There aren’t a lot of cars that evoke enough happiness when I see them to actually make me smile. There are plenty that make me go, “Oh, I like those,” or “That’s a cool one,” but I’m not grinning about it like some psycho. Like, imagine me catching you exiting your Kia Stinger at CVS, and I tell you “great car” while showing all my teeth – you’d wonder if you were about to be carjacked.
There are scant few cars that make me smile (warmly, not crazily), but the ones that do are extremely wholesome and deserving. High on the list is any 20+ year old grandpa/grandma car in very nice condition still piloted by the octogenarian who purchased it. I invent entire storylines for these cars and people, real salt-of-the-earth types who know the value of a dollar and faithfully take careful care of their Crown Vics and Avalons and Chrysler 300s.
In a similar vein, I always smile anytime I see a formerly disposable car just out there surviving. There’s a Beetle I see on the regular, not unlike the one above from Bring A Trailer (where it sold for $5,700), that appears to run like a top but has endured far too many hot Texas summers and fender-bender repairs for its owner to have any concerns over maintaining its paint beyond rust prevention. Anytime I encounter an aged Civic or Corolla or Ford Escort or the like that some frugal person is just not giving up on (“250,000 miles and it still runs great!”), that just puts a smile on my face every time.
Your turn:
What Cars Are You Always Happy To See?
Top graphic image: Ford
The Karmann Ghia. They were and still are designed well to me, even though they often got the “Chick Car” moniker from the X’ers I grew up with. Still if I see one running around I smile and then start looking for one for sale until I forget about them again. thankfully the prices for good ones has gone up enough I have not yet bought one.
Nissan skylines. They are so far and few between being spotted, they always give me an erection…
I do dig the Wide body TSI Conquests.
My first and 2nd cars were just that. I still love them.
Saabs, obviously. Besides those Honda CRXs. Always loved those.
there is a .. guy, shop, business.. who knows near me that has like 30 Saab’s for sale. I always wanted one, but I feel like its going to be a nightmare to keep one on the road these days.
Generally, they aren’t nightmarish at all. Parts are still quite available, they’re quite straightforward to work on, and support from the Saab community is outstanding. In few other car cults will people just *give* you parts from their personal parts caches or just help out because you need something to keep your car going.
Echoing the other response here, you’d be amazed at how easy it is to keep a Saab on the road. Parts availability is huge, everything in the world is documented, and their absolute tanks. Easy to work on too. A lot like a Porsche or an old VW, it’s kind of crazy how much they iterated on these things year by year, but it’s largely all interchangeable.
Hell yeah, brother. Keep these gems going!
Came here to say CRX. I don’t even have a history with them (besides seeing them all over for a number of years…and in GTA San Andreas), but man, do they make me happy.
Have owned both. Miss them dearly. And LOVE seeing them out and about.
Thrilled to ID a pre-GM 900 from the 7th floor yesterday – it was half a block away, facing away from me (no profile), and mostly covered with snow. Still, just a hint of taillight, black ‘rubber’ bumper, and a black door handle … I squealed with delight when it drove away, turned a corner and I could confirm (tho I was sad to see it go)
My wife named our first 900 convertible “Stella” for some reason, so every now and then while driving she will surprise me by yelling “A Stella!” So, you have company ID’ing pre-GM 900s.
For bonus points while we were in Copenhagen and she was out with her “sister” (former exchange student that lived with her) she texted me one picture of a red 900 convertible.
When I take my 900 convertible out now I cringe thinking of all the things that need to be done, how the turbo logo has fallen off one side and all the other things that remind me I might have taken on too big of a project. But then somebody at a stoplight takes a picture or asks me what it is and I love it all over again.
I’d be among your paparazzi!
ACVWs are simply joy, but Beetles the most so. I also get very excited about the ’85-88 Nova. And heck, an FR-S, 86, or BRZ.
Hellcats. There’s just something about the worst side of car culture being attracted to these things and driving them like total jackasses that for a short time makes me proud to be an American: nothing else really does.
