One of the greatest parts about being a car enthusiast is that everyone is different. Sure, there are a bunch of people into Ford Mustangs and whatever new supercar McLaren launches in a given week, but people can love anything. I love the Smart Fortwo enough to own five of them! But there are some cars you might feel embarrassed for loving. Or, maybe there’s a feature that just gets your heart pumping. These are automotive guilty pleasures and tell me, what’s yours?
Since beginning a career writing about cars, motorcycles, RVs, and so on, I’ve come to a conclusion that I didn’t think I’d arrive at. Ready for it? Crossovers aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be. Sure, the vast majority of them are forgettable appliances but guess what, the majority of car buyers aren’t looking for low-slung manual wagons. They just want something that gets decent fuel economy, is easy to get in and out of, and has enough room for their kids and groceries. Boom, the crossover does that perfectly.
Being ok with crossovers is not my guilty pleasure. Instead, there’s one crossover out there that I would spend real money on. It’s a crossover that my colleagues Matt and Jason have no idea why I like so much. That crossover is the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport. Yes, the crossover that’s a member of the hated “coupe crossover” trend.
In theory, this is a crossover that I should hate. Volkswagen realized few people actually used the Volkswagen Touareg as the super SUV that it was, so it was killed off in our market and replaced with the soft Atlas. The Atlas is a fine vehicle, but is for the most part forgettable. Can you remember when was the last time you’ve seen one? Or does it blend into the surroundings that well?
I will attempt to defend myself here. When I tested one at the end of 2021, I was pleased by the crossover’s comfort, quiet cabin, and tech. Sure, VW wasn’t doing anything special in there, but it felt like a comfortable daily driver. Not too exciting, but practical. What I liked most about my tester was the VR6 engine under the hood, which has since been removed from the Atlas lineup. It also handled reasonably well for a big crossover.
As for the roof? I don’t need three rows of seats, so I’d take the coupé-ish fastback-ish roof of the Cross Sport. Matt wonders if I’ve been driving cheap, crappy cars for so long that the idea of owning a Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport seems appealing to me. I’m sure some of that is there, but I don’t view other crossovers with such fondness. Maybe it’s that VR6 engine, because while I like the updated interior of the 2024 Atlas, I’d rather go a year older and get the cooler engine.
I’m not sure why I like a forgettable crossover so much, but I would totally throw down money at an Atlas Cross Sport. Honestly, an Atlas Cross Sport wouldn’t even be in my top ten new cars to buy, but it is on my list. Maybe I’d put A/Ts on it and a lift.
So, how about you? What’s your automotive guilty pleasure?
First and second generation Ford Explorers. I picked up my first one back in the 90s and have owned a dozen since then, including my latest project vehicle. I can’t rationally explain my affinity for them, but I like them.
Also, I despise the fastback coupe SUV. I like my SUVs heavy on the utility, thank you very much!
Yes! 91-01, preferably an OHV 5 speed.
Also for me AMC Eagles, and almost anything with a manual trans that you wouldn’t have expected it to have.
Indeed! I wish I had my uncle’s old ’92 Explorer XLT. 4.0L OHV with the M5OD and the easy-to-convert-to-straight-axle TTB Dana 35. I like the power of the SOHC, but the OHV is a solid workhorse with none of the timing chain shenanigans.
I recall another commenter describing their main beef with an Atlas (rented) being that it felt like, in the city, accelerating from a stop was either slooooooow or “engine begging to be euthanized” and nothing in between. They still complimented the interior and general ride quality, though (I think).
Aside from a general ecological guilt (“I like the sound and feel of V8 vans, but they’re also very polluting to just carry my ass around 90% of the time”, but also recognizing I’m a teardrop in a flood), I can’t say anything fits in the specific slot of “guilty pleasure”. I like conversion vans; I like Priuses; I like the sound of the 7.3l PowerStroke and probably dozens of other engines I just haven’t heard in person yet. I don’t think I’d say anything comes with “guilt”.
Letting/making other people drive. I enjoy leaning back and actually seeing the scenery. I’m a bit of a geography nerd. When I drive I tend to obsess over being a good safe pilot and never notice all sorts of interesting things in the spaces I’m moving through. Being a passenger is a nice break from that.
You will appreciate what my grandkid did when little. Instead of the usual “are we there yet”, the kid would ask “where are we?”. That kid has unerring geographic skills. Always knows where are and how to get to where we are going. Plays with FlightRadar24 a bit older now just to see what flights are from and where they are going.
Poverty-spec 4 cylinder rental cars. I usually get the cheapest crapbox on the rental lot and then I proceed to beat the everloving shit out of it.
my deranged dream garage is every 442, including and especially the terrible ones
I love malaise era shitboxes (and really all things malaise.) Specifically, I love the Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen. Most people hate them but I just love them. Too bad most of them disintegrated in the showroom.
