Some cars go against the grain and make a statement. They're driven by people who don't care what you think and do what they want. In honor of the 4th of July we asked Jalopnik readers what a rebel would drive. Here's their top ten.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our Jalopnik summer feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Obit Mag
10.) Rally Fighter
Suggested By: Princess Spiegel
Why It's Rebellious: I can guarantee that if you pulled up outside your favorite restaurant, whoever was parked out front would move over. If you were merging on the highway, you'd suddenly get plenty of room. If you were storming through a field, small woodland creatures would scurry in fear. The Rally Fighter commands respect, just like the T-Bucket of old.
9.) Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
Suggested By: Cargamel
Why It's Rebellious: The CTS-V wagon flies in the face of everyone who thinks they need a monstrous SUV to haul one kid to soccer practice, or the person who thinks they have to give up their fun car when they settle down and start a family. It wipes the floor with your "performance" SUV, and has a whole lot more fun doing it. And most importantly, it doesn't care that wagons are supposedly not cool anymore.
8.) Pontiac Trans Am
Suggested By: Fodder650
Why It's Rebellious: Come on, how much badder can you get than the Bandit's car of choice? And how much more rebellious can you be than a guy who call himself the Bandit and drives across several states for beer, just for the hell of it? Smokey and the Bandit singlehandedly made me want a Trans Am with a screaming chicken on the hood, and it should inspire the same irrational desire in you.
Photo credit: Motortopia
7.) El Camino
Suggested By: evoCS
Why It's Rebellious: Just as continuing to sport a mullet in this day and age is an act of rebellion, driving the mullet of cars holds a finger up in the face of anyone who questions it. The El Camino oozes cool, because it doesn't care about what anyone else thinks. Some may see a thirty-year old experiment gone wrong, but others see thirty years of awesome.
Photo credit: Chevelles.com
6.) Mercury Marauder
Suggested By: MissingInTraffic
Why It's Rebellious: Taking a Panther body then blacking it out, speeding it up, lowering it down and then selling it from the factory is certainly an unusual and mischievous idea. The people that bought it almost certainly want to mess with the status quo a little by driving a car that at first appears normal and a little boring, but is actually pretty awesome. Besides, anything with body-on-frame construction nowadays is rebelling against something.
5.) The Bluesmobile
Suggested By: swine
Why It's Rebellious: Sure, it may look like a 1974 Dodge Monaco from the outside, but The Bluesmobile is really so much more. If you're a pair of blues musicians just out of prison and on the run to get the band back together and save the orphanage where you grew up, there's really no better car. Blues musicians have often lived on the outskirts of society, and Jake and Elwood are no exceptions.
Photo credit: All About Cars
4.) AMC Rebel
Suggested By: Mister Scroggs
Why It's Rebellious: In honor of being rebellious and the rapidly-approaching Fourth of July, I present to you the red-white-and-blue all-American muscle car known as the Machine. It came standard with a 390 V8 that put down 340 horses and 430 pound-feet of torque, along with all sorts of other special go-fast parts under the hood. Back in 1970, it made the leap from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.4 seconds, which is still pretty darn quick today. To top it all off, it looks awesome.
Photo credit: 1970 AMC Rebel Machine
3.) Lotus Seven
Suggested By: JackTrade
Why It's Rebellious: The Seven was The Prisoner's car of choice. If "I am not a number! I am a free man!" isn't rebellious enough for you, then I don't know what is. Even if you take away the association with Patrick McGoohan's retired-but-captive secret agent, the Seven is all kinds of rebellious. No windows? No radio, air conditioning, or power anything? You've got to be either crazy or a badass to slide behind that wheel. Or a little of both.
Photo credit: Lotus Seven Register
2.) Porsche 550 Spyder
Suggested By: Turbineguy
Why It's Rebellious: I'm not sure anything else really has to be said. James Dean drove and died in a 550. It is, automatically, a rebel's car.
Photo credit: Stuff I Like
1.) Toyota Hilux
Suggested By: rawtoast
Why It's Rebellious: The vehicle of choice for actual rebels the world over, the Toyota Hilux is actually indestructible. It's been the backbone of rebellions the world over, and doesn't just cruise Main Street looking cool. At home, these other cars look the part and make their owners look that much better, but out in the rest of the world, the Hilux gets it done. If that doesn't work, Chinese knockoffs also help.
Photo credit: Dániel Belényi