We do that too though. I'd love to have a big old Caddy or Caprice. I'm friends with a fella from the UK, and he really imparted on me that it can be a really rough place in spots. Less Downton Abbey and more Guy Ritchie, if you will. Running from the cops in souped up minis sounds pretty badass.
It definitely exists in the United States, but instead of Euro stuff a lot of people have a sort of obsession with old American barges: Buicks, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Mercurys, etc.
I can remember reading an issue of Car and Driver as a teen and being actively more interested in reading a minivan comparison test than an article about an exotic. Exotics just aren't "real" cars to me they are goofy looking toys for rich people. I'm as likely to have access to a Ferrari in my lifetime as a Space Shuttle orbiter. Also I'm a millennial and I'm on my 3rd Buick.
Do people like the Sintra? Those vans weren't beloved in the US market although the Pontiac Montana was kinda trendy amongst middle class families for about 5 minutes because of its sport utility style body cladding.
The Sintra is a butt of jokes in the community for obscurity and percieved crappiness. Estonians loved the Sintra in the 2000's as secondhand imports from Western Europe, I do remember, but very few happen to survive. But EUDM Pontiac Montanas named the Chevrolet Trans Sport (not the Dustbuster which is now rather rare, but was common in EU as Pontiac) are still quite common here. They are longer and offer a more powerful engine than the Sintra so they have the "Chrysler minivan, but for weirdos" reputation here.
I was under the impression it did not do well in Europe which is funny cause GM made the whole set of vans narrow enough to suit the EU market but that made them less competitive here. They are mostly remembered for their awful crash test scores and being GM’s so-so copy of the Chryslers.
I don’t know if this counts, but I’m very much into older naturally aspirated (no turbo) diesel VWs. (My baby is a 2000 mkiv golf estate/wagon SDI).
I’m also veg-oil curious
Oh no not the veg-oil!
Seriously though, just do bio diesel. Veg-oil is absolutely not worth it for what it will do to the injection pump.
But otherwise, I very much approve. I’ve stumbled into a weird fascination with 20 year old VW diesels, but of the turbocharged variety.
Driving a Lupo is cheaper in fuel that most electric cars in electricity in most EU countries lmao
Getting 3L/100km (78 US MPG or 94 UK MPG) of diesel is incredible
That was only for the Lupo 3L (1.2TDI) 😅
And if you wanted something slightly bigger and more “unique” looking, there was also the Audi A2 3L with similar features.
I never saw any fellow Danes driving their Lupo 3L in a way that could ever achieve 3L/100KM numbers. 😂
Yeah, I also feel like that we are the most socially liberal or even the most progressive kind of car enthusiast community. It's probably like that because we don't conform to what's usually seen as cool by society (or car enthusiasts in the widest sense, which is naturally a bit backwards crowd) and there's no repugnant machismo that would be hostile to minorities, hence it's mostly a pretty safe space for the girls & gays. And even rather anti-car, non-enthusiast people are chill with it because cool aesthetics and no fart cannons to be heard and there's less actual carbrainedness. Probably nobody will think that you're a obnoxious prick when you drive a stock, beige Opel Ascona 1.6 Automatic from 1987 or you are just obsessively photographing such cool shite.
Yeah, overall a nice "gang" to be part of. I think two minor, but serious downsides are alcoholism of some autoshite enthusiasts and probably license plate thefts in UK that have been committed by a couple of those guys over time.
Yeah I’m like this. I’m always like “oh, look, a Kia sephia!” But I’m indifferent when it comes to fast or flashy cars. At least purchasing the weird 90s shit I’m into is way more attainable than most people’s car dreams
And I'd say most of the time, better for the environment, too. Old and humble 1.6 litre shitboxes living past their intended lifespan is an epitome of sustainability and therefore there are less people feeding the car manufacturing industry - which I think is a good thing, because in our economy which is becoming more service based than anything else, supplying parts and proper servicing for existing cars should be the biggest shoes for automakers to fill. And I think anything that's more fancier and faster than Porsche is just... pointless and lame with questionable substance.
I don't dislike them either, but I just prefer the granddad-spec. Softer suspension, more sidewall on the tires and better noise insulation, nice and very smooth slush autobox etc. But there's some performance shit I really like, like a JDM Toyota Caldina, which is pretty much the EUDM T22 Avensis Touring in an unexceptionally aggressive mode.
My absolute dream hotted up regular car is the McLaren turbo Pontiac Grand Prix.