Sorry for triggering any memories of vapor
lock and crooked door trim.
My automotive guilty pleasure is that I really like Formula 1. In addition to the races, I watch practice and qualifying. I watch analysis and engineering explanations. I like it now as much or more than I liked it in the ’90s, ’00s and ’10s. I think Red Bull’s domination is absolutely amazing. I thought Mercedes’ domination was amazing.
I know it’s cool to be critical of the money involved, and the “lack of excitement” in the races, but, I honestly don’t know what race people watched sometimes when they’re saying those things. Sure there are some terrible venues (Monaco), but then there are the classics like Spa, Silverstone, or Suzuka. They just keep me coming back.
Yes, it has problems (sportswashing, corruption, etc.) but I can’t help myself. I just enjoy it.
Fair enough. I enjoy NASCAR for fairly similar reasons – there’s way more to it than meets the stereotypical eye, and the company does work hard to keep it engaging.
Even the maligned playoff format grew on me, and I now appreciate how it does minimize the Lewis Hamilton situation of a single driver being so dominant that the season effectively ends before the final race.
I like and want to get eventually an 80’s VW Cabriolet, like in License to Drive. I used to have an 84 Jetta and an 83 Rabbit GTI and those were so fun to drive, but have yet to drive a Cabriolet- they just look so good and FUN!!! I could care less about the stereotypes and I always thought the term “bitch basket” was hilarious
Part of me wants to just say Mopar’s. Mention any of them and watch the carnage that generally happens.
The other half wants to say that I really love the “economy car” based EV’s. You know, Spark/Leaf/Focus (if you could really call it that since the Fiesta was smaller).
Sometimes, when the project car gives me grief, or the BMW acts like a BMW or my Clio has it’s millionth tiny bit breaking off… I want to buy a new car I don’t care about.
I fantasize about getting a boring as shit, numb, new econobox with a touch screen that I will hate with a passion, but not worry about when I’m late on an oil change. I’ll even bring it to the dealership for its services.
Then I fix my fleet and remember I’m a cheapskate and it’s all good.
Mine? My Suburban. The 2002-2006 SUV. It’s big, boxy, slow, inefficient, oversized, cumbersome, underpowered, numb, and with a very plasticky interior. But it’s also plush, comfortable, quiet, capable and reliable. It makes no pretense, it does what you’d expect and trundles along. Mine has 225K miles on it, and I love it. Forced to choose, I’d probably let go of my 911 first.
Old Land Rovers — especially Discovery 1’s and classic Range Rovers. Overbuilt and a bit of a cross between trucks and agricultural implements — yet somehow more comfortable and well-mannered on the highway than they have a right to be. Not terribly hard to work on; they just need bigger sizes of wrenches and sockets for some jobs than might be sitting in the average tool box.
Mid 80s through mid 90s GM cars. So many decently designed, comfortable, affordable cars. Some of them were no slouches for power, either — even in front-wheel drive configurations. GM knew front drive better than just about anyone, especially in higher-powered configurations. It was a great time when the bean counters and clueless upper management seemed to have lost some of their total death-grip on the company, and a steady stream of nice cars came out, with a few astounding winners along the way. Owning Lotus at the time didn’t hurt — they put Lotus to work on various projects, from the C4 Z51 and ZR-1 Corvettes, to dialing-in other cars.
Oh and I forgot my other one-I love the V6 Camaro and would rather have one than an SS. I’ve driven both pretty extensively too. I think the LT1 V8 is great. It sounds fantastic, has gobs of low end torque, and tons of usable power. I appreciate it, but it also makes the car much heavier and thirstier…and good luck enjoying all 450 horsepower on the street without losing your license.
If I was buying one primarily to take to the track then I’d probably go SS 1LE…but as a street car? I’m sorry…the V6 is better. It sounds nearly as good (like, shockingly good for what it is), it revs higher (out to 7,000), and you can drive it at 10/10ths on the street. It’s also appreciably lighter and a bit more fun to chuck around, not to mention it’s weirdly good on gas in practice.
I’ve been on vacation and have had one as a rental for nearly a week in the North Carolina mountains. It’s been a treat, and I now think I’m going to scoop one up as a weekend car in a few years. Don’t sleep on the V6…not to mention it’s available in stick and 2019-present get the GM tuned 10 speed as the auto, which is excellent.
I agree completely. It even sounds better with the optional sports exhaust. A shockingly good sounding V6 with more than enough grunt. To be fair , the Cyclone V6 in the Mustang is another good engine that doesn’t get its fair share of love.
I’m going to bare my soul and come out and say it.
CVT Transmissions
This comes with a few caveats.
