One of my favorite things about car enthusiasm the way The Autopian practices it is that you aren’t required to be enthusiastic about stereotypical “enthusiast” cars. Sure, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with loving a Mazda Miata or the latest Lamborghini, but there’s nothing that says that you can’t also love cars that were never built or marketed towards enthusiasts. Heck, they might even be practically anti-enthusiast. Pete lusts for a plain-jane Dodge Omni like the one in the topshot, no “GLH model of course” qualification. Which has me wondering: What’s the least “car-enthusiasty” car that you’re in love with?
To clarify this question a bit, we’re not just looking for only the everyday normal cars. We want to know about the cars that no stereotypical enthusiast would ever think of as something to fall in love with. We want to see the people who go gaga over Saturn Outlooks, Chevrolet Captivas, Ford Fusions, Nissan Altimas, Kia Rios, and Hyundai Accents.
I reached a point sometime last year when I realized that I love way more cars than I currently own. So, whenever I thought about a car, bus, truck, plane, or motorcycle that I would at least like to try out one day, I wrote it down in a list. Some of my choices are enthusiast vehicles, which isn’t that surprising. But then I realized that I have a soft spot for lots of non-enthusiast cars, too! Here’s the list as it stands today:
Now, this list is incomplete. As I said, I add to it only when I think of a vehicle that I would love to own or drive one day. I have this sort of idea that one day I’ll run into enough money and storage to just pick any vehicle from the list and buy it. Or, maybe someone will come forward with an offer to drive, ride, or fly one of these vehicles. The list also includes cars I’ve owned before and would buy again.
Some of these vehicles are definitely “me” kind of things, like the buses, German diesels, and the classic International Harvester cabover semi. But, hold on, a Saturn Vue? Yes! I’m not even talking about the slick Vue Red Line with the Honda V6, but the one that’s a sibling of the Chevy Captiva.
Why do I love this thing so much? It’s a combination of its friendly round shape and the Sea Mist Green paint option that was introduced in 2008. Amazingly, the press photos don’t show it, so I had to nab a photo from a dealer. But this paint has an awesome pearl effect when light hits it. Just look at how there’s almost a bit of a gold shade poking through the paint. I have about a hundred cars I’d rather buy before a Vue, but I admit that I stop in my tracks every time I see one for sale on Facebook in this color.
My list has other normal cars on it, too, like the Saturn Astra, Saturn SC1, and an original Kia Sportage. The Kia is probably the weirdest of the normal cars. I’m talking about this little spot utility:
The silly thing about this is that there are far better choices out there for a three-door soft-top mini SUV. I have a Geo Tracker right there on the list! There’s also the original Toyota RAV4. But I’ve always been fascinated with these original Sportages ever since I saw one absolutely conquering a mud bowl in Tennessee. That Kia somehow couldn’t be stopped that weekend.
Not on my list, but will probably be added soon, would be cars like the Dodge Omni, all sorts of Chrysler K-cars, and some American Malaise Era iron. Ah, that reminds me, I need to add a Chrysler Executive Limousine to my list.
Alright, so you’ve seen my list. What non-enthusiast cars would you love to drive one day?
Top graphic image: Chrysler
I always wanted an old El Camino or Ranchero.I would just love to have one to use whenever I need to haul something too big to fit in my car and don’t care if it’s a GM or Ford because I love every generation of both.
I had a roommate with an ’80s “Conquista” edition El Camino he let me borrow for a week and it was a great drive—comfortable and laid back. A bit too much, maybe, as I found myself leading a parade under the speed limit in it, but at least it was ticket proof.
If you like those, check out the Ford Courier from Brazil, and the Fiat Strada 🙂
The two I really like are the Corolla…quite possibly the best car ever made, and the early Lexus RX models. Both ultimate “meh-mobiles”, but unkillable, yet charming in their lack of charm.
My coworker’s wife drove a 2000 or ’01 Corolla up until recently and he hated that car – gutless and shitty with a 3spd automatic. It’s not like he was used to the finer things in life, he had ’93 and ’03 Accords that weren’t in the best of shape.
I only drove one once in a snow storm, so I didn’t get enough speed built up to form an opinion.
it’s my go-to rental car. 3 adults+ luggage in LA traffic. Everyone is comfortable, no issues at all.
When choosing a rental in Boston, I sat in a new one for five seconds before stepping back into the Sentra we’d originally seen. The Sentra looked and felt like a far nicer vehicle, especially the seats. It was great.
I have one from 94, high mileage.
Has something wrong with it, head leak or something and it will still do 70 mph.
Auto, quite adequate.
Stock Fiat X1/9. Had the Matchbox car that probably lasted longer than the full-scale version.
