What Am I Missing? Cars Everyone Else Loves

So, Miata, E30, S197 Mustang.

I've officially spent time in all three and, well, I don't get it.

The Miata is a fun little car but there just seem to be better things out there. The MRS is more playful and I can sit comfortably AND see out at the same time. A 914 is less filtered and throttle steers better (and I can see out of it). A 240sx is just as good at the sports car stuff (and I can see out of it) and functions as a quasi practical car. It's a completely different beast, but I honestly think a 3rd gen Camaro is more playful, all big stupid slides (and I can see out of it) and random snorting.

The e30 was a 325e, so maybe that's why I don't like it, but I remember thinking "so this is what my e70 Corolla would feel like with an 800 lb flywheel, truck steering and vaporized novacain blowing through the aircon ducts."

Drove a couple of s197s, 4.0 V6 2005 and a 4.6 3 valve, and thought they felt a thousand pounds heavier than the sn95 and had no feel through any of the controls. Then of course the low seats, low roof, high cowl and enormous a pillars that were supposed to make me feel safe really just made me feel that I had no idea where the front of the car was.

I realize cars are about personal taste, but before I decide I just don't like sn197s and e30s, am I missing something?

I do like Miatas (NA most, NB a little less) and I'd buy one if I got a good deal, but I would rather have about 10 other cars at the price point. Am I missing the magic?

I find Miatas too tiny, cramped and toy-like these days. Not qualities I would have chosen to describe maybe 20 years ago but I think I've personally outgrown traditional small sports cars. This is from a guy that had Fiat 124s for over 20 years.

My E30 (granted, modified as a track car) remains one of the most fun, tossable cars I've owned. I mercilessly thrash it on the track and it just comes back for more and never breaks. The 2.5 makes nice sounds (the eta model would probably put me to sleep too) but with a more modern engine they are real hoon machines. I'd suggest they must be lowered and on massive sway bars to bring out their true character.

My S197 is fast becoming my favorite car of all I've owned. The 4.0 (not 3.7) is very torquey and makes nice sounds. The chassis proves more capable and likable the longer you drive it. I admit I was a bit lukewarm on the car when I first got it having bought it mostly for looks and to satisfy a bucket list item but six months in I've become very attached to it and would buy another if something disasterous befell it. Further opinion and reflection on My Blog here I will admit the 4.6 I drove was faster but didn't make me tingle. Some of it has to do with the 'tune' the factory gives them and some is the dead feeling of the drive-by-wire throttle. I think changing the computer's settings with any of the available tuners really helps. Where you find fault with the S197 I find the preceding SN95 completely unbearable.

Of the other cars you mention I find the 914 completely awful as both a Porsche and a car (the engine sound alone makes me cringe). The 240SX is completely "meh" and 3rd gen F-bodies just feel so massive and ungainly I'd rather drive a pickup. I guess this is why cars come in so many varieties; there isn't really ONE answer for anyone despite the preachings of this message board.

Everyone has that thing that everyone loves and you could care less about. For me it's muscle cars. Nearly everyone I know goes bananas over them, but they don't do a single thing for me.

Spoolpigeon,

I'm with you there. Not a muscle car fan, but I am a fan of muscle car engines.

I think this is normal.

Also, you're not missing the Miata magic, since you said you'd own one. That's the reason it's The Answer™.

I owned an NA Miata, and have driven a couple NA and NB cars. I like them, but don't fit me particularly well. I find they seem to have some driveline play that makes them hard to drive smoothly at very low speeds. I have had easier to work on, but I wouldn't mind owning another go. On the other hand, I can go out and buy a rust-free runner for $3500 pretty much all day. That alone makes it special.

I've had a few test drives, but have never pulled it all together and owned a 914. I loved driving them. The steering is silly direct, even in the scruffier cars I've driven. The 914-6 I drove was just amazing. The maintenance needs, rust problems, and now, the pricing makes them a poorer choice. Even the 914-6 struggles to get Miata performance. It's just twenty or more years of development.

I remember that everyone loved the way the first generation CTS drove. I actively disliked my test drive of the plain Jane manual car. I know it was the non-V car, and the V is likely better, but the reviewers said the base was great. I find the second generation Prius more engaging. The CTS was below the previous generation Malibu I had as a rental recently.

Crown Vic. I don't get it. Everyone is all pro CV. I drove a late civilian sport package car that shines as in the showroom, and had 30k on it. Supposedly, the sport package should drive better than the P71 I put about a hundred miles on it helping a friend. The wheel tells you nothing. There is no tactile feedback whatever. None. It was comfortable, roomy, quiet, smooth, and it made everyone nice to me, but it was exhausting to drive.

Mercedes C230 Sport Coupe. Everyone called it a cynical money grab by a luxury brand desperate to add younger buyers. I see it the way most people talk about the E30; it felt like a Miata with more room behind the front seats.

Spoolpigeon wrote: Everyone has that thing that everyone loves and you could care less about. For me it's muscle cars. Nearly everyone I know goes bananas over them, but they don't do a single thing for me.

