Likes:
-Chrysler’s K car platform: Say what you will but you’re looking at some of the best bad cars ever made. They could cross over terrain that no front-wheel-drive sedan should be able to make, and about the only criteria the 2.2L needs to run is to have compression. Carb screwed up? No problem. Blown head gasket that results in only one cylinder firing? No problem. (That actually happened when I was a kid, despite running on only one cylinder my dad was able to get the thing to do 70 mph on the freeway. He’s got a very light foot.) It’s also quite impressive what you can fit inside those cars despite how small they are. (Maybe relative dimensions come into play.)
-Ford Crown Victoria: Largely the same car in the early 1990s, it was a long running, simple, and tough car. Before they were phased out, to get one to 100,000 miles, it cost our city on average $2500 in repair costs. A Dodge Charger Police Interceptor was more like $6500. The new Police Interceptors are fast, having driven one myself I can definitely vouch for the ability to put your ass in the seat. However, from a maintenance standpoint, they are a bit of a nightmare. Having worked intimately with them for the past five or so years, my co-worker has quite the disdain for the EcoBoost. Again, it’s good for performance, but from a maintenance point of view, they are a bit of a pain.
-Chrysler Minivans (1st Generation): I admit I’m a bit of a sucker for the boxy style of '80s cars. The minivan was a revolutionary idea for it’s time. It was also brought to us by the same guy responsible for the Ford Mustang, a bit of fun trivia there. There is a bit of correlation there as Lee Iacocca was mainly targeting the same buyer demographic which by the 1980s would be older and have families that would need to be hauled around. In particular I would love to find a 1989 Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager that came equipped with a 2.5 turbo mated to a five-speed manual. It wasn’t very popular thus few were made. As a result it’s an exceptionally rare configuration that you can find kicking some ass on Youtube.
-Third Generation Ford Taurus SHO: For some oddball reason, I like this design. The third generation was the least popular among the public but I think it’s interesting. The SHO came with a Yamaha 3.4L V8. On the flip side there was an issue with the camshafts separating from the sprockets, if you hear the phrase welded cams, that was the fix for that engine. The car only came with an automatic transmission, though I have spotted MTX conversion kits being mentioned before as well.
-Any Cadillac 1976 or older: The beautiful Cadillacs. The big Cadillacs. The one with the 500 cubic inch engine that you would see blowing past you on the freeway… only to later pass by while it’s stopped at the next gas station. To me the ideal luxury car is something huge. It may handle like a barge, but some of them old Lincolns and Cadillacs would pass smoothly over bumps and potholes that you would notice in a modern Rolls Royce, but not in those.
-Jensen Interceptor: An oddball looking car to be certain. But with a 440 under the hood, one that will haul ass. At least that’s the idea. Sadly when you combine the words British, Car, Seventies, and Midlands, they are almost never used in conjunction with words like Dependable, Well Built, Reliable. It is a sad tale of one of the most prominent car building countries in the world.
Dislikes: (I realize that I’ve kind of started rambling so I’ll try to keep this brief)
-Crossovers: There are cars. There are trucks. PICK ONE!!!
-Electric cars: This one is a bit of a grey area for me. I am not opposed to the idea of an electric car in the slightest way. I am however, opposed to the execution of development. As I have mentioned in other threads, the biggest killer of electric cars is the lack of profit motive. Instead of trying to turn out a better product, you’re focused on getting that subsidy. Looking around you will be hard pressed to find an electric car that will stand on it’s own. On one end of the spectrum you’ve got a slow, short ranged POS which has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. On the other end you have a sleek, badass ride that not only looks cool, but will blow away anything else on the drag strip… with one catch. Mercedes built an all electric version of the SLS. When raced against the AMG Black edition of the same car, the electric one blew the doors of it. But if you got the gas powered one, you would then have enough money left over to buy twenty thousand gallons of fuel for it. You’re either building a half-assed shitbox to get a check from the taxpayers, or simply an overpriced novelty. If instead the development of electric cars relied solely on the market, one manufacturer would work towards building cars to meet that demand. Say Ford started selling an electric car that was reasonably priced, had good range, and could stand on it’s own. GM would then work on making an electric car that’s faster, cheaper, has better range, etc. Market demand, profit motive and competition would result in faster, better, safer, and cheaper electric cars, much like with normal conventional cars. If you’re just building a car to meet a minimum spec, it’ll probably suck. But if you’re build a car with the goal of selling more than someone else’s car. Then you’re gonna find out how you can make yours better. Yeesh, that was one hell of a rant, moving on.
-Hybrids: Owners seem to have a holier-than-thou attitude. (Never mind how filthy nickel-mining is) Also see above. Not to mention most of them are just plain fugly. They say aerodynamics is the reason for the design, well I think Koenigseggs are built with aerodynamics in mind as well, and they seem to do a better job of pulling it off.
-Ford Fiesta: A European design brought into the US to meet the demand for higher fuel economy, too bad the 50 mpg diesel option wasn’t one of them. I own a 1994 Ford Taurus which sits lower than the Fiesta, yet I can sit in the Taurus without my head rubbing against the ceiling. In the Fiesta, I cannot.
-Smart Fortwo: A hideous looking car which requires premium fuel and offers disappointing fuel economy for it’s size. Plus the risk of certain death if you hit anything that isn’t another Smart car.
Hell, I’m gonna say it. Modern pickup trucks: Not the styling, not the quality, not the output, not the capabilities. The reason I list them in the hate category is one thing: Price. With sticker prices ranging from $50,000 to $60,000, that’s insane! You’re building what’s practically a luxury car on a truck chassis. Say you need a truck for work, well if you’re a working person, chances are you don’t have $50,000-60,000 to blow on a truck. Honestly, I would prefer a basic spartan truck with a single bench seat. Something designed to be tough, simple, and inexpensive.
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