Stock owner here, since 1988. Even with 75 hp from 1 sub-1500cc engine from that 1970s era, it still can run circles around other cars during autocrosses and time trials. And it lasted well enough, now at 320K miles.
They might be from the rust belt. I am and the timing of X1/9 rot could be measured with a stop watch. I’d bet most of them were junked for rot. Unfortunately, they were cheap enough that people tended to leave them outside and maybe even drive them year round in salt season. Same goes for too many other cool cars of the era.
The later ones, and all X19s arrived soaked in promolene.
Fire hazard maybe, but no rust.
Must not have worked very well as they littered the junk yards with severe rot before pretty much disappearing before the end of the ’90s, save a few long-unregistered ones sitting in dreamers’ driveways.
Maybe different shipping chain for some ports?
In response to rust complaints, maybe, they soaked the cars in promolene.
There are stories of cars catching fire on the docks.
It was inside doors, trunk lids, sparingly near the engine, under the body.
There are stories of cars and guns buried in europe wrapped in that stuff being dug up in good condition.
After the wars …
“What guns?”
All I know is that they went from ubiquity on the roads to common in junk yards to rarity, even at car shows, and that the ones I saw junked were pretty much always rotted (true of many such cars as mechanical and electrical issues were much easier to fix and buyers tended to know to expect them, so they weren’t surprises and, being toy cars, not relied upon for daily driving, so the car could sit awaiting repair). I assumed limited galvanizing (and poor drainage like many unibody cars) that was common in the day combined with low market value making repair uneconomical. I thought I read the unfinished body shells of X19s specifically sat outside Bertone before completion, but I might be thinking of a different car. I still remember seeing a decent-looking TR6 sitting in a junk yard around ’00 that shockingly didn’t appear to have any rust because it was that rare to see anything remotely interesting in a yard without heavy corrosion. Still had period redline tires and knockoffs and, if I had the money and place to put it, I’d have seen if I could have bought it. (From what I understand in MA, that’s unlikely to be possible because, once a car passes into the yard, the title gets branded as destroyed or something that makes it unregisterable, but I would have given it shot.)
There were specific things to learn about Fiats, but once you knew those, they were easy and reliable.
They were complex when the twincam was first developed, but always easier to work on than people thought.
I owned some earlier Spiders and only had rust here and there in the southeast.
I’ve heard of cars in Rhode island and Mass of all makes you could throw a dog through the bodywork.
I hear salvage cars being an issue, but even if pushed, not really difficult to resolve in most places.
This is coastal MA. Not as bad as the Midwest for rust (less salt use), but still pretty bad.
Impressive performance and longevity. Just saw one was in a Showdown while I was offline for the holidays. Will go back and read the comments given Autopian comments are thoughtful and informative, unlike most others.
I wish I still had my coupe.
That would fall squarely in the enthusiast car category though.
Fair point, even the stock version. Mercedes’ list inspired me. Within the rules, great-grandmother’s early 1970s green AMC Hornet sedan. Grandfather kept it maintained, intending to give it to me when I turned 16, but parents nixed it. Wouldn’t earn respect in high school, but it would have been wheels and the after-market a/c that she was so proud of installing.
The 124 wagon was used to torment bmws on the track in USA.
Is that considered enthusiast or what?
Only built with the twin cam for here.
Hah. I had no idea the 124 wagon was that potent. For sure that would fall under ‘non enthusiast car’
It was around the weight of the sport coupe, and much stiffer structurally.
The wagon was probably designed for an 1100 engine.
Lower drag I understand too.
Plus, hey, it’s a wagon!
I always wanted to dress mine as a Lada.
And that line-up of 124’s had twin cam engines up to 1.8, with 5 sp trans. And oddly enough I do see 3 of these wagons on FB marketplace here in CA. Way more than I thought.
Wagons I have seen all had four speeds, though I believe the five speed could be installed.
I think the badge called it a 124 Special TC.
There was also an earlier coupe with the nose of a Spider.
I think the dash would have been compatible with the wagon.
I have only ever seen one or two of those.
Abarths were being sold here until restricted.
A friend had an 850 Abarth with covered headlamps. I’m not sure of displacement.
I know someone that bought an Abarth 124 rally Spider without knowing it was special in that era.
There were twin cam kits here for the 850, though I think they were limited in potential displacement.
Met a factory rep once with a 128 coupe shooting brake version.
Buick Envista. I love the styling of these things (if we have to have crossovers all the time, more like this please) and I’m curious what a 21st century Buick is like.
Toyota HiAce, Renault Kangoo, as well as the Espace III, Opel Sintra diesel, Toyota Yaris Verso, Nissan X-Trail, non-turbo manual B-Class, Citroen Xantia wagon, Peugeot 1007, smart forfour (they had some really cool interiors too!)
