Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Bigger Numbers are Smaller Cars

By Kamil Kaluski Feb 1, 2018


In the days of alphanumeric vehicle names, automakers typically setup their model lineup so that the bigger number represents the bigger, better, pricier car. There hasn’t been a better example of that than the BMW lineup of the 1990s. The 3-series was a small sedan for yuppies. The 5-series was the bigger sedan designed with mid-career manager in mind. And finally there was the 7-series, a proper luxury sedan reserved for directors.
Even their subsequent numbering placed the models in specific hierarchy that reflected their price and power. The 318i got all the jeers for its tepid acceleration whereas the 325i was the proper small sport sedan. But a 525i was just driven by someone who wanted a bigger vehicle than the 3-series. Serious drivers stepped up to the 540i and its V8. Likewise, the 750i with the V12 separated the successful entrepreneur from the corporate ladder climber in the 740i.
But not all companies, or brands, follow this logic. Take Hummer for instance. H1 was the original uncompromised military based beast purchased by the nouveau riche. GM then figured out that there many people who would love a Hummer but can’t afford the H1 it or find uncomfortable. So the GMT-800-based H2 was born. The followed that up with an even smaller H3 which was based on the GMT-355 compact pickup platform.
Your Hoonatian topic for today is makes, brands, or models with numerical names where the smaller number represents a bigger, more powerful, or more expensive model.
The Caveats (there are always caveats):

  • Specific higher performance versions of pedestrian cars don’t count, such as the BMW M2 being pricier and more powerful than the 530i.
  • One-off models don’t count as well, such as the M1 being superior to the M3. I think BMW regrets calling it the M1, anyway. 
  • The model distinction has to be clear, for example: A loaded 340i will cost more than a base 520i, but that doesn’t meet the requirement.
  • Models of the same brand that are vastly different from one another such as the Mazda MX-5 being pricier than the Mazda6. Apples-to-apples, sedans-to-sedans, coupes-to-coupes, please.
  • Open to all vehicles, even planes, bicycles, or horse carriages. 

Difficulty: 2 out of 8, the bigger the effort, the smaller the prize.
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates! Bonus points for adding photos.
Image Sources: My twitter feed, by my pal Joey. 

By Kamil Kaluski

East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: Ford Bronco, Lexus GX 470, and a Buick Regal crapcan racecar.

47 thoughts on “Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Bigger Numbers are Smaller Cars”
  1. Scout 80/800 (smaller), Scout II (based on full-size pickup).
    Bronco (based on F-150), Bronco II (based on Ranger).

  2. While possibly more expensive and more powerful, the BMW 8 series is smaller than the 7 series. 6 series is smaller than 5 series too.

  3. Olds W30 – big block 455 – the biggest, baddest Cutlass they made
    Olds W31 – 350 small block (though still pretty awesome)

  4. From personal experience: The SAAB 95 is larger than the 96, which larger than the 97. This flies in the face of the “apples-to-apples, sedans-to-sedans, coupes-to-coupes, please” rule but I’m so happy to see Encyclopedia Hoonatica again that I don’t care.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e4e839a7fa8a96fa18088d432faf651e2f9ec588adc52adbf26ebe9b0f0a440.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/56359173eab4eff104d3151926da1c6d39162bd47350473681f3648387cc1d49.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c06ea90e54441d58dad29966950e20997025dda2b83726aff26ac7744df1e670.jpg

  5. It’s not correct because Toyota isn’t using it to refer to numerals, but as far as the Prius lineup goes, C is greater than V

  6. Aircraft are included?
    Boeing commercial airliners in order from smallest to largest based on maximum takeoff weight of the biggest one of each series.
    717
    737
    727
    757
    707
    767
    787
    777
    747

        1. That didn’t work out as I’d hoped. You were supposed to ask, “What’s an Eos ball?” to which I could reply, “Nothing. Who’d want to get busy with something that ugly?”

  7. I think Infiniti’s Q obsessed nomenclature is based entirely on starting MSRP, which gives odd results. The Patrol based QX80 is the largest, but the QX70 is the weird one that’s smaller but nominally more expensive than the three row QX60. Likewise the coupe version Q60 is roughly the same size as the Q50 sedan, though two doors seems smaller and apparently cost more. There was a Q40 in there somewhere too.

  8. The whole Hummer brand was one of those GM decisions everyone could see coming but people at GM. Take only the superficial essence of a decent idea, throw the pre-existing parts bin at it, and then kill it because it was terrible but only after showing how you could have made it work all along.
    They kept the V8 out of the H3 and everyone thought it was a dog. Then they decide if we make an ultra premium version, it would be ok to give it adequate power, but it was too late because gas shot up over $4 and your whole brand was launched on cartoonish excess and that didn’t play well in the bankruptcy process.
    I kind of liked the H3T, for reasons I can’t explain.
    https://www.cstatic-images.com/car-pictures/xl/cac00hut011a0101.png

    1. No need to explain. I like em, too. I couldn’t own one that wasn’t an Alpha, though. That I5 was a mistake. It was sad as the “big” engine in the Colorado, and it was inexcusable as the (for a time) only engine in the H3. It should have offered the 5.3 from the start, or at least they should have added whatever necessary length to drop the 4.2 Atlas from the Trailblazer into it.

  9. Continental Mark II: $10,000+ in 1956 dollars, 126″ WB, 218″ long, 5000 lbs.
    Continental Mark III: $6,500+ in 1969 dollars, 117″ WB, 216″ long, 4700 lbs.

  10. Volvo 263 smaller than Volvo 245 and bigger than Volvo 343. For that matter 200 series Volvos are bigger than 300 and 400 series.
    Not that 300 series are ‘real’ Volvos anyway
    Oh wait ‘One-off models don’t count as well’
    Here it is anyway.
    http://motoburg.com/images/volvo-263gl-prototype-02.jpg
    There would have been a 243 as well, of course
    https://www.beamng.com/images/imported/2014/10/85ca56b4-8cb1-49de-b41c-4ae40e74fdfc.jpg
    http://www.2040-cars.com/_content/cars/images/70/659470/001.jpg
    Only one Volvo 162 as well
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Volvo162museum.jpg/800px-Volvo162museum.jpg

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