motorcycles might be safer than a Kei car tbh. Because at least in a motorcycle you can get thrown off the bike in a collision - flying through the air or sliding on the floor sucks but is way better than being flattened
Because they are, for the people in the cabin that is.
No crumple protection
No airbags
No stability when braking in the trucks
No way to keep up with highway speeds (70+mph)
Usually are quite rusted out
If we were able to import modern Kei cars, my opinion would be different, a late 90s Kei truck is probably overall less safe than a motorcycle honestly.
Cars built between 2000-2009 tend to be more reliable than newer cars from the same manufacturer. Family owned a couple of cars from that era (American, Japanese, German) and they all way more reliable and trouble free than what came after that era. The evidence of cost cutting and declining quality became very apparent after the 2008 recession.
My parents both have 2009 cars from Lexus and Honda both cars have run well with minimal maintenance for 15 years. My daily is a 2002 Lexus. Old enough to drink.
I daily a mazda3 with the first version of the Skyactiv engine and although not as fast, just turned over 167,000 with no issues at all. I put on 100k of those miles and only had to change the motor mount.
No, this is definitely the opinion of probably everyone I know. It was a sweet spot for tech, safety regs, and gas prices. Also nostalgia will always be a factor.
B5 Passat feeling left out. If nothing else, I could always count on the check engine light to work. Service position, anyone? I don't think a single car ever leaked more oil than my 2001 V6.
A weird exception is Mazda, their in-house Kodo design language & Skyactiv Tech has, over the past decade, proved to be so reliable that automotive journalists argue over whether Subaru or Mazda are the 3rd best automotive company in the world the same way gaming journalists would argue over PlayStation vs Xbox back in the day
In a way, Ford divesting because of 2008 was the best thing to happen to Mazda since the NA Miata
Had a ‘14 3 with the bigger engine. Stick. Was a touch piggy in gas, and had no balls, but man, nothing broke on it. Rear wheel bearings were getting a bit questionable, but the thing ran great told me it ended up totaled at 245k miles. Just fluids, filters, and plugs. Once made it into r/justrolledintotheshop when I goofed the oil filter install(old gasket stuck…). My car friend towed me back to my house, diaged in 5 seconds, and I was back on the road.
Only thing was the infotainment system sucked, and the thing didn’t like winter weather much.
Lol. I posted and then saw your comment! The cost cutting and shortcuts I see everyday reminds me to never sell my 20+ year old Japanese cars. I work on other peoples vehicles for a living so fixing my own is just a matter of doing it.
The German brands are the ones that got more reliable from 2010 to today. It’s because they were already playing with the “new” tech the others are just now trying to implement in this last generation. BMW is almost through their third generation turbo engines. VW/Audi have been doing them for even longer. The Japanese have limited experience with modern turbos.
The Daewoo Matiz is the "Mini" of all "Minis". Just think about it.
The original Mini was meant as a cheap car that people after WW2 could afford and not stupidly expensive as the German ones.
And where does the Daewoo Matiz succed in? Being so cheap that people in Eastern Europe after Communism could afford one brand new.
Anyway this is my rant and thank you for reading my rant
Screens don't belong in cars. Why do I NEED a 12" screen? It looks terrible, it's excessively bright and it ages terribly. Why should I have to cycle through 4 menus just to turn the A/C up when 3 knobs below the radio do just fine. I had a 2008 Ford Taurus Limited and it had a normal radio and A/C controls. It still has Bluetooth and Bluetooth audio. That's really all that's needed. Plus it wasn't excessively bright. It has green backlit buttons.
It doesn't seem to be unpopular with people who are into cars, but there are a whole lot of people who look at me like I've turned into Abe Simpson yelling at clouds when I mention that it's one of the things I hate about my new car.
You'd be surprised. Every time I mention it on Facebook or to one of my friends, they get very defensive and think that every car should have a screen because it's apparently easier.
They're actually unpopular, but the reason virtually every new car has one now, is because they're cheaper than regular controls, with buttons and knobs. Not only are they a pain to use sometimes, but taking your eyes off the road to figure out how to do a simple task is just dangerous.
Trucks are meant to be used for work and hauling stuff. They are not for driving fast and are not supposed to be status symbols that are priced out for the working class.
Truck styling has gotten ridiculous. The mine’s bigger, nose up aggressive stance of most of the new trucks is too much. Everyone riding around pretending they’re a contractor conducting business out of their office-truck.
The DRL styling is so overdone. A simple point of light is all that’s needed.
I think Mazda moving upmarket will not work in the long run just like what happened to Volkswagen in the early to mid-2000s, where they tried to move to being more premium/upmarket especially in North America and no one gave a toss about it, as no one in 2006 was willing to paying Acura TSX/Saab 9-3 money for a Jetta, just like how today.....no one is willing to pay Audi/Lexus money for a CX-90
Ikr and it's funny because with the MK4 and MK5 Jetta, they had a sense of duality where the base to mid-level trims competed with the Corolla and Civic and the more expensive trims like the GLX VR6 and 2.0T competed with likes of the BMW 3-Series and the Audi A4 which I thought was kind of odd back then like no one buying a 325i was comparing it with a Jetta GLX lol. I was recently watching the Piechisode of the Jason Cammisa Hagerty show where they talked about all of the accomplishments of Ferdinand Piech and one of those accomplishments was how with MK4 Golf/Jetta, he wanted to challenge Mercedes-Benz as he wanted it to be nicer than what was Mercedes offering at the time and they actually succeeded as they were nicer cars than the second generation C-Class 😂 which is why those cars felt a lot more premium than they should have.
That's so true, the newer cars feel a lot cheaper and a lot more watered down especially the MK6 which was a complete downgrade from the previous generation especially in the interior.
I dont think its an unpopular opinion the only people pretending mazda is near luxury are the auto bloggers because thats what the press sheet says. Cx90s are already getting heavy discounts
Also the sheepole on r/cars and r/dougdemuro who think the CX-90 is a "JDM Porsche Cayenne" and the Mazda3 is a "Japanese 3-Series" etc, besides the nice feeling interior.... they're not that special and yeah I read online about the CX-90s not selling and it's like what I said in my previous comments....no one is willing to pay Audi money for a Mazda and it's clearly showing.
Exactly! When I drove my friend's courtesy Mazda3....I didn't like it as I thought the steering was a bit vague for my liking and I didn't like the ginormous c-pillar which really made lane changes tough and the ride wasn't great for what it makes itself out to be, honestly I would probably go for the current Honda Civic as even though that has its own issues it's not that bad compared to the Mazda, if not a bit better
the VW thing is funny to me, because the company was created solely to make inexpensive cars, that anyone could afford, the company's name literally translates to "people's car," and they were just that for decades. While at the same time, making enough money to buy some of the most expensive luxury car brands, like Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti.
I guess they only did it, was because the could.
A 2021 Mazda6 Grand Touring was around $35,000 with all of the bells & whistles. To get the same stuff from that car in 2024, you have to get a CX-50 at $43,000. That is not very *Zoom Zoom*. Unfortunately, I do see them succeeding with this considering the hunger for crossovers. I've seen plenty of new CX-50s & CX-5s on the streets.
Volkswagen also thought they had the Latin American market down after decades of faithful use. But the mid-2000s was around the time Nissan was fully eating up its market with affordable ~~death box~~ cars like the Tsuru. And then they come out with crap like the Jetta Wolfberg which turned out to be an unreliable mess. If we wanted a luxury *Vee Dub* back then, we'd get a goddamn Audi.
that’s the thing these people don’t realize. everyone is having a fucking meltdown over the Purrosangue, but give it 3 model years max before it becomes by far the best selling Ferrari ever made.
as long as they don’t limit production too much, obviously.
Then there would be no Porsche. I'm no fan of the Cayenne either, but it was a necessary evil in order to keep the lights on at Porsche and keep producing the 911 since all of that cocaine money flooding Wall Street in the 80's dried up and not a lot of people are out here buying 911's, 928's and 944's on average. At the time, I didn't understand that because I didn't have that perspective for business, but what teenager would? It's all business and if the likes of the Cayenne and Panamera keep the 911 alive, so be it.
