Did you know I love cars? Holy crap do I love cars. Because they give and give and give. They're either ferrying my ass someplace or providing me with visceral joy or they're giving me a job writing about them. And now they've done something else: alerted me to the fact that English is missing a very key word.
Before I get to what that word is, or rather, should be, let's look at the car that inspired this line of thought: the Honda Quint. The Quint (also known as the Quintet) was in production from 1980-1985, and sold in Japan, Australia (as the first Rover-badged Honda), and Europe. This is why many of our American readers probably aren't that familiar with the Quint, even though it looks pretty damn close to many other Hondas we had here.
I've only seen one in person once, at a distance, when I was in London. I noticed it immediately, and was fascinated. When I tried to explain why to the people I was with is when I first felt the feeling that I would have used this non-existent word to describe.
See, the car is fascinating to me, mostly due to its unfamiliarity, but I also realize that, frankly, it's pretty boring. It's not a very unconventional or innovative car at all. From a distance, it could be an early Hyundai Pony or a Toyota Corolla lift back or a Simca 1307 or even a Chevy Citation, or any number of other 5-door hatches of that era.
So here's what the word needs to convey: something that's both fascinating and boring, all at the same time. That Honda Quint is, to me, wildly interesting and simultaneously incredibly mundane. It's like how humans can see those yellow-blue colors that are technically supposed to be impossible — these two opposing ideas are somehow working together to form something new.
So what do we call this new thing? It's boring and bizarre at the same time. Borzarre? Bizoring? Mundgaging? Fascinormal?
Help me out here, people. Let's see if we can find the right word for this car-inspired concept. Or put the cars in there that inspire this feeling in you!