As of lately the car manufacturers have been strategically bringing back a few of the cool cars of yesteryear… the Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac GTO, etc. While these are great and I’m sure that many of us couldn’t be happier to see these old friends, there are still a few models out there that we still wished they’d bring back. Let’s open this discussion with a few favorites and see if we can’t get something rolling with a few of these manufacturers.

Buick Grand National GNX-

This would have to be one of the baddest slabs of American muscle that ever came packaged within the format of a V-6. With the humble 1978 beginnings with a 3.8 liter turbo engine capable of 165 horsepower, The Grand National soured the ranks of ultimate respect when it introduced its 1987 limited edition GNX.

1987 was the last year of the Grand Nationals productions and Buick decided to go out with a bang. This has been called the height of the Buick’s decade of existence. The limited edition GNX was fitted with a Garrett turbocharger and ultra lightweight ceramic impeller, which allowed the turbo charger to be set at 15 psi. This transformed that original 165 horses into 275 bhp and 360 lbs torque.

The transmission of the GNX had to be substantially strengthened to handle the extra power, and it was given plenty of gleaming chrome accents to foster its “bad” look. This combination continues to be potent today, and few cars today can still hold up to one of these sleek black (the GNX only came in black) beauties at a stoplight. We can only imagine how a retro styled grand national GNX might look, and some of us wouldn’t mind finding out.

You hear that Buick!

Porsche 930 (“Wide Body”)-

The 930 was basically the race version of the infamous 911 built from 1976 to 1993. The Type 930 S Coupe basically took the stock 911 body, added flared fenders to protect the wider wheels and tires, a whale tail rear spoiler, and boosted the engine with the infamous (albeit ‘lag’ prone) KKK turbocharger.

Mostly intended for racing, the Porsche 930 S had a 3.3-liter six-cylinder engine with two valves per cylinder, producing 300 horsepower. The 930 could sprint from 0 to 60 in around 5 seconds, which is still respectable today. The 930 continues to be quite a rare find today and was not even sold in the states from 1979 through 1985.

Okay, okay… before anybody says the obvious, we understand the new 911 turbo is the American version of the same thing, but we still think it would be awesome if Porsche would open up a new can of 930 whoop a__, complete with a race suspension, heavily boosted turbo, wide rear tires, fender flares, and fully equipped to be taken out on the track right off the showroom floor!

What cars would you like to see brought back?

The e-vine has a tendency of listening to such requests on occasion you know…

Well, by popular opinion anyway… We must say that before we start, we are by no means trying to put down someone else’s ideal dream car. If you own one of these vehicles we are about to portray and love it, we say that is but more power to you. Just because one person, or even an entire battalion of Internet personalities say that a car is ugly, does not mean that in actuality it is. If you happen to like one of the cars we are about to mention, feel free to counter these opinions with your own opinions. It’s thankfully still a free country where we can all express our own opinions. So without further adieu, let’s get our ugly on…

2007 Chevy Avalanche

The Chevy Avalanche is not a bad looking vehicle in some respects, but what really does it in, is its over abundance of cheap looking plastic. There was a time when a tough truck was meant to look sturdy and purposeful, and unfortunately for the Chevy Avalanche, that time is still present. The proportion of these trucks is also rather odd, with an open bed the size equivalence to a Subaru Baja, and that alone is enough to give the Chevy a few more ugly points. The front end around to the first set of doors was a good start, now all Chevy needs to do is peel away some of that plastic and get back to the basics!

2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser

There was a time when the uniqueness of the car gave it a respectable stance on the streets. Today, there are more of these cruising around on the streets than there are New Beetles, and those darn near got onto this list, but were excused due to their overall cuteness factor. The PT Cruiser is not cute, its not really cool, it is only slightly functional, and quite frankly is trying to be too many cars rolled into one. It is a nostalgic weekend cruiser, SUV substitute, four door family wagon, and a daily driver. It is shaped to be adored by woman, yet have the hotrod lines to appease the men. There was a time and a place for a PT Cruiser, but quite frankly, it has now outlived their time and is in need of a serious update. There is only so much room for nostalgic vehicles, which brings us to the next vehicle on the list, the Chevy SSR.

