15 Obscure and Forgotten Chevrolet Models That Deserved Way More Credit

9. Chevrolet Sprint

Nobody remembers the Sprint and there is a good reason why. Suzuki originally produced the car, calling it the Citrus. It was a supermini compact with a diminutive three-cylinder engine, 1.0-liters of displacement and 48 HP on tap. For car fans, it was nothing to write home about.

The interesting thing about the whole Chevrolet-Suzuki deal was that U.S. manufacturers started investing in rebranding small compacts and trading know-how with foreign companies. Eventually, Chevrolet introduced the Sprint, which was somewhat of a hot hatch and they called it the Sprint Turbo. Under the hood was a 73 HP turbocharged engine and since the weight of the car was just 1,600 pounds, it delivered great performance.

10. Chevrolet Kingswood

The classic Chevrolet station wagon lineup was always quite complicated to figure out. Drivers had different trim levels with different names and different body styles with different engines. This made it hard to decide which one to buy without the help of a brochure or a dealer. That is why there are several forgotten station wagons because people just couldn’t remember them all.

One of those models is the Kingswood. Sitting on the top of the wagon range, they produced the Kingswood in 1959 and 1960, and again from 1969 to 1972. Those models were always the most expensive, biggest Chevrolet wagon offerings with powerful engines and a long list of creature comforts.

The most interesting are the late 60’s models that featured unbelievable specs. You could order the Kingswood with lush woodgrain trim, chrome luggage carriers, heavy duty components and with full big-block power. The 427 and 454 V8 powered wagons were almost as fast as those muscle cars, but they could seat up to nine people.

11. Chevrolet Spectrum

Chevy produced the Spectrum from 1985 to 1988. It was another compact car Chevrolet rebadged to sell as its own. The famed Italian designer, Giorgetto Guigiaro, designed the Spectrum, which was, in fact, an Isuzu Gemini.

Under the hood was a 1.5-liter four cylinder with 70 HP or the turbocharged version of the same engine with 111 HP. The later engine brought some performance to the otherwise ordinary Spectrum. After it Chevy discontinued it, the Spectrum appeared as the Geo. It was another lost GM economy brand they sold until 1990.

12. Chevrolet Nova

The next offering of obscure and rare Chevy models is not the classic late 60’s Nova. In fact, this list is talking about the 1985 to 1988 Chevrolet Nova, which is a forgotten and obscure model. If you think you have seen this car before, you are probably right. You did see it, but with a Toyota badge on the grille.

They built it in California, in a plant shared between Toyota and Chevrolet, so the Nova was Chevrolet’s version of the Toyota Corolla. It was a clever plan. To fight those import cars, Chevrolet imported the import, and sold it as its own model. However, despite the good initial sales and highly praised Twin Cam version, the market just forgot about the Nova.

13. Chevrolet Prizm

By the early 90’s, they marketed all Chevrolet’s economy cars, inexpensive models and base line import rebadged cars under the Geo brand. However, after the 1997 discontinuation of the Geo, some economy models returned to Chevrolet’s line up. One of those cars was the Prizm.

The Prizm was a compact sedan with a modest engine, interior equipment and a low price with wide appeal. Chevy based it on the Toyota Corolla, which was the same as the Nova 10 years before it. Interestingly, car fans forgot the Prizm soon and they discontinued it in 2002 because it wasn’t particularly fast, good looking or special in any way.

14. Chevrolet Malibu Maxx

Chevy introduced the Malibu Maxx in 2004 as a bigger, more practical version of the economy, compact Malibu. The Maxx version was an interesting option since it was slightly longer than the regular model. It also had more room in the back and featured a hatchback rear end. In contrast to the standard Malibu, the Maxx had more space and practicality, but a slightly awkward design and appearance.

The base engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder, but the interesting version was the SS. With a 3.9-liter V6 engine and 240 HP, the Malibu Maxx was capable of a convincing performance. However, the market didn’t seem to understand the appeal of the Maxx, so they discontinued it in 2007.

15. Chevrolet Uplander

Even though Chevy discontinued the Uplander not so long ago, in 2008, most car buyers have forgotten this minivan. Conceived as Chevrolet’s entry in the minivan segment, the Uplander shared the platform, engines and design with other GM products like the Pontiac Montana and Buick Terrazza. The base engine was a 3.5-liter V6, but the 3.9-liter V6 unit was optional. The standard versions came with front-wheel drive and later AWD was also available.

However, even though the Uplander had decent technology and design, it was a slow seller. The car just wasn’t special or desirable. It also had some mechanical problems, poor assembly quality and less than perfect interior materials. After a few years on the market, it was gone by 2008 and nobody has missed it since.

These obscure and forgotten Chevrolet models may have struggled in their time, but today car fans are in search of them. After all, who doesn’t want a car most other drivers have never even seen on the roads? They are unique pieces of car history.