My previous Question of the Day focused on your favorite special-edition vehicles, where I so kindly jarred your memory of the excellent Mercury Villager Nautica and GMC Jimmy Diamond Edition. Both of those vehicles showcased enough delightfully distinguishing features that I had to recommend them as prime examples of doing special editions right in the ’90s and early ’00s.
But not all special editions are worthwhile. There are plenty of ill-conceived, silly special editions out there, crapping up the aesthetic of everything in their vicinity. Some look too of the moment when most of those moments certainly don’t deserve memorialization.
Which brings me to my question for you today: What’s the lamest special edition?
I bet most of you forgot my pick long ago, around the time you were throwing away your kids’ broken Nintendo 64. And much like the Nintendo 64, this vehicle was covered in cheap grey plastic, and had goofy early-2000s design touches. Behold!
For sale at a dealer in Minnesota (which is near Canada), this lame special edition is the Chevrolet Avalanche. Now calm down for a second, because I’m not besmirching the GMT805 Avalanche generally.
This is an Avalanche The North Face Edition. In 2002, with the launch of the new Avalanche model, The North Face Edition started stinking up showrooms beginning with this big badge on the C-pillar.
Another notable change was an interior you’d think came straight out of the Jurassic Park gift shop — until you remember Jurassic Park was a Ford-sponsored movie, and took place eight years earlier. This example shows how green leather ages differently according to exposure, as the arm rests are truer to the original sickening green color. There’s also a red The North Face badge sewn into the front seats to remind you of your vehicular purchasing mistake.
I’m not sure why anyone would want an alligator green seat with red teeth mark inserts or seats that were 18 percent made of cloth rather than leather.
Another feature of this edition was a The North Face badge in the lower left of the instrument panel, and some white-backed gauges to make it harder to see when driving on a sunny day.
According to an article from Pickuptrucks.com, The North Face featured branded backpacks strapped to the back of the front seats, which would rub against rear passengers’ legs and also rattle and make other friction-type noises as you drove along. I bet very few examples still retain these backpacks (but maybe the clips are still there, looking ridiculous). There were also two duffel bags for the cargo area, making for a full four-piece set of luggage!
As you entered your special Avalanche, you were also greeted by green door inserts and metallic-silver speaker grilles. Thrilling.
And the price for all this lameness back in 2002 was $37,465 before sunroof and convenience packages. That’s about $51,800 today.
What’s your pick for the lamest special edition?
[Images via dealer and Pickuptrucks.com.]
the Sinatra edition of the ’80s Chrysler Imperial. Went over like a fart in church, and was a glimpse into how out-of-touch Iacocca would soon be; clinging to padded/landau roofs and stodgy styling well into the ’90s.
Is this an attempt to a) trigger Corey, or b) blatantly trigger him?
Besides, the Imperial was AWESOME…Darth Vader’s personal luxury car.
no, if I was trying to trigger him I’d have said the Ford Escape “Amber Lenses Edition.”
Well the model was a flop entirely, but they sold a decent number of the FS Imperial. And while it was corny, Sinatra put his name on it and appeared in the ads – so I give it a bit of credit.
Confucius say man who farts in church sits in his own pew.
Really??? That is utterly ridiculous. That was a great special edition package. It came in Glaciar Blue to match his eyes, and a console full of Sinatra cassettes that you could enjoy immediately upon purchase. And Ol’ Blue Eyes himself was an owner. A disgruntled owner who had problems with his early Mopar electronic fuel injection system it turns out, but still an owner.
Carol Shelby anything. Especially the Mustang ‘Cobra.’ Shop milking that cow FFS.
Bad example. The Cobra products actually add serious performance and handling. It’s not just some lame badges and cosmetic features.
@Car Guy – You mean like the Shelby GLH-S and Shelby Dakota?
How about the Mustang Cobra II?
Shelby F150?
Twice as expensive as a Raptor and looks exactly like a Ricer was set loose on a pickup.
I’m 100% on tresmonos side on this one.
The *Cobra* name on anything other than the 2 seater aluminum bodied modified AC doesn’t sit well with me.
