The process of falling in love with a car is such a wonderful thing. You make a discovery and in short order, you’ve fallen head-over-heels. Maybe you didn’t expect to love that car so much, but now you’re finding yourself buying posters of it. One day, you will buy that car. For our readers who grew up with smartphones, maybe that car got plastered all over your screen. No matter how you fell in love, seeing and talking about that car probably gets you excited, which is great! Not so great is when your friends just don’t get it. What car do your friends make fun of you for loving?
I can relate to this question. Back in May 2008, my father retired a Ford Ranger. I forget if it crashed or its transmission left the chat, but the result was the same. The truck was gone and he needed something new. My parents heard about some sort of second coming of the Geo Metro, something called a “Smart Car.” As it happened, a dealership had just opened up in nearby Lake Bluff, Illinois, so we hopped into the family GMC Envoy XL to check it out. I had visions of some sort of sleek car that drove itself or something.
What I got was something totally unexpected. In that dealership, which resembled an art gallery, but with tiny cars, a salesman dressed as if he were going to a ball showed us around three Fortwos. Mr. Janka explained how these cars were engineered by Mercedes-Benz and a lot of work went into making a real car fit into a footprint less than 9 feet long. I was about 15 years old at the time and my teenage brain was blown. Everything was so exciting. My eyes grew large and beady as I found myself amazed at the dent-resistant panels, the colorful interiors, and the full transparent roofs. Janka explained how the funky contrasting steel underneath the plastic panels was hiding a high-tensile steel safety cage. So these tiny cars were as safe as something a bit larger.
My parents stopped being interested the moment the salesman said there was a waiting list a year long. Me? I nabbed a brochure and read it front to back that same day. I still have that brochure in my collection of Smart stuff. It wasn’t long until I had every bit of that brochure memorized, from the torque numbers of the puny engine to each color choice for those swappable plastic panels. The next time I went to school — I was a high school Freshman — I proudly proclaimed that my dream car was a Smart Fortwo. I even chose the first song I’d play when I bought one.
My friends and classmates? Well, they mocked me mercilessly for it. See, a lot of teenagers back then loved things like the new Chevrolet Camaro, Italian exotics, the Ford Mustang, or whatever souped-up classic their dads were driving. Cars like the little Fortwo were seen as too girly and stupid. That day, I became known as the Smart car person and was teased for loving them through every single year of high school. My parents had worse things to say about my appreciation for the Smart.
I drew Smarts in my art classes, I wrote about them in my English classes, and I even figured out ways to incorporate Smarts into science classes. I became Smart USA’s best PR person and I didn’t even work for the company. Smart USA noticed my love and over time, trusted me enough to give me press releases before the media even got them.
Everyone thought I’d grow out of it, but I didn’t. In 2012, I brought my first Smart home. Suddenly, the haters disappeared. They realized I was serious and that for me, it was a dream come true. Many of the same people who teased me apologized before congratulating me. I still have that car above today, and it helped me become the person I am now.
This is a very long way to say that even your friends may question your car choices. Has that ever happened to you? If so, what car do your friends make fun of you for? Of course, we’re pro-car here. We don’t care if you drive a Yugo, a Gillig BRT, or a Tesla Cybertruck, we love them all.
(Topshot: Smart USA)
None. From what I can tell, my friends all have progressed to the point of resigned acceptance of whatever automotive-like object I may bring home at this point.
Not now but I have distinct memories of getting made fun of around age 10 for liking “the Cadillac sports car” (the XLR).
Excited to be able to finally replace them with new memories of getting made fun of it here, now, by all of you lovely people.
The XLR is cool!
That’s what I’m sayin’
Not my car, but I have a friend who until recently, cared for an early 928. Phone dial wheels and all (though I’m also ok with the slotted pie pans). He only gave it up to retire overseas. I could not believe how much derision he got for that car. From car people and non car people. Constant Pacer jokes. I think it was a masterpiece and often found myself defending him.
