“How does someone with 10 cars decide which one to drive?” isn’t that interesting a question on the face of it. Obviously, practical considerations like “Which car is in the best shape?” and “Which is easiest to get out of the driveway?” play a role. Plus, people naturally choose the right car for the right conditions. If I’m heading out to the country, I’ll drive my Jeep J10 pickup; if I’m going off-road, I’ll drive my lifted Jeep XJ; if I’m cruising Woodward Avenue on a Friday night, it’s the ’66 Mustang; if it’s wintertime, I’ll drive my $700 beater Suzuki; if a long road trip is in order, my comfy Grand Cherokee will do the job. You get the idea. But reframe the question to ignore these practical considerations, and instead ask: “If you just have to quickly do an errand around the corner, and you’ve got your 10 keys right there, which one do you pick?” and things become a lot more interesting.
I get the question all the time, and for years I’ve always answered: “I just choose whatever I feel like driving.” And that’s true. When I consciously pick which vehicle I’m going to drive, I usually snag the keys to my Jeep J10 or my old Mustang. If I haven’t driven one of my other cars for a while, I’ll fire it up and cruise just to enjoy that novelty. Really, I choose based on what’s going to make me happiest that day.
But usually, the car I drive somewhere isn’t actually a conscious choice. Sometimes I have to rush to the post office or to meet a friend or to some kind of work function; in those instances, the “What car will I enjoy most?” consideration never enters my mind. I’ve got stuff to do; I just need a working car — I don’t care which one. But my body does.
This is a bit weird, and it’s only something I noticed because my unconscious choice is in direct opposition to my conscious choice, and if I’m honest, it didn’t take me long to figure out why.
My Hand Would Always Reach For The Lexus Keys
It all began last summer (the season during which my entire fleet is fair game to drive, as there’s no salt on the roads to worry about). A few months prior, I’d purchased a 2002 Lexus LX470 (see above). It’s a big, gas-guzzling luxury SUV that I really bought to act as a tow vehicle for a cool Jeep FC-170 project, and to serve as a winter beater. Relative to the rest of my fleet, it was boring, to the point where I would later go on to replace it with a 1965 Plymouth Valiant (see below) — a decision that would lead a reader to buy me a Chrysler Valiant ute in Australia, which led to all sorts of weirdness that I’ll write about soon). But once the summer came, there was really no reason that I would continue driving that Lexus. And yet I did.
To be clear: When it was a wide open weekend, and I had some time to consider which car to drive, the Lexus keys stayed in the house. But when I was conducting an errand, or running late to something, I noticed that at least 75 percent of the time, I’d grab the Lexus keys. Statistically speaking, given that I had 10 cars, this didn’t make sense.
I didn’t come to this realization until a few months in, when I was running late to a party at a Jeep-friend’s house, hopped into my Lexus, fired up the buttery-smooth 4.7-liter V8, shifted the four-speed slushbox automatic into reverse, and then remembered that all my friends at that party were Jeep fans. “What the hell am I doing in this car?” I remembered thinking, as I “came to” from whatever haze had overcome me and had put me in that leather driver’s seat so many times that summer. I ran into the house, grabbed my Jeep J10 keys, and shifted through that lovely four-speed stick all the way to the shindig. It was great.
As I mentioned before, I’ve sold the Lexus LX470, but there’s still a vehicle that I spend the vast majority of my time subconsciously choosing to drive to run basic errands — my 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. There’s something about the Lexus LX and the Grand Cherokee that pierce into my subconscious and nudge my hand towards their keys. But what is it? I’ve been fighting this for a while now, but the truth is that I know the answer: It’s comfort.
But I Am Not A Lexus Man
I know; on the face of it “man tends to drive most comfortable car” hardly seems like a revelation, but since when do I give a damn about comfort? I don’t! I daily drove my 50 year-old Plymouth all of last winter! I drove a Postal Jeep halfway across the country (see above)! I off-roaded the crap out of a 1958 Willys FC-170 (see below) and got trenchfoot sleeping in the back of that Lexus.
