in automotive history.
16 Geo Storm Hatchback
Some drivers may just be able to recall the short-lived Geo Storm coupe, a compact car manufactured by Japanese company Isuzu for sale on the American market.
Bonus points, however, if you can remember that Isuzu also produced an ugly, boxy hatchback version of the Geo Storm which went down like a lead balloon with American consumers.
Given that the Geo Storm was devised with the intention of providing motorists with a budget sports car option, it seems an odd business choice to suddenly switch tack and create a hatchback version which was aimed more at American families than serious drivers.
15 Infiniti M30 Convertible
Infiniti is the name given to the luxury division of Japanese car giant Nissan, but there was little that could be considered luxurious about the Infiniti M30 convertible. In production in its native Japan from 1990 to 1993, the Infiniti M30 wasn’t even supposed to be a convertible. It was only when the car was imported into the US in 1991 that someone had the bright idea of simply removing anything above the top of the doors and adding a convertible roof. Those unattractive straight lines simply scream 1990s “style” and probably explain why the Infiniti M30 has faded from memory.
14 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser
The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is one of the more successful cars on this list, but even that hasn’t stopped most people from forgetting that it ever existed. In production between 1964 and 1977, this was a car that tried to be all things to all people, matching a muscle car engine with a family-friendly interior. The third generation of the Vista Cruiser even had the option of a third row of rear-facing seats in the back for those families who were just waiting for the minivan to be invented. The car may look vaguely familiar to fans of That 70s Show, as it was the car passed down to Eric Forman by his dad.
13 Daihatsu Rocky
Jeeps continue to be big sellers in the US, so it is hardly surprising that most motor manufacturers have tried their hand at getting themselves a piece of this lucrative market. The Daihatsu Rocky, which first rolled off the production line in 1989, was an awkward-looking compact SUV which looked as though it had been made a little too cheaply. Even naming the car after the then-popular Rocky film franchise couldn’t save this Daihatsu creation from obscurity and furthermore, it just enraged MGM, the studio behind the movies, who felt that the Japanese carmaker was just trying to capitalize on their success.
12 Oldsmobile Calais Quad 4
The Oldsmobile Calais was renamed the Cutlass Calais from 1988 onwards and was a popular car in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
It may not be one of the most memorable cars, but neither has it completely faded oblivion.
The special-edition Oldsmobile Calais Quad 4, on the other hand, has been completely forgotten by most motorists, most likely because there were only ever 241 examples ever made, and very few come up for sale these days. The Quad 4 was a sportier version of the standard Oldsmobile Calais model, and also came with a much-improved transmission system for better performance.
11 Subaru Justy
The first incarnation of the Subaru Justy, a cheap and not-so-cheerful subcompact car in production between 1984 and 2010, may well be a forgettable vehicle but it did actually have an important role to play in US automotive history.
The Subaru Justy was the last new car in the States to be sold with a carburetor.
Carburetors used to be used to mix fuel and air in the proper ratios for an internal combustion engine to work, and have now been supplanted by more effective fuel injection systems. But even this little nugget of motoring trivia isn’t enough to make the Justy more memorable.
10 GMC Envoy XUV
If storage space was the most important feature when it came to buying a new car in the early years of the 21st century, then the chances are that you might have come across the GMC Envoy XUV. Most drivers, however, have long forgotten this behemoth of the roads.
GMC was clearly out to build an SUV that could give a moving truck a run for its money.
Their advertising campaign even featured someone driving a GMC Envoy XUV with a tall wardrobe sticking out of the back of the car. Not a huge selling point when it comes to the shifting minds of motorists, and is probably part of the reason why this vehicle has slipped from our memory.
9 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre
The Ford Galaxie 7-Litre is certainly one of the most sophisticated and eye-catching of the long-forgotten cars on this list, and it even has an impressive engine to match that exterior style. So why has this car, which was first launched in 1966—and which was even used as a police vehicle in the States—been lost to the mists of time? Part of the problem is that eye-catching style, which was just too similar to other Ford cars in production around that time. When there are several cars which all have a similar appearance, it is always going to be difficult to make models stand out from the crowd.
8 Chrysler Aspen Hybrid
Hybrid technology is such a recent innovation that it seems hard to believe the US motoring public could have already forgotten a hybrid vehicle—but how many people still remember the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, a luxury SUV that was in production for just one year, in 2009? The Chrysler Aspen certainly didn’t enjoy the same success as other hybrids, including the best-selling Toyota Prius, and the biggest problem was probably its eye-opening $50,000 price tag. The vehicle may have been stylish inside and out, but SUVs are still thought of as family cars, and few families are willing or able to spend that kind of cash on a set of wheels.
7 Ford Ranchero GT
Launched in 1957, and in production until 1979, the Ford Ranchero GT was another unusual fusion of two normally-incompatible vehicle styles; a coupe (later a muscle car) and a pickup truck.
The front styling of the later Ranchero models was about as muscly as it gets, but the pickup bed to the rear was just too small to be useful.
While motorists might not have heard of the Ford Ranchero, the vehicle may seem strangely familiar. That’s because the success of the Ranchero led to the creation of a much more successful competitor, the Chevrolet El Camino. Why one car has stayed in the memory while the other remains forgotten is a mystery.
6 Toyota Corolla FX16
The Toyota Corolla has the honor of being the best-selling car of all time, selling an impressive 45 million cars worldwide since the model first went into production in 1966. However, the Toyota Corolla FX16 is a very different kind of car and it looks completely different from how motorists expect a Corolla to look. The FX16 was a hatchback version of the popular car and was also the first vehicle with four engine valves to be built in the US. This particular model was in production for only a few years of the Corolla’s long history, between 1983 and 1987.