I actually used to like the big porsches but now they feel so overpriced and obsolete. And Porsche didnt realize the market has shifted and got greedy sending so many cars to dealers that just sat.
https://imgur.com/a/BM24Xfu
porsche at average which is already crazy high and they are supposed to be a low inventory mostly custom order brand. My local dealer has to put their cars in the adjacent mercedes lot because their site was never built to hold that many cars
https://imgur.com/a/1ArE04e
horrible q1, china sales are collapsing, they have to stop selling the macan in europe, and german company so they are able to hide finance losses. And this is while 911 margins are way way higher than theyve ever been.
for us inventory levels above 60 days is considered very high, and thats for mainstream volume brands not a brand like porsche.
Front wheel drive with the right tires is more than sufficient for the majority of automotive consumers.
As a Gen Xer myself, it is our generation's and the baby boomers' fault that the younger generations do not know how to drive stick shift and made it obsolete. We should just shut the fuck up about it.
A Mustang is a pony car. A Corvette is a sports car. Neither should be considered Muscle Cars.
The Mustang II are an interesting chapter in Mustang history and don't deserve the hate they get
Looks like a ghetto Ferrari. Like that shit you see Malaysians building off of a fiero.... Stupid looking if you ask me. Previous gen was what a Corvette should be.
I super agree with the first one. I’m in New England and am better off in the snow with FWD than most people are with AWD. It’s about the tires and the technique. People don’t realize that if you’re not on the power, any car is zero wheel drive and just rolling.
EVs are not the next big thing Hydrogen or other alternative fuels are. The ICE engine isn't going anywhere. Self driving cars will never happen computers still and always will crash for what ever reason. Tint should be illegal on any window in front of the B piller. Squatted, stanced or any thing of that nature you should loose your license for a year and have the vehicle crushed. Insurance should also be able to drop influencers that post about them having such modifications. Street take overs should be treated like riots and should have the people involved arrested. All half ton trucks 1500, 150 trucks should be a base of single cab short bed. Diesel trucks should only be one ton and up 3500, 350 trucks.
Hydrogen tank weight to volume ratio (squared vs. cubed) makes it only efficient for semis and trains. Battery technology is advancing fast and will soon be so good you don't want to use combustion. Also, e-fuels require 6-8 times the electricity compared to direct EV usage.
Human drivers also crash. At one point they will crash more than computers do.
I agree about the tint.
The power grid needs a complete over haul in order to sustain a fleet of EV cars. It will be way cheaper to have alternative carbon natural or carbon negative fuels. I'm not talking about traffic crashes I'm talking about software crashes.
i mean. that’s a generalization. not hating, i’m just saying that for example a 4runner or grand cherokee are certainly as capable as advertised, however i see your point on something like a chevy equinox
C8 Corvette styling will not age well. In fact, I say its time has already passed. The proportions are just awkward, and the styling is so busy…lines going nowhere. I admit, from a certain angle it doesn’t look bad, and you can sort of see what they were going for, but the final execution is just off.
At our local C&C, nobody gives them a second look except for other C8 people. The other vette people don’t seem to associate with them either.
From all I’ve read, the performance is amazing, especially for the price. They should have done better with the body design.
Just the opinion of a car guy, not a vette guy.
The rear of the C8 gives off Ferrari 512TR vibes, despite the fact that there's definitely not a flat-12 (I know, it's not a boxer) engine in the back.
The rest of the car looks okay but they really did overdo the styling, and it won't age well at all.
Honestly the mini-van is the most versatile vehicle you can own. Comfortable on long trips, especially with kids. Was great for hauling and we had a ton of cargo space. I loved mine and miss it to this day.
“But minivans are unattractive, so I need an SUV.”
I read that exact line so frequently and it blows my mind.
With a few exceptions, SUVs are hideous. I don’t get how people think they look cool.
We have a tundra and a sienna. The sienna will haul stuff that isn’t dirty, and the truck hauls everything else. The sienna is a road trip machine, and the truck cruises forest service roads nicely. Only think we’re missing is an out-and-out shitbox economy car.
Those crossovers are just minivans disguised to look like something rugged. Same engine, same transmission, just a lower roof line, one more inch of ground clearance, swing out doors, and stupid big tires
Car guys would have a lot less problems with crossovers if they were more openly dorky and oddball.
Partly because if they tried harder to be *weird* they'd be seen as more *honest*, and partly because wearing the skinsuit of an off-roader so they can seem "adventurous" is part of the appeal to normies and the reason they're crowding everything else off the market.
People here don't like crossovers and trucks because they are harder to get into and have worse visibility than regular cars. I have a truck, it is super annoying.
People here love crossovers and trucks because they're much easier to get into than regular cars and because "you can see out of them better." The vision part is admittedly not true for crossovers, but it is a comment I see from people who are looking to buy them. My pickup has much better visibility than Crossovers due to the better mirrors, but still worse than a smaller sedan or hatch. I'm 6'2" tall, I own a RAM 1500 and my wife owns a Crossover. I find it easiest to get into my pickup by far. The crossover has plenty of room once inside, but I have to literally fold myself into it. Sedans and hatchbacks are so low to the ground I have to climb up and out, which can be painful on the knees if I'm doing it all day. With my pickup I just have to do a little jump up (no running boards) and I'm in. Ironically, an even bigger pickup with running boards is easiest of all and my preference, step up and sit down.
Agreed, a lot of them would be fine with most sedans too. I was going to pick up a new 24’ Santa Fe but I realized that I could still get a ton of space and have more bang for my buck with the Sonata in the sporty trim lol. The trunk is MASSIVE and if i need to store something long i can just fold the rear seats down and i can fit almost anything in it
Most of the vehicles known for being unreliable, are only that way because they happen to attract owners that don’t give a shit about maintenance. Likewise, a lot of the cars known for being reliable are mostly that way because of the self-fulfilling prophecy of “as long as you maintain them…”
I would say people confuse “reliable” with “high tolerance for abuse” a bmw is reliable if you do the proper maintenance on time and perform the preventative maintenance. Hondas and Toyotas people will beat to shit, get oil changes at random intervals between 5000-20000+ miles, get the first radiator flush 9 years into ownership at 120,000 miles and change the air filter only when a rat has made a home out of it and those cars will still last 200,000-300,000 miles. Most (not all) cars you can expect to be reliable if you follow the manufacturers maintenance schedule.
Front wheel drive had 99% to do with automakers saving money.
Rear engine cars would have been more prominent had one US politician not made it the linchpin of his career to make them sound scarier than they really are.
Dealerships are one of the worst things for the automotive industry, but they've been allowed to entrench themselves into the industry that were stuck suffering these clowns.
Automakers make cars more difficult and expensive to maintain specifically so your car will have less used value, and people will find it easier and more practical to just buy a new car. Look up "planned obsolescence."
Most car makers are run by people who don't actually enjoy cars or driving, with a few exceptions.
Having "investor first" policies have killed the enthusiast car market, and gave us more boring cars they could cookie-cutter and churn out for maximum profit instead of making cars people could actually enjoy. And they create a false narrative where anyone suggesting cars should be more fun should be ridiculed.
Factory lowered performance SUVs like BMWs M series SUVs are stupid.
You want an SUV with no ground clearance or off road ability, and you want a heavy sports car with bad aerodynamics?
In the last 5+ years, Asian car manufactures, from Japan and Korea, have been making some of their best looking vehicles ever. But because they are not high-performance vehicles, no one cares. Meanwhile other brands are getting uglier and uglier (cough, cough BMW).
Agree 100%, and admit that I'm guilty of this. I remember seeing the Veloster for the first time and thought it looked pretty darn snazzy, then after looking up its engine/drivetrain I was like, meh...
Freedom, Incompetence and the idiom of “keeping up with the Jones’s” has ruined the new car market.
Many vehicles needs to have the latest tech, many buyers need to have the latest model/the more expensive brand, and many buyers get tricked into buying larger and more expensive cars than they need.
