- How's the Mustachio here in the U S you really only have a
few major contenders when it comes to car manufacturers with
performance divisions and these performance divisions are
what's responsible for a lot of the company's PR through the
creation of flagship vehicles, for example,
how many V6 and RT model challengers do you think Dodge
would sell without the hype of SRT or how many people would
be so blindly brand loyal to basic Chevrolet Sedans
without the hype of the Corvette?
Probably not as many as you may think.
Flagship vehicle development is huge
for automotive manufactures
all the way down to entry-level Econobox.
But what happens when some of that performance starts
trickling down into the lesser models? Well,
you end up with some really neat underrated sleepers that
not a lot of people actually learned
about because manufacturers
don't invest the time or resources into marketing these cars
for fear of stepping on the toes of their flagship vehicles.
These are typically the ultimate performance bargains,
because you get an enthusiastic developed vehicle without
all the bro tax. But before we jump into that,
let me tell you about our new giveaway.
We teamed up with Rotiform to create some awesome new
merch for you guys.
That includes an incredibly versatile sun hat and some
absolutely banging T-shirts for you guys.
And of course, for every $5 you spend,
you get entered for a chance to win a set of Rotiform
wheels, get yours before they're gone,
because they're not gonna last long. And of course,
make sure you subscribe to the channel. If you haven't
already it had a Fitment Industries.com for all of
your wheel tire and suspension needs.
And while you're there,
make sure to add your car to the gallery and also stick
around for the last car on this list.
This one's gonna blow your face right off.
This is my top five list of underrated USDM cars that you
can buy right now, let's get started in 1998,
Mercedes and Chrysler merged to create Daimler Chrysler AG.
Now this merger products,
things like the Chrysler LX platform that was based off the
Mercedes E-Class and that platform is still used today on
things like the Charger and the Challenger. And yes,
even the Hellcat demon, likewise,
your cherished Jeep grand Cherokee and Dodge wrangler shares
the Mercedes ML platform.
So naturally Chrysler inherited
a couple of hand me downs from AMG.
as well, enter the Chrysler crossfire.
It was based on the Mercedes SLK and debuted in 2003 for the
2004 model year. And to be Frank, it kind of sucked,
but at 2005 Chrysler took some notes from AMG
and by took some notes.
I obviously mean copied their homework and they delivered us
the SRT six variant with all of the SLK 32 AMG goodies,
including the 330 horsepower and 310 foot pounds,
supercharged V6, zero to 60 mile an hour.
Now only took 4.8 seconds,
which was only less than half a second slower than the new
C6 Corvette at the time.
And being boost from a factory of five minute police swap
and some software,
and you'll be spanking Corvettes in your weird
Chrysler oversize Miata thing, and the best part,
because the crossfire itself was pretty well.
A flop even SRT six is extremely affordable for the
performance. It delivers.
You're talking about 10 to $15,000 for Chacy ,
with tons of development behind it in a drive train.
That's equally as developed over engineered
and has lots of aftermarket support.
And for that reason, the Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 is
a forgotten budget, superhero and underrated.
The next car on this list is well,
it's a Mustang more specifically an SN 95 Mustang.
Now, before you all puke in your mouth, hear me out.
It's an SVT Cobra,
but it's not your typical five liter 240 horsepower Cobra.
I'm talking about the 1995 SVT Cobra R.
Now, before we go into any further details,
let's get something straight.
The Cobra R was not meant to compete with the obviously more
powerful Camaro Z28 at the time,
which is the common misconception.
The 1995 Cobra R was built to be a factory race car in the
manner of the 65 Shelby GT350R
but still street legal with all emissions and safety
equipment in tech,
much like the S550(GT350R) we have today
to further its race car
attributes that the Cobra R received.
a track legal fuel cell and was stripped of its air
conditioning, power windows and backseat,
stereo sound installation,
and a bunch of other stuff you simply
don't need on the racetrack,
but that wasn't necessarily what made this Mustang so
special. The Cobra R got a 5.8 liter VA.
