Comments on: 5 Cars That Became Metaphors (deserved or not)

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:46:00 +0000

I never think of the Prius as green. I think of my Corvair as GREEN! Probably the greenest car running in the USA. it was manufactured 45 years ago, so it’s been saved from a landfill, and was already built. I converted it to run on E-85 for about $100. I have replaced ALL the lubricants in it with 100% synthetic oil and lubes (NO petroleum in any of it) and since it’s air cooled – no toxic antifreeze in it either. the only petroleum in it is 15% of it’s fuel. I think of the Prius as a horribly expensive yuppie car that generates more greenhouse gasses being built than it saves in it’s lifetime. And you have to drive the one you buy for about 20 years before you earn back the extra expense in what you save on gas.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:58:03 +0000

Nobody mentioned the Tucker!

They say the ‘94 Honda SI Hatchback is possibly the coolest car ever made.

By: Angeline

Angeline — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:50:35 +0000

Scion = Eccentric

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:33:33 +0000

I heard “Buick” used for “puke”.

Example: “I think I’m gonna Buick”.

By: jakesdad

jakesdad — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:56:28 +0000

I can’t complain about the Pinto’s safety record too much – I owe it my favorite personal anecdote/joke:

a week before my 17th birthday I broke my wrist hanging onto the windowsil of a Pinto on a skateboard but it could have been a lot worse – I could have been IN the Pinto! :D

I would nominate the Acura Integra as the rich (or at least upper-middle) college kid’s car of choice for the late 80s/most of the 90s. the 1st car I paid for myself was a red 89 2dr LS and loved that thing – it remains to this day my favorite car I’ve ever owned (now 38)! I’d buy a new GS or R tomorrow if they brought them back!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:41:07 +0000

Agree with Red about the Fiero. Great ambitions, but blown engines. Once saw a GM dealer with about 20 Fiero engines on pallets.

VW = folks car. Basic transportation. Our family car from 63 – 68

Any Italian sport cars = Wow

Any cheap European car = flimsy

Expensive European car = money sinkhole

Any American car = steady job for mechanic

Any 80’s – 90’s Japanese car = reliable, adequate, complete, economical, etc

Today’s Japanese car = relying on reputation, but just like an American car – oh yeah! the factories are in America now.

Most fun car we ever owned: Vespa 400 – had to sell it because we couldn’t get a carburetor part. Wish I had it back along with our 63 VW, my 85′ Camry, and my 68 Ford pickup. Put over 1/2 million miles on those latter 3.

By: sammysunshine

sammysunshine — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:11:58 +0000

The recent incarnation of the Chev Cavalier is also a notorious hunk of junk. Recalls galore. They don’t start in the rain. Steering column problems. I had one. It sucked royally. We put three transmissions in the thing. The last was a tranny for a Pontiac Sunfire of similar year. The last tranny died on NYE 2003. We did not buy another one. The day the last payment went out on the damn thing was the day the junk yard hauled it away. My bff had a cavalier and had the same kinds of troubles. I still see the odd one on the road and shudder, just a little, everytime I see one hobbling down the road.

Oh yeah, @BS, far more people remember the Volvo line in Crazy People than remember the Jaguar line. For real.

Austin was also synonymous with small, my dad always said this limerick.

There once was a man from Boston,
who had a baby Austin,
He had room for his ass, a galon of gas and his B*lls hung out till he lost them.

Cheers!

By: yada

yada — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:37:55 +0000

Cadillac Escalade = Bling!

By: JR

JR — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:08:01 +0000

Haven’t any of you ever had a Cadillac Margarita? Never was questioned by any bartender or waitress.

By: BS

BS — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:43:13 +0000

Ulysses: the better line from Crazy People was: “Jaguar- sleek and smart. For men who would like handjobs from beautiful women they hardly know!”

Not really a metaphor, but the VW Beetle was widely known for their ad where it is floating on water. I think it was National Lampoon that showed the picture in an “ad” that read “If Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he’d be president today”.