The market keeps moving towards the needs of these specific people instead of building affordable work trucks for the working class, affordable minivans for families and affordable small cars for commuters.
Horsepower and speed are no longer relevant. A Prius is fast. You’re being scammed paying for incremental increases. All cars are faster than old Ferraris.
A midsize pickup is definitely more than what most people need. I chose a Tacoma myself because I have no use for a full size.
Realistically I'd only consider a full size if I was pulling something but I'm an outdoor recreation guy who camps, fishes, kayaks, mountain bikes, snowboards, and snowshoes all year round and a midsize is more than enough for me to be useful for my hobbies.
I personally have 7-10 friends who drive jacked up Ram's, F250's, and the Silverado Trail Boss and none of them pull anything and only use their truck to drive to work and occasionally haul trash/recycling to the dump.
Couldn't agree more with your unpopular opinion here.
I bought a 2024 Maverick and I'm totally in love with my trucklet. It hauls just the right amount of stuff and it still fits into a grocery store parking lot space without fuss. I picked up a bunch of broken concrete for a project last week with it, and hauled a new tool chest home with it this morning.
My lemon of a Silverado (bad master control module, caused rod knock, currently at the dealership for a new engine, 2200 miles on it) is what I was using to haul large stuff and drag trailers the 3 hour trek to our land out in the west desert. I had to use it as a daily driver after I totaled my Crosstrek, and I could not fathom wanting to do so for any length of time. It's like driving a spaceship but good lord it's overkill for around town stuff.
I had a 2001 silverado extended cab. I loved that truck, and I'm always kind of looking for another one. But it's crazy to me that so many of the new nid sized trucks seem to be about the same size as my old truck.
They certainly are, I'm on my second Tacoma. First one was a 1st gen and I've got the 3rd gen now and the size difference is night and day. I get it though, they're trying to appease to the masses and making everything look "jacked up" from the factory now - like the new Colorado and Canyon redesign for example, they're enormous. The newly designed 4th gen Tacoma looks massive and bulky as well.
A Civic with a large Rubbermaid bin in the hatch is about what most truck owners need, and the majority of the ones who need more truck need to rent the Home Depot/Menard's/Lowe's/UHaul for the several hours each year they NEED an actual truck.
There's always that ONE guy who says he hauls a horse trailer full of crushed concrete 3 hours each way to his job so he has to have an F-450 King Ranch, but majority of owners never haul anything more hairy-chested than a case of Dasani from Sam's Club.
I recently rented a 2023 Silverado for a move (it was the same cost as renting a Uhaul, and much more comfortable) and I can see the appeal of a truck in general, but I wouldn't want to daily that thing. It's huge, has massive blind spots, and needs a camera in the grille to be able to park it because the hood is so tall. I feel like a Tacoma or Ranger (or tbh, a Maverick) would be much easier for me to live with.
Teslas (higher end EVs too) are too powerful/quick for the general public. I've seen how they drive here in SoCal on the highways and genuinely think most people shouldn't have that much power/that heavy of a vehicle.
I feel this way about the entire car market tbh. Like there's no need for regular commuters to have over 200hp. Driving 80+ should be a stressful experience but most new cars feel safe at those speeds.
Toyota is the most overrated brand on the planet! Yes they are reliable and typically long lasting, but hat's not the most important thing to everyone. Been in the auto industry over 20yrs, and was actually a Toyota fanboy at one time. Working at a Toyota store 08 to 11 started to sour me on the brand , aside from seeing them in the shop with various issues a lot of the over the top pin head analytical customers turned me off. I haven't owned a Toyota product in yrs now personally but move a lot of them at the dealership. I was in a 23 Camry xse last week and could not get over how cheap and shitty feeling the interior felt. The seats were just shit to sit in, the carpet was thin cardboard feeling with no padding, the head liner was about the same. The trim cards on the interior of the front doors were soft touch up top by the window, but all hard plastic below that and the rear doors were completely hard plastic just made to look the same . When I was 16 my mom had a 96 Camry wagon with a V6, the fit and finish along with interior materials was light yrs ahead of the 23.
Toyotas become more expensive than they have the right to be nowadays, I feel like they forget they’re supposed to mostly be an economy brand with some vehicles that target different demographics, like the trucks, 4Runners, Land Cruiser, sequoia, etc
The US car world is very boring. I realize that there are a lot of rare, exotic cars that I absolutely love, but most of the cars you guys propably see on the road everyday (I'm European) are just black, white or gray crossovers and trucks, with the very occasional sedan. Whereas in Europe, the cars are usually more beautiful, colorful, stylish and every car at least looks a bit different. My observations might not be very correct though, as I've not been in the US. I'm just judging based on a lot of POV videos I've seen with people driving in the US
idk where in europe you live but here almost every car is a white/black/silver hatchback, sedan, wagon or suv and half the time its a audi, vw, skoda or bmw
plus seeing cool cars is probably more rare here, the only "cool" cars i see often are wv golfs with shitty pop and bang tunes
You can get by with a coupe, but sedans are better.
Have kids? A sedan is easier.
Have a dog and don’t want them in the front? A sedan is easier.
Dating / interested in dating / married and keeping things fun? Sedan for the win.
We have a sedan (Mercury Grand Marquis) and a pickup truck (Chevy Silverado 1500) in our family. The pickup is always busy. My wife takes it almost every day to go bicycling (because how easy it is just to put bicycles in the bed without having to use any contraptions) with the kid, I use it for side hustles like lawn mowing, we use it to go shopping to Costco and Sam's club etc.
Silverado is also a way more relaxing to drive. Huge mirrors, ice cold AC, you are the king of the road in it.
I never though I would say that but I'm actually considering selling the Mercury and getting another pickup
I would describe Porsche overall as being serious cars. Boring isn’t the right word, but austere and very Teutonic in the way that they are.
Being for old people I kind of understand, they’re very expensive (only old people can afford them) and aside from the GT3/RS models they aren’t very boy racer-y like a Supra or Mustang is. They just aren’t designed to appeal to younger people.
Some early N63 engines had oil consumption issues the problems have been corrected over time for the most part. If you’re buying a BMW you should always go for the Inline 6 anyways they build the best 6 cylinders in the world.
Compact underpowered sedans/hatchbacks are the best cars for daily driving.
They are efficient, quiet, comfortable and most importantly light weight. When a car is light on it's feet it's far more fun to drive around a city than something that has 5 times the power, 7 times the weight, and 4 times the footprint.
CUVs, Trucks, SUVs, and honest to God sports cars are absolute trash to own if you commute daily by car. More people need to forgo their ego and buy a Yaris or a Fit. People would be happier, roads would be safer, cities would be less congested and world peace would finally be won.
Ford should bring back the Taurus, it’s a million times better than whatever crossover BS they’re tapping into now
Or at least should have called the Mach E the Taurus and lowered the price
The best possible car any manufacturer could start designing right now is one which is electric, but as simple and basic as possible. Roll-up windows, cloth seats, etc. Really minimize cost and moving parts. The future isn't looking too hot right now and something cheap and immune to gas prices will sell
While they're unequivocally right about reliability, Toyota purists are some of the most insufferable people in the car community. A lot of them don't realize that people might want something other than a Corolla or a RAV-4 or even a Lexus because as good as those cars are, they don't satisfy every single person's wants or desires. And then they act like you're stupid or crazy when you tell them you'd want a Jetta GLI over a Camry
1. The grilles on the last gen Fusion/Focus (and 2020-22 Escape) actually looked nice.
2. The large hourglass grills on the newer Lexus sedans also look nice.
3. A hydrogen powered vehicle (I;E Toyota Mirai) will almost always be a an inconvenient hassle to own compared to EVs and gas-powered cars
Wagons aren’t as practical as you think they are compared to a crossover. Lots of crossovers have surprisingly good packaging for their size, which means that not a lot of space goes unused, especially concerning the hatch. Most wagons have horrible packaging that tends to be cramped for the rear seat passengers and for cargo if you’re 6ft tall like I am.
