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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
