Is it aesthetics? Performance? Engineering? Sentimental value? Nostalgia? Weirdness?..
I could go on, there’s as many ways to enjoy a car as there are car owners and I find it very interesting what people value in what is ultimately a tool of conveyance that is elevated by social and personal values.
I always love cars that are just a little weird, they have features that don’t quite make sense, they have styling that just doesn’t fit in with other modern cars, and they certainly don’t blend in at the grocery parking lot. They emanate a certain incongruence with the world around them.
For me there are many levels of ‘special’ cars. One level is the great cars through history, Mercedes SL300, Ferrari F40, Mclaren F1 and the likes. Another level is the engineering in cars like the koenigseggs gemera that go from 0-200kph faster than many cars do 0-100kph. The carbonfiber wheels are hand made. A Swede is handlaying layers of carbon fibers cloth, before adding resin and then curing process. The modern mclarens are also fascinating engineering wise.
The last level are cars that it’s possible for me to own, right now I have a BMW. don’t know what I’ll get next. Some porches are nice, maybe my priorities change I’ll just get a Polestar 2 or something. Anyways I like BMWs, maybe i’ll get an old 3 series like an E92 to have as a summer car.
I want to get the feeling that it wasn’t designed by marketing folks. It should clear what the designers found important and what they wanted to build and that they had to compromise on other aspects.
It’s a bit vague, so I’ll give some examples. I loved the Alfa Romeo’s I had. They weren’t the most reliable, didn’t had the highest quality interior and were expensive to maintain. But the sound and throttle response were great and you felt that everything was designed around you: the driver. Some of them had designs where looks are more important than practicality.
Another car that I loved and was completely the opposites was a gen 1 Fiat Punto. That car was designed to be practical and could be repaired with ducttape. One of the few cars where a timing belt snapping wouldn’t ruin the engine. The air filter could be replaced without a screw driver (just undo 2 clips). It was boxy to make it as spacious as possible and light and high on its wheels so it could drive everywhere (road or no road).
My current Renault doesn’t have something special, something unique. It’s just a badly made annoying vehicle that gets you from a to b just like any other car. My previous Ford Fiesta was a bit better and at least had good handling and was one of the cheapest in its class.
Feeling comfortable in it as the driver, especially with the design of the front console and cup holders.
When I was shopping for my first new car ever, there were several cars that I thought I probably should consider (Honda Fit '16ish, Scion xB were a couple of them) but they just felt so uncomfortable sitting in the driver’s seat. Now, I don’t mean the seats themselves were literally physically uncomfortable, but the general environment of the driver’s seat.
When I sat in a Scion iM it immediately felt right. The cup holders were accessible and not tucked under the console, the console itself felt clean and minimalistic, useful but unobtrusive. It also still has a turn-key start, rather than a button, and it’s silly but that’s important to me (and I also worry about being locked out of push-to-start cars should the key fob die). Got it at 30k miles and plan to keep on going for as long as I can take it into the 100k+ amount! Hopefully by the time I have to replace it, the electric and hybrid car options will have increased even more.
Comfort is important, a car can have everything but if it isn’t comfortable you won’t want to drive it, amazing when you find a car that fits you perfectly.
Just a tip, just about every keyless entry/push to start car has a backup key, hidden in the key fob, usually with a hidden tumbler under some removeable trim and there’s a spot on the car where you can put the key where it will work even if the battery is dead/nearly dead. On Mazdas you just push the button with the fob and it should start. Others have labeled spaces to put the key, my Alfa has a little cutout in the shape of the key in the center console.
Capacity.
As in: ‘How many trips does it take to move the content of one apartment to another.’
A car is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less.
Handling, and how generally fun it is to drive. I don’t care nearly as much about cargo capacity, the size of the back seat, etc. I’ll never buy an SUV.
Beyond a minimum (around 200), I don’t even care that much about horsepower. Got a turbocharged, high HP monster? Good for you… but how often do you actually get to USE that engineering you paid thousands extra for?