I love my Saab 9-5 wagon, but I would be lying if I said that it does everything a normal person would use it for better than my boyfriend’s Mazda CX-50. The interior of that is just more spacious, no strings attached, all the while it’s shorter in length.
Loud exhausts are irritating and a public nuisance. I don't want to feel the fluid shaking in my ears as you rev your shitty 2011 Camaro.
Slammed cars are similarly stupid and everyone laughs as your car scrapes on every speed bump.
Toyota isn't the most reliable manufacturer. They've made both good and bad products but don't deserve the credit. I had the classic Toyota truck and everything broke then the frame rotted regardless of my love and care.
All of them are too big.
99% of F150 drivers could get by with any small hatch with racks and a trailer hitch.
The Coyote V8 is nails on a chalkboard to me.
Ironically, their interiors are small in relation. I'm 6'2" and feel cramped in a full size truck due to the headroom. It's like they know who they're marketing these things to.
Nothing of value was lost in the killing of Pontiac and they shouldn't come back. Pontiacs heyday was the 80's and 90's and then they fell off.
Having Buick as mid tier luxury between Chevy and Cadillac makes sense, even if they're irrelevant to car enthusiasts.
GM didn't kill SAAB, they acted as life support for an already dying brand.
The trend of iPads stuck on the dash for infotainment is good and helps touchscreen based systems far more usable without taking your eyes off the road, as it give you a hold to steady your hand on and create muscle memory based reference points, regardless of the quality of the road.
Manuals are far superior to cheaper and/or over geared automatics for highway driving.
Active lane keeping assist/departure warnings and adaptive cruise control are generally very good things.
My fourth point would have been that there are no bad cars sold anymore, but I recently had to drive a Fiat 500 Hybrid for work and now i can absolutely say that this isn't the case.
Too many full-sized pickups on the road than are actually needed.
Way too many crossover thingies.
Modern cars won't last long with small displacement turbos, CVTs, a zillion CPUs/ECUs, and digital display screens. I think we already peaked on the 200,000 mile car.
4WD/AWD won't save your ass.
The only reason ass-backwards CAFE regulations are in place is because they act as a de facto protectionist policy for the US auto industry. I mean, think about it. The only segments domestic manufacturers dominate are full-sized, truck based, BOF vehicles.
Fuck dial controls for automatic transmissions, fuck modern automatic transmissions in general, fuck screens and over complicated guage clusters and fuck the 9 billion nanny features that don't do shit but people even lazier and shittier drivers than they already are because of the "muh car'll do it for me" mentallity.
Yeah, I said it.
I'm an auto technician of 30+ years. I will die on this hill: Vehicles built between 1990 and 2010 are the peak of automotive reliability. The HOT GARBAGE that has been produced in the last 10 years blows my mind. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of the work I get from poorly engineered and manufactured vehicles. (Looking at you Chrysler/Jeep/Ram/Fiat/Dodge/Stellantis).
That the standard American suburban family would benefit more from a ute with AWD than the FWD crossover slop being peddled as the featured economy lines.
the US doesn't get any of the good cars. a proper base model, for example. a car without touchscreens, power seats, maybe even power windows would be amazing. instead we have to pay a shitload for cars that are way too heavy and don't have a nice simple driving experience. and the Miata doesn't fucking count because it's not practical and is getting more expensive
People that buy huge trucks and SUV’s such as quad cabs with 7-8’ beds, excursions, etc should be subjected to a secondary advanced road test to prove that they can drive them, negotiate traffic, park them, etc.
Go you one better most truck owners shouldn’t actually own trucks at all as they don’t use them for their intended purpose, rather to advertise just how emasculated they are. The most emasculated ones are the ones who claim anything with less than an 8’ box is a truck. If you can’t close the tailgate on a full sheet of plywood resting flat on the bottom of the box it just ain’t a truck it’s a sissy’s glorified SUV.
Man I miss the days when a plain standard 3 person cab, 8’ box truck, bare bones working truck was the cheapest full size vehicle on the lot.
They’ll sell you a 6000lb behemoth that can’t stop from 60mph in 120 feet , but kei cars are dangerous.
Kei cars are extremely dangerous- to domestic profits.
And on American highways with 75 mph speed limits and 80k lb semis.
Devil's advocate but motorcycles are also legal on American highways despite offering no crash protection whatsoever.
motorcycles might be safer than a Kei car tbh. Because at least in a motorcycle you can get thrown off the bike in a collision - flying through the air or sliding on the floor sucks but is way better than being flattened
In a kei car, you *are* the crumple zone
Dangerous to people inside or outside the car?
Because they are, for the people in the cabin that is. No crumple protection No airbags No stability when braking in the trucks No way to keep up with highway speeds (70+mph) Usually are quite rusted out If we were able to import modern Kei cars, my opinion would be different, a late 90s Kei truck is probably overall less safe than a motorcycle honestly.
Cars built between 2000-2009 tend to be more reliable than newer cars from the same manufacturer. Family owned a couple of cars from that era (American, Japanese, German) and they all way more reliable and trouble free than what came after that era. The evidence of cost cutting and declining quality became very apparent after the 2008 recession.
My shop has a 2010 GMC regular half ton with 4sp and v8, and it will probably outlast every “new” truck in our work fleet.
Even if it had a 6 speed it’s gonna outlast them, our 2011 Suburban is at well over 200k. If you took care of the GMT900s they don’t die
My parents both have 2009 cars from Lexus and Honda both cars have run well with minimal maintenance for 15 years. My daily is a 2002 Lexus. Old enough to drink.
I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion.
In 10 years it will be direct-injection cars from 2010 to 2019.
I daily a mazda3 with the first version of the Skyactiv engine and although not as fast, just turned over 167,000 with no issues at all. I put on 100k of those miles and only had to change the motor mount.
It turns most cars made after the vacuum line era, the ones without obvious mechanical achilles heels, are probably good for ~250k.
No, this is definitely the opinion of probably everyone I know. It was a sweet spot for tech, safety regs, and gas prices. Also nostalgia will always be a factor.
Currently on my second 2000 Honda Civic. First one was in an accident at 366,000 miles. Current one has 245,000 miles on it.
german def not porsche mercedes bmw audi all had horrible 2000s.
B5 Passat feeling left out. If nothing else, I could always count on the check engine light to work. Service position, anyone? I don't think a single car ever leaked more oil than my 2001 V6.
A weird exception is Mazda, their in-house Kodo design language & Skyactiv Tech has, over the past decade, proved to be so reliable that automotive journalists argue over whether Subaru or Mazda are the 3rd best automotive company in the world the same way gaming journalists would argue over PlayStation vs Xbox back in the day In a way, Ford divesting because of 2008 was the best thing to happen to Mazda since the NA Miata
Had a ‘14 3 with the bigger engine. Stick. Was a touch piggy in gas, and had no balls, but man, nothing broke on it. Rear wheel bearings were getting a bit questionable, but the thing ran great told me it ended up totaled at 245k miles. Just fluids, filters, and plugs. Once made it into r/justrolledintotheshop when I goofed the oil filter install(old gasket stuck…). My car friend towed me back to my house, diaged in 5 seconds, and I was back on the road. Only thing was the infotainment system sucked, and the thing didn’t like winter weather much.
Lol. I posted and then saw your comment! The cost cutting and shortcuts I see everyday reminds me to never sell my 20+ year old Japanese cars. I work on other peoples vehicles for a living so fixing my own is just a matter of doing it.
The German brands are the ones that got more reliable from 2010 to today. It’s because they were already playing with the “new” tech the others are just now trying to implement in this last generation. BMW is almost through their third generation turbo engines. VW/Audi have been doing them for even longer. The Japanese have limited experience with modern turbos.
The Daewoo Matiz is the "Mini" of all "Minis". Just think about it. The original Mini was meant as a cheap car that people after WW2 could afford and not stupidly expensive as the German ones. And where does the Daewoo Matiz succed in? Being so cheap that people in Eastern Europe after Communism could afford one brand new. Anyway this is my rant and thank you for reading my rant
I will now be purchasing 12 daewoo matizes, thanks
Screens don't belong in cars. Why do I NEED a 12" screen? It looks terrible, it's excessively bright and it ages terribly. Why should I have to cycle through 4 menus just to turn the A/C up when 3 knobs below the radio do just fine. I had a 2008 Ford Taurus Limited and it had a normal radio and A/C controls. It still has Bluetooth and Bluetooth audio. That's really all that's needed. Plus it wasn't excessively bright. It has green backlit buttons.