I swam in the Baltic Sea after sleeping in a diesel, manual Chrysler Voyager; I’ve put myself through wrenching hell far too many times; I’ve driven in some of the worst road conditions with the worst traffic you’ve ever seen. I value soul and character and excitement, not comfort. I stay in cheap hostels, not fancy ones. I eat burgers, not caviar. I live in a shack in Troy, Michigan. I just spent weeks wrenching on a $900 rusted-out shitbox in a spider-infested garage in Australia.
I don’t need comfort. I don’t want comfort. Comfort is boring.
But something deep inside my brain is at war with my conscious self. It yearns for cushy suspension, leather seats, and an isolated cabin devoid of road or wind noise. It doesn’t care about my taste in cars; it doesn’t care which features I find interesting or boring; it doesn’t care how much I enjoy rowing a manual transmission. It wants to minimize all amplitudes — sound, vibrations, jerky drivetrain motions — all amplitudes.
And that’s an entirely normal physiological tendency. When a jackhammer is flattening dirt on one side of the street, you’re likely to cross over and walk on the other. When your shopping cart wheel has a flat spot, you’re probably going to grab another cart even if it’s no easier to push. If there’s traffic outside your apartment, chances are you’ll shut your windows. Humans like quiet, and we like still. That’s just how we’re built, and I’ve realized that these parts of my nature exist regardless of how much I love soulful cars.
Of course, this leads to the question: “Should I follow what my body clearly wants, and buy something comfortable?” I think the answer is “no.” I don’t see why I would do that. I sold my Lexus because, even though it’s supremely nice to drive, I just don’t value that aspect of any car. The Lexus is still a boring, inefficient, expensive-to-maintain, only moderately off-road capable SUV. I appreciate it for its excellent reliability and its quiet cabin, but at the end of the day, the cars I choose to keep is a conscious choice, and my conscious self says “To hell with comfort, bring on the soul. Ditch the Lexus.”
For this reason, I’ll be daily-driving an air conditioning-less 1958 Nash Metropolitan in LA soon enough. If I owned something newer and cushier, I bet I’d regularly find myself behind the wheel of it. But the fact that I don’t means I’ll get to enjoy bouncing on that beautiful red bench seat and listening to the buzz of that tiny British motor. Perhaps my taste will begin to fall in line with my subconscious desires, but until then, I plan to enjoy some of the coolest cars the world has to offer.
Do you keep all 10 insured at the same time? Where do you keep them all? I’d love to own 5 cars, but I’m far too minimalist.. and cheap. I refuse to pay for storage, and the extra registration/insurance seems wasteful.
But you, David Tracy, are no common man. Destined for greatness (and a Tetanus infection), you’ll keep collecting clapped out automotive treasures until your landlord threatens eviction. Damn nosy neighbors..
I generally go for the easiest car these days. My ‘fun’ Miata really is great to drive, but I can’t often drive it at 6/10 on the road and most of the time I go out I am running errands. Although I have forced a bulk pack of toilet paper and paper towels in the thing, it wasn’t effortless.
I also now have dogs. They love running errands with me. The Miata only offers room for one furry passenger and that passenger drastically cuts into my cargo space.
Luckily, our cars are all manual (Miata, Outback, Forester) so there can be some form of engagement while driving. But when spring comes around I will probably be selling the Miata and buying something old and interesting (not fast) with a rear seat. I can avoid the interstate in most of my travels, so a VW Thing may be in my future. Maybe a Jag XK8.
I’m still not sure if either of those in the garage would make me any less likely to just reach for the simple and reliable Outback keys, so I can completely understand you reaching for the Lexus keys.
A few things to consider.
To drive the ’64 F100 crewcab, I have to factor in a time allowance to warm it up.
To drive the ’92 F350 longbed dually crewcab (with camper), I have consider if where I am going has a big enough parking lot to be assured I can drive through two spots to park in the other two spots.
To drive my DD, I just get in and drive, so while I really like the trucks, sometimes I just need to go.
Oh, and since my ’67 VW squareback in undergoing major body work, I can’t drive it to the local monthly VW meetup, so I take my ’64 with a ceramic VW bus on the dashboard, extra time accounted for. At least it is old!