That was based on the engine and the SVT
lightning pickup at the time.
But this one got higher compression
a more aggressive camp
in a bountiful power to 300 horsepower
in 365 foot pounds of torque
which made the 95 Cobra R the most powerful factory issue,
small block Mustang ever.
And the fiberglass hood with a huge center balls was needed.
To clear the taller engine and would end up being one of
the most popular additions to the SN95 Mustang for years to
come. The Cobra R are also got a different transmission.
It used the tremec 3550 speed,
which replaced the regular Cobra BorgWarner T5.
And it also added some shorter gears as well.
The Cobra R would go on to deliver on SVTs promise of track
handling posting a 67.4 mile an hour.
Average speed through motor trans log course,
which is 1.1 mile an hour faster
than the 1995, Porsche nine 11,
and generating 0.96 G in 1995. That was flying,
especially for a platform that was 25 years old at the time.
But even that,
isn't my favorite thing about this car in order to even be
allowed to buy this car,
Ford would require buyers to either have a race team or have
a racing license and show plans
to compete in IMSA, SCCA, NHRA, right Or IHRA competition
forcing users to use this special
Mustang the way it was intended and not let it sit.
Now naturally, a few of these cars did get
through to collectors hand that
still have dealer miles on them,
but jokes on them because in typical SN95 fashion,
even the most special versions of still have pretty low
demand and thus are not subject to collector tax.
These cars are selling in the low twenties and top out
around $35,000 for nearly undriven examples.
And for that reason, the 1995 SPT Cobra R,
is under hyped over engineered and underrated.
Rear wheel drive four doors, large interior dimensions,
understated design in a largest spaceman V8 engine
based on GM LS series of engines.
And no am not talking about the G8 I'm of course,
talking about these six generation Chevrolet Caprice.
Now you haven't heard
of the latest 2010 2017 Chevrolet Caprice.
You've probably been sleeping under a rock or it's because
they're only available to city and state municipalities as a
police pursuit vehicle, or as GM calls it caprice PPV.
The other reason you may be unaware of these cars is
probably the styling.
It's like a mix between a 2008 and Paula and a Malibu mixed
together and painted in brand colors.
The car's design was extremely understated and honestly,
a bit hard to spot as a really don't stand out at all.
Granted these cars aren't too quick out of the box.
It's six liter V8 is easily woken up with a couple of
hundred dollars in modifications.
So you'll be glad you fly almost literally under the radar.
So in typical PPV passion,
these cars are pretty stripped down even in its top
detective trend known internally as nine C3 detective pack
cars at a center council with cup holders where the regular
cars had an open space for radios and computers.
The detective package also adds full length side curtain
airbags not installed on the cruiser models because of
the partition between the front and back seats safety.
These cars will also skip the stain resistant vinyl
coverings that the standard Caprice would offer.
And they also pass on the usual police markings and light
because the nature of this car being stripped down as a
police car and only being available
to buy as a municipality,
these cars are very cheap on the secondhand market
and are great for just about everything outside
of being a luxury car.
These cars can be had in the five to $15,000 range,
depending on the miles year.
And that detective Packers that we talked about earlier,
which at the end of the day is quite a bargain.
There's not a lot of other cars on the market that offer
this new of a vehicle,
but the reputation and reliability of an LS based premium
police car for this kind of money.
And for that reason, the Caprice PPV
is fairly priced and underrated.
In 1989 Ford decided to take a stab
at the sport sedan market.
Something no other domestic brand had done at the time.
And they did so with their sights lock onto a BMW.
So Ford took there at the time
best selling Taurus and turn
it into their very own rendition of everything
that the BMW M5 stood for.
And they called it the Taurus SHO to live up to the super
high output name.
The show got sporty suspension,
dual exhaust, heavily bolstered sport seats.