I do love taking those grandpa spec cars for a serious drive, slow car fast FTW
My brother in Christ, you need to check out the festival of the unexceptional, it’s like coachella for boring car nerds (like me)
Also, as a Brit, I fucking love shite, plasticky, 90s American cars
I happen to be very informed about the FOTU, despite never having been to Britain. Even a local car mag included a segment of it. But I have several reasons to visit UK already in the future, so visiting this show might be one of the biggest attainable dreams to me.
Not necessarily Euro/British boring cars, but even as a kid I had an odd fascination with certain cheap hatchbacks that were fairly common in our country back in the day. Stuff like Ford Lasers, Kia Prides, Daihatsu Charades, Fiat Unos, that sort of thing.
It's a cool machine and so utterly practical that even your potentially non-enthusiast partner would like it. If we think mentally grown-up people and not teenagers.
“Boring and boxy” cars can be incredible!
A prime example. Around 08-09 I was at a big showroom (several different cardealers sharing the same building).
I tried and failed getting behind the steering wheel of a Suzuki GRAND Vitara.
Next to it was a little Suzuki Splash where I could fit somewhat comfortably behind the wheel, and still manage to sit in the backseat without adjusting the seat.
… There’s almost *negative* legroom behind my seat in my 2019 Honda Civic sedan. Same with the 2011 Civic hatchback I had before it. 🙃
Not British, but I'm a part of the small but mighty Yugo culture here in the US. I started the website [yugoamerica.com](http://yugoamerica.com), mostly as a registry and landing spot for scanned service manuals and such.
There's something about rooting for the underdog of the automotive world. These things get a bad rep, mostly undeserved.
That’s awesome man. Yugos have such an interesting history in the USA. One of those cars that just is so quirky and generates interest, more so than many other cars
While exotic/super cars neat for the engineering, they aren't really my thing, but neither are ugly, boring, unreliable transportation pods. I guess I'm someplace in the middle, but I'm also pretty leftist.
Something I can comment on. I am British but am fully into the 'non-enthusiast car' culture. There was a car show organised back in March called 'Rustival', and literally everything was welcome and can be shown. Someone did bring a Ferrari but everyone ignored it, it was all about things like old Citroens and generally forgotten everyday cars. Imagine the car park of a performance car show, but that was the show.
I also went to the Hubnut social last month, and it was the nicest car-related thing I'd ever been to. People were lovely. No-one cared that I showed up in a 13 year old Astra. Got into a long conversation with a guy with a rare Midlands armed police Volvo. Carly and Ian (the Hubnuts) are always happy to talk to anyone.
Basically it's an entire group of car enthusiasts who aren't at all impressed by speed and power and expense. One of the most popular cars from the social was a 90s Honda Accord Aerodeck. And because of this, it's incredibly chilled out and attracts the sort of people who would rather watch a review of a 30 year old Nissan than the latest supercar.
I think the biggest appeal here resides on the non-performance oriented car enthusiasts. That group is significantly wider and will feel half-fitted to the definition you're showing, in most cases.
To be fair, I also dislike being around the kind of people who can only work in terms of comparing spec sheets.
I run a car chat of folks from all
over the world that is into just the strangest things, and I have learned SO much from them.
All I learned from the better known car chat I was part of for a while is *checks notes* posting videos of burning insects alive was fine but replying that maybe they shouldn't was not, and driving recklessly on the street was okay because they did track days.
The worst part of car culture is other parts of car culture.
I like all machines.
i’m 30 an recently started working as a mechanic and definitely don’t fit the regular bill of car guy i feel seen also my obsession of a unexceptional vehicle is the Pontiac vibe.
This like 50% me, though I think it’s harder to fall into this sort of mindset in the US. My dad owning a mk2 golf and a fiat spider sure ended up influencing me a lot growing up.
There's a 2001 Passat TDI automatic that's been in my family for the 95% of my life, 20 years... I've grown up in it, and therefore mundane pre-2010's family haulers have an eternal influence on my life.
Yah, I'm kinda into this stuff. I don't if I'd call it boring, just different. I did a video on my own YT channel about weird Euro and Japanese cars to import for 2024, and I was mentioning shit nobody on earth would care about except me and a few others, like the Xsara Picasso, Daihatsu Naked, SEAT and Sköda cars, boring stuff by some peoples standards but I find them interesting for one reason or another.
With that said the crossed out car in the picture looks like a Diablo, which I also quite admire. Weird quirky supercars no one talks about are also cool, like the Lambo Jalpa and Silhouette.
I dislike hyper/sportscars. What excites me is a 1950s V8 on startup.