I only picked on him because it was a slushbox, but he would just challenge me to find him an MT is the same condition.
Aw, man. 928s are so rad, though. They took a while to grow on me (and I am glad they ultimately didn’t replace the 911), but they’re genuinely impressive GT cars.
My bone stock 200k+ mile 2006 Chevy Suburban. Not a car guy vehicle. Handles like a battleship, and parks about as easily. Ingests fuel at a prodigious rate as it meanders up to speed. Stops eventually. Is an experience best described as ‘driving your living room’. But I love it. It is the best road trip vehicle. Beats almost anything as a long distance cruiser. And you can sometimes fix it with a rubber band. I’ll sell my 911 before I sell my truck.
My BMW i3 🙂
I’m obsessed.
I’m a firefighter in Texas… and I’m the proud owner of a 242k mile 2010 Prius, and get made fun of relentlessly by some. Although just last week I towed my little utility trailer full of firewood back to the house, I once bought and transported 10 bales of hay to a neighbor somehow getting it all in one go. I’ve even carried a 40’ extension ladder on the roof rack for my old solar company. After recently doing the Dr. Prius lithium battery swap diy style I just can’t imagine justifying another vehicle for a good while. People thought I was insane 10 years ago for selling my lifted TJ for the Prius but I just can’t help loving that little car!
I don’t know how I didn’t realize there was a DIY-able big-batt swap for these. That’s awesome.
This very site actually wrote up an article about the DIY kit on December 6th, although I never commented on it, the swap is thoroughly detailed on what to do and at one point when I was stumped on something the good people of Dr. Prius responded to my email in less than 30 minutes completely relieving any worries I had. Altogether it was about $2,250, so while not cheap it’s been an awesome way to keep the paid off car running, also it bumped me back up from about 38mpg to my now 48!
It’s largely possible given how small (physically, and in terms of capacity), accessible, and not-part-of-the-crash-structure Prius batteries are. I’m definitely planning to do that if my 2012 Prius v lasts long enough to get to the point the HV battery dies or nearly dies.
My friends gave up making fun of me for tiny British cars years ago. They felt bad after the constant breakdowns and 3 minor fires… I do have a shortbus though, so there are a lot of jokes about that.
Probably a PT Cruiser, I actually had 2, a good 1st gen one I never should have traded, and later what must have been a flooded 2nd gen(facelifted?) one that they messed with the seats so I had all kinds of issues fitting in. But even my super sweet Aunt had to tell me how she thought it was hilarious people call them mini-hearses, I’m like, you see I’m driving one right?
Also had a 96 Dodge Neon coupe before that, “Lapis Blue”, but it had the rubbermaid bumpers in the same color so I really liked it, think mostly they picked on me for the color and that I called it blue, they call it purple, but they had an actual purple Neon and it wasn’t that color! It said Blue right in the paint name!
Still ponder converting one of those to an EV, but have my Bolt EV which is all working and stuff so meh.
A fellow PT Cruiser fan! I thought I was the only one!
Mine had factory flames. I got so much shit for that from my friends.
The factory customization options were crazy! At one point Chrysler’s site has this whole cusomization flash page that rocked.
They were indeed. For all the crap the Chrysler gets for their cars of that era, you gotta give them credit for taking risks and giving people what they asked for. When the PT came out, they said they needed a convertible version. Bam. They said they needed a hot rod version. Boom: turbo. Woodie surf wagon? You got it.
Mine was a total stripped down base model except for the flames. I loved it.
YES FLAMES
The PT Cruisers were cool when they came out, plus they handle so much better than people give them credit for. I kinda love that they’re having a bit of a redemption arc right now. It’s such a unique little vehicle.
Honestly, most of them. The two I hear about most are my current “fleet”. Answer #1 is right there in my user name (“It’s a chick car”). My current Kia Soul is a close second (“LOL, hamster car”). The Miata I loved from afar for many years before finding the right one, and the Soul was a marriage of convenience that blossomed into love as I realized that a mere appliance could find a place in my heart.
