Our disagreement here is that you think DCA 1.0 was bad because of its ideas and I think DCA 1.0 was bad because of its budget. California's history is a great theme for a park and perfectly complements Disneyland across the way.
Just because we're talking about Car Land, here's two quick pictures showing its overview (concept art and model), the latter of which is apparently not online anywhere and I had to grab from the second Imagineering book.
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If you actually look on the wall behind Kevin Rafferty, you can see how much better of a layout Car Land would've had. Instead of a single street with everything on it, there would've been more to explore and allow the guest to really get swallowed by the land. Even the entrance just feels more natural than a sudden street starting off the parade route. There's also some concept art on that back wall for Car Land that I can't find anywhere else.