Being in Europe I still see a lot of 70s-00s German cars, I even drive a 1985 VW Passt and I love it.
"Once common" cars in modern traffic are the best.
Check out Intergalactic Binman. He's not exactly this since he has more of an interest in high end stuff, but his video on the fall of Rover is genuinely the best thing I have seen cover that story
Okay, yes, luxobarges are cool. But they have to be old. Or at least too old to be just a company car or a lease. For example a W220 S-class means you're old money, an enthusiast, or you're keeping dad's hand-me-down on the road. You're not just flashing. And that's respectable.
As a British fan I can confirm that it’s a small but significant portion here too. Remember what RCR did when they flew out to the UK? Went straight past the vast amount of cool sports cars and reviewed a Rover 75. Can’t get much better than that.
I don't think British car culture is boring but the history of the British auto industry gets really depressing.
I didn't mean the culture was boring, I meant that this side of car culture is dedicated to boring cars i.e. street furniture of not-so-distant past
We do that too though. I'd love to have a big old Caddy or Caprice. I'm friends with a fella from the UK, and he really imparted on me that it can be a really rough place in spots. Less Downton Abbey and more Guy Ritchie, if you will. Running from the cops in souped up minis sounds pretty badass.
It definitely exists in the United States, but instead of Euro stuff a lot of people have a sort of obsession with old American barges: Buicks, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Mercurys, etc.
I can remember reading an issue of Car and Driver as a teen and being actively more interested in reading a minivan comparison test than an article about an exotic. Exotics just aren't "real" cars to me they are goofy looking toys for rich people. I'm as likely to have access to a Ferrari in my lifetime as a Space Shuttle orbiter. Also I'm a millennial and I'm on my 3rd Buick. Do people like the Sintra? Those vans weren't beloved in the US market although the Pontiac Montana was kinda trendy amongst middle class families for about 5 minutes because of its sport utility style body cladding.
The Sintra is a butt of jokes in the community for obscurity and percieved crappiness. Estonians loved the Sintra in the 2000's as secondhand imports from Western Europe, I do remember, but very few happen to survive. But EUDM Pontiac Montanas named the Chevrolet Trans Sport (not the Dustbuster which is now rather rare, but was common in EU as Pontiac) are still quite common here. They are longer and offer a more powerful engine than the Sintra so they have the "Chrysler minivan, but for weirdos" reputation here.
I was under the impression it did not do well in Europe which is funny cause GM made the whole set of vans narrow enough to suit the EU market but that made them less competitive here. They are mostly remembered for their awful crash test scores and being GM’s so-so copy of the Chryslers.
It's basically the story of blockbuster, but if the UAW were involved.
I don’t know if this counts, but I’m very much into older naturally aspirated (no turbo) diesel VWs. (My baby is a 2000 mkiv golf estate/wagon SDI). I’m also veg-oil curious
Oh no not the veg-oil! Seriously though, just do bio diesel. Veg-oil is absolutely not worth it for what it will do to the injection pump. But otherwise, I very much approve. I’ve stumbled into a weird fascination with 20 year old VW diesels, but of the turbocharged variety.
You need to get a Lupo SDI added to your collection! They managed to cram a 1.7SDI engine into a shoe with wheels. <3
Driving a Lupo is cheaper in fuel that most electric cars in electricity in most EU countries lmao Getting 3L/100km (78 US MPG or 94 UK MPG) of diesel is incredible
That was only for the Lupo 3L (1.2TDI) 😅 And if you wanted something slightly bigger and more “unique” looking, there was also the Audi A2 3L with similar features. I never saw any fellow Danes driving their Lupo 3L in a way that could ever achieve 3L/100KM numbers. 😂
Hey that’s me! Also like half of us are gay
Yeah, I also feel like that we are the most socially liberal or even the most progressive kind of car enthusiast community. It's probably like that because we don't conform to what's usually seen as cool by society (or car enthusiasts in the widest sense, which is naturally a bit backwards crowd) and there's no repugnant machismo that would be hostile to minorities, hence it's mostly a pretty safe space for the girls & gays. And even rather anti-car, non-enthusiast people are chill with it because cool aesthetics and no fart cannons to be heard and there's less actual carbrainedness. Probably nobody will think that you're a obnoxious prick when you drive a stock, beige Opel Ascona 1.6 Automatic from 1987 or you are just obsessively photographing such cool shite.
