Back in the day, the descriptive phrase "living room on wheels" applied to an automobile was a compliment. That I never got. I simply couldn't understand why anyone would want to experience the joys of driving completely insulated from the joys of driving. While I didn't expect everyone to lust after a Dino (the car, not the animated dinosaur), there were BMWs and Mercedes and Toyotas and VWs about that offered a Miley Cyrus solution. Why couldn't Detroit at least move in that direction? When I drove the first Honda Accord, I rejoiced: the Japanese "got it:" road feel, steering feel, handling, braking, the works. I remember thinking right then and there that Detroit was going to get its butt kicked. I was wrong and I was right. As the success of the originall Lexus LS proved, the Japanese understood that building better American-style (i.e. pillow-soft and deadly silent) cars than the Americans was the key to mainstream success. While there are plenty of driver's cars for sale these days, it behooves those of us who prefer them to remember that most people don't. Or do they? If you put an Avalon driver in a BMW 3-Series, would they eventually learn to stop worrying and learn to love the Bimmer? The success of the new Lancer suggests not.
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What GM car is the new CTS going to end up cannibalizing?
The STS is the best thing I could think of. But, the STS is bigger, more expensive, can be had with the Northstar, and has less emphasis on sporty driving.
Sporty driving doesn’t have to be the only thing a car fan enjoys about a car. I bought my Camry V6 exactly because it’s so deadly silent for my daily commute. It’s an absolute marvel for me, and I truly love it. While I enjoy more interesting cars as toys (though yet again, even with those I’m more concerned about style and obscurity than performance), my Camry has really taken a place in the heart of this car nut. :)
RF: Sometimes, when you’re in a car, you’re not actually driving. You know, sitting in traffic, sitting at the drive-in, waiting for the toll gate, waiting at the U.S. border, waiting for your girlfriend to come down the stairs of her apartment, watching a drive-in movie (if it’s 1967 I guess…), parked at a romantic look-out spot hoping to get to 2nd base, and so on… In these situations the living room on wheels is infinitely more appropriate than the harsh, cramped, spartan interior of a Lotus Elise.
Ever drive through Boston at 8:30 AM on a Monday? It is the great equalizer, where a Saturn Ion is no worse than a BMW on runflats.
I know this is wildly off topic, but the Honda Fit IS a living room on wheels, albeit an Ikea living room. the front seats fold all the way down so you can lounge with tons of comfort, to do half of the things Samir said. I don’t have one but i have romped in one with the seats down and it works better than a living room sofa. Ok so ‘tons of comfort’ may be generous, but i found that set-up more comfortable than the drive-in with a borrowed ES350.
Most American cars are a lot better today than they were 30 years ago, in terms of “feel”, and certainly in terms of braking.
My mom has driven Impalas and Caprices for 40 years. Along the way there have been a couple Oldsmobiles and Buicks too. She doesn’t mind the road feel/steering feel in her new model compared to her ’67 (e.g. some feel as oppossed to none at all)
I know she doesn’t mind because she’s never mentioned it. It’s quite possible she’s never noticed it either.
I’m not sure the marshmallow steering couplers were ever really needed, but maybe the manufacturers thought that made the care seem easier to drive.
Soft and floaty was exactly what the N. American consumer wanted back then. However, if your point is that some of these characteristics were unsafe, such as poor braking and handling, then point taken.
Samir Syed: A drive-in movie is THE best bang for your buck where I live. 2 newer movies for $5 admission per adult, Fantastic! I live in Northeast Ohio (near Canton) and know of more than one drive-in around Akron and Kent. Luckily I don’t have to drive that far as the Lynn Drive-In is a mere 10 mi. south of me just outside of Strasburg.
If you live in America, do a search you may find one closer than you ever knew. If you don’t live in America, do a search, and if you don’t have one close to you, start one as a business.
The Lynn Drive-In, America’s oldest continually operating drive-in theatre, and the second oldest in the world (at least that’s what they broadcast over the radio before the movie and at intermission).
stop worrying and learn to love the Bimmer
Best line in a long time! Thanks, RF!
Those V8-powered rolling living rooms were also great long-distance highway runners. With those comfy seats and light touch steering you could put the armrest down, set the cruise, and let the miles roll by.
They were also great tow vehicles for pop-up campers and utility trailers. Years back I had a 85 Buick LeSabre sedan. All it needed to tow the pop-up was a set of cargo springs and a standard class III hitch. About the only car-like thing out there today that is anywhere near as suitable as a tow vehicle, excluding the Ford Crown Vic, is the FWD minivan and they are a poor subsitute. Setting up one of those means adding a weight distributing hitch (if the pop-up can take one) and installing a trans cooler in addition to the above. Oh, and put about $3000 into the bank for a new transmission. FWD vans have a hard enough time not coughing one up under normal driving. There are some large FWD V6 cars that can serve too, but they need just as much modification and are just as fragile.
radimus:
Your post reminded me of the hilarious “Honda trucks” ads that are currently making the rounds. While a Ridgeline is certainly more capable than a sedan or minivan (although the Ridgeline is minivan-based), it makes one laugh at the apparent oxymoron.
There’s no replacement for a full frame, RWD and V8 power when there’s towing and hauling to be done. Maybe if more cars had stayed this way, and if campers hadn’t supersized like everything else, we wouldn’t be bemoaning the recent SUV/crew-cab pickup craze.