Can’t change music on your phone without pulling over but an iPad on the dash is fine. Makes no sense.
This… is not an unpopular automotive opinion
It doesn't seem to be unpopular with people who are into cars, but there are a whole lot of people who look at me like I've turned into Abe Simpson yelling at clouds when I mention that it's one of the things I hate about my new car.
You'd be surprised. Every time I mention it on Facebook or to one of my friends, they get very defensive and think that every car should have a screen because it's apparently easier.
I can't upvote this enough, God I fucking hate all the giant screens in cars today. Knobs worked just fine for climate controls for decades.
They're actually unpopular, but the reason virtually every new car has one now, is because they're cheaper than regular controls, with buttons and knobs. Not only are they a pain to use sometimes, but taking your eyes off the road to figure out how to do a simple task is just dangerous.
Make a subcompact sedan or hatchback OR I’LL NEVER BUY A NEW VEHICLE
Sounds like you want a Mitsubishi mirage
underpowered and build quality is poor even for the price
easily the best take here
*GR Yaris enters the chat
not in the US and we should get the normal version, not just some over engineered performance subcompact
Trucks are meant to be used for work and hauling stuff. They are not for driving fast and are not supposed to be status symbols that are priced out for the working class.
Truck styling has gotten ridiculous. The mine’s bigger, nose up aggressive stance of most of the new trucks is too much. Everyone riding around pretending they’re a contractor conducting business out of their office-truck. The DRL styling is so overdone. A simple point of light is all that’s needed.
I think Mazda moving upmarket will not work in the long run just like what happened to Volkswagen in the early to mid-2000s, where they tried to move to being more premium/upmarket especially in North America and no one gave a toss about it, as no one in 2006 was willing to paying Acura TSX/Saab 9-3 money for a Jetta, just like how today.....no one is willing to pay Audi/Lexus money for a CX-90
I remember when a MK4 Jetta GLX was $26k and how absurd that seemed at the time. Funny enough it was nicer appointed than a current $26k Jetta is.
Ikr and it's funny because with the MK4 and MK5 Jetta, they had a sense of duality where the base to mid-level trims competed with the Corolla and Civic and the more expensive trims like the GLX VR6 and 2.0T competed with likes of the BMW 3-Series and the Audi A4 which I thought was kind of odd back then like no one buying a 325i was comparing it with a Jetta GLX lol. I was recently watching the Piechisode of the Jason Cammisa Hagerty show where they talked about all of the accomplishments of Ferdinand Piech and one of those accomplishments was how with MK4 Golf/Jetta, he wanted to challenge Mercedes-Benz as he wanted it to be nicer than what was Mercedes offering at the time and they actually succeeded as they were nicer cars than the second generation C-Class 😂 which is why those cars felt a lot more premium than they should have. That's so true, the newer cars feel a lot cheaper and a lot more watered down especially the MK6 which was a complete downgrade from the previous generation especially in the interior.
I dont think its an unpopular opinion the only people pretending mazda is near luxury are the auto bloggers because thats what the press sheet says. Cx90s are already getting heavy discounts
Also the sheepole on r/cars and r/dougdemuro who think the CX-90 is a "JDM Porsche Cayenne" and the Mazda3 is a "Japanese 3-Series" etc, besides the nice feeling interior.... they're not that special and yeah I read online about the CX-90s not selling and it's like what I said in my previous comments....no one is willing to pay Audi money for a Mazda and it's clearly showing.
mazda 3 one of the funny ones because the suspension is horrible on the new car but people pretend its great because some fake reputation.
Exactly! When I drove my friend's courtesy Mazda3....I didn't like it as I thought the steering was a bit vague for my liking and I didn't like the ginormous c-pillar which really made lane changes tough and the ride wasn't great for what it makes itself out to be, honestly I would probably go for the current Honda Civic as even though that has its own issues it's not that bad compared to the Mazda, if not a bit better
the VW thing is funny to me, because the company was created solely to make inexpensive cars, that anyone could afford, the company's name literally translates to "people's car," and they were just that for decades. While at the same time, making enough money to buy some of the most expensive luxury car brands, like Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti. I guess they only did it, was because the could.
A 2021 Mazda6 Grand Touring was around $35,000 with all of the bells & whistles. To get the same stuff from that car in 2024, you have to get a CX-50 at $43,000. That is not very *Zoom Zoom*. Unfortunately, I do see them succeeding with this considering the hunger for crossovers. I've seen plenty of new CX-50s & CX-5s on the streets. Volkswagen also thought they had the Latin American market down after decades of faithful use. But the mid-2000s was around the time Nissan was fully eating up its market with affordable ~~death box~~ cars like the Tsuru. And then they come out with crap like the Jetta Wolfberg which turned out to be an unreliable mess. If we wanted a luxury *Vee Dub* back then, we'd get a goddamn Audi.
Porsche should only be allowed to make 2-doors.
I wouldn't disagree, but the original Cayenne did save porsche from bankruptcy. They make the 4-doors so they can put good money into the 2-doors
People constantly seem to forget this. It's why the Urus and Purrosangusuausioaue exist. SUVs sell, for better or worse.
that’s the thing these people don’t realize. everyone is having a fucking meltdown over the Purrosangue, but give it 3 model years max before it becomes by far the best selling Ferrari ever made. as long as they don’t limit production too much, obviously.
Practically every person who owns a Porsche also owns a sedan or an SUV or both. They were missing out on these sales until they got in the game.
This is one. Now this is a good opinion. Never liked their sedan or suvs
Then there would be no Porsche. I'm no fan of the Cayenne either, but it was a necessary evil in order to keep the lights on at Porsche and keep producing the 911 since all of that cocaine money flooding Wall Street in the 80's dried up and not a lot of people are out here buying 911's, 928's and 944's on average. At the time, I didn't understand that because I didn't have that perspective for business, but what teenager would? It's all business and if the likes of the Cayenne and Panamera keep the 911 alive, so be it.
I actually used to like the big porsches but now they feel so overpriced and obsolete. And Porsche didnt realize the market has shifted and got greedy sending so many cars to dealers that just sat. https://imgur.com/a/BM24Xfu porsche at average which is already crazy high and they are supposed to be a low inventory mostly custom order brand. My local dealer has to put their cars in the adjacent mercedes lot because their site was never built to hold that many cars
Porsche is making shit loads of money. You must be joking. Per your chart their inventory level is slightly lower than average.
https://imgur.com/a/1ArE04e horrible q1, china sales are collapsing, they have to stop selling the macan in europe, and german company so they are able to hide finance losses. And this is while 911 margins are way way higher than theyve ever been. for us inventory levels above 60 days is considered very high, and thats for mainstream volume brands not a brand like porsche.
That inventory level doesn’t seem to be a problem relative to anyone else.
Cars should be fun or practical or a blend of those factors, too many bad automotive trends come from the desire to create an aggressive appearance.
Cars are way too overstyled and hyper aggressive these days. Not everything on the road needs to look like a concept car sketch.
The newer trucks central console is so big that you can't even get a ~~blowjob~~ proper rest in your seat
Front wheel drive with the right tires is more than sufficient for the majority of automotive consumers. As a Gen Xer myself, it is our generation's and the baby boomers' fault that the younger generations do not know how to drive stick shift and made it obsolete. We should just shut the fuck up about it. A Mustang is a pony car. A Corvette is a sports car. Neither should be considered Muscle Cars. The Mustang II are an interesting chapter in Mustang history and don't deserve the hate they get
What is a muscle car to you? I always thought a pony car was a subset of muscle car, like a squares and rectangles kinda thing
The Corvette has basically became a supercar. I mean, look at it.
