Non-practical, 2010 Ford Focus RS Mk2, had to sell it when I got a bonus family and started to commute 300 km almost every day.
Practical, 2018 Volvo V90 CC, perfect in every way, except that the rear lights had to be replaced once a year, and one of the buttons on the steering wheel every second year.
First car I bought for myself in college was a 2016 Volvo S60 with 110,000 miles on it after the car my parents got me threw the timing belt on the way to class. It’s tiny as hell, but I love that car. Now, after a few years, we’re pushing 200,000 miles and the only thing it ever needed besides regular maintenance is an oil pan gasket. I have a kid now and I can’t even fit a car seat in the back seat without moving the front seat all the way forward. I know I have to get rid of it soon and it breaks my heart.
I took over my mom’s minivan during college. My frat bros made fun of me at first, but damn that was a great road trip vehicle.
Though on the whole, my current Subaru Outback might be my favorite because it came with a sweet sound system. I’ve never splurged on premium sound, and this was included because I wanted the towing capacity of the premium trim. Game changer.
I kinda like the minivan concept, and I love the ID.Buzz design, it’s funky!
My current Leon only has the standard Seat sound system but it is fine for me, even when listening to good music it works very well, for podcasts it is excellent.
I’ve got an outback with the premium sound and whomever tuned that system must have massive low frequency hearing loss.
Like, thanks for the subwoofer, why did you let a 19 year old from 1998 tune it?
Everything else except the PCB draining the battery 4 times completely in a year before I knew what was happening and replaced it and the thin ass fake leather seats literally peeling from the heated seats and the worse than advertised gas mileage is great!
None, they are all metal boxes that get me from point a to b. I accepted a long time ago im just not a car guy, i dont even reserve the neurons to differentiate make/model/year at a glance. Forming emotional attachments over hunks of metal/ machinery that all operate generally the same way is a very monkey-brain thing to do. He smugly says as he nervously eyes his book collection he would actually tear up over if they were damaged in any way.
Do you enjoy driving at all though? I feel like there are a lot of people who love driving but don’t care if they’re doing it with a “boring econobox”. Listening to music and cruising down the highway on a warm summer afternoon is fun to me no matter what car I’m in.
I can find it relaxing at times but I dont drive to drive more than maybe once or twice a year if that. Its bad for the environment (unless you have an all electric vehicle powered by renewable energy I can dig that) and a selfish waste of precious non renewable resources.
Being on the road is also an inherent danger as accidents happen anytime anywhere, though life is also about taking a fucking chance to do what you want risk be damned so if ypu enjoy driving its worth the risk I guess.
I’d rather get on my legs and walk around a nice forest/park than drive around but that’s just me.
I love getting around without a car. Public transport is great around europe. Still the 10.000 km trip I went on last year hit so many places public tranport don’t. Also getting to great places like forests or parks will require a form of automotion in the usa. About the risk, I feel that it is part of the journey to risk it all. The car I drive is light because it has no safety features like modern cars. This is not inherently a bad thing for safety breeds complacency. I have been close to catastrophe multiple times during the road trip, still I wouldn’t have had the experiences I did if it was just staying home.
I think your comment kinda points at the reason why I don’t like people who despise cars. Like we all have a thing we love to use. Some people like me it’s cars. For others it’s video games. For some it’s books. We all have a thing. I’d imagine even movie buffs have a favorite TV or midea format. The world is pretty boring when everyone is a carbon copy of the other.
1985 Toyota Supra. I’ve also owned an 84 and an 83, but they were both beaten half to death before I owned them the 85 was amazing. It really didn’t have a ton of power, but the torque of that six made it feel like it did, and it handled like it was on rails.
I still have my 84 sitting in a garage waiting for a transplant. It threw a rod, and I’m still not sure what I want to put in it. I’m leaning towards a later 1jz with vvti
The 1j I’d have said go for it, 20 years ago, now I don’t recommend it. %100 2jz it, you’ll not have issues finding parts. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, got 1.5jz.
My friend does some 10 minute videos about our team. If you want to save the evolution and pain of racing a Saturn it’s worth 40 minutes to watch them all.
On a similar vein, my first car was an Opel Astra G (2004) (Vauxhall for UK people.) I loved it. It was incredibly reliable. I knew when we went onto a 4000 km roadtrip that all I will have to do is pumping gas into it.
