This Is Why You Still Love Your Car

Humans are rarely easy creatures to please. We demand so much of our cars these days that it's genuinely baffling we can ever settle on just one to buy. If you actually truly love your car, it's because you found something that you connected with on a deeper level than just a regular daily commuter. Whether you love your car because of its sentimental value, an ability to deliver practicality to your life, or perhaps some reasons you can't fully explain, it's there for you when you need it. Cars are more than just tools or appliances, they can grow to be part of the family if you let them. 

Over the weekend I asked the Jalopnik commentariat why they love their car, and the answers were all over the map. I tried to boil the answers down to just a few different connective tissues, and that proved difficult. There are a surprising number of readers who love their cars simply because they were able to rely on them in times of turmoil. That's a perfectly valid reason to love your car, and one that transcends enthusiasm or fun. I chose a few of my favorite answers and put them in a list for you to peruse. 

So, let's dig into the answers here. If you didn't get a chance to answer on Saturday, or you want to let the world know why you love your car, feel free to add your own opinions in the comments section below and we'll get into it!

My wife hates it. She thinks cars are just appliances. She doesn't get it. But driving it is the only place that's mine and only mine. I can just get in and...drive. No destination. No purpose. Just roll the windows down and find a twisty road.

Literal blood, sweat and tears have gone into keeping it on the road. Worst thing I've ever heard was my mechanic saying, "You spun a bearing. And bent your crank." But, with a little help from Lithuania and a Russian on that aforementioned VW forum, we got it back together. She's driven less nowadays; I've either got time or money–but rarely both at the same time–to keep her going, but I'll never sell her.

I love my 2004 uR32!

Suggested by rabbitgtibbar

Windows down on a twisty road is truly an unbeatable feeling. Sometimes you have to leave all of your earthly cares behind and just vibe. 

Sentimental value for me. This my first car. I have loved cars since I was 3 years old. My parents bought it for me for my 18th birthday in 2011. At the time, my mom was going through stage 4 brain cancer and I was taking care of her full time. She wanted me to get me a car to say thank you for taking care of her through everything. I wanted something different though. I did not want a Camaro, charger, challenger, mustang. I remember watching the movie the last ride with Dennis Hopper and as soon as I saw the car, I knew this is what I wanted. We hunted and found this car in CT. It had 42k miles on it at the time. Went to look at it with her and bought it. It was a former Chevy dealer that shut down from the bailout. They now sell high end cars. I still keep in touch with the owner of the dealership to this day as he loves this car and would love to have it back. Not for sale. Car had to be delivered to us in MA because no one in my family knew how to drive stick. I taught myself how to drive it, took her for a ride, and three days later she went back into the hospital and never came home. One of the last things she said to me was "keep the car nice". 15 years later and I have kept the car up extremely well. Has 102k miles on it now but I love this car as much as the day we bought it and will never let it go.

Suggested by Dan

It doesn't get enough love these days, but that generation of Pontiac GTO is incredible. It's a great car to keep around. 

It has an inline six, a five-speed, and a taut suspension. It's pure analog. It reminds me that driving doesn't have to feel like operating a washing machine.

Suggested by GoodOneLeroy

If you are driving your car like a washing machine, you're either driving wrong, or doing your laundry wrong. Though I wouldn't mind a washing machine with an inline six, a five-speed, and a taut suspension. 

Often you love something simply because it is the thing that is there for you when you need it. I drive an '07 Highlander Hybrid. At this point, it is the car I've owned the longest and is easily the least problematic. It isn't a real off-roader, but neither am I. No drama during a time when life was drama. Simple pleasures: 4 windows down & sunroof open in summer, finding cheap cassette tapes with my kids and then cruising. Has sort of baby 4Runner looks. It'll probably become my daughter's first car in a couple years. Its not cool or fancy or fast, but neither am I.

Suggested by Weirdisgood

If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with. 

It's nice to drive.

Suggested by Sean

Succinct. 

It's a Miata. After 27 years with my baby, It's always the only answer I need.

Suggested by Radar Lover Gone

Stick together and you can accomplish anything. 