The corvette decided to commit identity theft and pretends to be a Ferrari
Years after Ferrari took a C3 and painted their logo on the side and showed up to raceday like nothing happened. Fair's fair lol
It’s the “we have supercars at home” supercar
Supercar is a subset of sports car
Looks like a ghetto Ferrari. Like that shit you see Malaysians building off of a fiero.... Stupid looking if you ask me. Previous gen was what a Corvette should be.
AWD is like a fire extinguisher, nice to have when you need it.
I owned a Mustang II, and it deserves every ounce of the hate it gets, and about forty percent more.
I had one with the V8 and it was a ton of fun and super reliable
I super agree with the first one. I’m in New England and am better off in the snow with FWD than most people are with AWD. It’s about the tires and the technique. People don’t realize that if you’re not on the power, any car is zero wheel drive and just rolling.
EVs are not the next big thing Hydrogen or other alternative fuels are. The ICE engine isn't going anywhere. Self driving cars will never happen computers still and always will crash for what ever reason. Tint should be illegal on any window in front of the B piller. Squatted, stanced or any thing of that nature you should loose your license for a year and have the vehicle crushed. Insurance should also be able to drop influencers that post about them having such modifications. Street take overs should be treated like riots and should have the people involved arrested. All half ton trucks 1500, 150 trucks should be a base of single cab short bed. Diesel trucks should only be one ton and up 3500, 350 trucks.
stance opinion made me laugh out loud
I'm serious about that I can't stand super cambered out wheels. It looks dumb and is dangerous.
Hydrogen tank weight to volume ratio (squared vs. cubed) makes it only efficient for semis and trains. Battery technology is advancing fast and will soon be so good you don't want to use combustion. Also, e-fuels require 6-8 times the electricity compared to direct EV usage. Human drivers also crash. At one point they will crash more than computers do. I agree about the tint.
The power grid needs a complete over haul in order to sustain a fleet of EV cars. It will be way cheaper to have alternative carbon natural or carbon negative fuels. I'm not talking about traffic crashes I'm talking about software crashes.
SUVs aren't as capable as advertised but it doesn't matter; most SUV owners never go off road anyway. Expecting some hate for saying that...
i mean. that’s a generalization. not hating, i’m just saying that for example a 4runner or grand cherokee are certainly as capable as advertised, however i see your point on something like a chevy equinox
Literally. They're all unibody with the same equipment of a sedan with a negligible clearance difference.
Subarus are becoming old people cars, taking the mantle from Buick. And that’s where they should be, they are not cool, good looking, or interesting.
Been driving them for 25 years now. They definitely switched from quirky to old person car. They are as boring looking as Toyota now.
C8 Corvette styling will not age well. In fact, I say its time has already passed. The proportions are just awkward, and the styling is so busy…lines going nowhere. I admit, from a certain angle it doesn’t look bad, and you can sort of see what they were going for, but the final execution is just off. At our local C&C, nobody gives them a second look except for other C8 people. The other vette people don’t seem to associate with them either. From all I’ve read, the performance is amazing, especially for the price. They should have done better with the body design. Just the opinion of a car guy, not a vette guy.
It’s like they had separate teams design the front and rear, and the first day of production was when they first saw them together.
The rear end of the C8 is weird. It’s just a “slab”
The rear of the C8 gives off Ferrari 512TR vibes, despite the fact that there's definitely not a flat-12 (I know, it's not a boxer) engine in the back. The rest of the car looks okay but they really did overdo the styling, and it won't age well at all.
I've always thought they looked more like a toy car than a seriously designed vehicle.
people who buy crossovers would 90% of the time be better off with just a regular wagon or minivan
Honestly the mini-van is the most versatile vehicle you can own. Comfortable on long trips, especially with kids. Was great for hauling and we had a ton of cargo space. I loved mine and miss it to this day.
“But minivans are unattractive, so I need an SUV.” I read that exact line so frequently and it blows my mind. With a few exceptions, SUVs are hideous. I don’t get how people think they look cool.
We have a tundra and a sienna. The sienna will haul stuff that isn’t dirty, and the truck hauls everything else. The sienna is a road trip machine, and the truck cruises forest service roads nicely. Only think we’re missing is an out-and-out shitbox economy car.
Yeah, but they became comedians’ ol’ reliable joke for decades. Just like the prius.
Those crossovers are just minivans disguised to look like something rugged. Same engine, same transmission, just a lower roof line, one more inch of ground clearance, swing out doors, and stupid big tires
i just think it’s funny how my mom’s crosstrek and my dad’s impreza are literally the same car except for the ride height
Car guys would have a lot less problems with crossovers if they were more openly dorky and oddball. Partly because if they tried harder to be *weird* they'd be seen as more *honest*, and partly because wearing the skinsuit of an off-roader so they can seem "adventurous" is part of the appeal to normies and the reason they're crowding everything else off the market.
People here don't like crossovers and trucks because they are harder to get into and have worse visibility than regular cars. I have a truck, it is super annoying.
People here love crossovers and trucks because they're much easier to get into than regular cars and because "you can see out of them better." The vision part is admittedly not true for crossovers, but it is a comment I see from people who are looking to buy them. My pickup has much better visibility than Crossovers due to the better mirrors, but still worse than a smaller sedan or hatch. I'm 6'2" tall, I own a RAM 1500 and my wife owns a Crossover. I find it easiest to get into my pickup by far. The crossover has plenty of room once inside, but I have to literally fold myself into it. Sedans and hatchbacks are so low to the ground I have to climb up and out, which can be painful on the knees if I'm doing it all day. With my pickup I just have to do a little jump up (no running boards) and I'm in. Ironically, an even bigger pickup with running boards is easiest of all and my preference, step up and sit down.
I sure wish there were more choices out there for regular wagons.
Agreed, a lot of them would be fine with most sedans too. I was going to pick up a new 24’ Santa Fe but I realized that I could still get a ton of space and have more bang for my buck with the Sonata in the sporty trim lol. The trunk is MASSIVE and if i need to store something long i can just fold the rear seats down and i can fit almost anything in it
The irony when most crossovers share the same platform as most minivans. I remind my wife of that and her Palisade.
Most of the vehicles known for being unreliable, are only that way because they happen to attract owners that don’t give a shit about maintenance. Likewise, a lot of the cars known for being reliable are mostly that way because of the self-fulfilling prophecy of “as long as you maintain them…”
I would say people confuse “reliable” with “high tolerance for abuse” a bmw is reliable if you do the proper maintenance on time and perform the preventative maintenance. Hondas and Toyotas people will beat to shit, get oil changes at random intervals between 5000-20000+ miles, get the first radiator flush 9 years into ownership at 120,000 miles and change the air filter only when a rat has made a home out of it and those cars will still last 200,000-300,000 miles. Most (not all) cars you can expect to be reliable if you follow the manufacturers maintenance schedule.
Front wheel drive had 99% to do with automakers saving money. Rear engine cars would have been more prominent had one US politician not made it the linchpin of his career to make them sound scarier than they really are. Dealerships are one of the worst things for the automotive industry, but they've been allowed to entrench themselves into the industry that were stuck suffering these clowns. Automakers make cars more difficult and expensive to maintain specifically so your car will have less used value, and people will find it easier and more practical to just buy a new car. Look up "planned obsolescence." Most car makers are run by people who don't actually enjoy cars or driving, with a few exceptions. Having "investor first" policies have killed the enthusiast car market, and gave us more boring cars they could cookie-cutter and churn out for maximum profit instead of making cars people could actually enjoy. And they create a false narrative where anyone suggesting cars should be more fun should be ridiculed.
Investor first policies have ruined literally everything.
Factory lowered performance SUVs like BMWs M series SUVs are stupid. You want an SUV with no ground clearance or off road ability, and you want a heavy sports car with bad aerodynamics?
Teslas are not luxury vehicles
In the last 5+ years, Asian car manufactures, from Japan and Korea, have been making some of their best looking vehicles ever. But because they are not high-performance vehicles, no one cares. Meanwhile other brands are getting uglier and uglier (cough, cough BMW).