And for the time,
very large 15 inch wheels for those
with German appetites on a slim budget,
the show provided German inspired performance at a nearly
reasonable price. It was big enough to haul a family,
but still had performance freight for those who couldn't
fit their families in a Mustang GT.
And maybe best of all,
the original shows were manual only.
The engine though is where this car really shines.
The show had a very exotic three liter engine.
Now, even though this three liters shared
the same displacement as the non show cars,
it wasn't very different developed by Yamaha.
The shows three liter had lightweight
and strong Ford internals, four vials per cylinder,
dual overhead cams and variable length intake runners good
for 220 horsepower and 200 foot pounds of torque in 1989.
I'm a naturally aspirated three liter B6.
Those were V8 numbers at the time.
The show's breadline was mocking
the tachometer at 7,000 RPM,
but fuel cutoff didn't occur till 7,300,
also pretty crazy number for the time.
However, the engine was actually capable of 8,500 RPM,
but it was limited to 7,300 due to the Ford accessories
failing at around 8,000 RPM.
You can get your hands on some sub 50K mile prestige
examples of these cars for under $8,000.
This is truly a piece of American car history
that goes completely unnoticed.
I really believe that someday
these cars will shoot up in value.
The first generation Taurus show
is under hyped undervalued and underrated
with 230 turbocharged horsepower Emanuel transmission,
and the convenience of a station wagon.
The last car on this list goes out to one of the most
overlooked performance oriented five door hatchback values
of all time.
Let me introduce you
to the personal transport cruiser, GT arguably,
one of the most hated cars of all time,
but let me tell you why you're wrong.
The PTGT offers all the thrills and performance of the SRT
for neon with all the convenience of a small transit van.
Everything connected to the front sub frame of the PTGT
is all SRT for engine,
SRT4 the trans is a stronger get-rich unit than the SRT4,
without all the third gear issues, suspension, brakes,
and cooling, it's all SRT4.
The only difference is the intake manifold,
which is designed for better low end torque slap
a couple hundred dollars in fuel miles on
this bad boy and crank up the boost.
And you've got yourself a V8 Slayer on your hands,
all the hauling, a pair minibikes,
and two coolers in the back.
The GT itself also got rid of all
of the issues surrounding the base models,
turd of a naturally aspirated engine and gave it some
amenities that made the PT a much more livable place than
the neon. And even the base PT,
the PTGT is quite literally an SRT4 neon wagon,
and it's slept on so hard because of its questionable
outdated styling. But to me,
that's what makes this car so much better because with low
demand comes low price,
just $5,000 will get you a very nice Sub,
100,000 mile PTGT with a manual transmission.
Whereas a $5,000 SRT4 will get you
the world's rustiest pieces
and all the cheap aftermarket parts that work on the
SRT4 work on the PT as well.
Wheels, suspension, performance parts of all of it.
Now I get that the styling is awkward and
that your masculine egos are too fragile
to be seen in something
that holds even the slightest feminine stigma,
but the PTGT is arguably one of the best performance
oriented values in the market right now,
especially if you're on a budget
and that's why the PT cruiser GT manual
is one of the most underrated American cars of all time,
but that about wraps up this special overly requested USDM
episode of over under be sure to leave a comment about what
USDM cars you think are underrated or
what you think I got completely wrong,
and don't forget to subscribe.
If you haven't already,
we upload every single fricking day,
and you're not gonna wanna miss any of it.
But if that's still not enough for you,
we even started a second channel called fitment industry's
garage because we couldn't fit all the content on this one.
So make sure to go check out that channel from the link in
the description, and of course,
head over to Fitment Industries.com for all of your wheel
tire and suspension needs. And while you're there,
don't forget to check out the giveaway where you can win a
set of Rotiform wheels.
I'll even link to those in the description as well.
I'm Shawn Freeman industries, Samhita fin Instagram,
please don't hate me. Peace.