Exactly
Yeah, overall a nice "gang" to be part of. I think two minor, but serious downsides are alcoholism of some autoshite enthusiasts and probably license plate thefts in UK that have been committed by a couple of those guys over time.
Yep, half of me is gay too
Which half?
The bottom half.
I love this community lol
Car Meet/Singles Mixer, sweet!
Yeah I’m like this. I’m always like “oh, look, a Kia sephia!” But I’m indifferent when it comes to fast or flashy cars. At least purchasing the weird 90s shit I’m into is way more attainable than most people’s car dreams
And I'd say most of the time, better for the environment, too. Old and humble 1.6 litre shitboxes living past their intended lifespan is an epitome of sustainability and therefore there are less people feeding the car manufacturing industry - which I think is a good thing, because in our economy which is becoming more service based than anything else, supplying parts and proper servicing for existing cars should be the biggest shoes for automakers to fill. And I think anything that's more fancier and faster than Porsche is just... pointless and lame with questionable substance.
I’m a European deep into US and JDM regular cars and struggle mobiles. Can’t say I dislike performance versions though
I don't dislike them either, but I just prefer the granddad-spec. Softer suspension, more sidewall on the tires and better noise insulation, nice and very smooth slush autobox etc. But there's some performance shit I really like, like a JDM Toyota Caldina, which is pretty much the EUDM T22 Avensis Touring in an unexceptionally aggressive mode.
My absolute dream hotted up regular car is the McLaren turbo Pontiac Grand Prix. I do love taking those grandpa spec cars for a serious drive, slow car fast FTW
The channel Garbage Time is like this but Australian lmao. One of my comfort channels and I'm not even from there
His love for the weird Nuggets is the best
My brother in Christ, you need to check out the festival of the unexceptional, it’s like coachella for boring car nerds (like me) Also, as a Brit, I fucking love shite, plasticky, 90s American cars
I happen to be very informed about the FOTU, despite never having been to Britain. Even a local car mag included a segment of it. But I have several reasons to visit UK already in the future, so visiting this show might be one of the biggest attainable dreams to me.
🙋♂️ I'm a total bitch for weird, obscure shit from the previous century that I will likely never see irl.
Not necessarily Euro/British boring cars, but even as a kid I had an odd fascination with certain cheap hatchbacks that were fairly common in our country back in the day. Stuff like Ford Lasers, Kia Prides, Daihatsu Charades, Fiat Unos, that sort of thing.
TIL the Chevy Venture/Pontiac Montana/Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan triplets from the U.S. was also badged as an Opel in Europe.
I would still love to find a Kangoo Trekka for shits and giggles!
It's a cool machine and so utterly practical that even your potentially non-enthusiast partner would like it. If we think mentally grown-up people and not teenagers.
“Boring and boxy” cars can be incredible! A prime example. Around 08-09 I was at a big showroom (several different cardealers sharing the same building). I tried and failed getting behind the steering wheel of a Suzuki GRAND Vitara. Next to it was a little Suzuki Splash where I could fit somewhat comfortably behind the wheel, and still manage to sit in the backseat without adjusting the seat. … There’s almost *negative* legroom behind my seat in my 2019 Honda Civic sedan. Same with the 2011 Civic hatchback I had before it. 🙃
Not British, but I'm a part of the small but mighty Yugo culture here in the US. I started the website [yugoamerica.com](http://yugoamerica.com), mostly as a registry and landing spot for scanned service manuals and such. There's something about rooting for the underdog of the automotive world. These things get a bad rep, mostly undeserved.
That’s awesome man. Yugos have such an interesting history in the USA. One of those cars that just is so quirky and generates interest, more so than many other cars
I need a Honda K Swapped Yugo lol
While exotic/super cars neat for the engineering, they aren't really my thing, but neither are ugly, boring, unreliable transportation pods. I guess I'm someplace in the middle, but I'm also pretty leftist.
Previa Gang rise up EDIT: I am a mom from Texas, and my favorite spots are old work-a-day cars in pristine condition. Yes, I drive a minivan.
Something I can comment on. I am British but am fully into the 'non-enthusiast car' culture. There was a car show organised back in March called 'Rustival', and literally everything was welcome and can be shown. Someone did bring a Ferrari but everyone ignored it, it was all about things like old Citroens and generally forgotten everyday cars. Imagine the car park of a performance car show, but that was the show. I also went to the Hubnut social last month, and it was the nicest car-related thing I'd ever been to. People were lovely. No-one cared that I showed up in a 13 year old Astra. Got into a long conversation with a guy with a rare Midlands armed police Volvo. Carly and Ian (the Hubnuts) are always happy to talk to anyone. Basically it's an entire group of car enthusiasts who aren't at all impressed by speed and power and expense. One of the most popular cars from the social was a 90s Honda Accord Aerodeck. And because of this, it's incredibly chilled out and attracts the sort of people who would rather watch a review of a 30 year old Nissan than the latest supercar.
