MC is living paycheck to paycheck without a steady job. He has a car that he loves that he'll put up with a lot to keep. I was going to go with a VW Beetle, but Harry Dresden drives one (as does everyone else) and my story has enough tangential similarities to the Dresden Files that I want to avoid creating any more. I was thinking of a Fiero for a while, but I don't know if anyone under 40 would recognize the name or how hard it would be to keep one on the road these days (the story will be set in whatever year I finally finish it). Walter White had that Aztek. It doesn't have to be a positive icon to be iconic, but it does need to be something cheap enough that the MC could keep it through thick and thin. No random Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts, no sugar daddy like Thomas Magnum just letting him use a Ferrari. Thoughts?
Any kind of Camaro/Iroc. That would get a standing ovation in my neck of the woods. Or one of those crappy Mustang hatchbacks or Volkswagen Scirocco.
Cars with followings: Ford Bronco (the original, not the execrable Bronco II) International Harvester Scout Edsel? The AMC Gremlin would be a good choice. My brother had one that, when last seen or heard of, had gone well over 300,000 miles with no engine work. The Fiero is a non-starter. Too oddball -- a guy living paycheck to paycheck could not possibly afford to keep it running.
How far back do you want to go? You might try a Plymouth Superbird: It'd inspire some passion, and you didn't have to be rich to own one. My ex-brother-in-law had one when they were new, and he was strictly white trash. Thought I couldn't tell you what it would take to keep one running today.
First thought is does it have to have four wheels? Many in your MC's position would probably have a bike which is easy to maintain yourself and usually much cheaper to run but I appreciate that that might make a very definite statement about him. In the UK a lovable car that is easy to maintain yourself might be something like a land-rover or a Citroen 2CV (kinda French Beetle), the UK equivalent was the Morris Minor but nothing says "vicar" like a Morris Minor, or to make it more American a small Ford like an Escort (my first car) or a Fiesta -- both cheap to run, but not sure that they are that lovable unless you go for something like an RS2000 Escort or hot hatch Fiesta, or maybe give him a van? Can sleep in it when necessary or maybe even get work. For practical go for a Ford Transit, or for more lovable we're back to v-dub. I think a lot depends how bad-arse your MC is, choice of vehicle will speak volumes
I love those, but they're worth a fortune these days. The cheapest one I could find with a quick google is going for over $100,000USD. No matter how much he loved it, the amount someone would be willing to pay would add a whole different dimension to the story. Yeah, it needs to be four wheels because a) he needs to lug stuff around for his "work" (he's a semi-fraudulent spiritualist) and b) he's got extensive nerve damage on the left side of his body due to having completed a 220v circuit via his left hand and grounding out through the boot. Mobility is going to be an issue for him (the accident happened long after he got the car and gave him his spiritualist powers.) Thanks for the suggestion though, I hadn't even thought of it.
So probably an auto then, which rules out most older vans... A big old Mercedes? Iconic, lovable, reliable, and automatic
Actually I had a 70s Dodge Maxivan when I was in high school that was automatic. Shit, I know those things and all their quirks way too well. Rolling nightmare. I was thinking about going with the Pinto suggested above, but this is a clear-cut "write what you know." Dude, thanks!
Hare you ever been in a 60's car from before Ralph Nader forced the industry to make them all safe? Most cars were rattletraps, all kinds of squeaks and noises and everything shaking. Knobs on the dashboard were almost like projectiles sticking out that you could impale yourself on if the driver hit the brakes a little too hard. And no shoulder straps, just lap belts.Nobody had ever heard of an air bag at the time.
I had a 1973 Mercedes that I dearly loved. I bought it in 1995 and kept it for half a dozen years until my husband decided restoring cars was not going to be his thing. Car restoration sure the hell wasn't my idea of a good time. We sold car and manuals to a young woman whose dad was a mechanic. It was tons of fun to Old Mercedes spot in town- everyone knew everyone else's car and waved happily as we passed each other on the road. It was a happy little informal club that I still miss.
Not my truck, but this is looking in the driver's side window. The seats have been removed, as has the felt and cardboard "liner". The back window of the cab is across the top of the picture, and the grayish thing with the straps is the gas tank. Nader was definitely right about some things.
What about the Geo Metro (AKA Guppy Car) ? It is small, probably fairly cheap to maintain, and I've seen a fair amount of them on the road over the years. Must be a tough little go-cart of a car that is easy to maintain. Looks like a joke, but get's decent gas mileage. So as long as your MC doesn't haul a lot with them, then this would kinda blend in over a broad time period, and pretty recognizable as a lower income mode of transportation.
Subaru wagon from the late 70s. I had two, and the damned things would go anywhere, bald tires or no.
I remember when my dad had an Opel GT. Sporty little 2-door imports, and only a few people in the country had them, so they'd always honk and wave. The most distinctive feature was the little off-center bump on the hood. And the flip-open headlights.
My first car was a 1996 Safari van in burgundy. My cousin sold it to me for $1 and the cost of the title transfer, which is still probably more than it was worth. The radiator had a crack in it and since the repairs were more than the van was worth, I just kept empty milk jugs of water in my back seat to fill it up before driving. The driver-side door latch mechanism was broken inside the door so egress was through the passenger door. Still it got me to and from work on minimum wage...
