How did I end up with two white boxy vehicles with underbites, high-set eyes, and eccentric looks that a very significant portion of the public finds ugly? Coincidence or a proclivity?
It’s not an easy question to answer. It wasn’t their faces that specifically attracted me to them, but their optimum space efficiency, which is at or near the top of my list of key qualities. In both cases, they have more room for the buck than anything else that was available.
But I also admit to liking the the off-beat, eccentric, and just different in terms of styling. Almost everything looks so…predictable, and similar, and boring. Not these two. Which makes them that much more endearing to me.
I rather like it when folks tell me they don’t like the looks of either of these, so bring it on!
I genuinely like the looks of the Xbox. The van, well I will just say that I have yet to see a European van built since the 1970s that I find attractive. But then that is not their reason for being.
The only other thing – I. Am. So. Done. With. White. Cars.
The only other thing – I. Am. So. Done. With. White. Cars.
So, how were you traumatized by while cars? I have already elaborated on my phobia of silver cars. Your turn.
Funny you should ask . . . .
https://jpcavanaugh.com/2019/05/03/my-white-car-blues/
Funny you should ask . . . .
Oh dear, self inflicted. And you have been tortured with self-loathing over that misstep for 55 years. Closest I came to an event like that was when I parked my Schwinn, on it’s kick-stand, next to my Aunt’s new, white, 65 Fury III wagon. The wind blew the bike over, and into the driver’s door of the Fury. I don’t think there was a mark on the car, but it was a close call.
The silver phobia was entirely inflicted upon me in 78. I have only recently begun to forgive Ford.
Love my first silver or as I prefer to call it road grime grey car, it never needs washing in fact if it wasnt for the alloy wheels it would never appear dirty.
You might not want to ever go to Florida then, JPC. White cars are EVERYWHERE!
When my wife (who is also not a fan of white cars) and I were in Florida in 2015, she asked me, “What’s up with all the white cars down here?” (this included our rental Charger).
I asked her, “You know how much fun it is to get into my Mustang on a hot sunny day?” …(Black, BTW for those new to these pages)… “It probably has something to do with that.”
I would not think that white would be a requirement in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps it’s a blank canvass for Paul, when he decides to paint it “Eugene Style”. ;o)
We have three white vehicles. Not by design, though. In every case, that’s what was available at the time.
The xB was bought used, and there were almost no stick shift ones available anywhere. The TSX was the only one within 500 miles or so with the equipment (and price) we wanted. And the only way to get a non-white Promaster is to order it. And when it comes to the van, keeping cool in the sun is a big help. Well, it is with all of them.
That is how I have gotten all 6 of mine – factors beyond my control.
Paul, your garage doors look super small, like they wouldn’t even be able to accommodate your xB. Is that true or is the perspective throwing me off?
It’s the perspective. They are further to the rear, hence they look smaller. They are typical single car doors from the 60s.
I’ve never used the garages for cars though. It’s my shop and storage for all my tools and items for building and maintenance. Garages are wasted on cars. 🙂
Garages are good for cars that aren’t weathertight, like mine. However, it’s a mini so there’s still room for tools and workbench
Your opinion on garages would most certainly change if you lived in the Northeast. They can be real life savers in the winter.
I’m still waiting for the wrap job on the van. Giant CC logo, desert camo, dazzle anti-torpedo, whatever.
When it comes to transportation, utility is more important than looks. I guess that’s how I wound up with a Grand Caravan and a Ford Focus that looks like a catfish…
I like the boxiness, but I struggle with the underbites. Especially the ProMaster, though I think the simpler 2019 grill refresh helps a lot. Still, having driven a ProMaster briefly, the improved interior space vs older style cabover vans with huge doghouses, makes it all worthwhile.
Ya know, all of my last 3 new vehicles had some visual cue that at first sight turned me off. My ‘88 Hardbody and it’s fake front hood vents. My ‘01 Trooper and the ginormous tire hanging off the back. My ‘13 Outback and it’s homely aardvark face. But over time you become immune to those ‘faults’ and enjoy the vehicles for their abilities.