The problem withe muscle cars for me, especially old ones, is thr owners. Rarely are they driven the way they're meant to me. I doubt 95% of thr cobra jets leaving ford right now will ever see a drag strip, as an example. Simply deplorable. And when ricers like me take our little fwd rice burners to the track, we gat laughed at. Ok....so what are you doing with your car?

Sorry. Side rant over.

mndsm wrote:

Spoolpigeon wrote: Everyone has that thing that everyone loves and you could care less about. For me it's muscle cars. Nearly everyone I know goes bananas over them, but they don't do a single thing for me.

The problem withe muscle cars for me, especially old ones, is thr owners. Rarely are they driven the way they're meant to me. I doubt 95% of thr cobra jets leaving ford right now will ever see a drag strip, as an example. Simply deplorable. And when ricers like me take our little fwd rice burners to the track, we gat laughed at. Ok....so what are you doing with your car? Sorry. Side rant over.

Try racing a Daewoo. Though honestly, I'm kind of asking for it.

Hondas and Acuras. I couldn't care less.

Someone a while ago was pointing out the difference between a special version of the Integra and the pedestrian and I just couldn't get excited about it.

In reply to ddavidv:

HA! My E30 was BY FAR the most unreliable car I've ever owned - and I own a Mk IV VW and three British cars - and was absolutely crap to drive. Slow, truck-like steering and a vague, noodle of a shifter. I wanted so much to love that car, but from the day I test drove it I hated it (then why did I buy it? Long story...). Sure - some of those issues could be fixed, but for the amount of money I would have had to dump into I would have ended up with a car that still wasn't as good as an E36 M3 and would have ended up costing more. By the time I sold the E30, it was out of pure fear - every time I drove the berking thing, something broke.

So far, I've loved every Miata I've test driven, but the timing just hasn't been right to buy one.

mndsm wrote:

Spoolpigeon wrote: Everyone has that thing that everyone loves and you could care less about. For me it's muscle cars. Nearly everyone I know goes bananas over them, but they don't do a single thing for me.

The problem withe muscle cars for me, especially old ones, is thr owners. Rarely are they driven the way they're meant to me. I doubt 95% of thr cobra jets leaving ford right now will ever see a drag strip, as an example. Simply deplorable. And when ricers like me take our little fwd rice burners to the track, we gat laughed at. Ok....so what are you doing with your car? Sorry. Side rant over.

I'm a musclecar fan, and I too don't get a lot of owners. A) For the problem you mentioned. B) These are the guys that say "Young kids aren't interested in the hobby" but they are the ones that used to own a '69 Camaro in high school so they now have to own 50 of them and then drive the price up to where younger people like me can't afford to be involved.

As for cars that everyone loves but I don't get: The Cadillac ATS. I've driven them frequently at work and I just don't find them that engaging or enjoyable to drive, all the engines sound like an asthmatic playing a kazoo, they have an interior that is just average, the styling is okay but Cadillac did a weird thing at the back that makes the rear wheels and tires smaller than the front and the reliability is decidedly subpar. I've never driven a BMW 3-series but if the ATS is as good or better, than the BMW must be awful too.

Back in 1979 all the guys I knew were 100% muscle cars - I got the concept; loud engines, smoking tires, jamming gears - I too was into drag racing and jacked up 4x4 trucks and mudding.

Then I met a guy at work with a Ford Pinto that had the 2.3 liter engine. I was hooked on little cars - he had lowered it, added a header and exhaust, European air horns......I've never looked back!

ddavidv wrote: The 240SX is completely "meh"...

I had always cited the 240SX as one of the most overrated cars out there and never cared for them. A friend of mine subscribed to the hype and bought one to park alongside his Miata. It was an all-original, very clean S13 SE. Shortly after he got it I was talking to him about it and he admitted that he absolutely hates that car and doesn't get why people rave about them. The engine is uninspiring, they don't handle that great and the styling is somewhere between bland and dated. He said he hated it so much he was glad he was going to make it a drift car because he could smash it into a wall, not give a damn and then sell it to someone for 3x what he paid for it.

The same guy also bought a brand-new FR-S and within a year had parked it and sold it to buy the 1990 Miata he has. He said the FR-S didn't have any soul or character to it.

Wow, I love 240SXs. I'd take an FR-S over any two Miatas and I like Miatas.

S197 was supposed to be my retirement car, six years later I finally had one. Stock form it was only OKish but I knew from the start I was doin' bolt-ons and a tune. Lowered w/ D-Specs, 255 Nittos, chassis braces, shifter, muffler delete, CAI and tune it's the car I planned in the first place. There's minivans w/ 300 horse now so this S197 is what it is... fun to drive w/ the right noises and handling, a great road car. Had every intent to sell it to make room for a Coyote but that never happened. An E92 did happen and I love it. Still have the S197 BTW... just can't part w/ it yet.

Never considered owning a BMW till hangin' out here. The thing about the S197 and the E92 is that they each fit me very well and my mood. Funny thing how they are w/ in a coupla/ few hundred pounds, both factory rated 300 horse and w/ in one tenth 0-60. They are still rather conservative though but I likes it.

Call them each a compromise but I'm glad I owned them... one of those deals.

