These Are The Reasons Our Readers Love Their Favorite Automakers

Mazda - They’re the underdog and I root for them. have owned 2 so far. Better interiors, better performance and more value for money in features than the mainstream competition any day (although some tech is lacking). Love their 2.5 Turbo best inline 4 outside a BMW B48

They do need to upgrade to an 8-speed and offer hybrid options across their lineup.

Toyota. And this is a question about automakers, not who makes the best (enthusiast) cars. As an 80's kid I watched my dad suffer through unreliable GM station wagons for his summer painting (he was a school teacher), then a Gremlin that barely ever started, then his dream, finally, a Mercedes! Except it was a 1972 450SE that nearly bankrupted us. And then we bought a new 1980 Corolla wagon, a used 1984 Tercel, then a new 1989 Camry, then a new 1993 Camry, and later a 2005 Camry, and you know what? They needed their oil changed...and nothing else ever again.

I owned a 2000 Celica GT-S, bought new that I put 20 years and 386,000 miles on. By this point I could change the oil myself, and it’s all it ever needed. Toyota might have lost its way lately on quality but they seem to be righting the ship. They make the most iconic hybrid, a “budget” sports car, a fast sports car, and sedans and SUVs that come in all sizes and all hybrids, which is what our market needs. Are they boring? Maybe, but the big middle of the bell curve that is not Jalopnik, the people who need cars to go and stop and never break because they cannot afford for them too, that is still Toyota. They give the masses not only what they want, but what they need.

It’s Lexus. Toyota quality is bulletproof and Lexus is just a fancy Toyota. They’re never the fastest or the absolute best at anything, but the amount of time I’ve spent NOT in the service department over the years vs. other brands I’ve owned is priceless.

I would have to say Pontiac. Apart from the GTO, Trans Am, and Fiero, they has some really cool models even into the early aughts, with the new GTO, G8, and Solstice. GM really did them dirty by keeping Buick around and axing them.

Currently? None of them. They are all building wheeled stupidity of very little interest to me at all anymore. Shark well and truly jumped, I’m done. Overpriced, overscreened, and underwhelming across the board. Get back to me when I can, in fact, buy a car that will let me take a nap while it chauffeurs me from FL to ME and back up the interstate and I might have some interest again. At that point I won’t care what it looks or drives like, I will be asleep or reading a book. I’ll drive my olde crockes around town and actually enjoy driving.

In the mid-term, BMW, though about 2012. Despite the reputation, in my direct, personal experience because I have little interest in the stupid ones with V-anything engines or M’s in the front of thier badges, I have had excellent results with a BUNCH of them. Great buying and ownership experience, they drive properly and I find them easy to live with. Honorary mention and a glass of Akavit poured out for Saab. They were 85% as good as a BMW for a significantly lower price and higher efficiency. But if you can afford that last 15%...

Historically, Peugeot. My first and one true automotive love are RWD Peugeots of the ‘60s-’80s. Nothing has as sublime a ride and handling balance short of a Citroen, and Peugeots are much easier to live with being rather more conventional to say the least. They are just delightful cars, I get them, they get me. Sadly a very difficult proposition to run today, even as a toy car.

If I have to pick just one, it would be Peugeot, even if I haven’t owned one in more than 20 years now.

I REALLY love McLaren and it stems from my childhood for sure. My first memorable racing game experience was NFS II SE. my favorite cars to drive were the Lotus Esprit, the Ford GT90… and my favorite of all the almighty McLaren F1. 20 years later their entire lineup is my favorite to see at local shows or on the roads. The F1 still has a special place in my heart for essentially getting me into cars at all in the first place. I remember telling my dad when I was a kid before I understood the concept of money “they’re a million dollars and I’ll get one one day….” Well now they’re 20 million, and I can’t even afford the book. I’ll probably tear up if I ever just see one. Gordon murray’s obsession with perfection sent me down the road of my automotive love and I haven’t looked back since.

If anyone wants to buy me the book…. My birthday is in September.

Also - shout out to TheSquidd on YouTube. Like all the videos he’s put out so far, his one on the F1 is a great watch.

