Is it aesthetics? Performance? Engineering? Sentimental value? Nostalgia? Weirdness?..
I could go on, there’s as many ways to enjoy a car as there are car owners and I find it very interesting what people value in what is ultimately a tool of conveyance that is elevated by social and personal values.
I always love cars that are just a little weird, they have features that don’t quite make sense, they have styling that just doesn’t fit in with other modern cars, and they certainly don’t blend in at the grocery parking lot. They emanate a certain incongruence with the world around them.
I’m not really a car person now but my first car was a burgundy mk3 Ford Capri I found on a database I was helping put together for my friend’s dad, who was a second hand car dealer. Turns out it was right at the back of the lot. I went back there to see and instantly feel in love. My friend’s dad sold me it for £400 the lovely man. Stupendous machine.