Is it aesthetics? Performance? Engineering? Sentimental value? Nostalgia? Weirdness?..
I could go on, there’s as many ways to enjoy a car as there are car owners and I find it very interesting what people value in what is ultimately a tool of conveyance that is elevated by social and personal values.
I always love cars that are just a little weird, they have features that don’t quite make sense, they have styling that just doesn’t fit in with other modern cars, and they certainly don’t blend in at the grocery parking lot. They emanate a certain incongruence with the world around them.
I’ve got a 1972 VW Super Beetle that I’ll never get rid of. It’s not really a desirable version or year of the Beetle, but my dad, grandpa, and I restored it when I was 9. My grandpa died in 2020 and he worked on cars his whole life. It’s cool to have a physical thing that he made possible using a lifetime of skills. Plus, my kid is getting old enough to work on it with me, and I think it’s awesome to have 4 generations of my family wrenching on it.
That’s awesome, my father was never a big gearhead but I have a lot of good memories helping him maintain the family cars. It saves you a lot of money to be able to do ultimately relatively simple jobs like brakes and belts. Definitely helped fuel my fascination with cars growing up. I know we did it because we were broke, but it’s special all the same.
I don’t think I particularly wanted to inherit the Plymouth van with a rebuilt title and only 70% of its white paint remaining. As a kid I though it was the coolest thing that you could take the seats out though.
I’ve never had a fancy car, so it’s the jank stuff I remember fondly on my old vehicles. Having to start the truck by jumping the solenoid with a pair of pliers, that time Reverse just didn’t work for a month so I had to really think through my parking situations, when it insisted on starting in Drive no matter what so I had to keep a brick in front of the tire and then pull it out and jump in real fast.
Anybody can get in a functional vehicle and drive; I like having to learn and overcome the weird stuff. It’s like taming a horse, it’s a bonding experience.
Now that I’m an adult though, I am quite fond of heated seats.
I‘m from Germany, we more or less stick to the driving rules. One day I had to drive through Paris around the Arc de Triomphe with its eight lanes, in a foreign car which was bigger than I was used to, with three other people in it and a broken second gear. So it was either first or third gear. Stop and go for hours, and the French don’t care much about overtaking rules, any driving rules to be exact. In hindsight it was fun, but in that moment I was drenched in sweat.
I had an absolutely slammed golf mk3 K2 edition with the coil overs corroded into that position, it had so much blowby you had to clean the MAF daily, and the radiator fan was connected to a switch on the dash, you also had to smack the dash occasionally to get the radio and gauges to work. I’m glad I don’t drive that anymore, but looking back it was more fun than bad. The Sceptre hot air intake and Borla exhaust actually sounded really good for an NA 4 banger.
Heated steering wheel does it for me, nothing worse than getting in your car and feeling yourself nearly get frostbite for 20minutes holding the wheel, driving gloves help but they can’t be too thick.
Not a direct answer to your question, but a story why I do not want special cars anymore.
I named my first car „Wilson“, after the beachvolleyball that Tom Hanks had in the movie „Cast Away“. That car was old, rusty and slow, but I really liked it. It meant freedom and another step growing up. I felt responsible and was so proud of it too!
One night someone crashed into Wilson while it was parked. The police woke me up by ringing the bell early in the morning and asked me to come downstairs. I was still sleepy and panicked, only managed to grab a short pants and a t-Shirt. It was autumn, cold wind was blowing leaves along the empty street and I saw my Wilson crashed against a wall. The metal crumbled, the lights were broken, most of the windows shattered.
They made me fetch my belongings from the car, then it was already put onto a tow truck. I stood on the street, a box of car utensils and my sunglasses in my hands and stared at Wilson while it was being towed away. I was heartbroken. When the tow truck drove off, I felt like Wilson was crying.
Since then I never went into a „relationship“ with a car again. They don’t receive names, everything they get is a bit of decoration, maybe. It showed to be a good decision because the same thing happened with the next car, again the police rang my bell…
Understandable, all things are temporary, that doesn’t mean making attachments isn’t worthwhile I’ve found owning, driving and taking care of my cars to be a very rewarding hobby even when it’s painful at times.
It probably is healthiest to not be too attached to things like cars I really like my cars but at the end of the day they are just cars after all and no one will ever care about your car as much as you.
RIP Wilson.
Feeling comfortable in it as the driver, especially with the design of the front console and cup holders.