Chevy SSR Pickup

If this isn’t a wanna-be PT Cruiser, I don’t know what else is. It has the same nostalgic hot rod features mixed with modern innovation to create was many believe to be rather ugly. Once again we have a car that is just trying to be too many things, none of which it does well enough to give it a proper excuse for its overall odd appearance. It is a good thing that Chevy is about to redeem themselves with the new Camaro, which is a nostalgic masterpiece in automotive design!

Toyota Scion

Yes, the Toyota Scion is ugly, but for many it is ugly in the Chihuahua kind of way. It is actually so ugly, that in the right light it actually becomes kind of cute and quirky. The after market for this car is just tremendous and people are clamoring to customize these. This is the reason that we can’t claim these as completely ugly, as some people absolutely adore these cars. The real problem here, is they are just too boxy for the millennium. Perhaps 100 years ago these would have been acceptably beautiful… but today, no!

Pontiac Aztec

The looks of this particular automobile is very disorganized. The mismatched lines, angles, disproportionate headlights, and gray plastic body accents just do not add any beauty to this vehicle at all. The flat rear end is a common complaint from consumers who claim the Aztec looks as if its rear half was designed entirely by a different team than the front half. While trying to refrain from anything to negative here, that would seem to be a fair assumption. This is abviously Pontiac’s attempt to steal some of the Honda Element and Toyota Scion atention away… and it does succeed, but just not in the best way!

Honda Element

It actually makes one heck of a chia pet. The Honda Element is just another “element” similar to the Pontiac Aztec and Toyota Scion. Customers have claimed the basic look to be of a “Hummer—fresh out of a trash compactor.” Once again we are dealing with a very boxy vehicle that is trying to be very different from the crowd, but to most tastes, it is just too odd. The one salvaging feature is its washable interior floorboards, which give it a few brownie points. As love/hate relationships go, the Honda Element will continue both be loved and hated by its consumer market… but maybe that’s what gives it part of its appeal. Some people just love to be different from the rest of the crowd!

And there you have it, a hand full of some of the worst looking vehicles that the last two tears have had to offer. This coming year has some hopeful contenders, but we shall wait to comment… at least long enough to give the all important consumer time to formulate their ultimate opinion!

With all the talk of performance vehicles, parts, tunes and upgrades, inevitably the question of octane is going to come up. Many performance vehicles and upgrades necessitate the need for a higher octane, such as 93. The problem here is that not everywhere has the higher octanes.

For example, much of Colorado does not have any higher that 91 and in some places, you would be hard pressed to find much over 89. And of course, in such places, if you want much higher octane that what is readily available, you are certainly going to have to pay for it.

One option is always to have your vehicle de-tuned to accept the lower octane, but number one, that can be rather expensive, and number two, it can be difficult to find a dyno tuner in some parts of the US.

To make-up for lack of octane, may enthusiasts will turn to octane boosters to make-up the difference. The problem, here, is with all of the different formula used you never know if you are going to get a half of point or two points.

They have done a lot of research on this and NOS brand is actually fairly reliable for 2 to 3 extra points. 104+ has been around awhile as well and gets consistently close to 2 points increase in octane per dosage. Turbo 108 is a brand that is often recommended by professionals as well.

There are those however that will tell you that you should never use a booster to compensate for lack of octane. But we are here to let you in on a different thought that isn’t always talked about… altitude.

There is a reason that some places have lower octane than others. It has been said that for every 1,000 feet above sea level, the octane requirement drops by one point. This explains why Colorado does not have 93, because quite simply, it is not necessary for most engines… even moderately performance oriented ones.

Unless you have a race car that must be on a very strict diet of racing fuel levels of octane, generally you can use the lower octane level in high altitudes without the use of any booster and the vehicle will be completely within the realm of safety.

Of course, it can be extremely bad to run a high performance vehicle on gas well below the limits it has been tuned for because serious engine damage can occur. High altitude will not be as favorable to turbo and ultra high compression engines.

Always listen for engine ping while under load when using a lower octane than recommended… and if you are traveling cross-country, be particularly aware of changes to the engines performance. A good rule of thumb is to run the highest pump octane sold in the area you are traveling through.