@Lou – He specifically said Mustang Cobra and that’s where I called him out. You gave better examples.
You can just call the god d@mned thing a Cobra / GT350 / Whatever Ford has used in the past. Why the hard on for Carroll Shelby?
Ford naming cars after people is like calling a car the Edsel. Why does some old racing rich piece of sh1t get all the fame? Why not name it Henry Ford? FFS might as well name a car after Hitler since ol Henry didn’t want his Cologne plant bombed by the allies.
The AC Cobra is not a god d@mned mustang. It’s the same as a Rousch Mustang. Ford nepotism.
your opinion sucks 4ss.
If Carroll had no hand in building them, lame. If it’s just a “sticker package”, more lame. “Cobra” by itself is a name Ford nabbed, and fairly independent of Carroll Shelby.
There may be some loose ties, but don’t associate Carroll or Shelby with “Cobra” (nicknamed “The Terminator” or Termi) supercharged Mustangs of the early ’00s.
Man, why all the hate? Is Shelby a relative who cut you out of the will or something? Get your panties out of the wad……..
Ol Carroll took his sweet dear Nana out for a nice seafood dinner and never called her again
The “Walking Dead” Hyundai Tucson.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2014-hyundai-tucson-the-walking-dead-special-edition-starts-at-29775.html
Now, if they’d tossed in a Daryl-edition crossbow, or a Michonne katana…
YES. God that was lame. I forgot about it.
Austin Allegro Equipe, with porous alloys that left you with 4 flat tyres in the morning.
Nice shorts though (Google Imagess).
SportsGirl Barina. Yep, a car designed by a frock salon…
1972 Chevelle Malibu “Heavy Chevy”.
Anything Mitsubishi Lancer not base models or Evo.
The Heavy Chevy, Rally Nova and similar early 1970s “tape stripe” packages such as the Pontiac T-37 made sense in their time.
First, in 1969 the Nixon administration declared the economy to be “overheating”; to slow things down, Congress raised taxes and new ones were enacted. An economic slowdown followed.
At the same time, insurance companies’ increasingly refused to insure muscle cars, or at least they received a hefty surcharge, even on a spotless record.
And then there were new smog laws reducing the power of muscle cars. GM’s 1971 models had reduced compression ratios to allow you to run on unleaded gasoline, which would come for 1975.
So sales of high-profit muscle cars were crashing, along with sales of fancier models in general. It was a “back to basics” period for many car shoppers.
IIRC the Heavy Chevy and Rally Nova were actually base models with the tape stripes and a few options. And that’s how most of them were sold, on value.
But if you wanted, the Heavy Chevy could also be ordered with up to the 454 and Rally Nova up to the 396. People who could afford to insure the real thing still bought the fancier SS models of course, but because Heavy Chevy and Rally Nova weren’t SS’s, they were more likely to fly under insurance companies’ radar. Similar with the T-37, there was a GT-37 variant that was more easily insured. Again, these engines were running 8.0:1 or 8.5:1 compression instead of the 10.0:1 or 11.0:1 used in 1970 models that required premium leaded gas. But they were still 396 (actually 402s), 454s and the like.
These packages, depending on how you ordered them, killed two birds with the same stone.
And although tape stripe editions existed before, after the 70s they were EVERYWHERE. And 99% were pretty lame.
I hate to say this. But Porsche has a tendency to bring out special 911 editions, usually commemorating a commemorative edition that was brought out 40 years ago (or so). Like the ducktail RS in Wehrmacht Grün or so. And of course Bugatti with its Veyron. It had such a hard time selling 300 in a decade or so, that all of them ended up being special editions. You could not get a regular one (evidently) if you’d asked for one.
It was the Nissan Rogue One Editions. Now it’s the Nissan Midnight Editions.
Soon to be joined by the NISIMO edition Altima, Pathfinder etc with a body kit and ugly wheels. Evidently, they won’t be upgraded performance wise, its purely an aesthetic “upgrade”.
Now, if they did a proper Maximia NISIMO with a supercharger and a 6mt, that would be awesome.
Any “Official Pace Car” editions. They were usually the very mildest of badge and wheel jobs. Also why drive around in a car advertising a race that occurred X number of years ago?