It's the sense of adventure and a bit of romance. I love good cars as much as the next person, but ultimately I don't really care about the cars themselves. Having said that, though, I'm glad that some cars are built with that aspiration. And to me, still to this day, the best embodiment of that spirit is Alfa Romeo Spider. It's not the fastest, not the best handling, not the best looking either, and besides that, there are a lot wrong with it, but it's the most romantic, so much so, didn't they make a rom-com about it?

Suggested by JBJB

I find love often requires a bit of imperfection to really shine. 

seats comfortable and once in a while when weather is right can drop top on the mustang while leaving work and have 20 minutes of winding country roads by myself before hittin the interstate.

Suggested by ModelF

I've definitely put up with pretty terrible jobs before because the commute was so great. That decompression after a long day is next-level. 

I love my 2020 Mazda 6.It's not great at anything but it's good at everything. It still looks great, has been absolutely dead reliable, and I don't owe a dime on it. I have been considering replacing it but there is honestly nothing that interests me. I just got a new set of tires and did a brake job all around so it's mine until it decides to roll over and die.

Suggested by Bruno

A 2020 Mazda 6 with new tires and brakes? What more could you even ask for? That's true love. 

I love my 2WD regular-cab, 5-speed, crank-window GMC pickup. It's so nice to be able to haul stuff while rowing my own gears. It's what owning a truck should feel like. It has a low bed height so it's easy to lift the lawnmower up into, and the bed is slightly over 6 feet long, so I can fit a set of ramps in it during the winter for loading and unloading the snowblower.

Nowadays, it's irreplaceable. You can no longer buy a 2-door truck with hand-crank windows and a manual transmission. I also love my El Camino. You cannot buy anything like them anymore, either.

But I also love our 'new' vehicle, our 2024 Trax LS. It's a great little retirement road-trip wagon. Even though it's a 4-door and has a 6-speed automatic, it's pretty fun to drive.

Suggested by Anonymous Person

That sounds like a pretty perfect trio of cars. What can't they do?

reliable, durable, cheap to run and insure and most important is I'm poor

Suggested by Derry

Great features to have in a car even if you aren't poor. 

What I universally like about any of my cars? Any combination of the following:

It's paid off

It's cheap to run

It's cheap to insure

It's reliable

Suggested by Frank C. 

No monthly payment is a great reason to love your car. Even an otherwise lackluster car can be worthy of love if it's reliable and cheap. 

(Audi S3) Trouble free for the past 11 years! I also like its color and interior design. And no rattles.

Suggested by Luc Desaulniers (minardi)

I have been pleasantly surprised how solid my Audi has been over the last 40,000 miles or so. They kind of found the sweet spot with that era of cars.

2008 Honda Fit Sport. I love it because it's basic. Manual transmission, my controls are actual, true, 100% real physical buttons. I use a lever to adjust my seat. No annoying bings and bongs to tell me that I've left something in the cup holder. Best of all, NO FREAKING TOUCHSCREEN!

Suggested by Turk

Honda tried to tell us, but so few of us ever actually listened. The Fit, as they say, is go. 

In 2019, my life imploded while I was also switching to a new career. Hadn't landed a steady job yet, went through a nasty breakup, moved in with friends, racked up 5 figures in credit card debt just trying to make it all happen.

After paying off my debt, moving into my own place, and landing my dream job, I bought a 2021 Mazda3. It's not fancy or anything truly special, but it's a reminder that hard things aren't impossible.

Suggested by Scoobie2

It's rare for such a practical car to have such incredible design language. Mazda really knocked it out of the park with that one. 

The Civic Si is all about fun and cost of ownership. It's approaching 100,000 miles, and has had little maintenance other than brake components and fluids. Everything 100% still works and it drives just like when I bought it with 40,000 miles, and gets 35 mpg highway (with 91 octane required, unfortunately). It has technology, but nothing intrusive. There is a mileage penalty compared to more modern versions of the Si with turbos, but the K24 is perfection for a car this size. Replacement is inevitable because every car has an expiration date when used on salty roads. For whatever reason, I can't attach a photo. It's a 2014 red 4-door.

Suggested by Pinkerton9

A K24 and a stick are pretty great reasons to fall in love with anything. Having them hang around for six-figure odometer readings and cheap maintenance procedures are even better reasons. Keep hold of that one, you'll be loving it for a whole lot longer.