I have driven most of the vehicles at
work now, in addition to driving all of the personal, rental and work
vehicles I have encountered in the past, and it seems that I can
makes some generalizations after years of driving. I could just lay
down the generalizations, but that would not be much fun to write,
and it certainly would not be much fun to read. I will start with
the oldest observation, I do not like Toyotas.
I know, I know, Toyota lovers are
aghast with disbelief. I liked my parent's 1981 Toyota Corolla
Wagon. It had the loveable early '80s squariness, it was fuel
efficient, it was utilitarian, and, though I have not confirmed the
price, it probably had a utilitarian price tag, which, along with
quality, is one of the ways that the Japanese automakers surpassed
the Big Three. It is true that the quality thing seems to remain in
today's Toyota cars, which is a definite plus. However, new Toyotas
are dripping with sleek lines, but they are not sleek. The interiors
are constructed of so much cheap ugly plastic that it feels like you
can start sympathizing with Barbie, waiting inside of disposable
packaging on your way to your destination. I do not like that Toyota
has linked off-road and towing capabilities with luxury fittings on
the inside (e.g. leather seats). I also do not like how the starter
motors sound. That may be petty, but I do not like it. I dislike
the sound of Chevrolet starters even more, they kind of sound like
turning a running car over mixed with fingernails on a chalkboard.
Lastly, I do not like the price tag that Toyota has inflated the cost
of their vehicles to. When I was last shopping for cars, a similarly
loaded Yaris and MINI Cooper were the same price. The Yaris might be
a better car, but I simply cannot justify $20,000 on a Yaris.
It will come as no surprise that I
dislike Chevrolet/GM/GMC/Pontiac. They all suffer from the GM
starter motor issue, but I take issue with their aesthetics too, all
of them. I cannot think of a GM product that I have looked at and
thought, “I like the looks of that car.” The new Camero isn't
bad, but the reverse lights are terrible. It is as if the architects
drew up the plans, they got approved, the engineers started building
them, realized there were no reverse lights, and stuck in the middle
of the bumper. Had they simply duct-taped a flashlight to the trunk
it would have at least been unique, but they didn't.
Hondas are okay, but too expensive for
what you get (if I was buying a new car tomorrow, I might test drive
a Civic hatchback). The Suzuki Swift is super cute, and the SX4
Crossover is a practical all-wheel drive, and good to look at.
Nissans, I despise. The trucks suffer from tremendous body-roll, I
would rather try to turn around a 14' raft with a teaspoon after
realizing I was about to go over Niagra Falls, than make a U-turn in
a Nissan on a busy street, they are designed with a face made for
radio, and, like many of their fellow countrymen, they are expensive.
What solidified my dislike of Nissans was the Nissan Pulsar
five-door hatch. The driver, owing to the position of the seat,
steering wheel and pedals, sat at a 5 degree angle to the car.
Terrible!
I like Ford trucks. I might argue that
Ford is the only company (saving maybe the Land Rover Defender) still
making a work truck. Ford's cars are decent. I like the new Fiesta,
but the branding is tragic (I would have a hard time buying a
Fiesta). They are not “great
cars,” but my Ford Ranger had less unscheduled maintenance in the
first 100,000 miles than my parent's Subaru, so they might not be bad
cars either.
Subaru
makes a great all-wheel drive system. Probably as good as Suzuki's,
Ford's, and most other company's, but it is not as good as VW's.
Sorry Subaru, I have driven a VW van that was more capable off-road,
and as fun to drive as every Subaru I have been in. I will say that
the VW van had as much road noise as the Subaru (deafening), but to
be fair to VW, it was a cargo van, and all of the sound dampening
material had been removed behind the front seats.
I have
a crush on small hatchbacks, and no one does them better than the
Europeans. I like the Fiat 500, BMW 1 series,
Volkswagen's Rabbit (RIP, the nearly identical Golf just is not as
sweet) and GTI, and the Volvo C30 is beautiful. Seat, Renault and
Skoda have some acceptable cars. Peugeot has the decent looking 308,
and made a hatchback with a sliding door, which is beyond words, even
though it was kind of ugly. The top of the list for European cars is
the MINI. It is not perfect. Sometimes sitting in a MINI I have an
incredible urge to touch something made of a natural material, but
their plastic is vaguely nicer than other plastic cars (if I were to
buy a MINI without budget constraints it would have a wooden steering
wheel, an option they may no longer offer, -tear-).
Korean
cars remind me of the Toyota of the 1980s. Decent to look at, great
running, kind of crappy interiors, and a price tag fitting for the
reliable, no frills vehicle they are selling to move a family or
commuter around for years to come. The Hyundai and Kia of old were
trash, but the new ones seem great. I challenge any Toyota (Subaru,
Honda or Lexus) dedicated owner to get into a Hyundai of the same
trim level and make a compelling argument that their car was worth
the extra money. It seems to me that the Koreans are doing to the
Japanese what the Japanese did to the Big Three all those years ago.
Lots
of cars did not make the list, but here are the promised
generalizations. I like Ford Trucks. They are the best trucks, if
for no other reason than they make a work truck, and if your truck is
not for work, buy a station wagon. I like European cars, and do not
like Japanese cars. Everything else is somewhere in the middle.
There are, of course, European cars I do not like, and American and
Asian cars I do.
The
astute reader and lover of Japanese cars may be upset that I
specifically mention liking Suzuki autos, but dislike Japanese cars.
Here is the rub. When I sit in a Suzuki, it feels Korean, in the
sense that it feels like a Japanese car in every way, except the
price tag was set at the value of the vehicle, not the value of the
vehicle plus hefty advertising. Suzukis feel like Korean cars, and
that is a good thing...
But,
the swift just isn't a MINI.
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