I’m not sure why, but out of my daily driver 2018 Miata and my manual-everything 2003 Toyota Echo, when I need to run an errand, I grab the keys to the Echo. Even if it’s the middle of summer, I grab the keys to the A/C-less Echo. It confuses my wife (and to me, to some extent) to no end…
Same here.
Out of a 10 car fleet the majority of the miles go to the comfiest: ’03 Stratus Coupe, ’13 300 and ’04 Durango.
The least usage goes to the ’05 Crossfire, Stealth, etc.
Great eye-opening thought exercise in self-awareness – thanks DT.
PS: Golden Eagle for the win.
I agree, the body wants more and more comfort as we age. I’m in my mid 30s and driving uncomfortable cars for longer periods just physically hurts now. Seat comfort matters, highway noise matters, suspension, steering feel, smooth transmission, clutch etc.
I find myself enjoying cars less without AC and cruise control now. 10 years ago I didn’t care about AC and cruise control.
Not only that, but wrenching hurts too.
I’ve never worked in a shop, always wrenched outside in the parking lot, even in freezing cold underneath my cars.
I keep looking for ‘needs work’ cars on marketplace and think, hey, that would be a fun fixer upper project, just needs an engine swap/transmission/brake lines etc.
Then realization hits: I just don’t think I have it in me anymore, especially in the winter. I’ll fix whatever breaks on my daily but that’s it.
I’m kind of there. Had a series of 4 Escapes as company cars, 120,000 miles over 4 years. By end of business on Friday, I couldn’t wait to get out of those things. Rock hard seat (with a too-short seat bottom), bolt upright seating position, no lower back support, juddery suspension, just awful.
I no longer have a company-issued car, so what did I do? Made the same damn mistake earlier this year with a Hyundai Ioniq – 26,000 miles since late February, and the same complaints as the Escapes, terrible ride quality, terrible seat, my lower back is sore at the end of the week. But, at 60mpg, at least its cheap to run, and complies with the company’s rules for mileage reimbursement (at least 4 doors, no more than 4 years old, $25,000 minimum purchase price).
Down to only two cars at the moment, but the other one is an American economy car from the ’60s, and I use it for everything non-business related, since its somehow more comfortable. I have no idea why or how that happened, but the seats are really thickly padded and the suspension is much softer, no crashing and banging on every little road imperfection.
I have been a little British roadster guy all my life. In about 2015 or so I bought a BMW 2002. A little rusty underneath, but ran fine once I sorted it out. I found myself driving the 2002 a lot more than the Triumph TR250. At first I thought it was the novelty of the new car vs. the one I had owned for five years. Then I realized, comfort, not so much driving, but just hopping in and out was so much easier at 55 with creaky knees.
These days, same thing, the 2002 is gone, but I still have the TR250 and a Porsche 924S. Both in great shape, hop in and go cars. Couple days ago I needed to run out to Menards, no hurry, perfect fall day…and I chose the Lexus IS300. Just wanted to get there and back with the least fuss and muss and get on with my day.
I this how the “normies” live? (minus the extra cars in the garage of course).
Is it winter? Do I need to transport something large? Do I need to transport the dog for more than about half an hour? Is the weather egregiously bad? Has it been more than a week(ish) since the Subaru got driven?
If any of the answers are Yes, then Subaru.
If all of the answers are No, then Miata!
I recently discovered that you can get a 3yo-ish Lincoln Continental, in the better trim, with AWD and a 400hp motor and in a rather classy shade of blue, for mid-$30,000s. I’ve always thought it was a good-looking car, and reviews tend to say that it rides like a classic American luxury car, i.e. like a cloud. A grandpa car, basically—but with plenty of power under the hood. There’s a part of me that wants to go there, even though in theory I’m looking for something more practical and efficient than that.
But hell, my next car after that will surely be an EV, so why not get something stupid and handsome and comfortable, with a big ICE motor, before the big change? I mean, my climate conscience is clear—I spend 40+ hours a week literally installing solar panels. And with a hideaway trailer hitch and a small utility trailer, it could be plenty practical.
