@Electro Gyrocator: I feel the same way about my Volvo 244 - hell, even the 745 I'm buying makes me feel a bit claustrophobic, because I can't turn around and see through the headrest. Anything else is horrible.

@southernscrew: Precisely. What the hell is an oh-serve-'em? Why would you EVER say that?

@snapoversteer fronts the prog-rock band Camber Tweel: It's depressed because it knows it's ugly.

@owlfood: The Ranger says that you're hauling a light load to the dump or home from Home Depot. The S40 says that your expectations are a bit misaimed. The Baja is just awesome, if you raise it a bit and don't worry about scratching and denting it on a trail.

@alex_mcg: "Isn't fun" depends entirely on your powertrain. I can say, for the record, that a turbo New Beetle with a manual gearbox is a great time. The 2.0, or even the 2.5... just aren't. Especially if said 2.0 has the old four-speed slushbox.

"...it's the worst styling in the Toyota lineup..."

Note to designers: I like big DLOs, and I cannot lie. Anything less is a danger.

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: "Panel gap" is just a less-schmucklike term for "shutline" (18), no?

@HideyoshiJP: It took me another look to see what was wrong. Shocking.

@boomchek: That looks surprisingly good. I'd definitely have painted the cladding black as well, and I'd source some 16" Touring wheels, but outside of that...

@Tossed Mazda3hatch's Chicken Salad all over Accord's face with a plate of croutons and Bleu Cheese dressing: No - that wasn't a four-cylinder car-based utility, that was a Trailblazer with a Soviet-inspired hot-rod body shell. I'd definitely rather look at an SSR than an HHR (save for perhap the SS panel) - that…

@Jesda: Bahahahahaha, somehow I hadn't heard of that. Another case of folks who barely know what an internet is, or how to surf in it, making the laws.

@v8corvairpickup: Well, used cars in the UK are worth jack and fuckall anyway, by and large - witness Top Gear's 100-pound car challenge, for one. And we never got this model here, so the real comparison would be sedan-to-sedan.

@Tossed Mazda3hatch's Chicken Salad all over Accord's face with a plate of croutons and Bleu Cheese dressing: I've been in an HHR. I'd consider one if the roof was sawn off behind (and including) the B-pillars. Because of the placement of the integral roll bar, there's headroom everywhere but where your head goes, and…

I think we broke it - I get a header and a pale grey background, nothing more, in both Firefox (updated) and Opera, and their home page is awfully slow to load.

@shinjukuDLJ: The high ass bothers me on most cars. The last of the Neons? Good Lord. Most compact/subcompact sedans succumb to this, though, and I love your description.

Part HHR, part Kia Soul, part concrete bunker.

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: The places I've taken my 244 suggest that city streets should be no problem.

For six grand, it'd be a hell of a bargain. For eight, it'd be worth stopping to check out. For ten, it'd have to be at least as good as it is, and then it'd have to find just the right buyer. Twelve? As much as I love the look and idea of this thing (who cares about corners? POWER!), twelve grand? Crack Pipe, sadly.

@OMGItsWeasel: I'm not bothered about whether someone has wipers, heh. I just like lights to be on when visibility's compromised; mine are nearly always on in case my exhaust isn't warning enough.