Allante.
You shut your dirty mouth.
I’ll take the Kelly Bundy addition, please.
The neeewww Allanteeee!
*Bounce, Bounce, Bounce*
Yes. Or “Famous driver at one time in NASCAR” editions.
The NASCAR F-150 was my least favorite version of that truck.
Some of the NASCAR special editions are particularly gaudy. They look like Lee Greenwood drank moonshine and threw up all over it.
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/2000-CHEVROLET-MONTE-CARLO-STREET-VERSION-RACE-CAR-139324
The Trans Am GTA pace car with an even nastier version of the GNX turbo 3.8 was definitely not a badge job. And you could delete the door sticker, if desired.
I’ll also nominate the GMC Colorado Avalanche Edition (yes, the same Colorado Avalanche that won like four games this season). In the late ’90s, GMC dealers around here just slapped an Avs badge on the side of Jimmy, made no other changes, and charged an extra couple hundred bucks.
And because the Avs were YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE in Denver at the time, people bought the things.
Can we count dealer specials like “Florida Editions” with ugly padded roofs and simonized tires?
Since those are not OEM endorsed, no. But perhaps we can do a QOTD about how awful vehicles in Florida are.
Every “Texas” or “Cowboy” or “Longhorn” edition of every truck ever.
Yes Texas, New Mexico, Longhorn, Zia, ALTITUDE edition Chevys.
At least in my area when the Longhorn was orginally introduced it had a great commercial singing the praises of the “llano estacado”
The original Chevy/GMC Longhorn gave you a slightly longer bed.
I was not aware of that, and it’s kinda cool. Mentioned even on this very site…
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/04/chevys-8-12-foot-bed-longhorn-truck-hauls-more-ass/
I did actually like the “HEAVY HALF” Chevy’s and “GENTLEMAN JIM” GMCs.
Growing up a neighbor located a “HEAVY HALF” Chevy and gave it a restoration down to the decals on the bed. He’d drive it every day that the weather was nice (and given the amount of rust he had repaired I couldn’t blame him.)
That sounds awesome. I was aware of the “Heavy Half” before.
Yes. Also all “Harley Davidson” trucks.
Any state edition vehicle, if we can use a broad-based answer like that.
If it has to be one vehicle only, my vote goes for the American Motors cars with Levi’s interiors.
The worst special editions are the Nissans lamely labelled “Special Edition”. It’s like the marketing department just gave up any hope.
A close second is any sport edition, particularly minivans, which consist of nothing more than special paint and some plastic cladding.
“A close second is any sport edition, particularly minivans, which consist of nothing more than special paint and some plastic cladding.”
Corolla S?
Were there actually “Limited Edition” early 1990s Sentras? Or did many of those who had one also buy a generic plaque at an auto parts store? Because that’s exactly what it looks like.
Honda would have SE “Special Edition” Accords now and then, but they usually mean pretty well fully loaded cars, so it was not just like buying a regular LX for example. It was well equipped.
“Were there actually “Limited Edition” early 1990s Sentras?”
Yes, they actually existed. It was late in the B13 run, regular XEs with nicer seats, airbags, and cruise control, or something like that.
i do like Wranglers, but the Call of Duty edition a few years ago – why
SAHARA, ISLANDER, Wrangler Rio Grande, APEX, Columbia, FREEDOM, Golden Eagle, Rocky Mountain, Tomb Raider… lol I think only the Mustang could come close.
I had an Apex edition Wrangler. I bought it used and always planned on removing the sticker from the hood but never got around to doing it. I remember getting stopped at a gas station and a guy asking me when made it the Apex edition. He wanted to know all the parts that made it an Apex. I was like, the sticker, that’s all the sticker. Truth be told it also had brown leatherish seats but I replaced them with normal ones.
As a kid I remember seeing the Sahara and Islander editions all over the place. Wasn’t the only difference between them the color schemes?
The first Rio Grande I ever saw belonged to a professor in college. She was also a sheep farmer and the personalized plate said: “LUV EWE”.