Anyway, that’s what I think about comfortable cars right now.
I feel like regular sessions with a dominatrix would satisfy this masochistic streak so if you ever stop posting I’m just going to assume you’re tied up somewhere having the time of your life.
My decision on what to drive is generally what’s in the driveway? what gets better gas mileage? will the object I’m moving fit? Plus the bonus of is it a good day for a motorcycle?
My current fleet includes a CUV, pickup and sedan, so the truck is mostly reserved for large objects since it burns the most gas. Everything is post 2001 and reliable although the 2003 Buick needed a battery charge because it’s been sitting a lot. It still started, but hesitated while cranking.
I usually just drive the car in the driveway since it is a PITA to move the car out of the driveway then take the car out of the garage. Which causes the cars in the garage to not rack up any miles.
For some of us, perhaps mostly in the upper age range, the body dictates not just the choice of car for the ride but the choice for purchase. Hard to find a comfortable new car that’s not large on the outside with leg and head room for 6’+. Too bad about Saab.
I get it. As much as I love driving my XJ some days its just too much effort. Even when doing XJ stuff like taking the pup to the drive-on beach I found myself reaching for the keys to the Canyon more and more before I got rid of it.
Toys are fun but sometimes life gets in the way.
Currently I use this process of elimination:
1) Is it raining or going to rain?
2) Is it warm enough to put the top down? With a jacket?
350Z if the answer is no to the first one and yes to either part of the second. Otherwise the JKU or Transit Connect is the winner. The other two cars are not drivable at the moment.
David, I mean this in the most sincere and caring way: Get some therapy. You seem to feel like you need to prove something to yourself time and time again by always taking the absolute hardest path regardless of the consequences or repercussions. Even when your subconscious is trying to tell you something you feel the need to push back and self-flagellate. A little bit of understanding of why you are doing this might be very helpful for your overall well-being.
Find yourself a good therapist and put in some hard work on yourself for a change. Heck find one who is also a car nut so they can understand you that much better.
There’s probably zero worthwhile writers / authors who eschewed the difficult path for the path of luxury. The more rust flakes DT dabs out of his eyes, the more trenchfoot he catches, the more spiders he battles = stories with soul.
I consistently walk past my Fiat Abarth to drive my hopelessly slow Pao, but it takes a conscious effort to do so.
I’ll acknowledge the comfort difference between a modern Lexus SUV and a ‘66 Valiant is enormous, having owned some 1960s cars myself. David is in his early 30’s. Just wait until you are more than twice that age. I reluctantly admit, “Easy to get into and out of” is a real appeal of CUVs. My next new DD must have premium seats with a four-way power lumbar support, like the superbly comfortable Mercedes SLK-300 I rented five or six years ago. After spending more than 30 minutes in my wife’s Honda Fit, or 45 in my Chevy Sonic hatchback DD, it’s a relief to climb out. I understand David’s choices as a 30-ish person, but check back with him in 2057.
A Nash, a Valiant, *and* a Mustang? I’m hearing a Billy Ocean song in my head right now…
I can’t wait for the Ute update!
I’ll pick my MGB nearly every time if the weather is nice. There’s just something about the open air and the mechanical satisfaction of shifting a manual. I put about 2000 miles a year on that.
My truck is so comfortable, but it’s quite hard to fit in some parking garages and urban parking spaces, so I find myself having to think about where I am going. About 25% of my miles this year were pulling the camper. I put about 9,000 miles on this over the last year.
We have an old Caddy STS that is a couch on wheels. I love it for long trips, but it’s getting to an age where the suspension could use improvement so it can be a little harsh on Michigan’s horrible roads. It’s mostly the car that the kids drive. It or our family hauling SUV gets driven to sites in downtown when I need to deal with a parking garage or on-street parking.
I’m lucky to have enough of a driveway/parking area that nothing is ever blocked in.
