#choice

The disappearance of midsize cars, the dismal performance of traditional family sedans, and the eradication of affordable small cars account for the lion’s share of headlines when auto reporters discuss the dwindling American passenger car market. But tucked inside America’s car sector are a handful of fun cars – intentionally impractical two-doors – that muster a mere fraction of the market share they produced just 10 years ago.

In other words, you can’t buy a Honda Accord Coupe or a Kia Forte Koup or a Buick Cascada or a Lexus IS250C in 2020 precisely because buyers of such cars no longer exist in sufficient numbers. Scratch that: buyers of such cars didn’t exist in sufficient numbers when the option was provided to justify offering comparable successors.

How bad is it? We asked J.D. Power’s vice president of data and analytics, Tyson Jominy. And we got answers.

Okay, maybe I won’t defend your right to the death.But I promise, at the least, to defend on an internet web blog site your right to drive what you want.I don’t drink coffee, I don’t like onions, I avoid footwear whenever possible, and I can’t generate any personal interest in any football game other than the Super Bowl.But I’m glad you visit Starbucks every morning, I’m happy there’s gum to be chewed after you eat a burger laden with onions, I’m thankful there are socks to cover up your ghastly hooves, and I think it’s great that you found something to do on autumn Sunday afternoons.Likewise, I believe the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, Mitsubishi Mirage, and Fiat 500L are heinous transportation devices. But if you want a GLC Coupe, Mirage, or 500L, I’m glad — for your sake and mine — that Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Fiat have made those vehicles available.Choice is wonderful. Homogeneity is horrible.

If my personal relationship with Honda had a Facebook status, that status would be the one so beloved of mistresses, side pieces, and FWBs — namely, “It’s Complicated”. A decade ago, I took a gig reverse-engineering a piece of production-line equipment for them. I had never owned a Honda automobile at the time and I’d long since sold my first CB550. The car I drove to work at Honda was a black Volkswagen Phaeton.

Fast-forward to 2015. It’s been some time since I took the King’s shilling, so to speak, and the balance of payments between me and Ohio’s finest automaker is very far in my personal favor. But as I write this, I am the owner of four Hondas. And I’d buy another one, if they’d just quit screwing with me about the details.

Are car buyers rational? Anyone who deals with car-shopping consumers on a regular basis would probably answer with a hearty “no.” In fact in my experience, helping prospective car buyers navigate the many considerations and options available on the market usually ends with me throwing up my hands and saying “if you like a car, just buy it.” But according to research cited by Wired’s Jonah Lehrer, conscious reasoning might not be the ideal way to shop for a car in the first place. Sometimes “going with the gut,” and making a decision without thinking it through is the best way to solve complex choices like finding the car that’s perfect for you.