You're Into Cars...

elissa · Jun 24, 2008

But I'm not.

Sorry if this is totally in the wrong forum, but I have no clue about cars, and my WIP is in need of the perfect one. My idea of a cool car is based solely on the color, or maybe the cool bumper sticker.

Essentially, one of my characters is a fifteen-year-old boy who "borrows" his teacher's car one day while cutting class. The teacher is fortyish, very sophisticated, no children, intelligent, strict but personable, and appreciates a fast, sporty car.

What should she drive? C'mon, car fans, tell me all about her perfect car, and make it one a teenage boy would drool over!

Thanks!

...and mods, I'm a newbie, but please move this thread if it's misplaced...

elissa · Jun 24, 2008

and another thing

I don't know if it matters to her choice in cars, but this boy has somewhat of a teacher crush on her, and in the end she becomes quite a maternal figure for him.

Could be helpful. What do I know? I only know what color it will be and what kinds of bumper stickers it will have!

Shweta · Jun 24, 2008

elissa!
I'm moving this to Story Research, which is probably a better place to get your answers.

elissa · Jun 24, 2008

Perfect!

Jersey Chick · Jun 24, 2008

I'd need to know a little more about her but here are a couple of suggestions -

You might want to pop over to each automaker's website - a lot of them let you build your own car, what features are available, and give you an estimated price - so you can see if your teacher can afford one.

Mercedes coupes - SLK, CLK-type

BMW - Z series is sporty

Porche - you have the Boxster - their "low end" model car

There are also some nice Infinitis, or Lexuses (Lexi???)

And if I saw anyone had a bumper sticker on any one of these cars, I'd slap them. It's sacrilgeous...

Hope this helps a little...

alleycat · Jun 24, 2008

A Saturn Sky, A Pontiac Solstice, A BMW Z4, or a Porsche Boxster would all be possibilities. Maybe even a Jaguar.

elissa · Jun 24, 2008

OK, I was kidding about the bumper stickers. The car is black, though.

Backstory involves an ex-hubby with money, jerkish infidelity, and a car as a "congratulations, you're free from that a$$" present to herself with the proceeds. She has since moved into her sister's home and is teaching social studies.

So I guess price isn't TOO much of an issue, 'cause I know all about teacher salaries, unfortunately.

Also, the kid who takes the car is in foster care at the time, and because of the police involvement, etc, his foster parents don't want him back anymore, so he's in a kind of ward-of-the-state limbo. She's the kind of person who wants to take him home with her, even though he stole her car.

Aragon · Jun 24, 2008

Well,

A Dodge Viper is good, great speed and it is a great sports car.

A Porche 911 is very popular.

My mother loves the Firebird of the 90's for some reason.

Me, I'm a muscle car fied and love the Barracudas and GTOs

waylander · Jun 25, 2008

The Porsche Boxster looks a good suggestion. They've been around for a while now so a second-hand one wouldn't be outrageously expensive and they're very sporty while been easy to handle for the average driver

Bmwhtly · Jun 25, 2008

Aragon said:
A Porche 911 is very popular.

Obviously, the Boxter is below the 911.

If your teacher lady knows about cars, she'd probably go for the 911 over the boxter. (If she really knows her cars, she'd have the 911 Carrera 2)

If you decide to go with the boxter, go with the Boxter S.

If the porsche seems a little vulgar, and since she's female, the Merc SLK.

JimmyB27 · Jun 25, 2008

Don't know why, but what came to me when I saw this was a more classic, light sports car. Maybe an old Morgan or MG or something like that?
Might make it easier for the kid to 'borrow' it too - less security on those old cars.

Bmwhtly · Jun 25, 2008

JimmyB27 said:
Don't know why, but what came to me when I saw this was a more classic, light sports car. Maybe an old Morgan or MG or something like that?
Might make it easier for the kid to 'borrow' it too - less security on those old cars.

Interesting.
*sniff*
Do I smell an old Jaguar XJS coming on? I really think I do.

johnnysannie · Jun 25, 2008

I think Ford Mustang convertibles are classic cool cars

Bmwhtly · Jun 25, 2008

johnnysannie said:
I think Ford Mustang convertibles are classic cool cars

I fail to agree.
But I'm no fan of Mustangs.

elissa · Jun 25, 2008

OK, Hmmm, I hadn't gotten down to the details of how the kid steals it. He's not a toughened criminal, at least at this point in his life. I guess I had just assumed that he would have lifted the keys from her desk; teachers often have to leave their rooms unattended, and she's the trusting type, you know?

So, ignoring the security features, continue with your very enlightening discussion of cool cars. I am learning all about how much I don't know...which of course is the first step to figuring out this character.

Thanks!

elissa · Jun 25, 2008

Bmwhtly said:
Obviously, the Boxter is below the 911.

If your teacher lady knows about cars, she'd probably go for the 911 over the boxter. (If she really knows her cars, she'd have the 911 Carrera 2)

If you decide to go with the boxter, go with the Boxter S.

