Car Stories

[akboss]

Alright, time for some good ol' fashioned stories from proud owners of their cars. Is it a classic muscle car left in your family, a rustbucket that gets you to class or a brand-new dream car you have been saving up for?

Personally, I drive a 2003 Mazda Protege5, white on black with tinted windows, sunroof and 5-speed stick. I found the car about 4 years go when I had been saddened by looking at new cars in my price range, cars like the Yaris and Chevy Aveo/Optra. As soon as I saw this car it was love at first sight. It hasn't been all roses in the past 4 years, but overall I have no buyers remorse and enjoy driving it every day. It's reliable, cheap to maintain, good on gas, practical, and most importantly fun.

What's your story?

[suzeeqzee]

i drive a scion xb and love it! 2007, represent. it's not the revamped, rounder model. i like it mostly because of the space it gives. i'm in a band and i haul all of our equipment and wouldn't have it any other way. it doesn't just get me from a to b it supports what i love to do!

[akboss]

Originally Posted by suzeeqzee

i drive a scion xb and love it! 2007, represent. it's not the revamped, rounder model. i like it mostly because of the space it gives. i'm in a band and i haul all of our equipment and wouldn't have it any other way. it doesn't just get me from a to b it supports what i love to do!

Have you checked out the Nissan Cube, ever see yourself in one of those? I had never driven one of these boxy things until I got the chance to pilot a Cube around a short course, and it was so cool! I think it's a novelty though. I loved the massive feeling of space - it actually felt impossibly big, as the inside seemed bigger than the outside. It parked and turned on a dime, and I can see why these are popular in the city - small, but can hold tons of stuff.

One of the things I love about my Protege5 and I can't seem to find anymore in new cars is the super low dashboard. There is so much glass in the car the visibility is second to none. Sometimes I ride in a friends Caliber, and the dash is so high and the windshield so small, compared to my car it feels like you're looking through armored plating on a tank or something.

[suzeeqzee]

Originally Posted by akboss

Have you checked out the Nissan Cube, ever see yourself in one of those? I had never driven one of these boxy things until I got the chance to pilot a Cube around a short course, and it was so cool! I think it's a novelty though. I loved the massive feeling of space - it actually felt impossibly big, as the inside seemed bigger than the outside. It parked and turned on a dime, and I can see why these are popular in the city - small, but can hold tons of stuff.

One of the things I love about my Protege5 and I can't seem to find anymore in new cars is the super low dashboard. There is so much glass in the car the visibility is second to none. Sometimes I ride in a friends Caliber, and the dash is so high and the windshield so small, compared to my car it feels like you're looking through armored plating on a tank or something.

sorry, just saw this response! umm, never checked out the Nissan Cube before, but looking at it now, i can certainly see it's appeal -- especially for a Scion driver. but yeah, same sort of thing: seemingly more room inside than out, drives great, and yes, great for city driving & moving stuff around.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by akboss

One of the things I love about my Protege5 and I can't seem to find anymore in new cars is the super low dashboard. There is so much glass in the car the visibility is second to none. Sometimes I ride in a friends Caliber, and the dash is so high and the windshield so small, compared to my car it feels like you're looking through armored plating on a tank or something.

I agree. This is precisely the reason why I did NOT buy a Chrysler 300/Dodge Magnum about 3 years ago. I read a book about auto styling a few years ago; there is a lot of psychology involved in auto styling. In theory, cars with small windows appeal to the insecure because they are seen as being more protective and isolating people from their surroundings. Large windows leave some people feeling more exposed.
Personally, imo making windows excessively small is silly, for obvious functional reasons.