So the "appliance" car bashing...it's gotta stop

Dear GRM:

There is a time and a place for (just about) every car. Some people prefer a car that is used to get to work in, one that always starts, blends in, rarely needs major repairs, and gets good gas mileage. This may be a cheap car, and it may be an unoffensive color (rhymes with 'page'), but that doesn't make it "soulless." Most every car has a soul and a personality. Will it drive like an Alfa Romeo? No. Will it be cheaper and more reliable than an Alfa? What isn't?

We may drive them out of economical needs, because we can't afford anything else, or we may drive them because we don't like working on a car every 6 days.

Are there cars that can be commuter cars AND be fun? Sure. But not all of us can have a Miata. I have to put tons of stuff in my car, and a Miata has no space. Not all of us can have some of these cars because they are too expensive still, too rusty, or too rare.

I'm reluctant to use the word "elitist," because I know it'll cause all sorts of a E36 M3storm, but that's what this is bordering on. Not all of us can afford an MR2 to commute in. Sorry for us being terrible people by buying a Corolla/Civic/SL2/Sentra/Optima etc.

So, respectfully, I ask that we stop bashing the cars that do the utterly thankless work of hauling you back and forth from work every day, quietly, efficiently, and reliably. If you look hard enough, any car can be fun to drive.

Thanks.

What are you going on about? GRM has done more Civic articles than I could possibly keep track of, in particular. There's a ton of econobox fans on this forum, and on staff. I don't get it.

Bryce

I paid $350 for the mr2 I commuted in and it was reliable...sort of...lol. Honestly it never left me stranded and was much more reliable than any $350 car should be.

No. Absolutely not. You can't make me.

nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah I can't hear you!

what's the big deal

I have nothing against appliance cars. But I have absolutely NO interest in reading about them on a forum called Grassroots MOTORSPORTS: The Hardcore Sports Car Magazine. Unless, of course, they have been LS6-swapped, have an engine front and rear, or are wearing some fat Star Specs.

I'm sure for talking about peoples' boring commuter cars there are other discussion forums. We don't talk about our dishwashers or ovens here either. (unless they have had 4 wheels and an engine added and are used as a pit bike).

My DD isn't pretty. Its multiple colors. It works. Who's bashing?

For cereal? You wrote this missive to the magazine with a BEIGE CAMRY PROJECT CAR?!??!?

I don't get it.

Really? Whining about bashing boring cars on the Hardcore SportsCar Magazine forum?

I get it, sometimes my meds run out before I can get to the pharmacy too

I have met many soulless vehicles BTW.

OK so appliances have a very dull and boring soul

No but really there's a project Camry now and only the very dullest appliances (such as Camrys) have been called as such.

Boring cars are made to be bashed. And boring cars can be dangerous.

The Lexus is250 put my wife and everyone who drove it to sleep. It makes people careless and that's dangerous.

There's no need to build a car with no soul. It's the first step towards autonomous cars that drive you instead of you driving them.

Thank you for your time and I now relinquish the soap box to my opponent. . .

carguy123 wrote: There's no need to build a car with no soul. It's the first step towards autonomous cars that drive you instead of you driving them.

Like an appliance I could settle for one of these on the street, but then I only have bumper-to-bumper gridlock to drive in.

Twin_Cam wrote: So, respectfully, I ask that we stop bashing the cars that do the utterly thankless work of hauling you back and forth from work every day, quietly, efficiently, and reliably. If you look hard enough, any car can be fun to drive.

[sarcasm]
...and let's delete the tasty recipe thread. Not all of us have cooking skills, and some of us have to eat ordinary food. food can sustain you, and we shouldn't make fun of those who don't have time to cook.
[/sarcasm]

• Um, as already noted, the magazine has a beige camery project car.
• They have lots of coverage for 'crapcan' racing (cars originally purchased for $500); the staff have campaigned a car, they publish results from races, etc. They did a series of articles on how to prep one, and a detailed analysis of the similarities and differences between two crapcan series
• One of their two biggest functions of the year is an autocross/car show/drag race for cars that cost approx. $2K
• I hauled a non-running "car" to that event...one thrown together out of garbage - literal, actual garbage - and got nothing but enthusiastic comments
• the overall winner at this year's event was a K-car, something most people would consider to be a soulless commuter
• One of the other cars racing in that event this year was a Metro
• lots of people here race or build unloved oddballs

You cannot claim elitism here. We may not be big fans of the ordinary, but this isn't a crowd that will drink tea with their pinky extended and tell you that you're using the wrong fork.