If the porsche seems a little vulgar, and since she's female, the Merc SLK.

Yikes, I just went to the wikipedia site for the Porsche 911 Carrera, and my head is spinning. However, even I am impressed with that car!

OK, and as I'm spinning this idea through my head (can you tell this story is in its infancy?), I'm thinking maybe this car was actually purchased by her husband...prior to or in the middle of one of his infidelities. Instead of selling it or letting him keep it after the divorce, she purposely gets the car and drives it. Kind of as a reminder?

Bmwhtly · Jun 25, 2008

elissa said:
Yikes, I just went to the wikipedia site for the Porsche 911 Carrera, and my head is spinning. However, even I am impressed with that car!

http://www.porsche.com/uk/models/911/911-carrera-s/

Williebee · Jun 25, 2008

See now, Elissa went where I did.

I'm thinking Corvette convertible, or maybe a Mustang convertible. Maybe even HIS convertible, the one he had to sell to help pay her the settlement.

But it really comes down to "how much" and "how old" you want the car to be.

From Porche up to Lamborghini, or from Solstice on down to an old VW Bug. (Although, restored, that would NOT be a downward price tag.)

btw, the new Saturn Sky is just plain hot.

allenparker · Jun 25, 2008

three thoughts

Most women I have seen in this scenario did one of the following:

New Ford Mustang.

Prowler

69 - 72 Corvette convertible.

Vettes are much easier to steal. A simple screwdriver and a dent puller will send you on down the road. And, as a muscle car, it would definitely appeal to a young man.

Phil DeBlanque · Jun 25, 2008

This may be a bit of prejudice, but...

I see Porsches, Vipers and Mustangs as "masculine" cars. A BMW Z4 or M3, on the other hand, would fit the personality you described well. A Mercedes R171 is also a great choice. It's part of Mercedes SLK series: initials, in german, of sport, light and short.

Jersey Chick · Jun 25, 2008

I was trying to think of it from my own POV (as a woman almost that age, though not quite

)

I love old cars... love, love LOVE them. But, I don't drive one because the upkeep on an old car would have to factored in. I had an old (1967) Mustang, that I finally had to get rid of, simply because it was getting tough to find parts and getting expensive to have someone repair it. So that's something you'd have to keep in the back of your mind. Even restored, if it's an old car, things are going to go on it. And most people (in my experience) who drive those older cars are fanatics about making sure that the numbers match on parts as well - so that would make finding replacement parts even more difficult.

Now, of course, she might be into cars enough that she had the time, the interest, and the $$ to keep up repairs. So, that'd be something to take into account as well.

elissa · Jun 25, 2008

allenparker said:
69 - 72 Corvette convertible.

Vettes are much easier to steal. A simple screwdriver and a dent puller will send you on down the road. And, as a muscle car, it would definitely appeal to a young man.

If you can do so without violating the Fifth Amendment, can you give me more details about this? Hmmmmm. I was just not the juvenile delinquent I should have been in order to be a proper writer!

Smiling Ted · Jun 25, 2008

Certain cars come with psychological/cultural baggage.

F'rinstance, a restored sports car isn't just a car - it's a labor of love for its owner. If the teacher had an old 'Vette or GTO, it would mean either she is a car nut...or her ex was, and she took the car from him because he loved it. Someone who bought a vintage sports car would either have to have grease under the fingernails, or rocks for brains.

On the other hand, in LA people talk a lot about "chick cars" - cars that either have a pronounced rounded or boxy look (Mini-Coopers and VWs, especially) or roadsters that are fast and zippy, but not particularly large (the Mazda Miata is a classic example).

Maybe an Audi TT or a Nissan 350Z...

waylander · Jun 25, 2008

elissa said:
OK, Hmmm, I hadn't gotten down to the details of how the kid steals it. He's not a toughened criminal, at least at this point in his life. I guess I had just assumed that he would have lifted the keys from her desk; teachers often have to leave their rooms unattended, and she's the trusting type, you know?

So, ignoring the security features, continue with your very enlightening discussion of cool cars. I am learning all about how much I don't know...which of course is the first step to figuring out this character.

Thanks!

Porshces are not at all easy to steal if you don't have the keys. There is a very effective immobiliser system factory fitted, has been for years (in Europe at least)

IceCreamEmpress · Jun 25, 2008

I'm a woman in my 40s who would like to have a sports car. If I were going to buy a new one, I'd get an Audi TT Roadster or a BMW Z4 M Roadster.

And I think having her yoink her ex-husband's beloved sports car makes her look scheming and vindictive; having her buy her own sports car in celebration of her freedom makes her look cool. So it's a matter of whichever you want to convey.

I also think that he should just take her keys. That makes his decision easier to write off as a moment of insanity; hotwiring a car is a bit more calculated.

You're Into Cars...

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