What is a car mod that is generally unpopular, but you secretly like?

[Jordan White]

I was rewatching the OG The Fast and the Furious movie yesterday and realized that the neon underglow still looks awesome, especially when it matches the body color!

However, most people think it looked dumb then and still does now. What’s a mod that you think is cool but may not be to most?

[Can-Con]

Vinyl tops on large cars. 

I even like the "SimCon" style on some '70s and '80s full size 2 door luxury cars like the Caddy Phaetons and some Continentals.

[Ace-Garageguy]

That's pretty funny. 

I honestly still think "underglow" is a dumb idea.

And I think it looks pretty cool if it's done well.  

 

Edited February 18 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Vinyl tops on large cars. 

I even like the "SimCon" style on some '70s and '80s full size 2 door luxury cars like the Caddy Phaetons and some Continentals.

Yup, the big Lincoln Mark looked great as a fake convertible.

But how much cooler would it be as a real convertible?

[Ace-Garageguy]

And...much as I used to despise fake wood and wire wheel-covers on wagons, these days I kinda miss 'em.

                                     .

[NOBLNG]

Don’t know if they are unpopular…but moonroofs. I sure liked the one I had in my ‘78 LeBaron back when I was a pack a day smoker.

[Tabbysdaddy]

Front mounted spare:

Which I'm assuming is unpopular because my truck is the only one in a very long time I've seen it on.

[johnyrotten]

7 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

Front mounted spare:

Which I'm assuming is unpopular because my truck is the only one in a very long time I've seen it on.

Because it's a work truck the front mounted spare makes sense. Convenient. No lost bed space. The under bed spare is dumb, in my opinion, half the time the hoist is frozen or the tire dry rotted/flat.  

[Mark]

The really dumb thing about the under-the-bed spare is that cable holding it up, with the little metal piece that goes through the center of the wheel being crimped on.  There ought to be a swing-down cradle underneath the tire.  

[slusher]

 Really good stereo and great speakers so I can crank it up.

[Mike 1017]

13 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Vinyl tops on large cars. 

I even like the "SimCon" style on some '70s and '80s full size 2 door luxury cars like the Caddy Phaetons and some Continentals.

I agree

[JollySipper]

80s and 90s G-body GM cars squatted in the rear, usually fitted with Centerline wheels and white letter tires...........  I can't find any pics of an example, I guess that shows how dated that look is!

[Lunajammer]

Port hole add ons.

[Mark]

Those fake convertible tops look even better with a sunroof.  I have seen a couple of them...

[Russell C]

12 hours ago, Mark said:

Those fake convertible tops look even better with a sunroof.  ...

True pair of personal experiences:  from the time I first saw them in '70s until one particular day in the early 1990s, whenever I saw one, it registered in my mind as absolutely nothing more than "vinyl roof."  Period.  I always thought they looked nice. But one day, in '91 or '92, when I was working as an airport shuttle van driver at a lot right next to the Albuquerque airport, I was dropping off the last of my customers and asked which car was his as I turned to go down a line of parked cars in our lot. Usually customers would say something ranging from annoyingly vague ("silver 4 door") to something exact which helped me spot the car quicker. But this guy said "red convertible." There wasn't a single convertible to be seen, then he loudly says "Whoa! This one right here." It was one of those Caddy abominations with all gold logos instead of chrome and obviously NOT a convertible. Only right then did it finally dawn on me that the little circular bumps on the brightwork strips surrounding the base of vinyl tops were the snap bases that a top-down cover snaps to.

It was all I could to to resist asking him if he planned to lower it before he drove out since it was such a fabulous day for top-down driving.

[Snowbear]

On 2/17/2025 at 9:31 PM, Tabbysdaddy said:

Front mounted spare:

Which I'm assuming is unpopular because my truck is the only one in a very long time I've seen it on.

I put the front-mount on my '85 Ford Ranger.  Even got a blank cover and painted a thistle on it (Scottish heritage).

[espo]

Continental Kits. I never cared for them even when they were a thing back in the '50's and '60's. Nothing wrong if that is what you like, just not for me. Looking at some of the SoCal car shows online I notice that many low rider builds are sporting Continental Kits and often are even Convertible body styles. Still not for me, but the way these owners are doing their Impalas for the most part, does look good.  

[OldNYJim]

I feel like it’s unpopular with a lot of people, but I really like the look of a car sitting as low as possible, with as much wheel as possible.  I’m not crazy on rubber band tires, but a nice wheel is more interesting to look at than a tire and if you get a little more wheel and get about any car sitting in the weeds, I’ll probably think that’s a good look.

i definitely like period-correct wheels though - I’m not really a pro-touring kinda guy where you put modern racecar looking wheels on an old Ford or whatever.

That said, I predict the next trend for all those 60s pro-touring builds will be the same look and stance, but with classic looking wheels that somewhat mirror the look and feel of the originals, but modernized.  I’m excited to see THAT

[oldcarfan]

On 2/17/2025 at 7:04 PM, Can-Con said:

Vinyl tops on large cars. 

I even like the "SimCon" style on some '70s and '80s full size 2 door luxury cars like the Caddy Phaetons and some Continentals.

Back in the late 90s, I was stationed in Norfolk, Va. A company in town sold and installed these tops on almost any car. They were thin fiberglass shells made to the shape of an individual car. When you ordered one, they would have it shipped in and then they'd upholster it your chosen shade of vinyl before installing it. Monte Carlos and Buick Regals were popular recipients, But one of my shipmates had a new Mustang GT and he took it there and had one added. The car was black and the top was white. Not my taste, but he liked it. Another guy got his Eagle Talon done in a similar fashion. I sometimes wonder what happened to those cars.

[JollySipper]

On 2/19/2025 at 7:56 PM, OldNYJim said:

classic looking wheels that somewhat mirror the look and feel of the originals, but modernized.  I’m excited to see THAT

That's something that I really enjoy seeing, a factory-looking but larger diameter wheel! The Magnum 500s look really nice exaggerated............. and it's something besides a torq-thrust or Cragar!

[Mark]

2 hours ago, oldcarfan said:

Back in the late 90s, I was stationed in Norfolk, Va. A company in town sold and installed these tops on almost any car. They were thin fiberglass shells made to the shape of an individual car. When you ordered one, they would have it shipped in and then they'd upholster it your chosen shade of vinyl before installing it.

Some dealers called those fiberglass shells "hats".  The installer would just drill holes in the roof to attach it, to give the padded roof an attachment point.  Cadillac dealers would sell cars with "a hat, a (fake Continental) spare, and a spear" (hood ornament).  But when they started leasing more cars, they wouldn't let lessees put that junk on because it dragged the resale value of the returned car down to near nothing.

[johnyrotten]

8 hours ago, JollySipper said:

That's something that I really enjoy seeing, a factory-looking but larger diameter wheel! The Magnum 500s look really nice exaggerated............. and it's something besides a torq-thrust or Cragar!

Yes!! There's a few oem styles that look great "plus sized". GM rallies, 500's, even painted steelies with a proper trim ring and cap. 

[Pierre Rivard]

Back in the day, the idea of putting a fixed roof over a classic roadster was not well received. I'd love to have one of these now.

 

[The Junkman]

I've always liked the top on the MGB but the Spitfire's one leaves me cold.  Then there's the one on the Mazda MX5 (it'll always be a Miata to me), some days it looks scabbed on and other days it looks like an attractive addition to the whole.  Pure, unadulterated preference.

[Jordan White]

3 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Back in the day, the idea of putting a fixed roof over a classic roadster was not well received. I'd love to have one of these now.

 

It didn’t help trying to make 4 seat versions!