Most of my other objects of unnatural lust (Citroen DS/XM/SM, Lamborghini Espada, Ferrari 412, and others) have inspired some derision as well at times.
So yeah, my friends are kinda dicks, but as Alex Turner wrote in the excellent Arctic Monkeys song “A Certain Romance”…
But over there, there’s friends of mine
What can I say? I’ve known ’em for a long long time
And they might overstep the line
But you just cannot get angry in the same way.
My love of Volvo Estates ( A.K.A. Station Wagons)
I find them very comfortable and stylish with a great deal of utility.
I find mine to be stylish, so that’s at least one out of three:
https://barnfinds.com/rare-dutch-swede-1966-volvo-66-gl-estate/
Wow! Very rare indeed! I was not even aware of this model! But I am more a fan of the more modern Volvo Estates.
As far as I know there’s only one other in the US. It’s in much better shape and is in a much nicer color:
https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1921221/riding-1978-volvo-66-gl-estate/
My current signature on Facebook is:
“I’ve never bought a vehicle in my life that was the best possible choice, and I like it that way.”
I always tell people that I own a British car and an Italian motorcycle, so I guarantee you I have a great sense of humor.
Also I have a Yugo, so those jokes write themselves.
My dad had a TR7 and a Motoguzzi and from the amount of time either of them actually were on the road I’d say you must have the patience of Job. Best of luck to you (I imagine you need it)!
Hell yeah, Yugo. Yugos are fun!
Pretty much everything I covet. Dodge(Chrysler) Minivans, Anything Jaguar, Buick Lucerne, every Citroen.
Let’s not be hasty. 🙂
I caught some grief over the Super Beetle, the 500 Abarth, and the Range Rover Sport Supercharged.
All of that mocking was completely unwarranted. The SB caught fire only that one time, the Abarth was perfect for anyone who is me, and the Land Rover broke once in warranty and once outside of warranty – hardly worth mentioning.
I don’t know if my lifelong fixation with unloved or misunderstood vehicles allows me to easily answer this…
Almost everything I like is partially because it has a bad reputation.
Not my friends, but my wife makes fun of me for loving wood paneled station wagons. I miss my ’94 Roadmaster so much!
Practically everything I’ve ever owned? But most notably:
’89 Geo Prism LSi – sort of fair as it was the most beater of beaters in the condition that it was in.
2011 Hyundai Accent 3-door hatch – I had for a year, purchased new for about 12k. It was the most base model car, possibly of all time. It wasn’t exactly up to the task of life in the high peaks of the Adirondacks where I lived at the time so I moved up to…
2012 Suzuki SX4 – I took a lot of crap for my love of this car. When Suzuki went kaputt in the U.S., I got an extra helping of crap for that purchase, especially with my penchant for owning weird, failing products (I had a Windows phone around this time). Most of the people in my life came around to it though, as it was an absolutely awesome car. Many were sad to see it go.
2020 Chrysler Voyager – Everyone thinks I’m a damn lunatic for:
1) Driving a minivan by choice.
2) Forcing people to listen to me about the minivan.
Luckily, I don’t really care, and I take it in stride. I know I’m strange.
God Tier list if I’m being honest.
Thanks! I see you’re also a fan of the Chrysler minivans (I’ve always been a fan, even though my family’s history with Chrysler products sort of scares the hell out of me). They just do the minivan right.
I very very badly hope the next minivan (they could never move on from it, right?) will be another home run for them, and I REALLY hope they figure out the issues with the PHEV. I don’t want to be forced into a Sienna and it’s lack of removable 2nd row (BOO) in the future.
Im hoping. They always struggle with the first couple years when they release some new tech, but they always seem to get it right by the 3rd year at the latest. They finally got powertrain reliability figured out, with excellent wngines and transmissions, only to run into trouble with the PHEV stuff. Im hoping for an AWD hybrid with the next model, but im not holding my breath. Either way ill have one.