Back in the late 80’s a friend of mine had the Jeep Wrangler Sahara edition. They only came in the one color, olive green and had the mesh protected driving lights. The special green khaki upholstery was quite durable with little rear pouches in back of the seats. A nice special edition.
The Islander was a sticker and special color special edition. The Sahara started out as the top of the line model only available in kacki or green with a tan top. The inside had special interior with nicer carpeting and it also had body color gender flares. The Sahara still exists today but isn’t a special edition anymore it is a model like a limited or SE. It is one of the higher end keeps but without all the hardcore off-road stuff of the Rubicon. You can get leather seats as an example and is has more sound deadening. Still has body color gender flares. The Rio Grand was like a Sahara but in 4cyl vs the Sahara’s 6cyl.
I once saw a “Hankook Tires Edition” Jeep Wrangler. It looked absolutely stupid. I hope that was a dealer thing or a promo vehicle, but considering all the other Wrangler special packages, I wouldn’t put it past them….
Any “Sport” badge on virtually everything. Grand Caravan “sport” comes to mind.
I purchased the ‘original’ Caravan Sport. Had to special order it. Teal colour, white accents, aluminium wheels and captain’s chairs in the 2nd row.
Was going to get another Caravan anyhow and based on all the rave reviews from “automotive journalists’ paid the extra coin for one. Took a few months to take delivery.
Well that is the very last time that I trust ‘automotive journalists’. The ride and handling that they claimed was so much better, was not. The tires were a special size that were outrageously priced. When a family member ‘brushed’ a curb I had fits, when I found out the price to replace the special aluminium wheel.
And to top it off, the infant seat did not fit behind me due to the placement of the captain’s seats in the 2nd row.
Epic fail. Terrible consumer decision.
@Arthur Dailey – The one we had was monochromatic. No other options to speak of kinda like the base model Wrangler is called a sport.
‘Lou’: 1996 model year. The ‘sport’ version was available only in teal or white.
The reviews/reports also claimed some sort of enhanced handling (beyond the wider tires) but I could never find any evidence of that.
Chrysler seems to have had some sort of corporate fixation with the colours white and teal in the 1990s. In 1992 the most expensive Caravan that they offered (and possibly the most expensive non-truck vehicle sold by Chrysler in Canada that year) was the Grand Caravan ES which was also only available only in white or teal.
Bought one of those new as well. White with the boudoir red interior. Was a quiet and soft ride for the kids but the tranny died twice in under 60,000 kms, the ABS system was twitchy and the interior plastic in the back systematically cracked during the first year.
The Sporl edition had thicker antiroll bars or a rear antiroll bar where others had none. That was the special handling
Any “Anniversary Edition.”
On Honda Accords, it’s just a way to create an intermediate trim level without giving in to the rest of the world and allowing standalone options.
On Corvettes, it’s a way to separate gullible old guys armed with diapers from their money. No, your “Anniversary Edition” Corvette with the standard engine, transmission, and suspension isn’t going to be a super-special collectible that will be worth millions.
Guilty as charged – I drive a 2012 Special Edition. Yes it is a way to get something between an LX and EX. It also means that a redesign or refresh is coming next year!
I had a 01 Saturn SL 10th Anniversary Edition. Wow. Silver gauges. Saturn designers are so daring.
Opel Corsa “Steffi Special”, named after tennis icon Steffi Graf. White, electric folding sunroof, maybe some tennis-themed decals. Inoffensive enough car — but the name … *shudder*
The ones shown above may be bizarre, but that’s not my definition of “lame.” Courage is a good thing in my opinion, even if the result ends up being more or less off.
Gott im Himmel those HORRIBLE seat covers though!
Those were just slip covers (if that’s the term for (normally) aftermarket seat covers that fit over the factory seat surface and can be easily removed). The Corsa Steffi Special I once owned (for a week) didn’t have them anymore. (Other things it lacked were waterproofness, a TÜV sticker, and structural integrity — but the 1.4i with 5MT and the sunroof made it a fun runabout nonetheless.)
How about any 80s “Pontiac” edition of a GM N-body?
How about all those Chevy Malibu/Cadillac CTS’s?