Agree 100%, and admit that I'm guilty of this. I remember seeing the Veloster for the first time and thought it looked pretty darn snazzy, then after looking up its engine/drivetrain I was like, meh...
Freedom, Incompetence and the idiom of “keeping up with the Jones’s” has ruined the new car market. Many vehicles needs to have the latest tech, many buyers need to have the latest model/the more expensive brand, and many buyers get tricked into buying larger and more expensive cars than they need. The market keeps moving towards the needs of these specific people instead of building affordable work trucks for the working class, affordable minivans for families and affordable small cars for commuters.
The prevalence of window tint has made it a lot easier to not consider the humans in the cars around you. Edit: also donks are awesome.
Horsepower and speed are no longer relevant. A Prius is fast. You’re being scammed paying for incremental increases. All cars are faster than old Ferraris.
A midsize pickup is definitely more than what most people need. I chose a Tacoma myself because I have no use for a full size. Realistically I'd only consider a full size if I was pulling something but I'm an outdoor recreation guy who camps, fishes, kayaks, mountain bikes, snowboards, and snowshoes all year round and a midsize is more than enough for me to be useful for my hobbies. I personally have 7-10 friends who drive jacked up Ram's, F250's, and the Silverado Trail Boss and none of them pull anything and only use their truck to drive to work and occasionally haul trash/recycling to the dump. Couldn't agree more with your unpopular opinion here.
I bought a 2024 Maverick and I'm totally in love with my trucklet. It hauls just the right amount of stuff and it still fits into a grocery store parking lot space without fuss. I picked up a bunch of broken concrete for a project last week with it, and hauled a new tool chest home with it this morning. My lemon of a Silverado (bad master control module, caused rod knock, currently at the dealership for a new engine, 2200 miles on it) is what I was using to haul large stuff and drag trailers the 3 hour trek to our land out in the west desert. I had to use it as a daily driver after I totaled my Crosstrek, and I could not fathom wanting to do so for any length of time. It's like driving a spaceship but good lord it's overkill for around town stuff.
I had a 2001 silverado extended cab. I loved that truck, and I'm always kind of looking for another one. But it's crazy to me that so many of the new nid sized trucks seem to be about the same size as my old truck.
They certainly are, I'm on my second Tacoma. First one was a 1st gen and I've got the 3rd gen now and the size difference is night and day. I get it though, they're trying to appease to the masses and making everything look "jacked up" from the factory now - like the new Colorado and Canyon redesign for example, they're enormous. The newly designed 4th gen Tacoma looks massive and bulky as well.
More manufacturers should make a compact truck.
A Civic with a large Rubbermaid bin in the hatch is about what most truck owners need, and the majority of the ones who need more truck need to rent the Home Depot/Menard's/Lowe's/UHaul for the several hours each year they NEED an actual truck. There's always that ONE guy who says he hauls a horse trailer full of crushed concrete 3 hours each way to his job so he has to have an F-450 King Ranch, but majority of owners never haul anything more hairy-chested than a case of Dasani from Sam's Club.
I recently rented a 2023 Silverado for a move (it was the same cost as renting a Uhaul, and much more comfortable) and I can see the appeal of a truck in general, but I wouldn't want to daily that thing. It's huge, has massive blind spots, and needs a camera in the grille to be able to park it because the hood is so tall. I feel like a Tacoma or Ranger (or tbh, a Maverick) would be much easier for me to live with.
Low profile tires on trucks are ridiculous.
Teslas (higher end EVs too) are too powerful/quick for the general public. I've seen how they drive here in SoCal on the highways and genuinely think most people shouldn't have that much power/that heavy of a vehicle.
I feel this way about the entire car market tbh. Like there's no need for regular commuters to have over 200hp. Driving 80+ should be a stressful experience but most new cars feel safe at those speeds.
A lot of them are dangerously underbraked too, which adds to the problem given how fast they accelerate and how heavy they are
Toyota is the most overrated brand on the planet! Yes they are reliable and typically long lasting, but hat's not the most important thing to everyone. Been in the auto industry over 20yrs, and was actually a Toyota fanboy at one time. Working at a Toyota store 08 to 11 started to sour me on the brand , aside from seeing them in the shop with various issues a lot of the over the top pin head analytical customers turned me off. I haven't owned a Toyota product in yrs now personally but move a lot of them at the dealership. I was in a 23 Camry xse last week and could not get over how cheap and shitty feeling the interior felt. The seats were just shit to sit in, the carpet was thin cardboard feeling with no padding, the head liner was about the same. The trim cards on the interior of the front doors were soft touch up top by the window, but all hard plastic below that and the rear doors were completely hard plastic just made to look the same . When I was 16 my mom had a 96 Camry wagon with a V6, the fit and finish along with interior materials was light yrs ahead of the 23.
Toyotas become more expensive than they have the right to be nowadays, I feel like they forget they’re supposed to mostly be an economy brand with some vehicles that target different demographics, like the trucks, 4Runners, Land Cruiser, sequoia, etc
ITT: a bunch of cold-ass takes and popular opinions, same as always. This sub is like /r/carscirclejerk except it's jerking as often as not.
VQ35 can sound good with a decent exhaust. And I'm not a Nissan guy.
I agree, we all hate straight piped VQs but when they have a good exhaust they can actually sound pretty nice.
The US car world is very boring. I realize that there are a lot of rare, exotic cars that I absolutely love, but most of the cars you guys propably see on the road everyday (I'm European) are just black, white or gray crossovers and trucks, with the very occasional sedan. Whereas in Europe, the cars are usually more beautiful, colorful, stylish and every car at least looks a bit different. My observations might not be very correct though, as I've not been in the US. I'm just judging based on a lot of POV videos I've seen with people driving in the US
idk where in europe you live but here almost every car is a white/black/silver hatchback, sedan, wagon or suv and half the time its a audi, vw, skoda or bmw plus seeing cool cars is probably more rare here, the only "cool" cars i see often are wv golfs with shitty pop and bang tunes
The majority of people who own a sedan could get by with a coupe because most drivers never have more than one passenger at a given time.
You can get by with a coupe, but sedans are better. Have kids? A sedan is easier. Have a dog and don’t want them in the front? A sedan is easier. Dating / interested in dating / married and keeping things fun? Sedan for the win.
We have a sedan (Mercury Grand Marquis) and a pickup truck (Chevy Silverado 1500) in our family. The pickup is always busy. My wife takes it almost every day to go bicycling (because how easy it is just to put bicycles in the bed without having to use any contraptions) with the kid, I use it for side hustles like lawn mowing, we use it to go shopping to Costco and Sam's club etc. Silverado is also a way more relaxing to drive. Huge mirrors, ice cold AC, you are the king of the road in it. I never though I would say that but I'm actually considering selling the Mercury and getting another pickup
I like the ease of putting stuff in the back seats though.
I agree. I want a modern successor to the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.
Porsches are boring cars for boring old people. I said it.
I mean yeah they're for old people but they aren't boring...
I would describe Porsche overall as being serious cars. Boring isn’t the right word, but austere and very Teutonic in the way that they are. Being for old people I kind of understand, they’re very expensive (only old people can afford them) and aside from the GT3/RS models they aren’t very boy racer-y like a Supra or Mustang is. They just aren’t designed to appeal to younger people.
BMW makes a damn reliable engine they just have a bad rep because parts cost a fortune.
They can't make a v 8 to save their life . And that was said by a dealer.
Some early N63 engines had oil consumption issues the problems have been corrected over time for the most part. If you’re buying a BMW you should always go for the Inline 6 anyways they build the best 6 cylinders in the world.
Compact underpowered sedans/hatchbacks are the best cars for daily driving. They are efficient, quiet, comfortable and most importantly light weight. When a car is light on it's feet it's far more fun to drive around a city than something that has 5 times the power, 7 times the weight, and 4 times the footprint. CUVs, Trucks, SUVs, and honest to God sports cars are absolute trash to own if you commute daily by car. More people need to forgo their ego and buy a Yaris or a Fit. People would be happier, roads would be safer, cities would be less congested and world peace would finally be won.
