Upsetting the Apple Cart

With Ford announcing they are going to bring back the Mach 1 name but put it in an EV performance crossover SUV and Mitsubishi revving the Evo name in an electric SUV there are many people in the automotive world that have tossed their hands up in disgust. The idea of having these traditional performance names used in this way certainly makes for conversational topics but also makes us wonder what these companies are thinking. With that in mind, here are some other potential names of vehicles that just might upset the proverbial apple cart and get our blood boiling.

Honda CR-V Type R –Can you imagine this compact crossover SUV in a performance model? Honda has always been conservative with the use of the Type R designation and won’t quickly slap it on the CR-V, but that would be one way to make us wonder what the team at Honda is doing and consider whether they have lost their collective minds.

Four-Cylinder Chevrolet Corvette –Didn’t Porsche create four-cylinder models of some of their performance cars? They certainly have, but that doesn’t mean we want that in that Chevrolet. In fact, I would imagine a six-cylinder model would be met with scorned looks and opinions as well, but four would be absolute insanity.

Subaru WRX STI with a CVT –The standard form of the WRX is offered with a CVT to give it better overall fuel mileage, which makes us wonder why the performance model can’t have the same thing. So far, the WRX STI is only offered with a manual transmission and this change would cause us to wonder what the team is up to and have the purists up inarms.

BMW i3 CSL –For a few years the team at BMW has been working on the EV models it offers, but the i3 is not considered a sporty car at all. The CSL name is reserved for the drive you want for the fun you can have in a BMW, but the i3 isn’t a car that can offer you the ride that makes sense with this name on it, but it’snot something that’s out of the realm of possibilities.

Volkswagen Atlas GTI –Do we really want to see a large three-row SUV become a performance model from this brand? I don’t think so, but imagine this big brute offering you some of the same qualities you find in the smaller Golf GTI models that can be fun for you when it’stime to have the drive. This seems to be a ridiculous suggestion, but don’t put it past the VW team.

Nissan Z Crossover –This one is much closer to reality than you might think because this vehicle has already been considered. The Z nameplate has been associatedwith small and active sports coupes, but the Gripz Concept was introduced in 2015 to give us a look at what Nissan is thinking when it comes to the idea of driving a Z model that’s a crossover SUV.

Ford EcoSport RS –This is the new compact crossover model from Ford that will slide in below the Escape, but an RS model of this SUV is something that hasn’t been considered. Don’t put this past Ford at all, they could make it a possibility and have this little SUV out on the track next to the Focus RS that we already love, even though it will anger many of us.

Honda S2000 Electric –The S2000 nameplate is one we associate with fun and active driving on the roads and tracks that you love. Imagine if this car was rebuilt as an EV sports car and given to us foran active drive that would have to be charged on a regular basis. It’s a thought that could happen, but probably, and thankfully, won’t as the name have been retired.

Ferrari SUV –This might not anger or make too many people lose their minds because we’ve seen nearly every other performance car maker join the ranks with models that are fun and active on the road as SUVs. While the original thought was that this would never happen, there may be an SUV wearing the prancing horse badge on its way sooner than we think.

Toyota Supra SUV –Imagine if the Supra that shows up after all the anticipation of the development of this new sports car was one that came to use as a crossover SUV. That would blow our minds and leave us wondering what the world has come to. This might be the equivalent of automotive Armageddon and create a serious uproar.