When I was shopping for my first new car ever, there were several cars that I thought I probably should consider (Honda Fit '16ish, Scion xB were a couple of them) but they just felt so uncomfortable sitting in the driver’s seat. Now, I don’t mean the seats themselves were literally physically uncomfortable, but the general environment of the driver’s seat.
When I sat in a Scion iM it immediately felt right. The cup holders were accessible and not tucked under the console, the console itself felt clean and minimalistic, useful but unobtrusive. It also still has a turn-key start, rather than a button, and it’s silly but that’s important to me (and I also worry about being locked out of push-to-start cars should the key fob die). Got it at 30k miles and plan to keep on going for as long as I can take it into the 100k+ amount! Hopefully by the time I have to replace it, the electric and hybrid car options will have increased even more.
Comfort is important, a car can have everything but if it isn’t comfortable you won’t want to drive it, amazing when you find a car that fits you perfectly.
Just a tip, just about every keyless entry/push to start car has a backup key, hidden in the key fob, usually with a hidden tumbler under some removeable trim and there’s a spot on the car where you can put the key where it will work even if the battery is dead/nearly dead. On Mazdas you just push the button with the fob and it should start. Others have labeled spaces to put the key, my Alfa has a little cutout in the shape of the key in the center console.
I don’t really like driving, but it is necessary. My (main) car is a 1993 Mazda Miata, which is currently being repainted bright yellow, and I’m gonna put a new top on it next. It isn’t fast, but it handles extremely well and it’s fun to drive. Or at least, it makes driving as fun as it can be.
I think anyone who’s driven a Miata understands.
Miatas are a blast partly because they are so slow and have such small tires. You can really wring them out and feel the dynamics of a sports car without going to jail. A cliche at this point but for good reason.
Plus being small, low to the ground, and with even weight distribution, it’s like driving a slow moving cloud.
Thinking back to the time I saw one wadded up into the trailer wheels of a semi.
Kind of like an MG, but reliable.
I owned an Alfa Romeo Spider for a while, which was Italy’s answer to a question nobody asked: where else could I get an MG?
I also like weird cars. Old cars, used cars. Just because it’s a useful object, as many in the thread have pointed out, doesn’t mean it’s not a special useful object. It takes me and my wife and our dogs on many road trips.
What makes a car special to me are the modifications we put into it to make it OURS. My grandmother-in-law has completely removed the back seats for her minivan and installed blankets and carpet there instead so her dog is more comfortable. I love that. It’s shaped around her and her life.
Yeah that was kind of part of my point of this discussion, you don’t have to be a gearhead to care about your car or have a strong preference for how a car should be for yourself. I too love seeing when people modify things to fit their needs. One size doesn’t fit all and I like that people don’t just accept things the way they are and create what they need/want in the world.
I’m of the opinion that it is time spent with a thing that makes it valuable. I’ve had my current car for a couple of years and hope to keep it for many more. Each year we have new experiences together, fond memories that get triggered when I sit in the driver seat. Eventually, when this car breaks down and I have to get a new one, some of those memories will be lost with the car.
From my European perspective - I don’t have driving licence.
It is this weird long car that carries lots of people or car on rails. You can prepay it for year, month, day or hour just for the time you need to use it.
I know that I sometimes complain about the car being late or I have to use my legs to get to my destination. But deep down below I know that this car is something special.
Also I like veterans in museums and shows.
I would give up my vehicle for a working public transportation in a heartbeat. I definitely didn’t know if there would be anyone else in this thread who agreed.
A working public transportation is a most beautiful thing!
There’s no reason not to have both though. The countries with great public transportation are WAY nicer to drive in than countries where everyone has to drive.
Yeah, but I don’t need to drive and it’s a huge waste. I’ve never enjoyed it, it is really forced on our youth, and frankly it’s so dangerous and people are so stupid, I look forward to automation and the lives saved from “I want my independence driving oh look a notification” crowd.
Fair enough, I love driving, but I think about 90% of my kilometers are on fairly low-traffic extraurban roads. I could not imagine driving in traffic every day.
If I ever did, the idiocy and risk other drivers are causing now with the more distracted driving has me too uncomfortable for even that honestly. I’d say it’s where I live but we have all seen the hours and hours of gifs online of slow speed accidents. 😩
Yeah good public transport is amazing, sadly hard to come by in the states so I have to rely on my car to get me places, can’t even reasonably get to the grocery store without a car (well maybe if I felt adventurous or desperate). I’d much rather just take a bus and have a car parked up at the track with all the money I’d save. I was thinking about moving near my workplace and walking/biking into work as there’s a decent neighborhood nearby, also walking/biking distance to a grocery store. That’s the dream really I do genuinely dislike having to get into a car and dealing with parking etc as much as I like cars and driving in general.