I have the same issue, though I only have 3 (4 if you count my wife’s Highlander) vehicles to choose from. My default is my ’06 TSX 6-speed that still looks darn-near new and runs beautifully. I have to force myself to grab the keys to the ’94 F150 from time to time just to check in on the old girl (reliable and great for towing/hauling, but loud on the highway), and regularly forget about the ’80 BMW R100T – very little saddle time as of late. The funny thing is that I could ride the bike way more (it is very reliable), but there is something about having to put jeans on and a helmet/gloves that just kills it. It takes very little time to suit up, but I just don’t most of the time and kinda hate myself for it. All my vehicles are reliable, but I go with comfort/convenience most of the time.
It sounds like you might appreciate a convertible. Plenty of open air, without having to gear up every time.
I miss living out in the country, with a dirt bike in the shed. I didn’t mind riding that more casually. But with all the idiots on the road, buried in their phones half the time they’re driving, I don’t ride my street bike much at all, and never without full gear of helmet, gloves, jacket, jeans and boots.
I still have a motorcycle, but the convertible is really great for when I don’t want to gear up, or when the weather is sort of iffy and I still need my fix of fresh air.
The short answer to the why is simply that not everything has to be the hard…or let’s be generous…the exciting way. If you only have 100% of…whatever…to give, it just doesn’t make sense to spend it doing things that aren’t your top priorities. Sometimes a chore is just a chore and doesn’t need to be an adventure. I don’t NEED to bike 150 miles to go on a beach vacation just because biking is my thing, the point is the beach vacation sometimes. If you use the easy button when you don’t need anything more than that, it’s not a betrayal of the things you love, it’s an acknowledgment that the things you love matter enough that you will save effort somewhere to spend it where you would rather spend it.
I mean, I get it. I’ve hesitated buying a cheap, boring beater because I LIKE driving the cruiser and would rather drive it, despite its cost of upkeep and running costs. The truth is that there are other reasons I don’t that boil down to it not being practical or cost-effective. If the math panned out differently or I had more room, I would drive a boring daily so I could enjoy the cruiser more and make it last longer.
Well put. I had a similar revelation after rebuilding the engine the SECOND time on my ’71 Cub Cadet lawn tractor. It was a hand-me-down from my dad, does a decent job of cutting the grass, and it is just kinda neat by itself, but it is super fiddly. While I have the ability to fiddle with it, I do not have the desire. It is made to do a chore. I’d rather spend time working on my car/bike/truck, building something with wood, going out on the boat, riding the bike, etc. etc. etc. That is why I am back to a boring, cheap, reliable push mower.
I refer to my wife’s Outback as an Enabler Car. It enables us to get to the trailhead with our bikes & crap. It enables us to have a fun convertible that has no storage or long distance comfort. It enables us to focus on the things & activities that spark joy because we don’t need to worry about how (or if) we are going to get there & back.
Exactly this
I have an Outback and an Odyssey.
Both of these cars are boring, but both are steadfastly reliable and I have zero doubts that they will get me from point A to point B and back again.
I grew up in a household of… well, “works in progress” is probably generous enough. My dad’s trucks that ate power steering pumps, a Chevy that went through starters on the regular (first legal driving memory: heading home from the DL office, stalling out on a hill in traffic and then having the starter fail at that very moment – no stress!), over heating, dash didn’t work above 20F… As soon as I was out on my own I decided I would buy new and then maintain them religiously until they got to major issue time.
With a large selection of cars to choose from, I suppose selecting which car to drive is not all that different from choosing which pair of shoes to wear each morning. Sometimes it’s “pick the right one for the job” and if “the job” could be done by any car/pair, then you can pick the one that best suits your mood.
The difference is that my wingtips won’t leak oil all over my closet and fail to lace up if I decide not to wear them for an extended period of time. Since cars want to be driven… *need* to be driven to remain in mechanically good condition, for those of you with large or large-ish fleets, do you ever find yourselves consciously having to go out and drive certain vehicles in your stable when you otherwise wouldn’t — just to keep them exercised?
Yes, I do at least.
I have to make myself check in from time to time with my older stuff. Not using them is the worst thing I can do. If I cannot even manage that, some reflection is in order.
