Have you ever been having a crappy day — boss vomited in anger on your keyboard, your partner of your preferred gender called you an ‘undesirable lump,’ you accidentally sat on four chili dogs in your favorite peach-colored jodhpurs — when you saw a car pass that, just by seeing it, made everything better? What is that car, for you?
I think for me the easiest answer — and, really, I have multiple possible answers — is a Bugeye Sprite. It’s the car with the most unashamedly delighted-looking face, and you know that whoever is zipping around in that little beaming shoe is someone who loves cars, driving, and everything in between. If you see a Bugeye Sprite and don’t smile, you probably want to head to the nearest morgue and see what they can do for a sorry dead bastard like yourself.
Bugeye Sprites take a gallon of gas and turn about 10% of it into horsepower, 10% into heat, and the remaining 80% into a broadcastable miasma of uncut joy.
Now, your choice doesn’t have to be so insanely gleeful as a Sprite — maybe it’s something rare or powerful or bizarre or fast — it just needs to, somehow, improve your outlook on your day, just by catching a glimpse.
So, what’s your insta-joy car? And tell me why! I’m really nosy.
Contact the author at jason@jalopnik.com.