As far as brands I can actually afford. It’s VW for sure and I don’t know why. I’ve got a MK7 TDI Sportwagen, a 69 karmann ghia and a 73 squareback. Hell I even have the VW logo tattooed on me. Not sure how or why this started but here I am.

Dodge. When I was starting to get interested in cars Dodge was taking chances. The Viper, the Neon, Intrepid, Ram, and Dakota all looked cool and seemed exciting. I was excited when the 3rd Gen Hemi came out. When I found old Peterson publishing books about Mopar performance in the ‘60s-’70s, I appreciated them as an engineering company. Sadly, merger after merger that company has died off. The company that brought us the minivan puts a hellcat in everything and everything in their lineup seems so angry. They never were perfect, no automaker is but I couldn’t see myself owning anything of theirs after the mid-2000s.

If we are going to go with dead brands, I’m going to go with Hudson

1. They lasted a LONG time. Dad got 13 years and 170k miles out of his without a rebuild. It did have a lot of work required, like adjusting brakes and oiling clutches regularly, but that was the way all early 50s cars were.

2. First Muscle Car. From 1932-1938, Hudson spun off the Terraplane brand. Terraplanes had the engine of a full size Hudson in the body and chassis of their cheap Essex branded small car. Big engine+ small car over 30 years before the GTO.

3. 1948 Hudson. To me, this is the first 50s American car in style. Very American and that body style works so well for hot rods to this day.

I’m rolling with Volvo. They make some gorgeous wagons, SUVs pushing over 400hp, classics like the P1800, iconic 240s, the best seats in the business, and a good number of their models are stealthly fun to drive. All while looking responsible, and their reliability is pretty darn good, too.

Despite 15 cars and 8 motorcycles in my fleet, my heart still has the softest spot for Smart. Sure, Smarts have never been the fastest, most fuel efficient, or the easiest to live with. But they remind of early Saturn. They were different with a purpose. Mercedes-Benz could have just made a tiny car (and it did with the A-Class) but its engineers went the extra mile to make something that stood out.

The safety cage has proven itself to be remarkably safe and the plastic panels remain easier and more forgiving than metal. Smart’s no longer around in America, but people are still swapping panels with each other, giving their cars a bit of a refresh. Tired of boring gray on gray car interiors? Smarts are funky! And now there’s a Smart for everyone. My first generation diesel gets 70 U.S. mpg while my third generation has a dual clutch transmission and a turbo. Those third gens were also available with a real five-speed transmission.

But, I will be the first to admit that Smarts, aside from the super thrifty diesels that we didn’t get, were not really meant for America. Most of cities were built around cars and there are vast miles between them. So, it makes sense that the only two cities I see lots of Smarts in are San Francisco and New York City, two places with horrible parking.

Still, people love to talk about how cars are so boring nowadays. Smarts weren’t boring. Everyone has something to say, whether it’s good or bad.

Jeep, I have owned 5, I just love that I can take a daily driver to the off road park or down challenging trail with it loaded with camping gear. I love that they still have solid front axles. I love that there is loads of aftermarket support and a great owner community. My current 2012 JKU has been fantastically reliable (unlike the old jeeps) I love the utility and storage space. I off road at least once a month. The worst part is the blinding rage of non jeep owners in comment sections. I do not take it to the mall, I do not care how rough it rides, I just like it more because of your hatred.

It’s always been Honda for me. I’ve owned 5 different cars and 3 motorcycles/scooters. I never had problems with any of them, my 93 EG(miss it so much) lasted a whole year with a cracked cylinder before I could afford to swap the poor D16 out, my wife and I drove my mom’s old Accord during college until it had almost 450k on it, the ‘01 CRV got turned into a camping vehicle that refuses to die and my EF, which is now just a shell will probably go to my nephew. My current car, a 2019 CTR, has been the best car of my life. I didn’t own a lot of the late 00's and early 10's Hondas because my others were so reliable but I don’t think I missed much.

For companies i could actually afford to purchase it has to be VW. Cheap but you get (for good or bad) that german engineering. And being that most are detuned versions of faster Audi/porsche machanicals they have a lot of room for modification and tuning. They also make the best all arounders for a reasonable price.