Class-defying Cars

Occassionally a car comes along that manages to defy its class and be aspirational to all demographics.

original and new Mini
original Mustang
original MX5
original WRX
and although I'm not quite sold on this one, possibly the Audi TT

Disagree with any of the above? And which obvious models have I missed?

Didn't Peter Egan do a whole article on this?

ahhhhHA!

http://www.roadandtrack.com/column/the-classless-car

I'd also include hybrids in that. Say what you like about them as cars, if a person is trying to make a certain statement - whether they're movie star rich or bureaucrat poor, it's the car of choice.

The vintage VW Beetle, of course.
A lot of the other muscle / pony cars - Hemis, Camaros, etc. etc. would qualify.

I'd say hybrids were included but theyre swinging the other way just as quickly now


Id add the E39 M5 to the list too

Pennzoil GT-R wrote:
Id add the E39 M5 to the list too

I'd say the E39 5 series generally. You can pick up a nice condition 540i 6-speed for the price of a new Civic (or less), now.

Looks like I did an alright job of matching that article considering the lack of thought that went my post. Although I did think about the Beetle (new and old) but disregarded it because I wasn't sure the original appealed to the wealthy (despite selling crazy numbers). The new one became a car solely for young girls as soon as the New Mini arrived.

I definitely agree with the Prius - it is probably the class-defying car of the last five years. Don't agree with muscle cars other than the 60s Mustang back in the 60s. If you're talking classic muscle car ownership now, that's irrelevant because all classic cars are essentially class-defying (although not necessarily affordable).

And I definitely don't agree that a 5 Series or E Class is class-defying. They are probably the two most class-defining models of the last 20 years.

not a base e class or 5, but the m5 at today's prices.

id add the land rover defender to the list and probably the land cruiser. theyre both so brilliant at what theyre designed for that here at least youre as likely to find a yard hand in one as you are a lord or lady with a few thousand acres to cover across his estate.

and the VW Golf. the royal family use them as their first car and people from all walks of life use them as a run around

Just because a car is the default choice in its segment doesn't mean its aspirational. Otherwise my original list would be scrapped and replaced with:

Golf
320i
Accord
Rav4/Hilux/Camry/Landcruiser/Corolla/every Toyota

The Mini may not be the top seller in it's segment, but there are people who would rather own it than anything else. That's regardless of the practical reasons to own one (and there aren't a lot of those if you've ever seen the back seat) or the build quality.

I sort of see your point with the Defender, because here no farmer in his right miind would own one over a Japanese 4WD. They all belong to the yuppies in my suburb who think X5s and MLs a bit too accurately reflect their actual lifestyles.

Swerve wrote:Looks like I did an alright job of matching that article considering the lack of thought that went my post. Although I did think about the Beetle (new and old) but disregarded it because I wasn't sure the original appealed to the wealthy (despite selling crazy numbers). The new one became a car solely for young girls as soon as the New Mini arrived.

I definitely agree with the Prius - it is probably the class-defying car of the last five years. Don't agree with muscle cars other than the 60s Mustang back in the 60s. If you're talking classic muscle car ownership now, that's irrelevant because all classic cars are essentially class-defying (although not necessarily affordable).

And I definitely don't agree that a 5 Series or E Class is class-defying. They are probably the two most class-defining models of the last 20 years.

Yeah, I see your point on the 5 series / E Class. I would say, though, that the Camaro, back in the 60s was also a class defying car. You could probably also throw in the Jag E-Type and the Corvette Sting Ray as well. Even though the Jag / Corvette were a bit more expensive, they were still attainable by most people who wanted to buy one, and certainly desired by everyone.