A Citroen 2CV? Um, no. Photo: Michael Tettinger

As an automotive journalist, I drive a lot of cars. Most are good, very few are bad, and even fewer count as exceptional. In a time when nobody builds a bad car any more, it’s really tough for a vehicle to stand out. Even raw horsepower isn’t enough these days, since 400 horsepower luxury, sport and muscle cars are commonplace. You know you’re jaded when a 330 horsepower sport sedan doesn’t do it for you anymore, because it feels just a little down on power. Still, most of us live in the real world, where it’s necessary to balance performance against practicality and cost. What good is a 556 horsepower coupe that most of us can’t afford, and that has no usable back seat? What good is a car that’s reasonable to commute in, but utterly useless for the occasional autocross or high performance driving event? Can you really afford insurance and gas for a V8 muscle car? These are all things to consider when buying a car, but I don’t generally factor in any of them when they toss me a new set of keys each week. For me, it comes down to this: which cars can I relate to the best, and which car would I most like to park in my garage? Which car would I be willing to make sacrifices to own?

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