{"id":37396,"date":"2011-03-21T09:01:33","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T13:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=37396"},"modified":"2011-03-21T09:01:33","modified_gmt":"2011-03-21T13:01:33","slug":"mcblog-the-nicest-car-i-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2011\/03\/mcblog-the-nicest-car-i-ever-had\/","title":{"rendered":"McBlog: The Nicest Car I Ever Had"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder. But what does our columnist find so appealing in the Colt Vista?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think this is the nicest car you ever had,\u201d my mother said to me from the passenger\u2019s seat. Her eyes, still a snapping dark brown in her late 80s, choked off my emergent laugh though that\u2019s the response the remark deserved.<\/p>\n

After all we were not in my Porsche, my Alfa, my Lancia, my Ferrari \u2013 cars I had owned serially over a few decades. We were not even in the MG-TC in which she had shared an at-limit dart up Mt. Diablo — clinging tightly and smiling broadly though precariously exposed to traffic in this right-hand drive roller skate. Nor were we in the semi-rally-prepped Mini Cooper in which we toured a newly opened-to-foreign-traffic USSR in the mid-1960s.<\/p>\n

No. The car she had proclaimed to be my \u201cnicest\u201d ever was a white Colt Vista. Colt Vista! A minivan-tall-station-wagon sort of vehicle that was badged a Dodge and imported in limited numbers when Mitsubishi and Chrysler had some sort of patty-cake relationship.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe Free!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead of laughing I set to musing about what is it that earns a car the \u201cnicest\u201d title.\u00a0 I realized that the Colt Vista restored to my mother some fading independence. She did not need my help to get down into it or up out of it like she did in my sportier machines. (SUVS, with their demand for a Sherpa gene to ascend, had not yet invaded the marketplace.) The Vista door opened wide and stayed there yet at least a part of it could be reached while seated to pull it to. The car seat matched her seat height. She could simply turn, plonk down then swing her legs over the low sill. Voila!<\/em> In.<\/p>\n

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Okay, it's easy to fall in love with the Ferrari 458, but is it the "nicest" car our author has driven?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Vista\u2019s high roof line combined with the low step-over height eliminated that awkward task of simultaneously ducking the head and lifting the legs, a jackknifing that age makes ever more problematic,\u00a0 especially on those days when \u201cArthur\u201d, as Mother called her painful stiffening, was visiting.<\/p>\n

Once in place Mother could even reach the seat belt and snap it by herself. Because the car had no extreme rake to the windshield with the accompanying vast acreage stretching ahead and because the side windows were wide and high she could be a part of the outside world as well, perhaps a minor but nonetheless empowering ability as age shrunk her sitting height.<\/p>\n

Mother had noticed in our drives how the folding rear seats and the wide-opening rear doors made loading and unloading stuff easy. The wide yawning hatch ditto. We carried some awkward and variously\u00ad-shaped stuff home from flea marketing, too. And flats loaded with leafy plants slid in and out easily. It was this utility, flexibility and versatility that endeared me to the Vista.<\/p>\n

The \u201cnicest\u201d car?\u00a0 Well, certainly it nicely assisted me and Mom in our assorted tasks. That\u2019s nice. But I\u2019m reluctant to attach a blanket \u201cest\u201d to anything. Except maybe \u201cfastest\u201d because that has a number and numbers tend to be rigid, ultimate and \u201c-est\u201d-ish.\u00a0 And maybe the least interesting to me for that reason. I like blurring the trees as much as anyone and feeling Gs pin me to the seat, but so many really fast cars don\u2019t feel as fast as something more nimble, lighter, responsive. And it\u2019s the feeling that counts.<\/p>\n

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Better to be in an Aztek than looking at one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maybe if I hadn\u2019t once owned the style, excitement, power and sound of my Porsche, Alfa and Ferrari or if in my job hadn\u2019t allowed me access to many of the latest hot wheels as they wound their way to public introduction I would not have been so content with the simple niceness of a Colt Vista. I did get the \u201cnever thought I\u2019d see you<\/em> driving one of those,\u201d remarks, which always puzzled me. And annoyed me, too. I\u2019d make a stroppy retort like: \u201cI define the cars I drive, I don\u2019t let them define me.\u201d Whatever that meant.<\/p>\n

I see to it that I enjoy every vehicle I drive though some do, indeed, make it easier than others. Just as I seldom give up entirely on a movie enough to walk out I rarely completely dismiss a car I drive. I trust there is some reason it exists, even if it is to scrape a few more dollars from a model long past its use-by date. Or take the Aztec (please). That lumpish creation, a misguided attempt to design for a misinterpreted \u201cyouth\u201d market, had within it an inventive interior with innovative tucking places and general usefulness. (And anyway when a vehicle looks like the Aztec it is better to own one than not. Being inside your Aztec means that is one less you are apt to see out your windshield and thus ruin your whole day.)<\/p>\n

When I get into a new car I empty myself of expectations. I try to determine for whom the car was intended. What purpose was in the designer\u2019s mind? What was it supposed to do? How honest and directed was that intention? And how well does the car fulfill those goals? In that mode I can with reason describe to you the car\u2019s successes and failures and how it will serve your needs or fall short.\u00a0 That\u2019s the mode in which I might agree with Mom that the Colt Vista was the \u201cnicest\u201d car I ever had.<\/p>\n

Then there is that other mode that is a sort of overdrive to reason. It\u2019s activated by a switch that simply turns you on. You ask no sensible questions, furrow no brow, ponder no motives.\u00a0 Further you find no fault or even virtue – you simply open the connection to the pleasure centers, like a lab animal, and enjoy with silly grin. You are delighted, amused, transported, entranced.<\/p>\n