Ugly is only skin deep, after all!
I’ve owned pretty cars and ugly cars. But I stick with the idea that 99% of the time I’m dealing with my car, it’s from the inside looking out. So even if my car is ugly, I’m not the one who has to look at it.
To be honest, I’ve never much cared for the “toaster”, or any of the competing variants. Funny, seeing as how I like boxy styling, but these small CUVs just don’t appeal to me. However, I was surprised at the size of the greenhouse compared to a ‘59 Cadillac coupe as shown in an earlier write-up.
The Promaster definitely appeals to me as it is by design a utilitarian vehicle. I’ve never owned a van, but considered it when I was a landscape contractor. One of my interests is looking at upfitted commercial vehicles and seeing how tools, supplies, and available space is utilized. I looked at a high-top Promaster a few years ago and was extremely impressed with the floor space, ingress and egress, as well as the cab area storage overhead. Another interesting engineering/design feature was the front clip. As I recall it is made up of only 3 pieces/parts, so as to facilitate easy repair of city delivery vans that receive lots of bumping and bruising on the front end. The only thing I’m not sure about is the front wheel drive (is all-wheel drive available?);. If course that is why the load floor is so low, wide, and flat; but it seems contrary to everything I’ve heard concerning the engineering and physics of load carrying vehicles. I seem to recall it’s rated to tow 5000 pounds, which while not outstanding, is certainly adequate for most trailering duties. I’ve only spoken to one Promaster driver, a plumber driving a company issued van, and he wasn’t particularly impressed. Claimed it had recurring transmission problems, but it did have over 100k miles on it when I talked to him, and it obviously looked like a company issued work truck from all the dirt and grime on it.
I’ve been intrigued by the “euro-vans”, they appear so much more efficient and are engineered to last much longer than the traditional American-type vans. The Promaster is cutting its’ own niche with its’ front drive platform.
And to be honest, while I don’t care for the homely styling of the xB, the Promaster’s face is dog ugly.
This picture, and so true.
A coworker of mine has an XB like Paul’s in a charcoal sort of shade. He loves it for the same reason, its space efficiency. He has eclectic tastes as well. His other car is a C7 Corvette, which is the exact opposite regarding space efficiency. He also has an FJ Cruiser, and one other normal car. Oddly, it’s his normal car that I can’t recall off the top of my head. It’s probably a Camry or something.
I showed him this picture and he too was blown away, saying that the ’59 Caddy looked like a 3/4 scale model of itself.
Such a fantastic study of proportions! The Xb looks so small on its own and the Caddy looks so big…
Put them together, and the Xb grows in stature while the ‘59 shrinks….. fascinating!
A lesson in the tricks and tools of designers…
I’m guessing that you went for practicality, and to heck with looks!
What happened to the, iirc also white, Acura TSX wagon?
It’s usually in the spot where the xB was in this shot. Stephanie was off in it; it’s her car except for road trips. I was unloading something from the xB, and that’s when I noticed the photo opportunity. The TSX and Promaster make a different sort of pairing.
I’m OK with the look of the Xbox. The shape is entirely functional, and that has to be admired.
The Promaster suffers from too much black plastic ( because it’s a commercial) and the curl on the back of the lights does it no favours.
White does seem to have come back into fashion…..
Did white ever go out of fashion? I grew up with Boss Hogg’s Cadillac and Crockett’s Testarossa. As far as I can remember it’s always been pretty popular.
I can’t think of another color that can look so cheap or premium depending on the vehicle. White seems to be unique that way.
An SP 250 would complete the row nicely.
There is a kind of beauty in efficient functional design. Kind of.
I have grown to appreciate the xB for its practicality, though personally I wouldn’t want to live with its go-card ride quality.
The van, well, it’s really not much worse than the Transit or Sprinter to my eyes and all of those are certainly much better vans than what GM offers today.
I prefer a white vehicle, especially for a truck. Cooler here in Florida. Easier to keep clean. As far as the “box”, I drive a Nissan Cube as a company car. I hate it personally, but @ 120,000 it truly runs like new. You can pack an amazing amount of equipment, boxes, etc in the damn thing as well.