I think what you're seeing is that most GRMers on the forum (...and we're different than the rest of the readers) appreciate cars that are cheap, old and obscure.

I think the OP is confusing all these somewhat annoying what car threads where people get all critical about how fun 96 Saturn will be vs a 97 corolla, with bashing. What we really need here is a what car sub forum, a sticky, or at least some rules on the subject.

In reply to JoeyM:

I'll have my IPA with my pinky finger extended. NOH8

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to JoeyM: I'll have my IPA with my pinky finger extended. NOH8

Fair enough. I should have used this, instead:

- There's no elitism in the "what would you not race" thread.

I love Accords. Or at least the double wishbone ones. Not sure how the new 9th gen is, With it's McStruts

I have to say, I have no idea why anyone would have a problem hearing people complain about boring cars on a forum that is dedicated to exciting cars. I also don't see any need to drive a boring car, unless you choose to do so. I choose to drive a boring car so I don't have to pay for fuel. Wanna bash the boring-ness of my car? Go ahead.

I think he's been spending too much time on the forum, where yes, Miata is the answer to most questions regarding a sports car. Notice I didn't say it's the RIGHT answer

if you don't want to see "appliance bashing" then go to a forum dedicated to "appliance" cars and read thread after thread about how their cars never let them down and how the commute to work is always uneventful.. i'm sure there are forums dedicated to such things, but honestly, i can't be bothered to seek them out because that just seems.. .boring..

Twin_Cam wrote: We may drive them out of economical needs, because we can't afford anything else, or we may drive them because we don't like working on a car every 6 days. Are there cars that can be commuter cars AND be fun? Sure. But not all of us can have a Miata.

My commuter (22 miles in DC rush-hour gridlock) cost about the same new as an Accord, Camry, Sonata, etc

It has 4 doors, comfortable seating for four (and can fit five)

It is pretty damn reliable.

It also has a manual transmission, AWD, and ~300hp.

Moral of this story is that there are cars in the same price range as most "appliances" that have similar utility and reliability, but are way more fun to drive.

Wait a damn minute, one of the project cars (Ie the old MS3) got traded for a VOLT, in just saying that i think we are a bit in tune with the "lifeless" scene.

Now if you are trying to change the thoughts of people on the internet in anyway i wish you the best of luck.

BTW here is a duck hotlink

irish44j wrote:

Twin_Cam wrote: We may drive them out of economical needs, because we can't afford anything else, or we may drive them because we don't like working on a car every 6 days. Are there cars that can be commuter cars AND be fun? Sure. But not all of us can have a Miata.

My commuter (22 miles in DC rush-hour gridlock) cost about the same new as an Accord, Camry, Sonata, etc It has 4 doors, comfortable seating for four (and can fit five) It is pretty damn reliable. It also has a manual transmission, AWD, and ~300hp. Moral of this story is that there are cars in the same price range as most "appliances" that have similar utility and reliability, but are way more fun to drive.

You can find me a reliable car for $2k cash that gets 40 mpg, costs pennies to maintain, is cheap to insure has working a/c and never fails to start? Wow, you must be a magician. Because that is the exact car we were looking for 4 years ago and ended up with a 2000 accent manual trans. Because I've never found a 300hp, 40mpg awd car for $2k that I can trust to get my wife 70+miles every day to and from work in temps ranging from-20 to 105.

Please, I'd love to be proven wrong. Go ahead, I'll be here waiting.

When you drive an appliance, the terrorists win.

I have absolutely no clue what the OP is on about.

Was a Yugo an appliance? You bet.

Was an Aries K an appliance? Damn straight.

Was the Jeep Cherokee an appliance capable of off roading? Hell yes.

Was a Volvo 240 Wagon a Swedish appliance? Definitely.

Is an F-150 or Silverado an appliance with a bed and tow rating? Damn skippy.

I think us, as car enthusiasts, use that term for cars that are sold to the masses as daily driver cars that they could give two E36 M3s about. There are many people here who have appliance cars that they turn in to race cars and autocrossers, off roaders and family haulers, which at that point I think have become something other than an appliance or "beige" car.