(first posted 12/3/2018) The Vehicross has been covered at least 3 times: 2011, 2014, and 2016. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen one in many years, and it’s for sale, if anyone’s interested.
Some 5,958 were ever built, of which 4,153 were sold in the US between 1999 and 2001. Not exactly common.
Nor is its styling, which was way out there for 1999. Not so much anymore.
Didn’t photograph interior due to dirty windows and reflections, but noted the transmission is automatic. Asking price might be optimistic, but points for clear graphics of ad.
Still ugly.
+1
Up there in ugliness with the 1st gen Porsche Platypus, er, Panamera. Way uglier than a Pontiac Aztec.
There’s one of those I see at work occasionally.
I obviously never read those previous CCs, because I honestly had no idea this vehicle existed until now. And that’s what I love about this site; I’m constantly learning about obscure models that sold in low numbers that I missed when they were new.
Nice find Peter. Its design fits in better today, than in 2001. It aged well, or at least predicted some design trends. Reminds me a bit of the first gen RAV4 on heavy steroids.
Doug DeMuro did a detailed review of the Vehicross last winter. Delving into its many little known charms. If nothing else, it has loads of uniqueness.
It actually screams “2001” to me. Maybe it’s a little more palatable today than it was then, but it looks like a Gen1 Rav-4 that got put back together without all the parts to me.
Is it true that Doug DeMuro is the illegitimate son of Jay Leno and Danica Patrick?
It seems to me most customized for sale signs have an asking price somewhere between “optimistic” (as Peter phrased it), and “well down the path to lunacy.”
Perhaps the owner gets lots of “Looky-loos” asking if the car is for sale. If so, a sky-high asking price should shorten those conversations.
When the owner ‘invests’ in a fancy (and durable) ‘For Sale’ sign, it somewhat says to me they are willing to wait a long time to find a buyer for their price.
Occasionally, you’ll even see a custom painted ‘For Sale’ sign, usually done quite artistically and on a very custom paint job. That’s one I’ve never quite figured out if the vehicle is really for sale or it’s just some kind of inside joke.
I find it therapeutic…. someone asking an insane price for their worthless relic makes me feel better about my own.
Actually there is a another possibility I just thought of- it could be their spouse is demanding that they get rid of that “never ending expense,” so they put it on the market at a price designed to prevent a sale
Quick calculation shows $10,500 Canadian is $7950 USD. A bit more down to earth, but still a bit high I think. Don’t know how much money, if any, is involved in bringing it in to the USA, from Canada though.
Oh, and as to the “ugly” comments. I myself have always liked quirky designs. Well, within limits. I too think the Aztec is weird, and that Fiat mini van looking thing they sell in Europe only (thank goodness!) that looks like a four-eyed frog. The one with one pair of headlights or fog lights, at the bottom of the A pillars. Yeah, those are ugly. But then again, I had a one year only design, 1962 Dodge Polara 500 back in the late 60’s That most people despised. I loved it! I also liked the early 60’s Valiant / Lancer quirky designs. Especially with the hyper-pak 225 slant 6 and 4 speed. Different strokes…as they say!
A 2000 VehiCROSS….I still find it totally ugly-one of the few automobiles that can make the Pontiac Aztek look attractive.
The looks don’t bother me, its kinda cute. The real concern is, like the Suzuki X-90, it combines the worst features of two completely different cars.
It has all the space and utility of a compact 2-door hatchback, and all the performance, handling and economy of a lifted 4×4.
You are being too kind to the X90, it has about as much interior and trunk space as a Miata, if it were some kind of hatchback or even fastback coupe it would be more useful.
The VehiCross, on the other hand is little more than a heavily customized 2 door Rodeo….or Amigo.
When was the last time anyone saw an X-90 in the flesh.? Back in the day my Dad used to see one every day on his commute. It was black and he remarked to me that it looked like a top hat. Loved it as it reminded him of the Fiats of his youth.
Anyone else see a resemblance?
Good catch Matt. Some people are better at spotting those sorts of not so obvious similarities. Can’t say I’m a big fan of either look. The ‘C’ pillar on the Vehicross seeming unnecessarily broad.
Nope, not seeing it, I strongly disagree!
That’s like saying the AMC Pacer in the VW Beetle look alike because they have the same roof.
I strongly disagree with that analogy!
The AMC Pacer looks like a Porsche 928 because they have the same roof. 🙂
I always thought the early 90’s Dodge Daytona looked very much like the Porsche 944 / 928. Both where very cool styles,
These are certainly an acquired taste, one that I can’t see myself ever acquiring.
Even as an Isuzu owner myself, all I can say is “WTF?”
I guess they saw a fish faced Taurus and figured we can out ugly that, hold my Saki bro.
While it is not the best looking car I do appreciate the basic concept and I considered it a positive counter point to the direction that “SUVs” were going at the time, ie all 4drs with a focus on being a family hauler rather than being an off-roader.
Regarding the custom sign advertising it for sale I recent saw a GM cargo van with a custom printed sign that took up most of one of the rear doors and even bigger signs on each size detailing that it had the 4.3, miles ect. I’ve seen it a couple of times now, once in the HD parking lot and again on the road in the general vicinity of that HD.
Seemed rather expensive to advertise a basic work van.
It has two large boogers in it’s nose. And it’s icky. And has cooties.
I bet even a minor crunch of that complicated rear end was ungodly expensive to fix.
Possibly impossible to fix. I remember that one of the noteworthy features of the truck was the use of ceramic (?) dies to punch out the body parts. Kept the cost low, but also limited production capacity as the dies wore out quickly. Who knows if there are any body parts left?
Always in the minority, I love it.
Unbelievably saw TWO of these on Sunday in the same parking lot in a small college town, I was quite excited & figure they are owned by the same individual.
Anyone else see what looks like a guy in an early 2000s Impala giving the thumbs up in the second picture?
We recently met a couple in our neighborhood who have become good friends. The man mentioned to me that he drove a Vehicross for many years, though I can’t recall if he ever told me its fate. Compared to the really handsome Amigo, the Vehicross didn’t look good to me nor make much sense as I suspect that off-road visibility was poor and storage space even less than in the Amigo. On the other hand, it beats the Suzuki X90 hands down.
Edit: I went back and looked at the old posts. The one from 2011 reminded me that our friend who owned the Vehicross told me that his was the Ironman special edition. And I see that in the 2014 post I made a few comments regarding the X90. I haven’t mellowed in my opinion about that Suzuki over the last 10 years.
Ugly, yes. But better than today’s SUVs.
the Vehicross ranks right up there (or down there) with the AMC Pacer; two incredibly bizarre vehicles that seemed to be an answer to a question no one asked.
There is one down the street from me. It is one of several daily drivers the owner has, and he uses it when he has to pull his small enclosed trailer. He has owned it for at least 10 years. It is one of several interesting vehicles. The most recent acquisition is a Volvo C70 with a folding metal roof. It joins a similar BMW 3 series also with a retractable roof.
Interesting looking rig .
-Nate
I have only two words for this vehicle…
UG LEE