I’ll even put the Tata Nano on the list too 😛
Geo Storm?
You mean the Isuzu Impulse?
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/finger-on-the-impulse-1987-isuzu-impulse-turbo-rs/
I would call that an enthusiast vehicle.
But then again, so is the Tracker – it can embarrass 100k builds offroad.
Any car can be an enthusiast car in the right conditions. Just gotta find ’em.
I’m about to fly south to visit family and am hoping the “Kia Soul or similar” I have on reserve with Budget is something different, not because I didn’t like the Soul I got last year but for the sake of something different. I am currently actively looking forward to driving a Hyundai Venue or Nissan Kicks Play.
Amphicar
Aquada
DUK
There seems to be a theme there…
And maybe an original, undomesticated Hummer. That one won’t float like the others.
Military museum on 80 has a non hummer prototype.
My shortlist would be :
Mazda 323 gtx
Daihatsu Hijet
LS swapped Miata
Reliant Regal 3/30 saloon
Honda Civic hybrid with a manual transmission, just to see how far I can push that MT goodness efficiency.
you want an OG insight manual.
One of those too. Preferably in Citroen.
Mmm. Citrus Insight. Tasty.
https://itisgood.org/auto-biography/#00Insight
Exactly
chevy sprint, the 3cyl turbo. won’t be fast, but I always wanted one.
just driving it once would be enough now.
Old aircooled VWs: Basicly made for people who didn’t care about cars.
And the Aygo: Will run forever and go 100mph, and old guys think their dicks will fall off if they ever sat in one.. Love it.
I’d argue that any car is an enthusiast car if someone loves it. Heck, you’ve got to be way more of an enthusiast to love a Volare in the face of the world’s heaped-up scorn, than a Corvette that the cool kids / sheep gather around.
That said, I’ll nominate my Crosley. 0-60mph in never. The only metric it excels at is NVH. But I’m an enthusiast!
I think the three biggest ones (if the last 2 count) are a newer Fiat 500 with the Twin-Air, the V10 TDI Touareg, and the TDI V12 Q7.
An EV in general would be awesome to experience too, especially before I ever buy one, like a G2 Leaf or Bolt.
The Fiat 500e kinda excites me, as the idea of a lightweight EV is pretty cool, and I think that, for people that just want to get to work and back every day, the cost of the lease+insurance would be entirely offset by the fuel saved, as long as they did actually drive it everyday.
For me, I’d still want to drive my gas car every time the weather was nice, so I’d probably end up spending almost as much on gas anyway, and I don’t foresee myself ever being able to spare the garage space to charge a backup commuter/winter beater.
I also think that K-cars are kinda neat, mainly because of their ubiquitous cheapness, and would love to get my hands on a ratty Rampage to lug around dirty stuff.
The more time passes, the more I understand Mighty Car Mods’ obsession with cars like the Daihatsu Mira, and would actually really love a chance to build some kind of FWD kei car (or super-compact with a full-length VIN, like a Starlet or City) to hot-boy spec, just for the fun of it.
I would love a chance to operate a Kettenkrad, but its history makes it both unattainable and somewhat repulsive, I just like the physical concept of a half-track tricycle. Maybe it’s the kind of thing to build at home from a broken skid-steer, except I don’t have anywhere to drive such a contraption.
I also find Tuk-tuks endearing, and would love to drive one ONCE.
Tractors seem really cool, but specifically the old-style ones with a saddle and zero suspension. New ones are cool because they’re capable, but I don’t think it would be that much of an experience.
This brings up an interesting philosophical question: Is there a less enthusiasty car than a Prius? Because that’s my answer.
They might not tick a lot of the traditional enthusiast boxes, but I think they’re impressive feats of engineering and I’ve had a major soft spot for them practically since they came out.
Right on all counts. I’d like to try a 1st or 2nd gen. I rented a later one, not sure what year. And it was awful. The nannies, the constant badgering to drive more efficiently… a total buzzkill. Maybe the earlier ones are less obnoxious, I dunno. Like you, I’ve been fascinated by the engineering since day one, though. Never meet your heroes, they say.
Yeah, I actually drive a second gen. There’s a reason you still see so many of them, despite the fact that they’re around 20 years old now. Infotainment is pretty dated (which I mostly solved with a bluetooth to aux adapter), but otherwise they’re still really good cars.
Good! That gen is the one that really caught my attention. State of the art tech (at the time) and spaceship looks? You had me at hello.
Gen 1 is, by _any_ measure, a classic car these days, and deserves its spot at auto shows.
That stuff can be turned off mostly. There is this yellow triangle that lights up if you corner or brake too hard. I call it the triangle of fun and “you will pay for this in tires”
I really like mine other than all the bodywork that wants to fall off from my mom driving it. The front undertray and fender liners are all MIA and the bumper covers are a bit flappy.