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The "Man Van"? The new Dodge Caravan R\/T.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only later in retrospect do you acknowledge the subjectivity of the experience and write of it accordingly allowing for the difference between \u201cfond of\u201d and \u201clove.\u201d\u00a0 Such an important difference that switch is because it comes with a ton of forgiveness. In that transcendent mode you become instantly forgiving of what reason would perceive as shortcomings. Flaws become endearing even. (Isn\u2019t that droll — you can burn your leg on the exhaust.)<\/p>\n

Aside: I have a theory. Toyota in its intense history has been able to engender admiration, respect, even a certain fondness, but not the passion of love for its vehicles. Suddenly when what it was admired for \u2013 reliability \u2013 came under question with \u201cunintended acceleration\u201d there was no safety net to catch the company\u2019s reputation. No blindfold of love to ignore the reports. Toyota fell precipitously, though really unaccountably.<\/p>\n

Official reassurance, arriving later, has helped and buyers, still skittish, are coming back to the showrooms of a stunned Toyota. It was not that Toyota hasn\u2019t tried to be loved but it seems as soon as they create a likely candidate they change it. (\u201cMister Two,\u201d for example. I\u2019d say lovable.) Forcing love is hopeless. Piling up amenities doesn\u2019t do it. It\u2019s the entirety of the experience that matters. The pearls have to have a string. Until Toyota discovers the magic flint that sparks love they risk another plunge when \u201crecall\u201d echoes through the garage. End aside.<\/p>\n

So my intent when I started this McBlog was to write about the virtues of the minivan and my puzzlement over why this sense-making configuration has inspired so many \u201canything but\u201d sentiments. And this among the very people who would best benefit from a minivan. You see how far I wondered. But think again of my \u201cnicest car\u201d.\u00a0 Its virtues are the minivan virtues \u2013 versatile, efficient use of space. The best on wheels. The SUV, which displaced the minivan and to some degree the wagon in the affections of the American buying public, is largely an image machine. Yes, an SUV, or some at least, can conquer the Rubicon, wade deep in gumbo mud and leap tall buildings, but rarely are they called upon to do more than crunch the gravel on a golf club parking lot. And most SUVs \u00a0promise more than they can deliver. It\u2019s that look that gets the buyers.<\/p>\n

I understand the appeal of that look. An SUV is a Burberry trench coat with epaulets and a belt you tie despite its buckle. It turns rain to beads that roll off but it\u2019s just as popular on a cloudless day.\u00a0 Or was. You don\u2019t see many sun-time trench coats now that Columbo\u2019s gone. But the SUV look holds its popularity despite how difficult it is for little ones or old ones to get in or out. Reason says it takes more space than it offers for use and its weight and billboard shape make for poor CAF\u00c9 numbers. Reason yields to the image. Many SUVs have been tamed to a unibody and dubbed a crossover which plays hob with towing ability. And still they trail the minivan in efficiency. (But, yes, they are appealing.)<\/p>\n

Efforts to give the minivan more curb appeal for SUV fans are fruitless. And maybe eventually unnecessary. Maybe as economy and efficiency return (yet again) as a higher-valued virtue minivans will look better just as some bar habitu\u00e9s blossom with the downing of beers and passage of time.<\/p>\n

And maybe some other virtues will emerge. I heard from a man who was caught without his usual high performance ride when a lease expired so he borrowed his wife\u2019s minivan. And kept it. A change of tires and a little attention found it handling downright impressively. He liked the ease of access to varied storage configurations and he claims it saved him a ton of money. No, not on gas, though there was much less spent per pump visit, but on tickets. Though he insists he drives his \u201cMeni\u201d(sic) van with the same elan<\/em> he did his high performance cars he is ignored by cops as if swathed in a Harry Potter cloak. He has dark-filmed the windows and canceled his hot car order. He is now proselytizing on behalf of \u201cMenivans.\u201d<\/p>\n

One happy convert does not a trend make, but wait. At a press intro of the Toyota Sienna I met the young engineer responsible for it. He was a week-end racer and that enthusiasm he had transferred to the Sienna. Yes, it is as Soccer Momish as you wish but push it hard and it grabs at the road and says \u201cOK. Let\u2019s dance.\u201d Fun in a minivan? It happened. Particularly at the base level.<\/p>\n

At a Dodge event I had to smile at the new Caravan. They\u2019ve divided up chores at the Chrysler house and Dodge drew \u201cperformance\u201d. The Dodge boys took the assignment seriously. It was easy enough with cars called Challenger and Charger. But they got the Caravan right, too. The Caravan just sitting there accepts its past and dismisses it at the same time. Taut and lower, body-colored where bright work once was, it barely registers on the retina yet leaves an impression: one of quiet confidence and the pared style of shunning stylishness. \u201cMan van\u201d the sign behind it says. Ah, the calm chill of stealth. Imagine, a cool minivan.<\/p>\n

I have previously in this space made known my delight in the Ford Transit Connect. I also like the Ford Flex and the Chevy HHR. And the Mini Countryman and Suzuki SX4. Suspect a pattern? And oh yes, the Kia Soul, the Mazda2, the Fiat 500. What pattern? But if I had to choose blindfolded and ear-muffed I would hope I were in Germany. I\u2019d\u00a0feel around for a tight-bodied sport wagon. Diesel of course. Now that is really nice. I\u2019d hope Mom might have agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, Denise McCluggage has owned – or at least driven – an incredible array of automobiles. Yet forget the Ferraris, Porsches, Alfars and BMWs. You might be surprised by what our intrepid columnist dubs the “nicest” car she has ever driven – in her latest McBlog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":37399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37396"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37396"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=37396"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=37396"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=37396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}