I've had a few different Corollas, and a base model 1995 Taurus. All appliances. All good cars.
I've had a few different Corollas, and a base model 1995 Taurus. All appliances. All good cars.
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.
I would have never thought to call a guy rolling to work in a 1st gen MR2 or an "elitist". I can't imagine a 20 yr old Toyota fills one with the same smugness as a new Prius appliance seems to. Thank you for your apology - it is long overdue. Get your beige crap wagon out of the way. I'm rollin' thru in my super elite 325e!
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: 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.
Does that mean my E-150 is an appliance capable of driving me and 7 girls to the prom my senior year of high school (true story)? Ain't nothing wrong with that.
Rufledt wrote:SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: 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.Does that mean my E-150 is an appliance capable of driving me and 7 girls to the prom my senior year of high school (true story)? Ain't nothing wrong with that.
Oh most definitely.
Bob, where did $2k come from?
Anways, as the owner of both a Cherokee and an Escort, this thread offends me. 
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Bob, where did $2k come from? Anways, as the owner of both a Cherokee and an Escort, this thread offends me.
Yeah, it was supposed to be the cost of a new Accord. Don't those start north of $20K these days?
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/09/toyota-camry-turbo-puts-down-728-horsepower.html
Woohoo someone else wants GRM board censorship!!
No more political threads
No more appliance car bashing.
What's next, anything not a Miata is off-limits for discussion.
Give me a break, if you don't like it, stop reading.
Bobzilla wrote:irish44j wrote: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.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.
my 97 Cavalier was pretty damn reliable for a $400 car.. i got it needing a head gasket, then the trans went a few months later.. with the 2 brand new tires on the front, i had less than $1k into it and drove it for 18 months, getting 39.8mpg by the time i sold it to my cousin for $500, who drove it for almost 2 years befroe she sold it to a guy that made a short track racer out of it.. was it fast? no.. but it was peppy for a gutless 4 cylinder and it never failed to start on even the coldest days. it also had ice cold AC for the summertime, but i only ever used it to take the edge off when getting into the hot car.
Woooo Interwebs! 
I don't feel like an elitist in my '95 M3. I feel like a dick because it's a 90's BMW, but not an elitist. It's a $5k car that gets 22mpg on my city commute.
That said, I think in some weird sense, I'm sure we can agree that this board is full of automotive hipsters (including myself)- look around: wagons are cool, hairdressers cars are cool, obscure eastern bloc cars are cool, Yugos are cool...etc etc. Don't be afraid. Embrace it. Does that include elitism? Sure.
Good grief, don"t make me turn this car around.
In reply to David S. Wallens:
Is it a beige Camry?
Could be.
at least we know you won't oversteer while turning around...
stealthfighter1 wrote:
GOD that's nice.
isn't the lotus powered by a corolla?
Trans_Maro wrote: Woohoo someone else wants GRM board censorship!! No more political threads No more appliance car bashing. What's next, anything not a Miata is off-limits for discussion. Give me a break, if you don't like it, stop reading.
It's just like the people that complain about a TV show. Guess what, change the channel and you don't have to worry about it. No one is forcing you to read that crap.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Here's the thing, as I see it. We don't have a problem with cars that are built for practicality or efficiency. We have a problem with the fact that when it's been proven that companies can make cars that efficient, affordable, and practical, but are also rewarding to drive and attractive, some companies still choose to make cars that are anything but.
Mazda is one company that consistently makes "appliance" cars that are engaging to drive, and as a consequence GRM tends to love their products. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have companies like Toyota, whose cars are similarly priced and sized, and built to similar standards, but are incredibly unpleasant to drive, and they're not something the kind of people who hang out on this forum appreciate.
What's with the "toaster" hate? I love appliances.
Appleseed wrote: What's with the "toaster" hate? I love appliances.
I love appliances more. 
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.
I don't think you and I read the same magazine. GRM doesn't hate on commuters. From March 2003:
Let me back up a little bit. You see, our publisher recently got himself a fancy new Honda Odyssey minivan. Now, anyone who’s read this magazine for any time knows that we are all great fans of minivans. They’re practical, economical, useful, and although they are what most people really need, they’re still rather underappreciated contributors to our busy society.
We figured it would wear off, but a couple of weeks into the new van, he said those magic words: “You know, today’s minivans would kick the ass of pretty much any classic sports car.” Go back and read it again. We’ll wait.
So our classic sports cars were not only equaled, but bested—handily—by the scourge of the mall parking lot: the minivan.
The original poster drives a Saturn, a car I concede is generally a great appliance but I personally weep not for each one I send to the crusher.
He's also a bass player, and we all know they don't get the chicks, the banjo players do.
As my fingers remain crossed about a job application I sent in, it's possible I may give up my field position with company car (appliance, but it's free) for an inside position and a need for a commuter car. As much as I'd like something fun like a Miata, E30/E36, Wrangler, 911, etc in reality I'll probably buy a well used, automatic, disposable car like a Hyundai Accent. Why? Because I don't want to waste my fun car money on something that is simply used like a tool from the toolbox. I already have other 'fun' cars, so can afford to have one that is an unlovable turd, provided it costs little, sips gas and is reliable.
But, if you are in a position to have only ONE car, then I argue that life is truly too short to saddle yourself with an appliance vs something fun. Sure, you can polish a turd by adding cool wheels and lowering it, but it still won't be much fun. You just need to choose wisely. There are fun cars that can do appliance duty out there.
However, as we say in motorcycling, ride your own ride. If a Saturn makes you happy, then drive one. If a Camry can give you driving pleasure (and I don't see HOW, but we're all different), then drive the snot out of it. But I think you're truly missing out if you're not sampling better machinery.
Brought to you by a guy who's owned over 50 cars in his life and just sold his Mini, one of the most fun cars ever, so he can sample something new yet again.
Just because a car starts it's life as a boring, non-descript, beige, forgettable pos doesn't mean it has to stay that way.
With the exception of maybe the Nissan Versa...
(Wasn't I clever... )
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