Even more, I also love seeing little British cars from the 1950s/60s/70s. MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars, Austin-Healeys, Lotuses, ect. They’re a rare sight these days.
1st gen Honda Insights are cool as well.
Seems like I see more Altima’s and Forte’s being driven like jackasses, though mostly just sitting staring at their cell phone at a green light and then Jack Rabbiting and trying to get around people that left them at the light. SMH they try I suppose, but generally cannot do the same Hellcat BS.
Where I live, street takeovers are an almost-daily occurrence. And I don’t want it any other way.
Another example of whatever your first car was.
Man. i havent seen a Delta 88 in like 20 years.
Miami Blue ’77 Rabbit
Chevy Volt and Bolt, to me they have good taste and they know what they have is unique from a GM perspective and they dont need more car, those are perfectly fine vehicles.
In Southern California, the land of leases, I love seeing older Hondas and Toyotas that are in great condition and driven by people that care for the car and hope to get the most out of it.
Also, I’ve only seen one Buick Reatta on the road in 20+ years. That was worth a whoa.
Really pretty much anything that you can see the owner put alot of love and attention into. Things like Donks and stanced cars aren’t really my thing, I just don’t get it, but the amount of work at people put into them is fabulous. Even the guy with the old Corolla with every stick-on thing that Pep-Boys will sell him hanging somewhere off the car. You go dude, make it yours and go cruisin’.
Except Truck Nutz… that’s just tacky.
“What Cars Are You Always Happy To See?”
My own car. All alone on a wide open road.
Like this, but from a slightly different pov – I love the rare times when it’s not me driving my Mustang, like when it’s being brought over by the mechanic or something.
I can hear her being fired up and get to experience what she sounds like from the outside. Always makes me happy.
I look forward to somebody else driving my car past me but it’s too soon yet!
Miatas
Pre-2002 Mercedes-Benz SLs.
Pre-Golf VWs.
Pre-1990’s Volvos
Any Pre-1970 Car or Pickup.
Lucid and Rivian
Geo Metro convertible. The sheer incongruity of the package – it’s like a venn diagram where none of the circles should overlap – always makes me smile.
I see one about once a week near me. Every spring I’m happy to see it still on the road.
girlfriend in highschool had one, i just loved going for rides in that thing.
Shitboxes which shouldn’t still be on the road but somehow survive. GEO Metros, 90s Kias, Cavaliers, etc. A GEO Metro convertible? [Chef’s kiss.]
Now that I’m living in the Southwest instead of PA, I see a lot more, but they still make me smile.
Especially if they’re in mint condition
Beat me to it on the Metro ‘vert by like 40 seconds! Well played and completely agree. It’s one of those cars that shouldn’t exist but does.
Anything green
Anything semi-rare or just weird, even if it’s just a mainstream car (I’ve seen ONE Polestar)
Vinfast because swimming upstream is admirable.
Lucid because that’s a lot of money for something you can’t test or service locally in most of the US.
Rivian, every time. Like Lucid, but less extreme.
Envoy EXT because Peak GM Creativity.
Dustbuster minivans. Or Previa.
Any modern Wrangler or Bronco with 2 doors.
Any Japanese car from a year starting in 198-
Old Grand Am, from before 1994 or so. One of those cars that was once absolutely everywhere but now almost gone.
I feel similar about Chevy Cavaliers, to point where I’ll jockey in traffic to get closer to one, esp if it’s a Z24.
I am behind the times and just started watching “Pluribus,” but when the cornflower blue Toyota Corolla rolled up, I audibly gasped in joy. I have never owned or sat in a 70’s Japanese import from Toyota, Honda, or Datsun, but I just think they are incredibly beautiful in a utilitarian kind of way, especially when they have been maintained well.
Also, MKIV Jettas. It’s the last of the Jettas I find pleasing to the eye, especially in red. My mom had one, and while it was definitely underpowered, it felt like a rocket ship compared to my 93 Tercel.
Funny, I had a Mk3 Golf with the whopping 115hp 2.0, and while it was pretty slow, it was still plenty of fun — and like you said, much sportier than the econobox competition of the era.