I was nearly obsessed with SX4s when they were new. I had the (very dated, but appropriate for the brand) Build & Price tool just about memorized, and I did several test drives on various models. I was almost set to buy the “crossover” model, and was at the point of deciding between the copper-orange or the lovely blue paint colors. Then Suzuki announced they were leaving the U.S., and taking the excellent SX4 and Kizashi with them, and scrapping plans to federalize the next generations of the Swift and Jimny. So I reluctantly passed on my purchase, which was fortuitous as my career took a sudden change shortly after.
As the cheapest AWD vehicle in Upstate NY, they were EVERYWHERE. There’s still a surprising amount around considering how difficult it is to get them serviced.
That final generation of Suzuki products really were excellent, and it sucks that it was too little too late for them. And yes, the SX4 came in a number of great colors, mine was red, but the copper and the light blue color were also neat. The final year (2013) they even offered a bright green color!
If Suzuki had stuck around, I would have been a Cultus.
My minivan. But those who tease me for it either don’t know how great vans are or they know but are jealous or insecure.
Minivans, and in particular the Chrysler family of them.
I dunno, I grew up in a series of Dodge Caravans ranging from the very 1st gen, to the late 90s body style. Even as a kidless adult, I had a 2005 for a work car that happily ferried me and all my stuff from the Pittsburgh area to the Washington DC metro every week for a year, asking for nothing in return but fuel, royal purple, and a few sets of tires.
When kids did come, we picked up a 2017 Pacifica, which against all odds was impeccably reliable as well up to 100k, when we traded it for a 2022 Pacifica.
I still have an 08 as a work beater too.
All through the years we get plenty of fun poked at us for our mom-mobiles, but I take it all in stride. For a new vehicle, an AWD Pacifica is probably the best blend of utility, comfort, economy, AWD capability, and affordability you can get in any kind of Union made vehicle.
And for a cheap shitbox to get back and forth to work, I dont think there are any vehicles out there in the $1500 price range with this kind of room, reliability, ergonomics, and ease of maintenance.
The real laughs come when I say with a straight face that my first “I just hit the lottery” car purchase would be the mintest stickshift Turbo van I can find.
I’ve lived an eventful and full 35 years on this rock, and just about every milestone in my life has happened a few hundred yards at most from a Mopar Mom-mobile.
First ride home from the hospital. Saying bye to mom for my first day at school. First ride to scout camp. First trip to the beach. First date. First kiss. First heartbreak. First vehicle I drove. First speeding ticket. First family vacation. The list goes on and on, there’s always been a minivan in the background of my life, a supporting character always ready to take me and my family on the next adventure.
So even though most people wouldnt be caught dead in one, you’ll never catch me without one.
The new Pacificas can get swanky as hell, too. Even my Mom made fun of my test car, but with all the bells and whistles inside? Those things can be spec’d nicer than some of the high-end luxo-mobiles.
The folks who say they wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan crack me up. Guess what funeral homes use en masse because of a low, flat, easy-to-load floor? Minivans are frickin’ great.
We slapped a rooftop tent on ours and went to a friends campground up on Lake Erie. When the weather turned rainy, we had 6 kids living the dream, laying on the flat floor snuggled up watching Netflix and Disney on the TVs. Ended up having my family up in the tent and another couple spend the night in the van.
They dont make fun of the van anymore lol
Hell yeah. That rules.
Had 2, My current 98 z28 gets catfish comments.
I had an Cutlass (1988) called a gutless until people realized it came with a factory 3.8 v6.
I’ve had a ’91 Camaro RS, an ’89 Firebird and a ’94 Trans Am. I am very partial to 3rd Gen F-bodies, and every time I’ve owned them, I get the same comments about how a mullet is required to drive one.
I hardly fit the profile. My hair is long all the way around, so sorry I’m not sufficiently mulletacious. Also, I get the shortcomings. My Camaro was a 3.1 (with a rare-ish 5-speed). I thought it was a perfect combo – well balanced and very tossable. Also, it didn’t have the problem my Firebird had… leaky t-tops. Yeah, the t-tops are very cool and fun to remove, but the Camaro was definitely more stable, so I do miss that car.
