Everyone has a standard, a baseline that is the absolute bare minimum. Now, some of us have standards perhaps unattainably high while others don’t give themselves enough credit and set the bar too low. A bespoke Rolls-Royce is built to mind-boggling standards while the bar for something like a Yugo is so low that a crude fix like a rock and hose clamps make for a part better than new.
Somewhere in there is a classic British car, which is probably better than a Yugo, but not on the level of a Toyota. Bishops 4×4 created a Range Rover with an Aston Martin V12, striving for a “factory-like finish” in the process. Some of you think matching a 1971 Range Rover in quality might not be a high enough bar, like Jj:
“with an emphasis on precision and tidiness, striving for a factory-like finish”
Aim higher, guys.
This morning, Mark Tucker gave you a Shitbox Showdown between two cars that seem utterly forgettable. But hold on, that 1998 Nissan Altima GXE contains a surprise:
$1,500 is a nice price when you get to look at cats on your headliner! Angrycat Meowmeow, a perfect name for this situation, agrees:
I was already sold on the Altima as this gen lacks Big Altima Energy, looks pretty good, has a stick, and isn’t a 2004 Kia…but then you had to throw in the cat headliner? Easily one of the best mods I’ve ever seen. I no longer desire big turbos and bumping subs, I just want a tessellated cat headliner. Take your fancy suedes and Alcantaras and GTFO. Irresistible. I’m sold.
I’d also love to see Alexk98’s idea in real life:
The super high end carmakers DO say that they’ll build you whatever you want with enough money, and now I’m imagining a Rolls Royce Phantom with this headliner, but every cat on it has glowing starlight eyes. Probably a good thing I’m not wealthy.
Over the weekend, Peter Nelson wrote about how the cheap Mazda2 is an underrated barrel of fun. As the Autopian’s tiny car hoarder, I’ve always had a soft spot for the little Mazda2, and it’s so sad how cars like these are getting further in the rearview mirror every day. Marc Fuhrman has some good news if you want one:
Oh yeah, these are wonderful little cars. I’ve owned a 2011 since 2016 and have put on like 120k miles on it and it’s just been great. The Z series engine in these are basically just a modernized Mazda B series with a timing chain, so they are super reliable and respond well to tuning. Coupled with the well balanced chassis and slick manual gearbox, these really do feel like a Miata’s dorky little sister.
And the few issues these do suffer from are small and easy to fix. They do have a little bit of an appetite for suspension components like rear shocks, but that’s a two bolt job.And almost all of them have a wonky or straight up non working radio. Basically, one of three resistors on the top of the unit develop hairline cracks in the soldered joints due to yearly heat cycles, causing issues. Pulling the radio out and re-soldering (or just replacing the whole thing with an aftermarket unit) is all that’s needed.
Have a great evening, everyone!
How hard is it to do your own headliner? I think I have a new look for my car.
And the best bit would be it would be invisible to most people walking past 🙂
The applying the new fabric to the headliner is the easy part. The hard part is pulling from the vehicle and putting it back in, depending on how large it is and how big of a hole it needs to get out of the car. For example, my two door pickup, was easy to do, short headliner, came out of the door. I know someone that did a Jeep XJ Cherokee, headliner came out the back tailgate no problem. A BMW e38 7 series requires the windshield to be removed to get the headliner out as it’s larger than any opening inside the car, so the factory installed them through the hole the windshield is in.
My standards are already pretty low. A cheap car with a good interior is my standard.
I don’t know about my standards, but my wife obviously has low ones.
The key to happiness is lowering your standards.
That said, a great question article would be “What automotive item do you hoard?”, whether it be tires, spare parts, fluids, or types of cars. Personally, in addition to a pickup and a few normal cars, I have a hoard of four Japanese convertibles, and I’m tempted to buy a few more, but have no place to put them.
Agreed on both points. The Yaris beside my comment is a luxury car to me because it cruises smoothly on the highway, has working air conditioning, and – most importantly – I don’t have to worry too much about it, and have AAA just in case.
I still carry a few tools, along with partial jugs of oil, ATF, coolant, and washer fluid, plus a lighter-socket-powered tire inflator. The latter came with the spare parts in the Volvo 245 I’m hoarding.
I wish I remembered who responded when I mentioned it in the past, because I really would like to find a good home for a five-speed ’92 245 that’s been sitting in SW NH for several years. (The edit is to remove additional details I included out of habit, because I’m baring my soul here, not buying a for-sale ad.)
Anyway, there’s your answer.
> The key to happiness is lowering your standards
That explains why my spouse is so cheerful all the time.
You know I never really have an answer for those hypothetical what car(s) would you buy if you won the lottery questions … Now I do!
A 2025 Prius Prime. So, sue me!
You know what, those are pretty nice!
My real answer is I’d start collecting the cleanest stock GM trucks pre-2007 that I could find. But I wouldn’t kick a new Prius Prime out of bed either!