The 2010 generation is reputed to burn oil and mess up the EGR, but when I go for an oil change it has used none that I can tell.
I’m planning on driving it into the ground, but it may take a very long time.
Also, it’s remarkable what you can fit into it.
Toyotas are engineered to eject body parts when touched by wind, vibration or any physical contact.
I don’t have a written list, but the regular cars that come to my mind (in no particular order) on a recurring basis are:
-2013-2014 Fusion with the 6spd manual. I’ve already driven the previous gen
-Chevrolet Tracker 2dr with the 5spd
-Golf Sportwagon with a Dieselgate-era TDI. Is this an enthusiast car, though?
-Geo Metro
-Ford Probe GT. Is this an enthusiast car, though?
-Nissan NX2000
-Dodge Daytona
-Last Gen Cadillac Eldorado
-A floaty H-Body like a Park Avenue or Olds 98 with a SC 3800
-2nd gen Mitsubishi Montero with a 5spd
Non-enthusiast car?
Does really wanting to drive a VW XL1 count?
I also love small underpowered economy cars; so I’d really love to drive a Trabant, pre-VW Skoda, old Lada, or a restored K-car Dodge Omni (I know, there are places in Berlin that rent Trabis)
All my daily drivers from 2005 to 2021 are on your list and then after a break of 4 years, I got another 2 from your list.
I drove an Astra with a stick for about 9 years and it was a fun little car. I was one of the weirdos that bought one new. The handling was way better than the power of the engine could provide for. I really liked that car.
I had the Saturn Vue with the Honda V6 prior to that and it was a sleeper, but the next gen with the 4 cylinder was an absolute dog when I had one as a rental. And the Captivas were all the 4 cylinder.
I had a Gen 1 Volt too, which replaced the Astra, and loved that car also. It was just so fun with the instant torque and the heaviness with the low center of gravity. With winter tires it was an absolute beast in the snow.
I have the NC Miata with an ND for my son in the fleet now and, of course, would highly recommend either.
Where to start? Would love to drive a Volvo 145 at some point. Also a Fiat X1/9 if we don’t consider that an “enthusiast” car.
There was a 145 with the full suspension kit on it that was killing higher classes in autocross up to V8s in Florida.
I think I saw it for sale once in Grassroots.
The owner told me it was far more agile than the 240 as it was lighter.
The fuel system may be more effective too.
Beginning to think any car can be an enthusiast car.
Probably.
Sure helps when they have a capable suspension to start with though.
My 1984 Plymouth Horizon was my first new car. It was “Enthusiasty” enough for its day since I ordered it with a tach, the 2.2 engine and the 5-speed stick. the 185X13 rims did not hold corners all that well, but better tires helped. The 1.6(?) engine with the 3-speed auto would have not been very “Enthusiasty” so maybe that’s what Pete was thinking about.
As for myself, how about a 2008-ish Cadillac DTS?
Most of my early driving was in an ’86 Horizon 2.2/auto (Mom’s) followed by an ’81 Omni 1.7/4 sp manual (mine). Time and the lack of comparison points dulls any driving impression I could give but sometime around 2008 I had a chance to sample a 2.2 manual and the main impressions I got were how light it felt, how low the cowl and slim the pillars were compared to the now of then let alone now-now and that it was indeed a strong runner.
The least enthusiast ones on my list are probably Toyota Hiace, or a Mitsuoka, but my full list is:
Holden Crewman/Adventra/Avalanche
Caterham 7
Caterham 21
TVR Griffith, Chimaera or Tucson
Esprit
Toyota Century
Toyota Hiace
E-Class cabrio
BMW 128
BMW M car
Air cooled VW
Non GM era Saab
Volvo R
Alfa Romeo Brera
Aston Martin Vantage
RAV4 convertible
Something with an RB engine
Something with a JZ engine
S1 Elise
VX220
Triumph Bonneville
Royal Enfield
Morgan
Mitsuoka
Mini Cooper classic or E
Jaguar
Rivian truck
Porsche Boxster or 911
MG TF
I have driven garbage cars from the 1960s to the present. I have driven the big boats of the 60s and 70 and they suck. I have drive AMC garbage, K-cars, Vegas, econoboxes, the lot.
If I had to think hard. I would like to try some of the little cars of yore like the Nash Metropolitan, Trabant, 2 stroke Saabs, some UAZ, I would want to own a Fiat Panda!
I’m currently daily driving a 2nd gen Honda Fit. I never knew how fun these cars can be to drive. They’re light and nimble, and can accelerate pretty quick when you need them to. I have two E30’s, A 2nd gen Ram, a ’72 vw van, but I love my Fit. So really, I’m discovering that Fits can be enthusiast vehicles.