Bottom line… 3rd Gens don’t get the love they deserve because there’s a stereotype attached to driving one. It’s a shame because they’re fun.
I’m driving a Miata now, so I have a kind of a sense of what makes a car fun. Can’t say I’ve had my last Camaro, even though I’m more into a good stout beer than a Budweiser.
Third-gens are fantastic. They’re great track cars as a base platform and aftermarket mods are plentiful and really can turn them into monsters that can embarrass cars costing tens of thousands more. Parts are easy to find and cheap and the venerable SBC and LS drop right into them. Not to mention the styling is finally getting the credit it deserves; they’re not too common in nice shape anymore so they stand out in traffic.
I’ve owned three third-gens and they were all very not great vehicles.
Rattles. Rattles. Rattles. Chassis made of bubble gum and rubber bands.
T-tops seem cool until you have to stow them somewhere (or you leave them at home and then have to park – and it’s the 90’s and your home state is the car theft capital of the US).
Every now and then I still find myself shopping for a GTA. I catch myself quickly.
VW Transporter Doka.
Oh that’s easy: K-cars. Or to some extent, Mopar in general.
I was actually thinking about this the other day. It’s a little like being a Van Halen fan. Everyone agrees with you about ths old stuff – 50s/60s, David Lee Roth – and that stuff is way cool, and you love it still, but it’s a bit immature and primitive, and you don’t want it all the time.
Thr later efforts – Iacocca/Lutz, Van Hagar – are empirically better in almost every way, and produced a lot of huge hits, but those old-guard fans won’t hear it, and simply say “they suck.”
And then, because someone always has to bring it up, you find yourself defending the indefensible – Gary Cherone, or DaimlerChrysler except for the LX. You’d rather just ignore them, but some folks just have to pick at the scabs…
The newer stuff – the LX, or that last album with Dave and Wolfgang – is pretty damn good too, and even the old fans will grudgingly say so, but they still complain that it isn’t exactly like the old stuff they remembered.
Who needs friends like that when the internet will just do that for you, without having to hang out with them?
Obvious sarcasm, but I must agree: defending Daimler-Chrysler is an exercise in futility.
If my co-workers (of whom I hang out with more than my actual friends) count, it’s literally everything. Name anything that’s not a truck with a V8, or a muscle car with a small block. Or a Yamaha R1. They don’t like it.
Otherwise, no one else really cares. Not my friends from grade school. Not anyone from college.
Really, anything that isn’t a giant recent model year pickup truck, so literally anything I’m even so much as mildly interested in
Cadillac.
The good kind.
The big kind.
Because many people do not understand the feeling of getting in a car and feeling like you are home.
Former Fleetwood Brougham owner here, can confirm!
The legroom in the 1993 was absolutely not class leading in any way compared to the unibody rivals, it sat high because of the body on frame but when you got in …
Just melt into the seat.
True, leg room in the back of my 1990 wasn’t great, but I swear the velour seats had healing powers.
YES! Gosh, I love land yachts so much. I always felt like a weirdo stanning “Grandma cars,” but they’re so big, comfy and classy. We had both an Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight and a Sedan de Ville growing up. It felt like being chauffeured. They were so good!
Then again, I have the biggest soft spot for Caddy’s two most unloved/unusual cars, too—the Catera and the Cimarron. Gosh, unloved sedans in general—I mean, I have a VW 411, so I live it. There was a Defector comment section the other day where someone called their family’s 411 the biggest piece of crap on earth and I got SO EXCITED that someone else actually knew what a 411 was, hahahahaha.
Big cushy American land yachts in general. I favor the Lincolns (and their contemporaries that have long since shuttered their doors or faded into a shadow of their former selves, like Chrysler/Imperial) but I get the appeal of them. And now they’re full-speed ahead on becoming cadilliq (I believe it’s pronounced “caddy-lick” but might be “cattle-ick”). Ugh.