Why buy a few video games when you can spend a day flogging an actual car like a piñata for the same price?
This chunky little Proton looks pretty well worn at the start of this video, when CarThrottle’s main character Alex acquires it for £200. But it actually only leaves him stranded when he plunges the poor thing into an enormous puddle.
The car doesn’t appear to be catastrophically rusty, it can move under its own power, and for all intents and purposes looks pretty decent for the equivalent price of base-model television.
But the whole point of this exercise is explicitly articulated right around the five minute mark: “This is probably the worst car I’ve ever reviewed and driven,” says Alex. “But it’s also one the most fun because I literally don’t give a shit about it.”
There’s great satisfaction to be had in the loving restoration and preservation of a beautiful car. Or even just keeping a half-decent thing running well enough to get yourself around in. But there’s a special kind of nirvana achieved when you drive something you’re cool with seeing dirty, dented, or hit with shopping carts. Just get out there and drive.