Daily driver only, I’ve reached a point in my life where I have no interest in a manual transmission in my dd. My weekend toys are manual and I enjoy them, I would not enjoy driving them 40,0000mi yr. Also, I live in a flat part of the world, I would not want a CVT if I had to climb hills on a regular basis.
Also Taylor Swift. Will rock out to Taylor, but only with the windows up.
I like automatic transmissions. It’s nice sometimes to just cruise and not constantly have to be fiddling with a clutch or shifter.
Fully agree. I have a manual and an auto in my driveway. The manual has a pretty heavy clutch. When I’m driving into Toronto I almost always go with the auto. Just so much easier to not be constantly clutching through that traffic.
(shhh don’t tell anyone) but I sometimes prefer the auto even for joyrides. I don’t have to worry about downshifts before some of the sharp bends or worry about upshifting after getting to the top of the hills. Just cruise.
the other issue in the massive Toronto traffic is the cars which turn the engine off every time you stop. In 2 hours of driving in Toronto that amounts to scores if not more of shut downs with inevitable wear and tear on your car. Plus, I don’t really believe they save much gas.
Yeah… Once I spent a few weeks driving the company van with a modern auto box. It was fine.
Then I took my manual DD back and I was like “ugh! I have to shift myself? What is this?! 1897?!?”
Hate to admit it, but sometimes I drive faster than the posted speed limit. And I enjoy it.
Minivans – Sienna and Caravan specifically, but I’m sure others are fine too.
Slow, lumbering, forgettable, spacious, comfortable, reliable. There’s absolutely nothing charming, endearing, exciting, or impressive about them, but when you’ve got six adults on a trip and you just want to be comfortable while you chew up the miles and shoot the bull or nap, they can’t be beat.
Whatever you want to say about the modern V6 minivan, they are not slow.
300 hp plus quick shifting 8+ speed autos let them embarrass some performance cars that aren’t that old.
I agree with the rest of your post though.
Been a minute since I’ve driven one, mostly passengering. Maybe I don’t have to be quite so guilty in my taking pleasure in them any more.
On the Atlas Cross Sport. First, ew (sorry). Secondly, one of my neighbors has one that’s on A/Ts and has all the Eurowise goodies. I still hate it, but it really does make it a lot more bearable.
Mine is probably the M6 GC. I would own one, but I wouldn’t admit it at parties. Or the Challenger Hellcat widebody. I could never ever own one for obvious reasons, but I looove the way they look, especially in maroon.
One I’m slightly more open about is ridiculous options that do nothing but break, but are just so *faaahncy*. Think soft close doors and night vision. If it was available, my dumb, smooth brain gotsta have it.
Stanced cars. I love the way they look. Have owned one before, and it was miserable to drive. Currently barely resisting the urge to do it again to current car.
The Lincoln MKX. my father was shopping for one, and now I want one
Minitrucks, slammed fullsize trucks, slammed SUVs….I just love them. There used to be a woman who worked on the floor below me who had a white 7.3L Excursion that was lowered and with a turbo loud enough I could hear it on third floor on start up…I coveted my neighbor something fierce. Everyday I look at my S10 and think “maybe Belltech should get some of my money…”
Porsche Cayman and Cayenne. I have spent most of my life utterly uninterested Porsche and beyond type cars. But recently, I’ve started to look twice at them. But it makes me feel snobbish. so to fix that, I dream of cutting up a Cayenne, and stuffing it under an early Wagoneer body (like 1969).
Factory tape stripes/decals. I love ’em, always have – they make even an everyday vehicle feel a little more fun, a little like a real-life Hot Wheels car.
My silver ’10 Focus has one, an OEM black hood stripe decal that I picked up from a guy who somehow had a couple of them in the original Ford boxes. Have never regretted putting it on, and feel it’s a nice counterpoint to the otherwise staid color.
Guilty as well — especially for some of the 80s and 90s graphics packages.
I like squeezing every bit of life out of a car before getting rid of it.
I once had a 1987 Civic Wagovan. By the time I was done with it, it was in rough shape. But I went on one last road trip with it with friends.
After the road trip, I ended up selling it for $50.
I told one of my friends about this and he said:
“Are you telling me we went to Niagara Falls in a $50 car???”
“Yup”
I have an absurd love of what someone once called Grandpa cars. Buicks? Beauty. Crown Vics? Come hither. Grand Marquieses? Gimme the keys-es.
Do I own any? No. I used to have my dad’s 88 Country Squire, steelside, 351 with the variable venturi carb, but that got to be too much to keep/maintain.
Other guilty pleasures include modern Minis (fat guy in a little car…) and New Beetles (with Turbonium, please).
But these shouldn’t be guilty pleasures, just cars we love. No need to justify a joy that harms no one.
I love grandpa cars too. My favorite is the 74-78 New Yorker, with the hidden headlights and waterfall grille- super elegant. I don’t think there are any new cars quite as comfy as old grandpa cars.