My sister had a green Mk3 Jetta with the 2.0 and a manual. The drivetrain was great…the electric window regulators not so much. 4 were replaced under her Carmax warranty and 3x broke after the warranty leaving her with 1 working window by the time it was totaled. She swore off VWs until she drove my Mk7 GTI but bought a Highlander instead.
Also love the Mk3’s. They’re boxy, but in such a good kind of way. I daily drive (and have done so since 2006…) a VW Rabbit (MkV Golf), which I love, but really, I wish it had the MkV internals in a previous gen shell.
I believe it’s filmed in Albuquerque. Rust never sleeps out here, but it certainly naps. Also no annual inspections, so there’s all kinds of old cars on the road (and not all of them are Subarus or 4Runners).
The first generation Honda Accord is a fun car to drive, very eager to accelerate and decent handling. I’m looking forward to driving my son’s new project, a 79 Corolla.
Any old truck that is still being used as a truck. I imagine the truck is happy to be doing trucky things.
It makes me happy to see cars out there that aren’t critically acclaimed and aren’t big sellers.
Grand Wagoneers, Hornets, Crowns, Hummer EVs, and so on.
Whatever journalists write about them, whatever consumers think of them, a lot of engineers, designers, and manufacturing people worked hard to deliver that vehicle to people, and having been in their shoes, I appreciate when a buyer takes a shot on one.
There is a Hummer EV that parks in the garage at my work. It is so ridiculous. I parked next to it one day and lined up so our back bumpers were even and my EX30 ‘s front end stopped even with the back of the Hummer’s front tire. The beltline was about even with my roofline.
Saab Sonetts
VW bugs
VW Karmann Ghia
Series I-III land rovers
Volvo 303
Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer
Pre-wedge Sonetts are gorgeous. And almost as aerodynamically slippery as a 1st gen Honda Insight.
I love them all even the wedge ones.
The wedge ones are still slippery. Another car that’s equally as slippery is the Saab 96. All make excellent EV conversions.
A sonnet EV conversion would be a blast. Have you seen any?
I saw one for sale in 2010 for $2,000. It was a 96V conversion with golf cart lead acid batteries and a forklift motor. I would have bought it, but I was broke and unemployed. I spoke to the owner. At its top speed of 70 mph, it only needed 180 Wh/mile. This was with a DC motor. A modern drive system would cut that consumption by 10% or more.
When have you ever seen a Pinzgauer in the wild?!
At the off road park.
In a parking lot at Intel in the 90s
Miata is always the Answer, they even look happy to see me! Seeing any NA driving around is a breath of fresh air
Once I saw a Ferrari 812 Superfast driving down the road and I noticed the couple didn’t look like they were having fun. Note: I don’t see too many Ferraris where I live.
The next car I saw down the road was a NA Miata and the couple in the car looked like they were having the time of their lives. It put a smile on my face.
Just goes to show, you don’t have to be going super fast to be having a good time. That you can have more fun in a Miata than Ferrari.
There is definitely a mix of people in the Ferrari ownership camp, but Miata owners are almost all there for a fun time! That said I know a guy who has multiple new Ferrari’s, but has a half-dozen NB Spec Miata’s he races for fun, and talks up how much he loves Miatas in general, so not ALL Ferrari owners are bad. Still, I’d much rather have a Miata for backroads than something as expensive as a Ferrari.
I wish my cheap Ferrari had better backroads!
I always get inordinate excited to see a VW Routan. Uncommon enough that you don’t see them very often and just crazy that they exist in the first place.
Yeah! They took all the best parts of the DCX vans and made them better in most of the areas they were lacking. A weird tie-up, for sure, but it worked. Best-looking Chrysler van since the first generation, IMO.
It’s like they were wiped off the face of the earth 5 years ago. I used to see one or two a day.
Midgets
Corvairs
Donks
Any station wagon with wood paneling
60s vans. Any of them.
The ones getting out of my way!
Austin-Healey Sprites because they’re always happy to see me too.