The Promaster van is nicely utilitarian except for the headlight pod. Its upper edge is sharply curved to a point, and the curve strongly clashes with the nearby windshield corner’s curve. My eye wants them to be parallel. I notice it every time I see one.
I still scratch my head and wonder how I wound up with two silver minivans. Sometimes I think I’m seeing double. I guess this is what happens when people are attracted to space efficiency, but not to off-beat or eccentric styling:
I like the looks of both vehicles (designed by engineers, without too much interference from focus groups), and I like them white. More visible at night (for safety). Cool in the summer (keeping a gasoline engine car warm in the winter is never an issue) What’s not to like? (I also like the interior black to reduce glare at night)
That rather large truck-like vehicle is rump ugly. I hope it serves its automotive duty with much reliability because you wouldn’t want to own a vehicle that ugly that’s also a lemon. Yuck. I can’t tell what the smaller white vehicle is on the left, but I have seen those boxy vehicles before. I don’t know if that’s considered an SUV, a CUV or a truck. Can’t be considered a car, can it?
I have no beef about white cars.
The van (the larger one on the right) is a RAM ProMaster.
The boxy car (the smaller one on the left) is a Scion xB.
The xB is most appropriately categorized as an MPV (think the tall shape of a minivan, but not as big). It’s not a common category in the US, but quite common in Europe.
For useable interior space its hard to go past one of those vans in whichever flavour your local supplier has and the XB is just a smaller version of the same with more seating, white works ok cooler in summer.
I almost bought a first-gen xBox for the utility and style. Ended up with a 2nd gen Fit mainly due to more responsive engine and stiffer chassis. It also has tons of utility for its size. Style, not so much. My brother has the 2nd gen xB, also in white. He likes the forward visiblilty from the upright windshield. The Fit has blind spots.
Ive seen how much better the Promaster looks when the black plastic bits are sprayed body color.
“More responsive engine”? Really? The Fit undoubtedly has better aerodynamics, so that it accelerates more readily at higher speeds, but I doubt the Fit’s engine’s output is much different than the xB’s.
“Stiffer chassis”? The xB’s suspension tuning is very stiff; too much so for the most part. I’d hate to drive something with a stiffer suspension.
I test drove an xB and Fit pretty much back to back for comparison, both manual transmission models. Peak hp is 103 vs 117. i-VTEC really “wakes up” the Honda engine above 4000rpm. Curb weights are about the same, in the 2400lb range. What I dont know is any difference in gearing. The Honda feels like it could use a sixth gear.
My brother’s 2nd gen xB is a different animal, heavier with a much bigger engine, and is is an automatic so it feels completely different.
What I mean is the suspension tuning is actually slightly softer or more compliant, but the stiffer chassis makes it better composed over speed bumps, potholes, etc. A few years advancement in computer aided structural design may be the difference.
In contrast, the Chevy pickup has very stiff suspension and a somewhat flexible frame. The result is not very pleasant, especially over irregularities taken at speed.
I don’t think either are ugly, but the upper headlight curve on the Promaster is a little weird to me. Functionality has it’s own beauty. The xB looks very space-efficient, probably had a nice tall seating position, and gets good mileage. Plus, Toyota quality and all that.
I was just going to ask how that large washing machine fits into the Promaster, but I didn’t. Oh, I guess I kinda did.
I’m a sucker for black cars but today it was only 68 but sunny enough for my interior to be hot. Plus it got a piece of dust on it and it’s looks dirty again.
I was blown away by the 1959 Caddy/Xb comparo. I bought an ’04 Xb the minute it became available. Silver so not show dirt.(I really like dark blue). Stick shift very bad ratios; in 5th was 3000 rpm at 60mph. The great thing about the car is the space utilization; you do not have to bow your head to get in. I now have a ’15 Forester which also has a great interior and no need to bow my head to get in.
The main reason I got rid of my Xb once my wife died (it was an excellent hauling car for her and her wheelchair): That transmission desperately needed a sixth gear, overdrive, something. The car was uncomfortable over 60mph for any period of time.
