1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4

After its launch as a 1991 model, the Mitsubishi 3000GT received a serious makeover for '94. Gone were the popup headlights and separate caps over the strut towers that distinguished the previous version, giving a smoother, more up-to-date appearance to the coupe's snout. Likewise gone were the quadruple strakes that sliced up the scoops on the original's flanks.

In the US market the car could be had in the base 3000GT form, the plusher 3000GT SL, and the twin-turbo AWD 3000GT VR-4, like the Caracas Red one in the photo.

While the lesser two models had a normally-aspirated 222hp 3.0L DOHC V-6 driving the front wheels, the VR4's motor sent 320hp to all four wheels through your choice of four-speed slushbox or a Getrag six-speed manual.

Car and Driver's test of a '94 model with a manual recorded a zero-to-sixty time of 5.1 seconds and a quarter mile E.T. of 13.9 at an even hundo through the traps. Top speed was measured at 153 miles per hour and cornering at 0.92g. Price as tested was $43,190 in 1994 dollars, or a bit over $97k in today's money.

This one was photographed using a Fujifilm X-E1 and a Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 Touit lens in September of 2018.

1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SL

Oldsmobile moved the Cutlass Supreme nameplate to a front-wheel drive W-body car for the 1998 model year. Initially available only as a coupe, it spent that first year being sold alongside its G-body RWD predecessor, which was known as the Cutlass Supreme Classic.

For 1990, a sedan version was added, as well as a convertible. Due to the oddball "beer tap" door handles being located in the B-pillars, the convertible had a fixed hoop or roll bar. A 1992 restyle saw the coupe and convertible get squinty little miniature quad headlamps, which were also used on its W-body stablemate, the Pontiac Grand Prix.

This Bright White coupe is a 1994 model. For that year the Cutlass Supreme could be had in the base "S" trim level or the more upmarket SL. The SL package got sporty body cladding, fog lamps, dual power mirrors, and standard 16" alloy wheels.

The base motor was the GM corporate 3.1L pushrod V-6 with sequential port fuel injection, rated at 160 SAE net horsepower, with an optional 3.4L DOHC V-6 making 210 horses. Both motors were backed by a four-speed automatic transmission.

While they're no sports cars (a 3.1L Cutlass SL would turn in 0-60 times in the mid nine second range) I've always liked the styling of the W-body GM coupes, and this one's no exception.

I turned my car around on a cold December morning in 2025 to photograph this one using a Nikon D2H and 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens. 

1994 Mercury Cougar XR7

The seventh generation of the Mercury Cougar debuted for the 1989 model year. Along with the Lincoln Mark VIII and Ford Thunderbird, it rode on the new MN12 platform with an independent rear suspension, replacing the previous generation's live rear axle.

It was initially available in LS and XR7 flavors, with the former being the posh one and the latter being more sporty. After 1992, however, the LS trim level went away and all Cougars were XR7s. 

There were facelifts in 1991 and another one in 1994, with the Champagne Metallic one in the photo displaying the revised grille of that latter facelift.

The base engine in 1994 was the port fuel injected 3.8L Essex V-8, with a 9.0:1 compression ratio and making 140 SAE net horsepower. The "V8" fender badges on this one indicate that it has the optional 4.6L SOHC Ford Modular V-8, making 205 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque, which was a considerable bump over the base motor. This was reasonable output for the era, but it was dealing with over 3,700 pounds of curb weight, so while acceleration was adequate, it was no bolt of lightning.

Incidentally, the 15" cast aluminum wheels on this car are from the Sport Appearance Group package on the '96-'97 Cougars.

This photo was snapped with a Nikon D7000 and the excellent 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens in October of 2021.

1994 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight Royale

A few models in Detroit have enjoyed unusual longevity. The Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang, for example, celebrated their 71st and 60th birthdays, respectively, in 2024. Almost no other model name has had such an enduring run.

In the photo above is one of the closest: Oldsmobile introduced the 88 in 1949. Its predecessor, the 1948 Olds 78, was powered by a 257cid straight eight rated at 112 horsepower, but while it carried over the Futuramic postwar Olds styling of its predecessor, the 88 featured Oldsmobile's brand new Rocket V8. The 303 cubic inch Rocket had overhead valves, a 7.5:1 compression ratio, and put out 135 SAE gross horsepower.

The 88 nameplate remained in production through ten whole generations, and the Bright White 1994-'95 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight Royale is an example of that final generation. (Its grille was slightly different to the '92-'93 models, and the car received a mid-cycle refresh that gave it a more rakish snout for '96, which is how we can pin down the model year.)

The tenth generation of the 88 was the second one after the car had gone to a front wheel drive platform in 1986, and this '94 Royale would be powered by the GM corporate 3800 V6. This was a Buick-derived port fuel injected pushrod 3.8L motor rated at 170bhp SAE net. When Car and Driver tested a '92 Eighty Eight Royale LS, they recorded an 8.8 second zero-to-sixty and a 107mph top speed.

Oldsmobile axed the 88 name after the 1999 model, finishing a fifty year run, among Detroit's longest.

This one was photographed in November of 2023 using a Canon EOS 7D and the excellent EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS zoom lens. 

Sixty Years of ‘Stang

In early 1964, the first Ford Mustangs rolled into dealerships. The 1965 model year at Ford wasn't officially underway yet, so these earliest Mustangs are known as "1964½" models, like the Skylight Blue convertible above.

That particular Mustang has a 260cid V-8, sourced from Ford's midsize Fairlane line. With a two-barrel carburetor and 8.8:1 compression, the little small block was rated at 164 SAE gross horsepower.

Thirty years and three generations later, the Mustang nameplate was on its third platform: The initial Falcon-derived chassis had bloated to almost midsize proportions. The base model '64½ weighed in under 2500 pounds, while the final 1973 'Stangs tipped the scales at over 3500 in even their most spartan trim.

The second generation shrunk to a Pinto-based car that only weighed 2600 pounds in hardtop coupe form. After four years of the Mustang II, the all-new 1979 Mustangs debuted on Ford's Fox platform, the same as the compact Fairmont sedan.

My Laser Red 1994 Mustang GT in the photo above was the first of the fourth generation, called the SN95, thirty years after the the originals. While the basic dimensions of the small block 302 V-8 are shared with the old 260 and 289, it has thirty years worth of improvements. 

Tuned-port injection, electronic ignition, computerized engine management... the 1994's 5.0L H.O. V-8 put out 215 SAE net horsepower with no drama on midgrade pump gas. Bear in mind that under the old SAE gross brochure horsepower numbers, this thing probably would have been advertised as having something closer to 300 and in the days of carbs and no computers it would have taken radical cams, solid lifters, and a high compression ratio necessitating premium gas to put out these numbers.

Another thirty years on we see the first seventh generation Mustangs, like the Vapor Blue 2024 GT coupe above.

It's been three generations since the Mustang shared a platform with anything, and the new S650 7th generation is its own car. The 5.0L under the hood of this '24 has nothing in common with the 5.0 in my '94 except the name and the number and arrangement of the cylinders. It's a 307 cubic inch DOHC 32V motor rated at a whopping 480 net horsepower.

Sixty years is a long run for one nameplate. The only one with a longer uninterrupted run I can think of is Chevrolet's Corvette.

You gotta wonder if there'll be 75th anniversary editions of either one?

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