What Car Are People Surprised That You Hate?

We all have our tastes when it comes to cars and what we like, and typically our enthusiast friends are well aware of them. When something interesting drives by I can always tell which of my friends will turn their heads, and when I see a particular car on Instagram or for sale online I always know who to send it to that will appreciate most. But sometimes, despite knowing your friend really well, they’ll surprise you by absolutely dragging a car that you expect them to love. That thought is what brought me to today’s question.

What car are people surprised that you hate? Are you a huge Ferrari fan but hate the F40? Do you love vintage SUVs but just can’t stand Land Rovers or Land Cruisers? What car elicits a shocked reaction from your friends when you say you don’t like it? Did you get a scale model as a birthday present and start crying because it was a car you hate? (This did happen to me, though I held my tears until after the party.)

My answer is usually a controversial take, and one that people don’t expect from me. I hate the Studebaker Avanti. I acknowledge that Raymond Loewy was an incredible designer who created extremely good looking cars like the Studebaker Commander and Lincoln Continental, I also have to acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes. The Avanti is just ugly to me. I’ve never gotten it. I mean, I get why people love it so much, but it’s not for me at all. 

People are always surprised by this because I love an outlandish, weird design. I love the mid-century modern aesthetic in general, I love cars from that time period. I just hate the Avanti. All versions of it, too. It was especially surprising to some of my peers at car design school who revered the Avanti. Couldn’t be me!

Now I want to know what car you surprise people by hating. Let me know in the comments and I’ll round up the best answers later this week.