1986 Buick LeSabre Grand National. Stock low-suds drivetrain, auto transmission of course, and an ugly rear side window insert that destroyed the lines of an otherwise pleasant-looking coupe.
http://snaplap.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14175415/BuickLeSabre-GrandNational.jpg
Whoa that has to be a record for DLO fail plastic traingle.
I don’t think I knew about this one, but it’s pretty bad.
Buick needed to add the plastic triangle yo a street version to make the body eligible for NASCAR competition because the smaller rear windows aided aerodynamics.
GM knew it was ugly and they only made like 112 to qualify it.
lesabret-type.com/lesabregn.html
I saw an ad for one in an old National Geographic I think. I remember thinking “who?….what?….WHY???!”
There was also the one year only 1986-Century Gran Sport with the 3800.
Total production: 1029
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/top-10-obscure-special-editions-and-forgotten-limited-run-models-buick-edition-part-ii/
Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty – Modern Warfare Edition.
My flat Midwestern town suffers from enough mall crawlers with ice jacks and winches that will never drive through a deep puddle.
The few Call of Duty Wranglers around are driven by people living a double fantasy, and I feel sad for them.
autotrader.com/car-news/jeep-unveils-2012-wrangler-call-of-duty-122800
Came here to say this. And let’s not forget, it was the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Edition. A sequel to a sequel to a sequel. Disgusting.
The “Dawn of Justice” Jeep Renegade. Bruce Wayne would drive a Rubicon at the very least, not a dumb Renegade with a badge. It commits the extra sin of reminding me that “Dawn of Justice” was a thing. Luckily I’ve only seen one in real life.
https://www.jeep.com/en/limited-editions/renegade/justice/#model=renegade_justice_edition&color=black&category=standard
Bruce Wayne should be driven places, in the back of a large [British/German] sedan. Never driving himself!
I nominate the 1996 Olympic edition Grand Am that Murilee photographed a few years back. $395 for special colors and nothing else
Honorable mention to the ZJ Grand Cherokee Orvis edition. It’s like an Eddie Bauer explorer, but, umm, more fishing inspired?
I think that was an Olympic Century, and not a Grand Am.
Sadly, we’re both right
http://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/chariots-of-fire-16-olympic-special-edition-cars-that-went-for-the-gold#13
Huh, well my vote is for the Seat Toledo, or the green and gold Skylark!
I have a 1996 jeep grand cherokee limited orvis edition, it’s exactly the opposite of the Eddie Bauer. It came with every option including up country off road packages with a lift and all the skid plates and tow hooks and lsd rear with heavy duty towing package and heavy duty cooling system and also an orvis fly fishing rod, and green leather interior.
Still waiting for the Chrysler LeBaron the John Voigt edition. Jerry to George: “wasn’t that spelled without an h?”
Why the Tahoe Z71 title pic? That’s the only one worth buying!
That’s a Midnight Edition, and because I needed to troll you all to get you to click!
Oh that might explain the stupid black wheels and obnoxious (for the vehicle) Goodyear Duratrac tires. I like that the Z71 gets a clipped front bumper and G80 spin-locker in the rear diff.
How do you feel about the new RSC trim?
Bleh don’t care. I’m not a fan of “sport” trucks, except for the gen 1 X5 4.6is/4.8is and gen 1 ML55 for some reason, maybe because they weren’t offroaders to begin with.
The old man once bought a “Special Edition” GMC Jimmy in 1992ish. I’ve never been able to find out anything about this version, so it must have been a local dealer.
What made it special? Pinstripes on the red paint, chrome lower exterior door panels (that just trapped moisture, hastening the rust), and a chrome cover for the spare tire, that said – in 90s script – “Special Edition”.
Same engine, same whorehouse red interior, and nothing else to differentiate it between a standard Jimmy. My dad thought it was the coolest thing ever while I thought it was an abomination.
I bet that chrome tire cover was great on sunny days. Hate to be following you guys with the sun behind us!
or maybe it was a “Limited Edition”. My memory fades!