Which was a pity, because I really liked the car. It definitely did the job expected of it, and was fun on the back roads.
Of course the replacement Fiat 500c Abarth was even more fun on the back roads.
Not a big fan of the xB, but to each their own. I like the fact that it was fashioned after the Astro/Safari and I think I’d rather one of those instead of the xB. They’re not a lot bigger, but can really haul and tow. The ProMaster intrigues me, I’ve seen them at the car shows and have been impressed with the amount of utility they display. Fun fact: the slots in the corners of the front bumpers are for standing upon, to clean the windshield as an example. I’d like to do what Paul is doing, slowly convert a ProMaster to a camper, but right now I’ve got other objectives on my agenda.
FWIW, until I got my most recent van, I never owned a white car. And, having owned one, I never want another one. But this particular van was and still is a good deal. Here in the upper midwest there’s no way to keep one of these things clean. In addition to not keeping them clean, the tiniest spot of rust looks 10 times bigger than it really is. I’d rather have a black car instead. Scratch that, I’d much rather have another silver car. Seriously.
I’ve come to realize that vans are my spirit vehicle, while oddly, Lamborghinis apparently are not. I love the versatility and utility of them; with a loaded up van like my Silhouette, the ride is quite comfortable for average driving. I wish they handled better, but no one vehicle can do everything…
“They’re (Astro/Safari) not a lot bigger, but can really haul and tow.” That would be correct…just make sure you have a brake controller & proper weight distribution–luckily my ’05 already had the controller (a REESE Brakeman unit) installed when I bought it, & the trailer(s) I currently tow do(es)n’t need a specialized hitch to be safely handled (& they don’t need brakes either). To this day I still believe GM made a huge mistake giving up on this vehicle. Ford took hold of its niche market with the Transit Connect, but trailer towing is clearly no longer one of the top priorities.
Had a white truck for 30 years, great color for SoCal and no AC. Picture taken in Washington.
I liked everything about the 1st generation xB, EXCEPT the center mounted gauge pod..it was just so wrong! For the 2nd, Toyota “improved” it and stripped away all of the charm. As I stated in an earlier posting about Paul’s Promaster, the “Ram-i-fication” of the front end is just plain hideous to me! As for the white, I could live with it, I’ve owned a white car, and a black one, but I prefer color! 🙂
That’s what happens you buy for utility instead of image. I’m in agreement since I like the 2001 Fiat Mutipla and I the 1st gen Scion xB. I prefer the looks of the Transit or SPrinter to the ProMaster, but I understand the utility of its FWD platform.
The Ram Ducatomeister resembles a French TGV or thereabouts and that’s fine for me. It has distinct glassy Euro vibe with that massive unpainted buffer out front and rounded rhomboid driver window (silly and incongruous chromed Gate of Chrysler stuck on front notwithstanding). It has the modern-loco appeal of a slick apparatus from an industrial designer. If I were a humble length of lumber, I’d be happy to ride to my destiny behind this.
The Toyota Sighin’ – as in “oh dear” – by contrast appears modelled upon a fish tank wearing a gridiron mouthguard, an anti-design design that succeeds more than they intended, because rather than ending up with stark functionality, they achieved cheap n’ spindly. Minimal takes a lot more effort than this. Just look at the endless crummy imitations of high Bauhaus minimalism blighting our cities for illustration of that.
Not that I dislike the actual car, having had the benefit of tall (but better-styled) boxes myself. For much of what we all use cars for, they’re about the most functional things you can buy.
“…they (the pictured vehicles) have more room for the buck than anything else that was available…I also admit to liking the the off-beat, eccentric, and just different in terms of styling. Almost everything (else) looks so…predictable, and similar, and boring.” Looks like you & I think somewhat alike! My Ranger & Astro are clearly different in several ways (especially color) but they do share ONE thing in common, besides my “add-ons”: a 111-112″ wheelbase. I looked it up on the Internet AND visually compared the two when parked together in the following picture–who knew!