What makes a car have a soul???

[melvster]

I have always wondered what people/motoring journo's mean when they say a car has a soul. So as the question asks, What do you think makes a car have a soul????

[DanDC5]

Not being German usually helps.

[davepoth]

Usually having something not quite right about it, that means you have to put a bit of effort in to get the most out of it. Hence all race cars have a soul.

[EDLT]

I asked this in the SOTW thread, nobody could give me a better answer than "You just have to believe".

[LotusOmega375D]

Ahh yes. There's much less of it about these days. A combination of climate change and Health & Safety concerns has led to the Soul Departments at major motor manufacturers being outsourced to Asia or closed completely. A great shame.

[MX7]

melvster said:

What do you think makes a car have a soul????

Nothing.

There are certain cars that are built with a certain passion, or a distinctive design, but a soul?

[Classic Grad 98]

Problems/foibles in my opinion.
That and not being from the East (sorry Jap/Korean fans!)

[Mr Gear]

davepoth said:

Usually having something not quite right about it, that means you have to put a bit of effort in to get the most out of it. Hence all race cars have a soul.

^ This.

My Triumph motorcycle had soul. My current BMW motorcycle does not.

The BMW is a superior bike.

[VR6 Turbo]

DanDC5 said:

Not being German usually helps.

If its been fettled in the UK they seem to.

don't know if mine has soul though its just temperamental

VR

[Carfiend]

Classic Grad 98 said:

Problems/foibles in my opinion.
That and not being from the East (sorry Jap/Korean fans!)

See now I am certain my Skyline is sell aware, it has good days and bad days and defiantly is fussy about what fuel and oil she gets. If I can't get her favorite V Power then she will sulk a bit until I put some in and one cold morning last week she was really not happy about being woken up an hour early for me to get into work than usual.

[melvster]

Classic Grad 98 said:

Problems/foibles in my opinion.
That and not being from the East (sorry Jap/Korean fans!)

NSX is a car i always thought had a soul.

[Olly RM]

Kia Soul




With this its all in the badge

Edited by Olly RM on Wednesday 18th January 11:32

[anonymous-user]

melvster said:

I have always wondered what people/motoring journo's mean when they say a car has a soul. So as the question asks, What do you think makes a car have a soul????

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

primarily its because most journos are awful and have trouble writing anything subjective thus pad out articles with loads of statistics or use nonsense terminology like a car having "soul" or "evo-ness"... then fail to define "soul" or "evo-ness" claiming that its all personal opinion and relative to a particular time or place.

[esvcg]

your imagination and personal experiences

[DaveH23]

My first car a £350 Corsa A...... The GLS model in a plum kind of colour had soul.

Every now and again the rear window used to fall down. This car had a mind of its own.

One chilly snow filled night in winter I returned to said GLS after night shift and the weight of the ice on the window had pulled down the window and the inside of the car was frozed solid.

I believe this car had a soul - others would say the runner under the window was fooked but im not convinced.

[versus]

DanDC5 said:

Not being German usually helps.

+1

[Olly RM]

DaveH23 said:

My first car a £350 Corsa A...... The GLS model in a plum kind of colour had soul.

Every now and again the rear window used to fall down. This car had a mind of its own.

One chilly snow filled night in winter I returned to said GLS after night shift and the weight of the ice on the window had pulled down the window and the inside of the car was frozed solid.

I believe this car had a soul - others would say the runner under the window was fooked but im not convinced.

[Grey Ghost]

Mr Gear said:

davepoth said:

Usually having something not quite right about it, that means you have to put a bit of effort in to get the most out of it. Hence all race cars have a soul.

^ This.

My Triumph motorcycle had soul. My current BMW motorcycle does not.

The BMW is a superior bike.

Same argument here. I had a Porsche Cayman S a while back and whilst scapel sharp it was just another sports car after a few months of ownership. However, the current chariot (Chimaera 450) has a soul that makes me smile every single time I start it up and can get me rather sweaty when pushed hard

[CoupeCrazy]

Soul is load of tosh that journalists wrote alot about when they couldnt find anything objectively positive to say about the car.

[LordHaveMurci]

DanDC5 said:

Not being German usually helps.

So 911's don't have soul then? E30 M3's? Audi Quattro? BMW Batmobile or Mercedes Cosworth 190? I could go on.

Please enlighten us as to what DOES have soul.