Also in w/ XJ's and AMC Eagle 4X4s.

Never got the Miata thing. If I had the chance to drive one I absolutely would and evaluate from there. Not actively searching one out but something tells me I would prolly like it from the GRM consensus.

Plenty of other cars on my list. Coyote, Hemi, M-Series as well as classic builds. There's only so much time... life, work, responsibility and age get in the way... drive what ya want.

I don't think there are any bad GRM recommendations... some are just better than others.

The beauty of the car hobby is the sheer number of flavours we get to chose from. I've never been without a 4 cylinder car since I graduated in 1976, and have only had one V8, a Dodge Magnum with the Hemi. I just happen to prefer smaller vehicles and engines. I drive along the local boulevard where all the car dealerships are and I hardly ever go in to look like I used to. There are very few new cars that even interest me any more. I'll keep my beater Miata and the MINI Cooper for a few more years. My current daydreamin' car would be a Volvo 544 with a modern fuel injected twin cam and 5 speed.At cars and coffee meets I'll be looking at older, smaller engined vehicles first.Each to his own ,there are no wrong answers.

it's funny how the E30 gets dumped on.. I found the e36 to be light years better than it's predecessor. Better brakes, better steering, a direct (if heavy) shifter, and just as easy to see out of.. and IMO opinion, better looking.

It also had a better suspension, but made up for it with more weight.

That said, my old 318ti, as beaten up as it was when I bought it, was -THE- most reliable car I have ever owned, and that includes over brand new models driven off of the showroom floor

Regarding the Miata vs MRS: the MRS might be a nicer driving car, but I think if you owned one (I have not) you might favor the Miata. Why?, because from what I have seen, the MRS has virtually NO cargo capability. A trip to the grocery store could even be a challenge.

The Miata at least has a decent trunk and you can even take a trips in it with two people (I have done that). The MRS seems to be a pure toy car. That is not bad of course, but as your only car, the Miata seems to be a much better choice.

SUVs in general, especially the smaller ones that aren't designed to haul or tow much of anything, and still don't get very good mpgs. The only one of the bunch that remotely looks fun to drive are certain v6 equipped RAV4s that were actually pretty quick in a straight line.

Try a turbo RX-7. Puts a smile on my face every time!

The ones I don't get.

Big diesel daily driver trucks.

The love for the P71

XJ Cherokees

Jumper K. Balls wrote: The ones I don't get. Big diesel daily driver trucks. The love for the P71 XJ Cherokees

I don't get diesels as a performance vehicle. Start with a vehicle that weighs 4+ tons, has the aerodynamics of a barn door and the worst weight balance and costs $65,000 new and then sink another $30K in just to run 11s.

I recall a diesel magazine ran an article where they put their built-to-the-hilt Super Duty up against a stock base 6-speed C6 Corvette and were so proud that they beat it on a dragstrip. And if you looked at the numbers, the truck only beat it on 2 passes out of 10, the 'Vette walked it the rest of the time.

In reply to DaewooOfDeath:

I had the opposite experience with the FR-S finding it horribly uninspiring to drive around. The hot hatches, on the other hand, left a E36 M3 eating grin on my face after driving them for the first time.

I like the Miata as well but I don't feel like it's too interesting unless you're actively trying to find it's limits in stock form.

Jumper K. Balls wrote: XJ Cherokees

These, I understand. They're cheap and they're surprisingly lightweight to build from (~3200 lbs fully loaded for a 4dr/4wd/auto).

On musclecar owners:

I think many of the owners are just mature, and to the point where they just want to go out for a cruise, rather than blow the doors off of someone at a stoplight. And, frankly, most modern 6 cylinder cars would kill 90% of all musclecars in a drag race. So what's left? Motor around, make cool noises, be stylish. That's how my 30 year old wife drives her 68 Camaro. Sure, there's black marks permanently etched on the road leaving our driveway, but most of the time she just cruises in it.

DeadSkunk wrote: The beauty of the car hobby is the sheer number of flavours we get to chose from.

This is pretty much how I feel. While I grew up mostly lusting after sporty Euro stuff, I want to try just about everything at least once. I honestly can't recall an enthusiast-hyped car that I have failed to find the appeal in, even if I decide its not the first thing I would buy.

Considered Miatae pretty hard a few years ago and while the space/practicality aspect wouldn't have really worked for me at the time, I liked driving it and definitely plan to own one eventually. E30 has been high on my want list since before I got my license and even the 250k+ mile 318i example I drove didn't disappoint, something just felt right about it. I'm doing the muscle car thing now with my LS1 Camaro (albeit not a classic muscle car) and while it is a godawfully terrible car in so many ways, the instantaneous V8 torque is too addictive to give up, the aftermarket is excellent, and it actually dances pretty well with a few suspension mods.

I guess the only thing I really don't get are "boring cars" (highly subjective, I know), things like a Prius, Camry, or pretty much any sort of "crossover" (stupid homogenized jelly bean looking things.) For "regular people" I get it, but I don't understand why an enthusiast would choose to own one as his/her personal vehicle when there are options out there that are nearly as practical and a million times more interesting. Perhaps that's something I will come to understand with age, who knows.