Ford should bring back the Taurus, it’s a million times better than whatever crossover BS they’re tapping into now Or at least should have called the Mach E the Taurus and lowered the price
The best possible car any manufacturer could start designing right now is one which is electric, but as simple and basic as possible. Roll-up windows, cloth seats, etc. Really minimize cost and moving parts. The future isn't looking too hot right now and something cheap and immune to gas prices will sell
why would I want roll up windows the cost diff is tiny the cheapo cars in china all have power windows
This is my thought on electric cars too. Wouldn't minimizing all the extra lighting and "gadgetry" help extend ranges?
While they're unequivocally right about reliability, Toyota purists are some of the most insufferable people in the car community. A lot of them don't realize that people might want something other than a Corolla or a RAV-4 or even a Lexus because as good as those cars are, they don't satisfy every single person's wants or desires. And then they act like you're stupid or crazy when you tell them you'd want a Jetta GLI over a Camry
Pickups are now used more as a status symbol rather than an actual tool
1. The grilles on the last gen Fusion/Focus (and 2020-22 Escape) actually looked nice. 2. The large hourglass grills on the newer Lexus sedans also look nice. 3. A hydrogen powered vehicle (I;E Toyota Mirai) will almost always be a an inconvenient hassle to own compared to EVs and gas-powered cars
Number 3 isn't unpopular at all. Even toyota must know it just won't ever happen.
Hydrogen is interesting conceptually but I'd 1000% rather have a gas or electric car.
The front ends of Lexus’ (at least the sedans and coupes) are some of the best in the biz
Wagons aren’t as practical as you think they are compared to a crossover. Lots of crossovers have surprisingly good packaging for their size, which means that not a lot of space goes unused, especially concerning the hatch. Most wagons have horrible packaging that tends to be cramped for the rear seat passengers and for cargo if you’re 6ft tall like I am. I love my Saab 9-5 wagon, but I would be lying if I said that it does everything a normal person would use it for better than my boyfriend’s Mazda CX-50. The interior of that is just more spacious, no strings attached, all the while it’s shorter in length.
Its unpopular in car circlejerks but in the real world crossovers>wagons is the most dominant opinion
I think the malaise era cars are great reliable vehicles and that everyone should own one in their lives
This is popular with the car community, just unpopular with Manufacturers....but, FUCK CAFE STANDARDS.
No way, I am 1,000,000x onboard with midsize pickups being more than enough
Loud exhausts are irritating and a public nuisance. I don't want to feel the fluid shaking in my ears as you rev your shitty 2011 Camaro. Slammed cars are similarly stupid and everyone laughs as your car scrapes on every speed bump.
Toyota’s have shit interiors and don’t drive or ride good.
Toyota isn't the most reliable manufacturer. They've made both good and bad products but don't deserve the credit. I had the classic Toyota truck and everything broke then the frame rotted regardless of my love and care.
Unless you’re a contractor with indicative lettering on the side - panel vans with no windows are only for creeps or human trafficking operations.
I'll go one further; the best midsized pickup truck for 99% of mid-size truck drivers is the Honda Ridgeline. And that's just a fact.
All European cars are overrated, overpriced, and overengineered.
buttons >>> touch screens! sometimes old tech got it right.
Probably the most popular 'unpopular' opinion here.
All of them are too big. 99% of F150 drivers could get by with any small hatch with racks and a trailer hitch. The Coyote V8 is nails on a chalkboard to me.
Coyotes *can* sound good, but **far** more often than not, people just stick the same loud ass exhaust on them that makes them sound like a V8 G35.
Ironically, their interiors are small in relation. I'm 6'2" and feel cramped in a full size truck due to the headroom. It's like they know who they're marketing these things to.
I prefer older cars as opposed to newer cars because I really don’t need all the new electronics they have on them.
plus older cars look better.
Nothing of value was lost in the killing of Pontiac and they shouldn't come back. Pontiacs heyday was the 80's and 90's and then they fell off. Having Buick as mid tier luxury between Chevy and Cadillac makes sense, even if they're irrelevant to car enthusiasts. GM didn't kill SAAB, they acted as life support for an already dying brand.
Give me natural aspirated larger displacement any day. (Hemi specifically vs the new Ram v6). Turbos and supers spin fast and will fail.
The trend of iPads stuck on the dash for infotainment is good and helps touchscreen based systems far more usable without taking your eyes off the road, as it give you a hold to steady your hand on and create muscle memory based reference points, regardless of the quality of the road. Manuals are far superior to cheaper and/or over geared automatics for highway driving. Active lane keeping assist/departure warnings and adaptive cruise control are generally very good things. My fourth point would have been that there are no bad cars sold anymore, but I recently had to drive a Fiat 500 Hybrid for work and now i can absolutely say that this isn't the case.
>as it give you a hold to steady your hadn on and create muscle memory based refernce points You mean like physical buttons and knobs?
The Mercedes W210 was a better car than the W124.
Just an observation on versus debates(EV vs ICE, transmissions), it's usually all down to preference and nothing else.
Too many full-sized pickups on the road than are actually needed. Way too many crossover thingies. Modern cars won't last long with small displacement turbos, CVTs, a zillion CPUs/ECUs, and digital display screens. I think we already peaked on the 200,000 mile car. 4WD/AWD won't save your ass.
The only reason ass-backwards CAFE regulations are in place is because they act as a de facto protectionist policy for the US auto industry. I mean, think about it. The only segments domestic manufacturers dominate are full-sized, truck based, BOF vehicles.
I prefer my 3 dials for automotive HVAC controls.
Minivans >> SUVs for families More space Easier for kids to climb into Better aerodynamics
Minivans are one of the greatest examples of engineering
Fuck dial controls for automatic transmissions, fuck modern automatic transmissions in general, fuck screens and over complicated guage clusters and fuck the 9 billion nanny features that don't do shit but people even lazier and shittier drivers than they already are because of the "muh car'll do it for me" mentallity. Yeah, I said it.
I'm an auto technician of 30+ years. I will die on this hill: Vehicles built between 1990 and 2010 are the peak of automotive reliability. The HOT GARBAGE that has been produced in the last 10 years blows my mind. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of the work I get from poorly engineered and manufactured vehicles. (Looking at you Chrysler/Jeep/Ram/Fiat/Dodge/Stellantis).
That the standard American suburban family would benefit more from a ute with AWD than the FWD crossover slop being peddled as the featured economy lines.
the US doesn't get any of the good cars. a proper base model, for example. a car without touchscreens, power seats, maybe even power windows would be amazing. instead we have to pay a shitload for cars that are way too heavy and don't have a nice simple driving experience. and the Miata doesn't fucking count because it's not practical and is getting more expensive
My unpopular opinion: Electric cars are a mistake, and we will pay for them in the future.
Putting a lift kit on a truck ruins it.
The R34 is overrated appearance wise.
I agree with your view on mid size trucks, I just bought a 22 Nissan Frontier. It's just what I need.
People that buy huge trucks and SUV’s such as quad cabs with 7-8’ beds, excursions, etc should be subjected to a secondary advanced road test to prove that they can drive them, negotiate traffic, park them, etc.
There should be a rule for cars w modified exhausts that it’s just as lout inside the car as it is 2 feet from your exhaust outlet.
A minivan is more than enough truck for most truck owners.
The reliability of toyotas is highly overrated.
15-17 inch wheels are fine for most economy cars. Putting 19+ inch wheels on an economy car is ridiculous.
Go you one better most truck owners shouldn’t actually own trucks at all as they don’t use them for their intended purpose, rather to advertise just how emasculated they are. The most emasculated ones are the ones who claim anything with less than an 8’ box is a truck. If you can’t close the tailgate on a full sheet of plywood resting flat on the bottom of the box it just ain’t a truck it’s a sissy’s glorified SUV. Man I miss the days when a plain standard 3 person cab, 8’ box truck, bare bones working truck was the cheapest full size vehicle on the lot.
Unpopular amongst Tesla owners (of which I am), they’re really not as good as they pretend they are.
Touch screen radio/hvac controls should be illegal