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Car Culture
I love 90's American muscle and Japanese sports cars. The aggressive stance, curvy stylings, and of course, pop-up headlights! While cars now are faster, safer, and perhaps more comfortable, performance surged in the 90's, with almost every name brand having its own sports variant. From badge engineering to truly unique power monsters, I believe this era of automotive history produced some of the coolest cars I can only dream of experiencing. I have included a few of my favorites to share some of my own car knowledge; click the image to see the original listings!
My Favorites
Firebird Trans Am
The final generation of the Pontiac Firebird is my all time favorite muscle car. From the mean nostril front-end to side mirrors 'designed in a wind tunnel,' the last of the birds went out in a flame. Top models were equipped with the bullet proof 5.7L V8 LS1 engine, the same one in the Corvette! Cars with the WS6 sports package came stock with 325-horsepower and 0-60 in just under 5 seconds (Hurlin, 2016). This gorgeous 2000 Firebird Trans am is exactly what I would want: 6 speed manual, LS1, WS6 sports package, glass T-top roof, navy blue metallic exterior, and ebony black leather interior.
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MX-5 Miata NAThe MX-5 Miata is a tiny two seater roadster produced by Mazda in the early to late 90's and sold to both the US and Japanese market. Mazda named the car factory code MX-5 NA, with subsequent generations denoted NB, NC, and ND. There were many special editions, but my favorite Miata would have to be the 1996 M-Edition, equipped with a tan leather interior, power steering, power windows, ABS, a factory alarm system, speakers embedded in the headrest, and the beautiful Starlight Blue Mica paint (Torchio, 2008). As the saying goes, when in doubt, Miata Is Always The Answer!
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RX-7 FD
Mazda's main performance sports car of the 80s and 90s was the RX-7, most famous for utilizing a three rotor rotary engine. The final generation, FD, attached a sequential twin turbocharger system to add more power, touting a substantial 276 hp by the end of production (Ben, 2018). The RX-7 has been featured in pop culture through many racing games such as The Need for Speed franchise and popular movies like The Fast and the Furious.
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Mustang SVT Cobra |
R32 Skyline GT-R
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Toyota Supra
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The Mustang Cobra was Ford's top of the line sport model of the mustang during the 90s with dual overhead cams (DOHC) to allow for better engine breathing and better brakes, shocks, etc. In 1996, they introduced this interesting Mystic color changing paint depending on where the light shined. Equipped with a 4.6L V8, the Mustang made low to mid 300 horsepower and a sub 6 second 0-60mph (Anderson Ford).
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The Nissan GTR Skyline is one of the top JDM enthusiast dream cars, only ever produced and sold in Japan. It is one of Nissan's longest running sports cars, taking sometimes decade breaks, and was able to keep up with European supercars like Ferraris with only a small 2.0L inline 6. It received a twin turbo for the third generation (R32), and so "Godzilla" was born. It dominated race tracks, even getting turbochargers banned from Australia Group A racing to balance out the competition. Featured in numerous videogames and movies, the Skyline is very sought after, especially now that it is eligible for US import under the 25-year rule. Newer models have expanded outside of Japan, but the 90s is where the legacy first started.
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Toyota Supra is another speed demon with a inline 6 that took the streets by storm. Power was driven by the famous 2jz engine and top models getting twin turbos. The 4th gen Supras were popularized by the movie The Fast and the Furious and have skyrocketed in price since. This beautiful example is a 1997 15th anniversary Deep Jewel Green Metallic with white interior and a Targa Top. To my surprise, I actually saw one for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Anchorage last spring for relatively cheap compared to auction prices.
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Acura NSX-TThe NSX was Honda's race/sports coupe and was designed to compete with Ferraris of the same time.
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Impreza 22b-STiSubaru Impreza STi was Subaru's take on 90s sports sedan and has continued today with the WRX STI. The 22b was a special variant to commemorate Subaru's 40th anniversary and entered the World Rally Championship in 1998. It is the Impreza's heritage and deserves a spot in my top 10.
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3000GT VR4The Mitsubishi 3000GT was made by Diamond Star Company, a collaboration between Chrysler and Mitsubishi during the 90s. The Dodge Stealth was a badge engineered copy of the 3000GT with very slight differences. The best model of the 3000GT was the VR4 AWD twin turbo V6, although there was also a limited model called the GTO Spyder that was equipped with a hardtop convertible, which we are now starting to see in new sport cars.
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Camaro Z28 IROC-ZWhile not technically from the 90s, the 3rd gen Camaro have a definitely an interesting look with the sunk in head lamps and ducktail spoiler. The Z28 IROC-Z was the top of the line sports version and the IROC-Z name was only used for this 80s generation car.
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AE86The AE86 is the 5th generation of Toyota Corolla and was featured in Initial D, a Japanese manga about a young tofu delivery street racer, and other movies like The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. It is iconic in JDM car culture and famously out drifted an RX-7 without spilling a cup of water.
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Lamborghini DiabloI don't really care for European Automotive, however the Lamborghini Diablo is stunning. The classic wing doors and Italian design does give it personality, not to mention a 5.7L V12 capable of reaching 500 horsepower.
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