You’re killing me David! We are on pins and needles here. Guessing you didn’t make the event and it took longer to get the ute moving under its own power but hell what do I know? Give us a clue man, give us a clue!
I’m guessing the Ozzies found a way to make him realize he’d rather survive uninjured than try to be the nuttiest nutter in the pack.
Yep. We know that the big ute event already occurred at the time that he wrote most of the articles about it and yet, nada! I read this article looking for some clues about what happened with the ute. DT this article is the definition of gaslighting, man! I’m hoping for a big and glorious mea culpa article about what happened…
One word — Reliability!
The unconsciousness choice has nothing to do with comfort so much as it means you don’t want to deal with a hassle. Toyotas are famous for this. No muss, no fuss, no worries.
I guess the Grand Cherokee would be your second most reliable car???
I consider the Grand Cherokee and J10 ahead of the Lexus in reliability, though all are excellent.
Seriously, how is this possible? We’ve seen multiple stories about how the “indestructible” 4.0L AMC inline-six is subject to head gasket/head cracking failures. Unless your Toyota/Lexus product had not received necessary periodic maintenance, how was your Lexus behind in reliability? Unless we are talking about Lexus-specific luxury features not relevant to basic mechanical functionality?
The ZJ has a huge radiator and thus isn’t really prone to the overheating problems of the XJ. That engine, when kept cool, doesn’t die. Neither does the Aisin five-speed transmission or the Dana axles (if kept stock). The interior has no luxury features (manual doors and locks, manual seats). Ditto for the J10. These two Jeeps are much simpler than the Lexus, and thus a bit sturdier overall.
The Lexus had the AHC hydraulic suspension that went wonky every now and then, the brake system sometimes had issues (there’s a fancy pump that fails and often costs $1,000 to fix for whatever reason, though that wasn’t my problem), the full-time 4wd system puts unnecessary wear on the front drivetrain (which can be clunky when rolling onto the throttle), etc etc. The Jeeps don’t have these problems. They’re not perfect (the ZJ’s exhaust manifold has a crack in it), but they’re no-bullshit machines. The Lexus isn’t quite that.
Yup – reliability is the key for any quick errand. For me, that is why our Nissan Leaf gets driven so much for pretty much all errands around town. But there is a caveat there too. The decision tree is something like this:
– Is the errand less than 30 miles away? (Y) -> Is the Leaf fully charged (Y) = Take the Leaf
– If more than 30 miles away, does the dog need to come with us? (Y) = Take the Mercedes R320
– If more than 30 miles away and no dog = Mercedes 190D
– Do I need to haul something dirty or weird shaped? (Y) = VW Rabbit Pickup
– Do I feel like an adventure on a nice day? (Y) = Suzuki GS500
Interesting choice. My friends with multiple cars used the formula of Runs, has fuel, can easily move. That usually limited them to 2 choices 🙂
you also have to consider how long it has been since it was ran, bad gas always leads to disappointing days in any car. Also ends up costing much more than just a tankful of gas after driving it for a day or two. I do find outside temperature and possibility for rain or snow to influence my decision, but ultimately I just ask my daughter which car she wants to go to school in that day.
That’s why every once in a while the answer to “Which car should I drive today?” is “The one that needs some exercise.” Cars need to be driven every so often for the sake of their health (so to speak) so if one of my cars hasn’t been driven for a week or so I’ll make a point of using it for a day or two just to keep it limber.
I agree with these and make sure my fleet gets regular exercise.
The people I knew were broke so other than siphon gas, it came down to which are the runners. At some point they would break down and fix one to add into the mix, typically when one stopped running.
It’s called getting older.
You know you are “old” when you wake up with injuries you didn’t have prior to sleeping.
You and David are making me happy that I could never afford a Lancia Stratos or Lotus Eruopa!
“Europa,” FFS.
One of these days…. Which comes first? The Autopian Comment Edit button or me learning to type?
Even if you learn to type, you’ll still have stuff you meant to include but forgot for one reason or another.
The need for the edit button is eternal.