These Seemingly Normal Cars Are Actually Pretty Weird

Modern cars are, for the most part, pretty normal these days. In an effort to chase higher sales numbers, all of the weirdness has been baked out of them. To me (and you), that’s a real shame, but still, there are some cars that slip through. There are some cars that, despite the best efforts of a manufacturer, end up very strange anyway, and that idea is what led me to the question I asked you all last week.

I wanted to know what seemingly normal car was actually pretty weird under the skin, and I was looking for cars that were semi-modern. After all, as I said, most cars used to be sort of weird — so that’s cheating. Still, most of you stuck to the prompt, and we got some wonderfully weird results. A lot of them were cars I hadn’t even considered — making me realize that there are actually a hell of a lot of strange and wonderful cars on the roads today. I’ll tell you what, that’s sort of made my day.

That’s really enough out of me, though. How about you scroll on down and check out what seemingly normal cars your fellow Jalops think are actually pretty damn weird. Did your car make the list? Do you feel like a weird freak now? You shouldn’t it should be looked at like a badge of honor.

I’d go with the Toyota Crown — it’s kind of an SUV, somewhat a sedan, almost a Lexus, not quite a Toyota, quick but not sporty, aspirational but not really lust-worthy, pricey but not unreasonable. And I want one, except that I don’t.

Submitted by: BuddyS

I think Subaru is kind of the king of this category for using the boxer engine setup. It’s an unusual choice and it sets them apart, and I applaud that.

Submitted by: Matt Pipes

Volvo’s first gen T8 Drivetrain

It’s a FWD 4 cylinder with a turbo … and a supercharger … and a crankshaft starter generator … and plug in hybrid rear motors make it eAWD.

It’s like they asked the engineers which method to use to add power/torque and they said “All of them”

Submitted by: Rexx

BMW made so many… choices with the iX. I have one, it’s a fabulous vehicle. From the back and sides it looks like a handsome-ish large SUV. Then you get to the front and find the horror that is the massive beaver grill (it grows on you… also, you don’t see it from the inside).

That’s just the most obvious… choice.

They wanted a seamless rear hatch so that means that to comply with regulations there are taillights inside the hatch compartment so that when you open the hatch you still have tail lights. They compromised a significant bit of storage space for extra tail lights. sigh

There are plenty of silly luxuries like heated arm rests and weird shaped steering wheel worth an honorable mention but the coup de gras is the iDrive knob, shifter, and seat controls. You can either have base rental spec plastic that looks and feels like 90s GM for the seat controls or… hear me out… crystal. Yes, crystal! No aluminum, carbon fiber, fancy touch materials of some sort… Crystal. That reflects light. Into your eyes.

I love my car but I don’t know who was in charge of these decisions.

Submitted by: Leon Grossman

I’d have to go with Saturn. It was GM’s Hail Mary effort into making American cars competitive with the Japanese in terms to quality, reliability, and durability and they, surprisingly enough, succeeded. I knew quite a few people who owned and loved various Saturns over the years and many kept them over hundreds of thousands of miles with regular maintenance (I STILL see them around today.) They had those easily replaceable polymer body panels so even the ones with miles look good, they had a unique and attractive design language, an alphanumeric naming that was unusual (weird, if you will) for that class and price of vehicle, and were generally inexpensive to buy and own (weird for American cars.)

What’s also weird is that a massive company like GM, with its antediluvian and monolithic corporate structure, would even consider such an effort. What killed the company was its archaic ways, with much of upper management wanting Saturn get in line with their outmoded ways, despite being a major (sales) success. What was unique and beneficial to the paying consumer was too unorthodox for GM and once they started selling re-badged Opels, the writing was on the wall.

Submitted by: LarriveeC05

Any of the BMW and Mercedes fastback SUVs like the X4, X6, GLC, and GLE.

“What I really want is the smaller cargo capacity of a sedan mixed with the poor handling and full economy of an SUV. Can you also add poor visibility and make the rear quarter proportions ungainly?”

I just never understood them. Let’s take the biggest drawbacks of 2 different type of vehicles and smash them together and charge more for it.

Submitted by: Brewman15

The Chevy Trailblazer, the new one, I had one for a month while my car was in the shop for a recall and some maintenance . It is like, chevy whent, “hey what if we did an awd Kia Soul with out any of the charm, half the practicality and make it drive like Dramamine and oatmeal was trying to save a marriage in Vegas, and much like the shelter dog that it is, you end up liking it for the fact it sips gas, has apple carplay, and at highway speeds its reasonably quiet.. its a weird vehicle that grows on ya.

Submitted by: TexasJalopySlinger

Toyota Prius prior to the current generation. Some may argue that it’s not a “normal” car, but it’s been on sale in its quirky form since 2003 and they’ve sold millions of them. Beyond the various exterior designs, the dash is mostly empty with a centrally located info display, and the shift pattern is unconventional. The latest redesign appears to have made things more normal.

Submitted by: Frosteeman

Small SUV (in 2dr form) with a full frame, solid axles, and a low range gearbox available in 2026. Also the Suzuki Jimny, which we need back in the US.

Submitted by: Drg84

Oldie but a goodie: the Suzuki Verona (aka Daewoo Magnus), a seemingly innocuous midsize sedan from the early 2000’s. What was weird was the inline-6 engine. I mean, I guess the engine itself wasn’t that weird (it was tuned by Porsche, allegedly), but it was mounted transversely in the engine bay, driving the front wheels.

Submitted by: DynamicPresence

It looks like a normalish souped-up Mustang like GT or Shelby with some bolt-on aero but that suspension, the rear transaxle, everything… wtf

Submitted by: Enrique Cobas