I remember the 1988 Calgary Olympic GM products. White with “Gold” trim highlights. Pretty cheesy, but memorable for me since I was 11 at the time and thought GM products were pretty awesome for some reason.
youtube.com/watch?v=x09jzaoBYUg
The Audi 5000 Olympic Editions were much more awesome, but were red and came with a gold pinstripe.
Anything PGA Tour Edition in Arizona usually on a Buick Century. White with tan interior, tan landau roof and Gold Pinstripe. Also, last time I was in Washington DC I saw Senatorial, Capitol and Congressional Series Town Cars. Trek Bike Edition VW.
I was stuck behind a PGA Tour Edition Lesabre (had to be a 2005) a few months ago on Interstate 40. This one was green with tan interior and gold pinstripe. Pretty snazzy.
Since TTAC appears to deliberately bash GM at every turn, I’ll put my two cents’ worth on here.
I nominate the mid-70s GMC “Gentleman Jim” pickup truck. GM’s quality in many areas was proudly shown on their trucks. The “Gentleman Jim” decal was ALWAYS applied crooked, as well as every GM/Chevy truck’s optional side spear molding, which was not only crooked, but wavy, too!
Oh please. I am equal opportunity bashing, and I own a GMT800.
Well, Corey, I did say “appears”!
They deliberately point out the same (problems, mistakes, bad cars, etc) for Ford, Honda, etc.
Its just that GM makes it so easy.
Look at all the examples from them above. I don’t know of any special edition (offered new) SuperCrew F-150s that had pea green interior inserts.
Special Editions they did right (GMC Jimmy Diamond) were discussed as well.
I love finding special additions (sic) for sale!
I know the anti-truck crowd hates all the special edition pickups, but most come with unique features that are in far better taste than Corey’s Avalanche of Uglyness.
I don’t know if a Windstar Sport or a Caravan Sport is a special edition, its just a trim that adds some sporty touches here and there by way of wheels, fog lamps, etc. No different than the loaded-out trim, it isn’t considered a special edition either.
Several examples above resonate with me. I think anything sports-related (including racing, golf and Olympics) is ridiculous. I don’t care much for LL Bean edition or Orvis edition, etc. This is especially true of those examples with just different badges and not much else.
Eddie Bauer was not a special edition IMO, it was really just a trim line with specific colors and equipment. Even still, its not something I seek out on vehicles there were a lot of, like Expediton or Explorer. I wouldn’t mind an Eddie Bauer (or Sport lol) fully loaded Aerostar, or even an F-150 with a 300 I-6/5MT (I’ve seen that in Eddie Bauer and even Lariat pre-1997 trucks).
I’ve been searching for a nice condition Aerostar Eddie Bauer 4×4 for years, no dice. Also can’t find and f-150 Eddie Bauer 4×4 with the straight six either
I knew a guy who had the 1993 Camaro pace car – that paint job!
http://www.amcarguide.com/wp-content/gallery/camaro-c4/1993-chevrolet-camaro-pace-car-indy.jpg
“But if you wanted, the Heavy Chevy could also be ordered with up to the 454 and Rally Nova up to the 396.”
Not quite, the Heavy Chevy was introduced in 1971 and the 400 Turbo-Jet (402 CI) was the largest available engine though scant few examples appear to exist.
Same issue with the Rally Nova, another ’71 intro and the last 396 Nova (again, actually a 402 CI) was built in 1970.
Remember there was also a North Face Trailblazer around the same time as that Avalanche, thought they were much more tastefully done.
My vote goes to the GM W-body NASCAR models of the early ’00s. Front wheel drive family cars on cost engineered unibodies witb gaudy-to-obnoxious call outs that their standard grade V6 engines and slow shifting automatic transmissions couldn’t back up.
They invoked about as much of the essence of a real NASCAR stocker as a souvenir coffee cup. They almost made the Volare Road Runner, Aspen R/T and Mustang Cobra II of the 1970s look like serious performance efforts. Terrible and cynical.
The Buick Century 2000.
Literally don’t even know what makes a Century 2000 different aside from the badge.
Harley-Davidson Ford F150.
Schwinn Collegiate. Only cuz I barely graduated HS. Damned bike didn’t make me any smarterer.