Yahoo Autos recently asked its readers to answer this question: What is the most desired used vehicle that’s nearly impossible to find?

What the editors learned is their readers have quite varying tastes in style.

“Some cars are like certain pop songs: they become hugely popular before fading away,” Yahoo Autos editors surmised. “While there’s no shortage of classic rock or 1965 Mustangs in America, some once-loved cars have become scarily endangered.”

Here are the top 10 hard to find older used models with a Yahoo Autos comment about each one:

1. Mitsubishi Starion/Plymouth-Dodge-Chrysler Conquest

"Why its absence leaves us longing: Contemporary testers called the big turbo Mitsubishi coupe the near-equal of the Porsche 944. That perfectly-proportioned chiseled shape used to be a common presence. Now they’re almost completely gone. Why? What happened? How could the auto enthusiast community not cherish and support such an excellent machine? We are reduced every time another one of these gets taken off the road or track."

2. Volkswagen Scirocco (both generations)

"Why its absence leaves us longing: The Scirocco used to the No. 1 Europhile alternative to Japanese front-drive sports coupes, and they were everywhere. Now they exist in a very strange space that combines seriously low purchase prices with impossible availability, which leads to the deep fear that they’ve all been used up and thrown away. Completely tragic."

3. Fiat X1/9

"Why its absence leaves us longing: Two parts to this: First, it’s a Fiat, which means that it’s subject to traditional Fiat accelerated entropy, although the basic structure is profoundly strong and the mechanicals are childishly simple to maintain. Second, it’s the representative for the entire class of affordable mid-engined cars, including the Fiero and MR2, that are proving to be very difficult to find as they start to be appreciated in retrospect."

4. Acura Legend

"Why its absence leaves us longing: An ignoble fate for the car that started the upscale-Japanese movement in the U.S., the Legend has rapidly become an afterthought for most people as they disappear from the scene. Both generations are desirable: the first cars are some of the nicest-looking midsized sedans and coupes ever, the latter are supremely comfortable, and neither is a common sight anymore."

5. Dodge Rampage

"Why its absence leaves us longing: In some ways the brilliance of this idea was on par with that of the minivan: take the form factor of the El Camino and apply it to the front-drive L-car (Omni/Horizon) chassis. Chrysler sold a fair number of the smallish car-truck hybrids, but they (and far too many other interesting and speedy L derivatives) have become exceedingly rare sights."

6. Honda CRX in original condition

"Why its absence leaves us longing: Sure, there are still a few CRXs out there if you don’t mind one that’s been slammed and B16’d and stuffed full of A-pillar gauges and AutoZone “lightweight” pedals. Everyone’s favorite Zen econoracer has been subject to more gross abuse and violations than practically any other car, although its Integra sister is in the same dire straits."

7. Nissan NX2000

"Why its absence leaves us longing: B13-platform Nissans are fading out as a whole, but the baby-928 NX2000 has almost completely gone away. Part of Nissan’s early-1990s renaissance, the NXs were excellent hatches with intriguing styling. As Nissan has sort of drifted, so too have the NX2000s been dispersed like so many snowflakes."

8. Renaults

"Why its absence leaves us longing: It’s one thing to have a popular individual model fade into extinction; it’s another to have that happen to whole nameplates. French cars in general are as scarce as bargain-priced grand cru Burgundy in the United States, and after a long presence with some interesting cars, it’s sad to see how Renaults are essentially all gone."

9. Merkurs

"Why its absence leaves us longing: Ford’s attempt to peddle its respectable Euro-market cars in the US wasn’t a smashing success, but they did sell a fair number of Scorpios and XR4Tis. They have all but completely gone to parts yards in near-futile support of their dwindling numbers. The Scorpio in particular is approaching total extinction."

10. Isuzu Impulse (both generations)

"Why its absence leaves us longing: Isuzu never had a stranglehold on the U.S. market, but the two generations of Impulses (and the second gen’s Geo Storm twin) were pretty popular in their day. The rear-drive turbocharged first generation is more desirable, but both have become exceedingly scarce."

The original Yahoo Autos story with vehicle photos can be found here.