American sports cars are a special breed of sports car. While America is most commonly known as the home of the pickup truck and the muscle car, it has unarguably created its place in the sports car world as well.While there is a multitude of American sports cars that have withstood the test of time and created their place in the niche of universally beloved sports cars, there are others that have strayed too far from their conception, been mass production to the point of redundancy, and simply became a bit overrated. The following is a list of ten American sports cars that have grown to become overrated and redundant.
8 Pontiac GTO
While undoubtedly a beautiful car that has remained beautiful throughout the years, the Pontiac GTO has fallen victim to the oversaturation of the consumer. In short, its rapid spike from generic older cars to the cream-of-the-crop classic and desirable sports cars has caused its relevance to become a bit overrated.
In addition, prices on these have gone from reasonable to ridiculous, therefore making the GTO a car available to the wealthy or those who already own one. I would never suggest that it is not a desirable car, but it has become a bit overrated in recent years.
7 Chevelle SS
One of the beauties from the Detroit of a bygone era, the Chevelle SS is as menacing looking as it is sounding. An undoubtedly beautiful car, it has fallen into the trap of Hollywood. Having been featured in recent blockbusters such as The Other Guys (where they destroy countless Chevelle SS's) to Jack Reacher, it has become oversaturated on the big screen which always seems to lead to one thing- outrageous prices.
While no one can say they are not desirable, they are overpriced and have seen their fair share of the spotlight during the past ten or so years. This has led many to feel a sense of overratedness when it comes to the Chevelle SS.
6 Dodge Charger
Ah, the Dodge Charger. Once the menace of Hazzard County, it has slowly slumped into the parking lot of a Walmart being the victim of an economical engine and a cheap lease payment. Don't get me wrong- the Dodge Charger is still a great car in many of its trims, but it has fallen into the trap that many of its closely related cousins have which we will get to later on.
While the Charger's rebirth in 2006 came as a sweet surprise, they are now as common on the street as a Honda Civic thanks to their cheap monthly lease payments and their overabundance of production.
5 C8 Corvette
This car might be the definition of overhyped in the modern era. While unarguably a tremendous achievement on the part of Chevrolet, the C8 Corvette has been talked about to death in the past couple of years. Commonly seen around town, they have become a bit too common to stand out from the crowd.
While being a common sight often is a testament to a vehicle's quality and prowess, the C8 Corvette has fallen victim to numerous production issues and recalls, aggregating many owners and potential customers alike.
4 Chrysler Crossfire
A cool little car, the Chrysler Crossfire was quite a random offering from Chrysler back in the day. Having now been out of production for quite some time, the Crossfire has settled into the owner circle of high schoolers who have recently obtained driving privileges and were lucky enough to get some sort of sports car for their first vehicle.
While the Crossfire has aged quite well, it has become a bit of a customizable road racer, and models on the road often look quite abused and worn out. In this sense, the Chrysler Crossfire has become the overrated and budget American sports car in many ways.
3 Chevrolet Camaro
No, I am not talking about the Camaro's of olden years, but the newest generation. The Chevrolet Camaro has made its mark in automotive history- that is not disputable, but it has swayed so far from its roots in the past couple of years that it's increasingly hard to associate with the Camaro's of old.
While quite good looking to me, the design of the most recently refreshed Camaro has proven to be a bit polarizing, and additionally, they are made with some pretty subpar base engines, making the base 4 cylinder Camaro a bit too common on the roads for a car of its status. Chevrolet has achieved making the Camaro available to the masses, but at what cost?
2 Ford Mustang
The newest generation of Ford Mustang is really a gorgeous car. I test drove one once with the EcoBoost, and it drove quite well. The issue is that like the Camaro above, the Mustang with the Ecoboost engine is nothing more than a Ford Focus with a different body. I know that there are plenty of people who enjoy the Ecoboost engines, myself included, but the incorporation of them into a car with as rich a history as the Mustang was a mistake in my opinion.
Once again like the Camaro above, these tiny engined Mustang's are all too common as cheap leases, leading to the sight of them on the road is a bit too often and overrated.
1 Dodge Challenger
Relaunched just a few years after the Dodge Charger's rebirth in the 21st Century, the Dodge Challenger had plenty of potential. Dodge has consistently released crazy powerful versions of it in the past few years as well, such as the Hellcat and Demon's, but they have also released the 4 cylinder versions as well, which is what we are talking about today. If I had to say a car that I see the most often in Florida in the sports car segment, it would have to be a Challenger. Quite simply, they're everywhere. The saddest part is that when they pass, not a sound is heard from their exhaust- most of them are the 4 cylinder versions.
And while the Challenger and muscle car connection has indeed stayed alive with the Challenger's higher trims, it is one car that should never have been given a tiny engine and a cheap feel. Dodge Challenger's are synonymous with muscle cars and should stay that way, not cater to the masses in the form of a fuel-efficient Challenger.