An Appreciation for the Base Model (with perhaps a few options)

"Aloha Milkyway" (alohamilkyway)
06/05/2014 at 01:52 • Filed to: None

Base models. We don't always see them featured in magazines and photo shoots. What we always see are the top of the line models loaded to the brim with every box ticked in the options chart. Granted, they more desirable for obvious reasons but it's always refreshing, for this writer at least, to go back to the basics.

So, why the sudden appreciation for these fleet specials? Simple. Like the fleet cars in a company, these bottom rung models drive sales. They keep your favorite manufacturer building models that you, dear enthusiast, really want. Dozens or even hundreds of base model Corollas were built and sold for Toyota to make and develop a GT86. These models are the workhorses that bring home the bacon for the companies.

That however, isn't the main point of this little write up. When you stop and think about it, these models become the rarest and hardest to find in the future. When was the last time you saw a Corolla DX (or XL or whatever it is you call it on your side of the world) in decent shape? Hell, when was the last one you saw one moving? Even the surviving top of the line models aren't in good shape anymore. Okay, so the Corolla isn't really desirable no matter what trim you get but seeing a basic Corolla can be nostalgic from time to time.

Go to a classic car show and you'll see almost nothing but top rung models. The models you aspired to as a kid. But what about the car you grew up with? Not everyone grew up in an Impala SS. Most likely, it was an Impala with a 307 or even just a 250. So while something like an SS would produce feelings of desire, your father's good old basic Impala would leave you teary eyed with nostalgia. In the case of our european readers, it was usually a Ford Cortina L or, later on in life, a Ford Sierra L.

Perhaps its my upbringing that's behind the reason for my liking of the base model. Our family never owned a fully specced car. From the moment I had consciousness it was always a base or near basic model. It was with a 1993 Honda Civic LX and a 1989 Toyota Corolla XL which my parents eventually eventually upgraded to an XE. You didn't really mind flogging miles in it and you didn't mind abusing it. Another thing about these fleet specials is it somehow makes you appreciate simplicity. As my dad said, the more gizmos you put in a car, the more things might break. It makes you think, do you really have to raid the options list all the time?

For me, a base model is also a way for me to check out a car in its purest form. No smart dampers. No active suspensions. No gadgets to woo me or distract me from the essence of the car itself. A judge of a good car for me is a good bare bones model. It has nothing to hide and shows you its honest self.

This brings me to the topic of a basic German car. A no frills model with little or no active electronic guidance and stuff that looks cool on paper. Okay, so all of them now have iDrive like knobs and screens now but even those can still be specced up to the max. OK Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, just give me the most basic on board computer you have. I don't mind the scroll wheel anymore because you're making it standard anyway. Just make my suspension as passive as possible. You guys were good at it even before the era of active damping (See: BMW E39).

Nowadays of course, nothing is really that basic. Power windows are a commonplace and electronics are everywhere. In a world where manufacturers load as much gadgets as they can, its time to go back to the basics. Tick as few options as you can. You'll come up with one hell of a package and a car that will truly make you happy. Thank the base model for giving you a good canvas to start on. Thank the millions of fleet spec cars that funded the development of nicer, more exciting models. Thank the base model for giving you fond memories of your childhood and fill you with nostalgia. Now excuse me while I go find a 1993 Honda Civic LX.

DISCUSSION (17)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:05

Base models are the best. So (relatively) little to go wrong. Plus sometimes the base engines are perfectly good (BMW 320i).

Base models with uprated engines are the best though. Like the Chevy Camaro 1SS. You get a base model level of options, but you get a 420 horsepower V8 with it.

Aloha Milkyway > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
06/05/2014 at 02:10

Oh hell yes. These things make the best sleepers

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:12

My goal eventually is to pick up a used SS, then get LS bumpers and wheels and put them on, make it a real sleeper.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:20

not in all cases...

example: VW jetta.

The base 2.slow sucks, but the 1.8T in the SE is good, and the old 2.5 was amazing!

Textured Soy Protein > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:23

I'm a sucker for options. Pretty much every car I've had, has been loaded up.