In cities or close by cities this is not a problem. I’m from norway, the country is big, but with few people. So the train or bus doesn’t go where I need to go. Last week I was going to a place 25km away from my home. I was thinking of taking the bug but it would take 1h14m. with my car it is a little under 30minutes.
Then there taking stuff home. A few weeks ago I needed some planting soil for my garden. I only needed 3 bags with 40L of dirt. But imaging taking that on the train or the bus. People living a apartments in cities don’t have this problem. But other people leed other lives.
I know that there are legitimate uses for car. But for me it doesn’t make sense economically. Time save is minimal, when I need to use car for moving stuff I ask someone or have it delivered.
But we have pretty solid public transport everywhere. It is mainly because last regime (communism) and after revolution it stayed, car centric communities are build only for last 10 years.
I’m not really a car person now but my first car was a burgundy mk3 Ford Capri I found on a database I was helping put together for my friend’s dad, who was a second hand car dealer. Turns out it was right at the back of the lot. I went back there to see and instantly feel in love. My friend’s dad sold me it for £400 the lovely man. Stupendous machine.
Handling, and how fun it is to drive. I don’t care nearly as much about cargo capacity, the size of the back seat, etc. I’ll never buy an SUV.
Beyond a minimum (around 200), I don’t even care that much about horsepower. Got a turbocharged, high HP monster? Good for you… but how often do you actually get to USE that engineering you paid thousands extra for?
M-m-miat
Nope
I don’t see a car as special, it’s an useful object. It’s working and it’s performance is good enough so I’m satisfied.
When it stops working or have to be replaced for some reason, I’ll probably be equally satisfied with the new one.
Frankly for me car is transportation. Got rid of my car 15 years ago. Like my Uber driver. We still have one car that mostly my wife drives though I do some. Love that car… it is a volt. Love not going to the gas station much. Love the acceleration. Quiet too.
Oh yeah the volt is a genuinely great car, wildly ahead of its time, always loved the styling too, futuristic without trying far too hard. Still looks fairly modern and fresh.
The other thing about volt, I thought it might be a bit rough and techie but it is not. Just like any other car. People also ask is it a pain to always plug it in. I find no. I have garage though and easy to just get out and plugin. No drama. Much better and way cheaper then gas and less smell and residue too. Just no comparison.
Yeah, there’s also a smattering of free to use level 2 chargers at destinations all around here in Connecticut at least. you could easily keep it topped up that way, and that’s very worthwhile since home electrical service clocks in at over 25c/kwh here which is bananas. (and we use all our solar already)
I want to get the feeling that it wasn’t designed by marketing folks. It should clear what the designers found important and what they wanted to build and that they had to compromise on other aspects.
It’s a bit vague, so I’ll give some examples. I loved the Alfa Romeo’s I had. They weren’t the most reliable, didn’t had the highest quality interior and were expensive to maintain. But the sound and throttle response were great and you felt that everything was designed around you: the driver. Some of them had designs where looks are more important than practicality.
Another car that I loved and was completely the opposites was a gen 1 Fiat Punto. That car was designed to be practical and could be repaired with ducttape. One of the few cars where a timing belt snapping wouldn’t ruin the engine. The air filter could be replaced without a screw driver (just undo 2 clips). It was boxy to make it as spacious as possible and light and high on its wheels so it could drive everywhere (road or no road).
My current Renault doesn’t have something special, something unique. It’s just a badly made annoying vehicle that gets you from a to b just like any other car. My previous Ford Fiesta was a bit better and at least had good handling and was one of the cheapest in its class.
Capacity.
As in: ‘How many trips does it take to move the content of one apartment to another.’
A car is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less.
For me there are many levels of ‘special’ cars. One level is the great cars through history, Mercedes SL300, Ferrari F40, Mclaren F1 and the likes. Another level is the engineering in cars like the koenigseggs gemera that go from 0-200kph faster than many cars do 0-100kph. The carbonfiber wheels are hand made. A Swede is handlaying layers of carbon fibers cloth, before adding resin and then curing process. The modern mclarens are also fascinating engineering wise.
The last level are cars that it’s possible for me to own, right now I have a BMW. don’t know what I’ll get next. Some porches are nice, maybe my priorities change I’ll just get a Polestar 2 or something. Anyways I like BMWs, maybe i’ll get an old 3 series like an E92 to have as a summer car.
