These Are Your Most Jalopniky Cars

It might be hard for normal people to define if their car is "Jalopnik" or not, but this site is not for normal people with a casual relationship to their vehicle. We want the rabid enthusiast with champagne dreams and coke can budgets. We want people with rust in their veins (by the way, you should probably get that checked out by a doctor). We want diamond hands holding on to that 1978 Cadillac Coupe DeVille for some unfathomable reason. The folks who manual-swapped their Suburban just to see if they could. Those are our people. 

There's never a greater joy in this gig than when people tell you about their cars. I wanted all the details on how Jalopnik your car is — how long it took to rebuild the engine, why you chose that particular wrap, how you decided on the skull with red crystal eyes over an 8 Ball for the gear shifter- — and you supplied. Scroll through to see my favorite answers including one from a former Jalopnik star!

I own the first CTS V wagon with a stick (second VIN wagon, first was an auto). It's a slick top, recaro seats, polished wheels. Every time you post the crystal red tri-tint wagon that was shot in a studio by GM it's my car. And no, I had no idea what I was buying when I got the car.

From william sutherland

My Betty, 1991 Saab 900s.

Manual, Swedish, dead brand. Engine is derived from a Triumph and is mounted backwards with the clutch at the front of the car. Longitudinal mounting FWD. Ignition between the seats. It's fantastic.

From ThePigeon

I think all my cars are. In the sprit of choosing your favorite child i guess it would be my Eldorado that I got for $1500 with no keys and no title. Had to rebuild the fuel injection, front suspension and new convertible top plus tons more

But it starts every time needs paint and I still need to get to the rear brakes. I still feel like a million dollars every time I drive it

From 1976Eldorado

2010 Saab 9-5 Aero, Fjord Blue. One of I think 65 that were made that year. 135k miles on it. Bought it with a destroyed front bumper, which are virtually impossible to find. Managed to snag a non-Aero front bumper and repaint it to mostly match. Rest of the paint isn't much better. Just replaced the timing chains because GM HFV6, and while doing so I removed the mufflers because at the end of the day, louder is better. Still has some random electrical gremlins that I haven't bothered to track down (Parking brake module has spotty connection when the headlights turn on, and it gives an error for the left headlight despite it working fine; steering wheel controls don't work; need to replace lights in the rear light bar) and needs new front struts, but its pretty enjoyable to drive.

From AxelRipper

2019 Miata, red, manual transmission, unmodified. Not Peak Jalop, but I think it gets partial credit at least.

From Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death

2017 Opel Insignia. Longroof, Diesel, manual. Blue, though. And an excellent travelling car, I might add. The interior also holds up great.

From Ara Can

Triumph TR3, original paint, bent body panels, alignment via rubber mallet, the collision of crank start and disc breaks. Don't even have the soft top convertible frame installed. Built for hill climbs.

From thisisakinjaacc

2014 Chevy SS

A large, agile, LS3 powered RWD Sedan available with a manual(and yes I know the 14's werent available with a stick).

Thats pretty Jalopniky.

From SSWHAT2014

Wagon. Manual. Rust.

From bootska

I don't have a "Jalopniky" car; I have a Jalopniky fleet.

2020 Dodge Charger Scat Pak – Black. This thing is our family sedan. We all drive this, including my 17 year old daughter. We drive it in the winter with Blizzaks. We love this thing.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek stick-shift. Blue. My primary car for commuting. It's a ball in the snow, with smooth, predicable oversteer.

2003 Jaguar VandenPlas – Westminster Blue. I bought it for me; my wife and daughter almost exclusively drive it. It gets driven EVERY day. The Charger is getting a lot of garage time as a result. My 15 year old son LOVES it. Big, classy, smooth.

2022 Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo-Diesel. Silver. Capable of yanking a house off its foundation, this is our tow vehicle. We also use it as a garden tractor, delighting our neighbors as we use it to yank dead bushes out of the garden.

Each car has its role, each car is unique, and each car brings a smile to my face. The fleet is perfect.

What I like about it is we have all political/class roles covered.

Degenerate street racers. Check.

Snobby WASPS. Check.

Dirty hippies. Check.

Skoal-chewing rednecks. Check

From Corey Stringer

At first blush, I would say "not very," as it's a 2024 Cadillac Lyriq. But then on reflection the reading of Jalopnik had quite a lot to do with the car. First, the reporting on Tesla was way ahead of other media and that had a profound impact on my purchase. I did not even consider that marque when contemplating an EV. Second, the reviews of Cadillac products, the hapless Cimmaron aside is positive and pretty much spot-on regarding the spirit of the car and brand. As a union member myself, I was also persuaded by the assembly of the car by unionized labor. So how Jalopnik is the Caddy? More than I thought.

From Ted Stalcup

I'm probably the final boss of this, right? Like, you have to defeat me to 100% the game. The list speaks for itself. :)

Cars

1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe

1989 Suzuki Every (Manual)(JDM Import)

1991 Honda Beat (Manual)(JDM Import)

1997 Honda Life (JDM Import)

2006 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI

2003 BMW X5 (Manual)

2007 BMW 530xi

2008 Saturn Sky Red Line (Manual)

2005 Smart Fortwo Coupe

2006 Smart Fortwo diesel (CAN Import)

2008 Smart Fortwo Coupe

2009 Smart Fortwo Cabrio

2012 Smart Fortwo Coupe

2016 Smart Fortwo Edition 1

Motorcycles

2024 CFMoto Papio SS

2023 Royal Enfield Classic 350

2005 Triumph Rocket III

2005 Buell Lightning XB9SX

2005 Genuine Stella

1978 BMW R 60/7

1976 Suzuki RE-5 Rotary

1972 Yamaha U7E

Buses

2002 NovaBus RTS-06

From Mercedes Streeter