17 Confusing ’90s Cars That Made Everyone Do a Double Take
The 1990s was a decade of automotive experimentation that gave birth to some truly head-scratching designs.
Car manufacturers seemed to throw conventional styling out the window, creating vehicles that left people wondering if they were looking at a car from the future or just a bizarre design experiment gone wrong.
From bubble-shaped minivans to convertible SUVs, these 17 oddball cars from the ’90s had everyone doing double takes on highways across America.
1. Pontiac Aztek Concept
Years before the production model became famous as Walter White’s ride in Breaking Bad, the Aztek concept looked like it arrived from another planet.
Unveiled in 1999, this concept version was somehow even more bizarre than the eventual production model.
Pontiac designers threw every futuristic styling cue into one vehicle – angular panels, odd proportions, and a front end only its creator could love.
The concept featured removable seats that doubled as camping gear and a cooler in the center console.
2. Nissan NX1600
Sporting not one but two different interchangeable roof options, the Nissan NX1600 couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a sporty coupe or a practical hatchback.
The result? A confused little car with an identity crisis. Owners could swap between a traditional trunk lid or a glass hatchback depending on their mood.
With bug-eyed headlights and a rounded profile, this automotive chameleon bewildered onlookers who couldn’t figure out what exactly they were looking at.
3. Subaru SVX
Lamborghini designer Giorgetto Giugiaro created this Japanese oddity with windows inside windows – a design feature that left everyone scratching their heads.
The SVX’s split windows meant you could only roll down a small portion, making drive-through restaurants a nightmare. Under that bizarre exterior lurked a powerful flat-six engine and all-wheel drive.
Costing nearly $25,000 in 1992 (equivalent to about $50,000 today), the SVX was Subaru’s ambitious luxury sports car that nobody quite understood.
4. Isuzu VehiCROSS
Looking like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, the VehiCROSS seemed designed for Mars exploration rather than mall parking lots.
Its thermoplastic body panels and spaceship-like appearance made it the automotive equivalent of a UFO sighting.
Limited to just 4,153 units in the US between 1999-2001, this rare beast combined genuine off-road capability with styling that made people wonder if Isuzu’s designers had access to time travel.
The rear visibility was practically non-existent, but boy did it turn heads!
5. Suzuki X-90
Half convertible, half SUV, and completely perplexing – the Suzuki X-90 was automotive weirdness personified.
This tiny two-seater featured a T-top roof, all-wheel drive, and a trunk that seemed added as an afterthought.
Red Bull famously used these quirky vehicles as promotional cars, adding giant cans to their backs.
With its stubby proportions and confused purpose, the X-90 looked like a regular SUV that accidentally shrunk in the wash. Despite its oddball status, it maintains a cult following today.
6. Ford Aspire
Never has a car been more ironically named. The tiny Ford Aspire inspired nothing but confusion about why anyone would voluntarily drive one.
This rebadged Kia was Ford’s answer to the subcompact market, though the question remained unclear.
Round and bubbly like a motorized jellybean, the Aspire offered minimal power and even less prestige.
Its humble 63 horsepower engine meant drivers weren’t so much driving as they were suggesting movement to the wheels. Despite its shortcomings, this little oddball was surprisingly fuel-efficient.
7. Chrysler TC by Maserati
Identity confusion reached new heights with this bizarre Italian-American mashup.
Chrysler slapped a Maserati badge on what was essentially a fancy LeBaron, creating automotive equivalent of wearing a tuxedo to a fast-food restaurant.
Priced at nearly $40,000 in 1989 (about $90,000 today), buyers got hand-stitched Italian leather and a removable hardtop with porthole windows.
Production continued into the early ’90s, but most people couldn’t understand why this car existed or who would pay Maserati prices for a Chrysler experience.
8. Geo Metro Convertible
Imagine taking one of the cheapest, most underpowered cars of the ’90s and chopping off the roof.
That’s exactly what GM did with the Geo Metro Convertible, creating what might be the least impressive convertible ever made.
Powered by a tiny three-cylinder engine producing a mere 55 horsepower, this automotive oddity fluttered down the highway like a nervous butterfly.
The convertible top mechanism added weight to a car that already struggled to merge onto highways. Nevertheless, its quirky charm and incredible 50 MPG efficiency earned it a cult following.
9. Honda del Sol
Not quite a convertible, not quite a coupe – the Honda del Sol confused everyone with its removable roof panel and retractable rear window.
