Think of niche cars these days and you might think of the trend to crossover-ise every hatchback, or perhaps the Volkswagen Group’s constant pursuit of four-door-versions-of-two-door-coupe-versions-of-four-door-saloon models.
Generally, niche cars try to combine the roles of two more traditional categories, though some attempt to create new ones – there was no “pony car” market before the arrival of the Ford Mustang, after all.
But while some niche models have really hit the mark, most are just too plain weird to ever have any real staying power. Here’s seven of the weirdest niche cars that we can’t help but love all the same.
Willys Jeepster
The Second World War had transformed the humble Willys Jeep into something of an icon, and in attempt to cash in on its post-war popularity, Willys Overland decided to try and broaden its appeal.
Given the popularity of SUV-styled crossovers these days you might think that would be an instant success, but instead Willys decided to package the Jeep in a sporty, convertible body. Err…
The result was neither rugged off-roader, nor sleek and sexy sports car, though it can claim to be the last proper phaeton-bodied vehicle made by a major manufacturer.
Subaru BRAT
Symmetrical all-wheel drive is kind of Subaru’s thing, and the manufacturer believed it was onto a winning formula by using its famous AWD chassis as the basis for a small but rugged pickup truck.
Sounds like a fantastic idea to us, but then Subaru decided to go and bolt in a couple of rear-facing plastic seats into the load bed. The result was the BRAT, and although it was beloved by US President Ronald Reagan, who drove one around his California ranch, it was kind of a lemon.
The fact that it didn’t have much cargo space was one of the biggest points against it, while the fact that those horrible little seats meant certain death for passengers in the event of an accident was another.
AMC Eagle
The most unfortunate thing about the AMC Eagle was that it was a fantastic idea that just so happen to come at the worst possible period.
Essentially a jacked-up AMC Concord with tough-looking body cladding, the Eagle was ahead of its time and foreshadowed cars like the Subaru Outback and the Audi Allroad.
Unfortunately, in the early 1980s people were just fine with buying regular estate cars and didn’t buy into the whole off-roading thing the way they do today. A pseudo-SUV just didn’t make sense, and so the Eagle was discontinued.
Dodge Dakota convertible
Building a convertible pick-up truck isn’t exactly the hardest thing to do, but the major problem simply is: does anybody want one?
Apparently not, since pretty much nobody bought the Dodge Dakota convertible. Hillbillies aside, the idea of a drop-top truck was just too much for the average motorist.
Nissan Pulsar NX
Nowadays you know the Pulsar as Nissan’s mid-sized hatchback, but the name first appeared back in the 1980s on a very strange vehicle indeed.
Kind of like a LEGO set, the Pulsar NX could be transformed from a coupe into a hatchback, a pick-up truck or even a convertible sports car with a Firebird-style T-top roof.
Trying to be the jack of all trades proved to be the Pulsar NX’s downfall: it was never a very good coupe, nor was it a good hatchback, pickup-truck or convertible. D’oh.
Subaru Baja
Fair play to Subaru, even after the BRAT didn’t do so well it still persisted with its concept of a compact but capable pickup and the next incarnation of that idea was the Baja.
There’s no denying that it’s a cool looking car, particularly with its optional spotlights, but it just wasn’t all that good at the whole practicality side of things, a crippling drawback for a pickup.
Chevrolet SSR
Proof that some concept cars should stay as concepts, the Chevrolet SSR looked pretty fantastic on the motor show stage with its quirky design, but in practice it was a fairly horrid little car.
Underneath that retro-tastic sports car styling lay the underpinnings of a pickup truck, with both the engine and the chassis robbed from the Trailblazer.
As a result it was porky, fairly slow and only had two very small seats. Some people did buy them, but it was always a car that was better to look at than it was to own.
