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When people ask you what you drive, what do you say?

I don't even try, and I just drive a regular Contour :shrug: Last year I told people up here I got a short shifter.....and they all asked the same thing; "What's that?" To which I replied, "Well, let's break it down, shall we? What does short mean? Now what does shifter mean?"


Yeah, I'm a little sarcastic but it gets old when every single person, including many smart ones, has no idea what a short shifter is. I've given up explaining anything, now my response is "Just a Contour."
 
elraido said:
When people heard I was going to MI to pick up Puds car, I kept getting "you are going to MI to pick up a CONTOUR?!?!?!?". :nonono: Now everyone sees it and goes, ahhhh.
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I got the same response when I replaced my bright red RX-8 with a T-red SVT. All my coworkers looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I told them how freaking excited I was to pick up the SVT.

The car was in Virginia, we had it shipped to Denver and then flew there to drive it home. I was in line at the rental car desk and got into a conversation with a guy and told him why I was in Denver. He asked what kind of car it was, and I told him. He asked me, "Don't they have Contours in Montana?" :laugh: I didn't bother to explain to him that I've only ever SEEN five, and that includes the two I've owned.

I tell people that I drive an SVT Contour. Most of the time the "SVT" part doesn't hit their brains the same way as the "Contour" part. They hear "Contour" and they look at me like they feel sorry for me. So I have to tell them all about the car - until their eyes glaze over. Then I ask them what they drive.

Then there's those that when you tell them you drive an SVT Contour, they look at you with recognition in their eyes, and tell you in an excited voice, "Oh, awesome, I got to drive an SVT Sebring once - it was sweet!" :nonono: (true story)
 
If I say SVT contour, I usually get "I didn't know they made those [SVT]"

If I start to explain its a high output V6 touring car they're generally shocked that it has a V6, let alone a stick, and want to see it at that point.
 
when asked this question i reply with "It depends on the weather, the day, and my mood"

if i happen to be driving the SVT i tell them an SVT contour.
that usually sparks the "oh a contour, but what is SVT?"
i explain it by saying "you know the mustang cobra and the lightning pick up?"
if that gets a yes then i tell them the same division of Ford that created them also played with a 4-door family car with great results.
 
When I drove my SVT back from IL, customs seemed suspicious of me because driving 900 miles to import a Contour to Canada didn't make any sense to them.

I think the car status game is kind of lame and I'm glad I didn't get sucked in. I'm proud to drive a cheap 10 year old car that nobody knows about and drives great. I laugh at people who pay $1000/mo for car payments and insurance driving BMW's and Acuras.

substance > style

With that said, most people really seem to like my SVT Contour. Strangers give me compliments and my friends and family always go out of their way to mention how much they like it.

I find most auto enthusiasts know what an SVT is and are happy to see any clean SVT.

If someone was a smart ass about it, I suppose I'd say something like "I don't lack anything I need my car to overcompensate for."
 
I say that I drive an SVT Contour, you put the SVT before "contour" and people get interested... they wonder "what do you mean by SVT?" (if they arent gear heads), then you go on to say its the hyped up poor mans BMW 3 series, and they understand.

I have a bunch of co-workers who made fun of me for driving a contour, took them all for rides. Shut them up all up. One of my co-workers drives an SE V6 ATX contour and hes indifferent about it, I rolled up in my SVT and now hes all interested in it, wants to go for a ride, I told him I would let him drive it and :censored::censored::censored::censored:, hes super excited.

Like I said, add the "SVT" before contour and it generates some interest, then you can strike up a good conversation about the heritage, although it is super nerdy and lame to talk about the heritage its good to have a shortened definition of what SVT means, then if they ask more questions you can get all "nerdy" with that person.
 
ElKy said:
when asked this question i reply with "It depends on the weather, the day, and my mood"

if i happen to be driving the SVT i tell them an SVT contour.
that usually sparks the "oh a contour, but what is SVT?"
i explain it by saying "you know the mustang cobra and the lightning pick up?"
if that gets a yes then i tell them the same division of Ford that created them also played with a 4-door family car with great results.
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That's almost always my way of explaining SVT to people.

Just tell 'em it's the same people that made the Cobra and Lightning and that's all the explanation you'll ever need.
 
so yeah. i usually say contour. people say whats that then i have to say well its this and this and this.

but with what shawn said. girls love my car with its purple interior.
 
I too am a 40-year-old professional in the suburbs, and I'd just say I drove a Contour. I'd rather serve my family by driving an economical, paid-off car, rather than take $250/month from my family's resource pool to impress people who mean nothing to me.
 
Lou3 said:
I too am a 40-year-old professional in the suburbs, and I'd just say I drove a Contour. I'd rather serve my family by driving an economical, paid-off car, rather than take $250/month from my family's resource pool to impress people who mean nothing to me.
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Not to mention the fact that $250, without a good-sized down payment, will net you a Focus lease. Good car, but not usually the type of vehicle associated with impressing a crowd.

I love finding older cars that are in great shape and picking them up cheap. Paid off cars are the best. As the internet generation would say, "for the win!" :cool: :laugh:
 
LauraSVT said:
I love finding older cars that are in great shape and picking them up cheap. Paid off cars are the best. As the internet generation would say, "for the win!" :cool: :laugh:
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Agreed as a member for the older internet generation. While I love seeing cars like the Cobalt SS or new Genesis Coupe that I could technically afford I can pick something else up for what they'd be asking for a down payment.
 
Dyoel182 said:
Agreed as a member for the older internet generation. While I love seeing cars like the Cobalt SS or new Genesis Coupe that I could technically afford I can pick something else up for what they'd be asking for a down payment.
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I agree....I normally figure I will get a car once it hits around 10 years old with around 100K miles on it. So in about 10 years a Genesis Couple might just be in order. :laugh:
 
elraido said:
I agree....I normally figure I will get a car once it hits around 10 years old with around 100K miles on it. So in about 10 years a Genesis Couple might just be in order. :laugh:
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Well with the way their other cars lose value I'd say maybe 5 years.
 
Wow this thread has brought out a lot of old timers, I thought I was the only one above the 45 mark. And have to agree with the $250 amount for a used car. I never paid over $400 a month for a new (I think that was for the 86 Volvo Turbo), just can't see paying per month as much for my car within the same range of a 2bdr 1 ba house.:cool:

My days as a Cop I would always laugh at the people that had those tricked-out SUV's and Beamers and still lived in apartments or worse still live at home with their mom.
 
whenever people asked me what i drove i could never get away with "it's an SVT contour."

I always had to mention that SVT made the cobra mustang and the lightning to get people to know what i was talkinga bout.
 
I tell them I drive a Chevy Silverado. Or maybe I drive a Panzer:shrug: About 2 years ago I almost could say I drove a Blue Bird.
 
I tell them an SVT pause pause pause Contour, then instantly explain the uniqueness of my vehicle, and let them know its not the same kind of Contour my Mom used to drive..... until I wrecked it this afternoon
 
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