Cars are carefully engineered with specific primary use cases in mind, whether that specific use is lapping racetracks as quickly as possible, traversing the toughest terrains without breaking a sweat, pushing the boundaries of fuel efficiency, or towing the heaviest trailer possible. In the real world though, owners rarely use cars strictly for their intended purpose. You’ve got many heavy-duty pickup trucks that serve duty as daily-driven family haulers, and many seriously capable off-roaders that never leave the comfort of paved roads.
While not all of these unintended roles are particularly exciting, you may find yourself using a boring car in an exciting or funny way every now and then. Whether you’ve used a Mazda Miata as a moving van, a Hummer H2 as a time attack truck, or a Mercedes-Benz S-Class for your mobile pet grooming service, we want to hear about it. What’s the funniest way that you have misused a car?
Y’all ever taken your Honda CR-V mudding?
The funniest way that I’ve misused a car was when I repeatedly thrashed my 2003 Honda CR-V off-road, including taking it mudding and getting stuck on some off-road trails. Okay, yes, the Honda CR-V is allegedly engineered to tackle some light off-road excursions. My EX model had Honda’s RealTime all-wheel drive, but its Civic-based chassis and half-hearted ability to send about 50 percent of the engine power to the rear wheels prove that the CR-V is not primarily designed to be a mud slinging 4X4.
I gotta say though, my CR-V was a surprisingly willing participant in my muddy debauchery. I kept up with my brother and his admittedly rear-wheel-drive Nissan X-Terra, and the “mudding” we did was driving rapidly through a giant puddle in a derelict construction site, but that’s the best off-roading you can get when you live in a city. Regardless of the seriousness of the off-roading, the funniest way I misused a car was taking my city slicker, pavement princess CR-V through the mud, on sand dunes, and on rocky trails. What’s the funniest way you have misused a car?