This tiny two-seater was essentially Honda’s attempt to create a budget-friendly mid-life crisis mobile.
The TransTop model featured an elaborate mechanical system that automatically stowed the roof in the trunk. Drivers never knew whether to call it a targa, a convertible, or just “that weird little Honda.”
Despite its identity confusion, the del Sol delivered Honda’s legendary reliability wrapped in a quirky, fun package.
10. Chevrolet Lumina APV
GM’s “dustbuster” van looked like it escaped from a cartoon about the future.
With its dramatically sloped windshield and plastic-fantastic body, the Lumina APV (All Purpose Vehicle) resembled a household appliance more than a family vehicle.
The driver sat what felt like miles away from the front bumper, creating a dashboard vast enough to land small aircraft.
Kids in the ’90s were either embarrassed or fascinated to be dropped off at school in this rolling spaceship. Its bizarre proportions and visibility challenges made it a true head-turner for all the wrong reasons.
11. Oldsmobile Silhouette
“It’s not a minivan, it’s a Cadillac of minivans!” Famous for its appearance in the movie Get Shorty, the Silhouette was Oldsmobile’s attempt to make a minivan cool – a nearly impossible mission.
Sharing the same “dustbuster” design as its Chevy cousin, this van tried desperately to be upscale with leather seats and fancy gadgets.
The massive dashboard created a spacecraft-like driving position that left drivers feeling like they were piloting a vehicle from the 23rd century. Despite its quirks, it developed a strange cult following.
12. Toyota Sera
Butterfly doors on a Toyota? The JDM-only Sera shocked everyone with its exotic-car door design at economy-car prices.
These gull-wing style doors opened upward and slightly forward, creating a spectacle typically reserved for supercars.
Based on humble Tercel mechanicals, the Sera featured a glass bubble roof that made the interior feel like a fishbowl on wheels.
Though never officially sold in America, these bizarre little cars have developed a cult following as they’ve become legal to import. The doors alone guaranteed double-takes wherever it went.
13. Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder
Featuring one of the first power-retractable hardtops in modern automotive history, the 3000GT Spyder was engineering excess at its finest.
The complex roof mechanism added nearly 400 pounds to an already heavy car and cost an eye-watering $70,000 in 1995.
The transformation from coupe to convertible took 19 seconds of mechanical symphony as panels folded and tucked away.
Unfortunately, the system was notoriously problematic, leaving many owners with permanently closed (or worse, partially open) roofs.
14. Buick Reatta
Hand-built by Buick in a special assembly center, the Reatta was a bizarre luxury two-seater that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be sporty or comfortable.
It ended up being neither, confusing potential buyers about its purpose in life.
Early models featured a touchscreen computer interface called the Electronic Control Center – cutting-edge technology for the late ’80s and early ’90s that frequently malfunctioned.
With pop-up headlights and a rounded design, the Reatta looked like what happens when a sports car and a grandpa car have a baby.
15. Mazda Autozam AZ-1
Imagine a supercar shrunk in the wash – that’s the Mazda Autozam AZ-1. This Japanese Kei car featured gull-wing doors and mid-engine design, but measured smaller than today’s Mini Cooper.
Powered by a tiny 657cc turbocharged engine, this micro-machine made up for its lack of power with go-kart handling and exotic looks.
The microscopic dimensions meant drivers over six feet tall literally couldn’t fit inside. Though never officially sold in America, these miniature exotics now command cult status among JDM enthusiasts.
16. Hyundai Scoupe
With a name that sounded like a medical procedure, the Scoupe (pronounced “scoop”) was Hyundai’s first attempt at building a sports car. The result was confusing at best and laughable at worst.
Early models offered a measly 81 horsepower, though later turbocharged versions bumped that to a still-underwhelming 115 hp.
The styling combined elements seemingly borrowed from multiple different cars, creating a hodgepodge appearance that left onlookers wondering what exactly they were seeing.
Despite its oddball status, it represented Hyundai’s ambition before they became a major player.
17. Eagle Summit Wagon
Part minivan, part wagon, part… something else entirely? The Eagle Summit Wagon was automotive confusion personified.
This box-on-wheels featured a refrigerator-like profile with sliding doors and a height that seemed excessive for its tiny footprint.
Mechanically identical to the equally bizarre Mitsubishi Expo, this tall wagon offered surprising interior space in a package that resembled a delivery van that shrunk in the dryer.
The optional all-wheel drive system added capability, but couldn’t help its awkward proportions. Today, it’s largely forgotten except by those who appreciate automotive oddities.