Italy. From Hungary. We were there for about a week going through major cities, like Rome, Naples etc. It was a very intense week. I never walked and drove so much before or even since then.
My 1981 Toyota pickup. It never ran 100% but it always ran. That thing lived in a perpetual state of almost broken. Oh and it was the ugliest mustard yellow color it was always so easy to find in a parking lot.
After the engine shat all its oil I sold the thing the guy rebuilt it then road tripped on a 6000 mile road trip.
The best part is it had a steel flat bed and no exhaust. I could merge instantly in the heaviest traffic. People would dive out of my way because they had no idea if I cared one bit about hitting them.
I had a Chevrolet Vitara (for Venezuela… for US people it would be a Suzuki Vitara) that my father bought in 1998 and gave me when I was 17.
First car I “owned”, used for 6 years, never had to repair it or anything at all, took me everywhere without problems and since it was a small 2 door it fit everywhere.
I took my friends with it, my parents, traveled with it, etc. Also, surprisingly, we never had to do any repairs to the car since 1998 up until 2021 when my dad sold it because it was almost dead. That car was the best and I miss it.
Then I got a Dodge Dakota from 2002, it was good but I didn’t like it as much as the Vitara.
Now I drive a VW Gol (2005), good car, a little fucked up.
Dear old Dad had a Chevy Tracker, which is yet another name for Suzuki Vitara. He loved that thing and drove it almost a half million kilometers. Then he traded it on a Subaru that was basically done for in 240,000 km.
I can relate, before I got my own car, I prided myself on not needing it.
But having a car has enabled me to do way more than before, I am a hobby photographer, and being able to get to the airport for some planespotting in 40 min is way, way better than needing 2h with public transport.
Let’s just say I’ve raised a child who is now an adult, all without a car. By now, I know the inconveniences and opportunities it costs me well, but for me, they’re just not enough of a reason.
2011 Honda Fit/Jazz. That thing was like the god damn Tardis. Seats folded any which way you could think of so it could haul pretty much anything and paired with a roof rack you were invincible. It was small and nimble and was capable of anything. Snow? Sure. Camping down some semi rough tracks? Why not. Haul all your friends l? You got it boss.
I wish I still had it as I probably would have turned it into a battle car by now but sold it when I moved country’s.
Exact same for me. Bought a used 2013 Fit as my first car and just finished paying it off, this thing is a force of nature and is probably my favourite car of all time.
Small exterior, but big interior, and the manual transmission is rock solid, you definitely shouldn’t slam it into reverse while rolling forward but it’s good to know you can if you have to lol. Surprisingly good at drifting on gravel corners or through snowdrifts, and you can make it crazy far up a washed out logging road with a 14’ canoe strapped to the top. 10/10 no regrets
‘94 GT here, not as exciting as older generations, but fun nonetheless. Drove that thing for multiple hundreds of thousands of miles. Had over 330k when it finally died.
That’s how I lived for 9 years while living alone in the suburbs and working in the city, it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
I still pride myself on not needing a car for my commute to/from work, and I would never take my car into the city unless it was critical, I have done it a few times to learn and get experience, but it is just annoying.
For me, I use my car for recreation, I get in and drive out in the country to intresting places where I take photos of cool stuff, places that would be a nightmare to visit by public transport or walking/biking.
Who knows, in a few years I might sell my car and get in on the app leasing deal, but for now as I only got my license last year at 35, I use my own car to get experience and be a better driver, I will reevaluate the value of owning a car as time passes.
Walkable cities are fantastic, I would never commute to my office with my car, I live in the suburbs and take the bus and metro to the office, it is awesome, I lived alone for nine years without needing a car, to be frank, I don’t need a car in my day to day life.
But I have missed a lot of opportunities by not having a car for the weekends/vacations.
Opportunities to get new furniture, opportunities to find a castle ruin, opportunities to connect with friends easier, opportunities to go places where I would not have been able to in a resonable timeframe using just public transport and walking.
It might be selfish, I don’t deny that, but it has done wonders for my mental health.
I got a car that can fit five, that runs on electricity for most tasks, it was used, so no new car was produced specificly for me.
I believe it was the least bad car I could have gotten
Eery bit is helping. No need to feel guilty about enjoying life. I hope one day my local council will provide shared cars for those special times when I really need one. They have them in bigger cities but not here.
I have thought about only keeping my car for a few years so I get more experience and then selling it and getting on the app leasing deal, but so far that is not on the horizon for me, but who knows…
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