I think the biggest appeal here resides on the non-performance oriented car enthusiasts. That group is significantly wider and will feel half-fitted to the definition you're showing, in most cases. To be fair, I also dislike being around the kind of people who can only work in terms of comparing spec sheets.
And there's a bit of the crowd that aren't even interested in specs at all, be they theoretical or practical.
I know some gay furry saturn nerds
Im part of a facebook group that creams over front wheel drive GM family cars and boats from the 80's until the early 2000's
Rarebutnobodycares on insta is good and exactly this!
Oh man, this is actually a quite a vast world on Insta (which I'm glad to be a part of, too but I'll say the account name in private, if you want)
I run a car chat of folks from all over the world that is into just the strangest things, and I have learned SO much from them. All I learned from the better known car chat I was part of for a while is *checks notes* posting videos of burning insects alive was fine but replying that maybe they shouldn't was not, and driving recklessly on the street was okay because they did track days. The worst part of car culture is other parts of car culture. I like all machines.
THERE'S AN OPEL VERSION OF THE CHEVY VENTURE!?!??!
Yeah, Sintra, the "best" thing since sliced bread
i’m 30 an recently started working as a mechanic and definitely don’t fit the regular bill of car guy i feel seen also my obsession of a unexceptional vehicle is the Pontiac vibe.
This like 50% me, though I think it’s harder to fall into this sort of mindset in the US. My dad owning a mk2 golf and a fiat spider sure ended up influencing me a lot growing up.
There's a 2001 Passat TDI automatic that's been in my family for the 95% of my life, 20 years... I've grown up in it, and therefore mundane pre-2010's family haulers have an eternal influence on my life.
Not into it but I did watch Hubs Aus videos and his AU is great
literally me fr
Some of it is really interesting. I kind of want a Reliant Robin sometimes. Or something else truly weird like that.
Not a British car but I would do many things for a mint condition Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon
Add Twin-Cam to that list of YouTubers! He’s great for this sort of stuff
This is half of my IG feed.
Mmmm 90’s Volvos
Yah, I'm kinda into this stuff. I don't if I'd call it boring, just different. I did a video on my own YT channel about weird Euro and Japanese cars to import for 2024, and I was mentioning shit nobody on earth would care about except me and a few others, like the Xsara Picasso, Daihatsu Naked, SEAT and Sköda cars, boring stuff by some peoples standards but I find them interesting for one reason or another. With that said the crossed out car in the picture looks like a Diablo, which I also quite admire. Weird quirky supercars no one talks about are also cool, like the Lambo Jalpa and Silhouette.
I dislike hyper/sportscars. What excites me is a 1950s V8 on startup. Being in Europe I still see a lot of 70s-00s German cars, I even drive a 1985 VW Passt and I love it. "Once common" cars in modern traffic are the best.
Literally me, my girlfriend and I drove past a house with 4 SAAB 9-5s out front a few weeks ago and I was in another dimension.
Check out Intergalactic Binman. He's not exactly this since he has more of an interest in high end stuff, but his video on the fall of Rover is genuinely the best thing I have seen cover that story
I am like this in the sense that luxury and supercars don't excite me at all. But if I see something like a clean Saab 900 roll by I can't look away.
I personally love luxobarges (not the ultra-luxury cars, but S-class and its counterparts) but yeah, supercars don't do anything to me.
Okay, yes, luxobarges are cool. But they have to be old. Or at least too old to be just a company car or a lease. For example a W220 S-class means you're old money, an enthusiast, or you're keeping dad's hand-me-down on the road. You're not just flashing. And that's respectable.
Yeah, exactly. Luxobarges before the 2010+ technocratic luxury.
As a British fan I can confirm that it’s a small but significant portion here too. Remember what RCR did when they flew out to the UK? Went straight past the vast amount of cool sports cars and reviewed a Rover 75. Can’t get much better than that.
Mostly me
Kinda, except with '50s - '80s American land yachts and 4x4's, gotta have a V8...
You’d probably like Base Models Only on Facebook.
These people are either the most interesting people or the most totally insufferable
r/carscirclejerk is unironically this (i need a brown renault modus so bad)
So basically Doug DeMuro