What Car Should Everyone Drive At Least Once In Their Lives?

Photo: Honda

Some people just don’t understand car enthusiasm. Who can blame them? To many, cars are just an appliance — a way to get from point A to point B, and nothing more. There’s so much more to this weird automotive world of ours that they just can’t see, so much they’re missing out on. But what if, like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, they could see it? What if we could make them?

It all comes down to the right car. If someone’s only ever driven beige commuters, of course they won’t understand our little community. But if they got behind the wheel of something truly interesting, something that really stands out, maybe they’d start to understand the oil-stained clothes and rust-filled driveways. Maybe. But the question is this: what car should everyone drive, to understand car enthusiasm?

Photo: Honda

I know, I know, Steve picked a Civic Type R again as a QOTD suggestion. Water remains wet, the sky is still blue. But this choice actually stems from a conversation on the Jalopnik Twitch channel yesterday, in which your three favorite interchangeable white male hosts discussed the new Acura Integra.

Andy spent some time in the Integra recently, and couldn’t stop raving about the car’s six-speed manual transmission. See, it’s the first manual Honda he’s ever driven — he had never experienced the absolute perfection of a good Honda gearbox. While every manual Honda feels great to drive, there’s one that stands above the rest: the Civic Type R.

So, that’s my pick. A beautiful transmission, a fun powertrain, and a chassis that goads you into turning harder, braking later — the FK8 Civic Type R is a perfect recipe for turning anyone into a car enthusiast. But surely it isn’t the only car capable of such a feat, so what’s your pick? Leave your suggestions in the comments, and we’ll collect our favorites tomorrow.