QOTD: Which Lousy Car Do You Love?
Maybe it’s not reliable, or sucks down fuel like it’s going out of style. Maybe it’s prone to tipping over, catching fire, or having spiders live in it. Or perhaps parts availability is such that the mere thought of owning and driving the thing causes undue stress.
But you just can’t help yourself.
Today I ask: What lousy vehicle do you covet despite the ways it would inevitably ruin your life?
It struck me the other day that sometimes a certain car has appeal beyond the normal, rational, I can just use this as transportation considerations. You thought I was going to wax poetic now about the beautiful Saab 9000 above, didn’t you? Well, too bad. The beautiful 9000 is not my choice for irrational desire. That’d be this:
The generation two Land Rover Discovery wins the Lousy Vehicle I Love award. Specifically, the later ones from 2003-2004, which are the last two years of the model’s run. You can spot them by their upgraded front fascia like you see above. (And yes, I am aware that’s a right-hand drive example there.)
I’ve always loved the derpy styling, the awkward and boxy proportions, and the bump in the roof for stadium-style seating. It’s not very practical for normal driving, it’s low on power and yet very thirsty, the dated interior trim is destined to fall off, and the electrics usually grow their own intelligence. It doesn’t handle well, parts aren’t cheap, some mechanics won’t touch it, and those many glass panels in the roof tend to act like stylish colanders.
And I just don’t care. I love it anyway.
The second-generation Disco has a charm that only a terrible British product can achieve.
Tell me about all the stuff you secretly love, but just keep it about cars, okay?
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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1972 austin mini 1000 in dark blue. fabulous in a canook blizzard.
Lancia Stratos.