Aloha Milkyway > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:25

Think of it this way: For every 2.Slow sold is more development money for the next R32 Golf!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:29

yeah, but I'd rather have people buy the funner one right off the bat!

offroadkarter > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 02:45

ugh base models

I haven't once bought a car that wasn't considered in the top spectrum of the range. That wasn't on purpose but its just how it panned out

Jobjoris > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 03:00

Nice write-up. And I can understand the appeal. But...

Like the fleet cars in a company, these bottom rung models drive sales. They keep your favorite manufacturer building models that you, dear enthusiast, really want. Dozens or even hundreds of base model Corollas were built and sold for Toyota to make and develop a GT86. These models are the workhorses that bring home the bacon for the companies.

This they don't. Usually base models have the lowest margin. Base models are needed because average Joe doesn't want a base model and he can buy something more expensive. That's why the only places you'll find them are in rental-fleets. A manufacturer simply needs a basemodel on their price-list so consumers can pick at least the next-in-line. They (base models without any options/packages) consist of about maybe 4% of the total of a model's sales so they definitely are not the reason the nicer model's are being developed or even exist.

Although your example with the Toyota Corolla (in the era of the one you pictured above) is an excemption in my argument maybe as I've seen 'base-models' of that far too often ;-)

promoted by the color red > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 04:37

Kinja'd!!!

Mmmhmm

Tom McParland > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 06:11

Agree, and I'm slowly becoming obsessed with the idea of getting an F30 320

jkm7680 > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 06:17

Good write up!

505Turbeaux > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 07:04

Volvo 940 from 95 is the best strip show out there. My boss has a turbo with not one single option in it. Not even a sunroof. I want that thing like nothing else

Jason Reece > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 07:28

A few weeks after my high school graduation, I bought my first new car- a Harvard Blue 1993 Honda Civic LX 4-door! Compared to the Civic DX 4-door, it added power windows, locks & mirrors, cruise control, AM/FM cassette, armrest, tachometer, wheel covers and a few more minor upgrades. The DX was basic! Coming from a '91 Civic DX 3-door hatchback, the '93 LX felt like a luxury car to me! =)

Vimto > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 08:20

Last year, before my Grand Marquis, I bought a 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 S manual, the cheapest new car available that year (stickered for $10,990, I bought it used). I loved the car for its simplicity and not having to worry about anything breaking. However, I sold it because some things really got on my nerves (no trunk release inside, vague shifter, carpet was basically made of matted pubic hair, gets blown around on the highway cause it was only 2300 lbs)

quarterlifecrisis > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 08:21

You make a great point addressing car shows. I've gotten to a point where I love seeing a clean XYZ with the base 6 cylinder, or a plain jane 67 Camaro with a 327 and Powerglide. So many cars were made into something they weren't, that it a) diluted the market, and b) eliminated a piece of history.

Back when Hemi clone cars were all the rage 8-10 years ago (and we have an original Hemi car, so there was some bias), I got bored seeing an elephant motor under the hood of every Mopar at a show or auction. It was refreshing to see something else...so...I concur.

Jason Reece > Aloha Milkyway
06/05/2014 at 17:30

My sister bought a new 1991 Honda Accord DX 4-door when she was 18. It was OBVIOUSLY the most basic model because it was White with BLACK bumpers, mirrors and door handles! Calling it "plain" would be an understatement.

But the car's exceptional engineering and build quality was obvious from the moment you opened the door. Even though the windows had manual cranks and there were no power locks or cruise control, the dark blue upholstery and carpeting was still very high quality and looked great. The interior design wouldn't have look out of place in an Acura Legend and the materials wouldn't either. The 5-speed manual was the best I've shifted and even the pre-VTEC 16v 2.2L would rev to 7000rpm without a hint of vibration and making beautiful sounds the entire time!

She drove it for two years before 'upgrading' to a '93 Accord EX 4-door (also a 5-speed). My dad and step-mom bought the '91 DX and drove it until 2003 when they retired it with 340k miles on it! The loaded '93 EX never felt quite as special as the basic, appliance-white '91 DX.