I always thought the Dodge Magnum was about the ugliest wagon ever. My first though on seeing a black one was that it was some kind of hipster hearse. 
they improved it for 2008, right before axing the model entirely.
2005 Hyundai Elantra five door (hatchback). Bought new and haven’t any problems. I’m retired and drive on average about five miles per week so this is probably the last car I will ever own. But when I win the lottery I’ll start looking for a 1969 Buick Wildcat to have professionally restored. Best damn car I ever owned.
A used Bentley was also on the list, but the sales staff weren’t particularly interested in me - Edinburgh is hours away - and anyway, I felt that what with living next to a school would make me a bit of a target.
My mileage is not great, but I felt that the QP would be a pleasure to drive. What you have to beware is the depreciation - 65% in 3 years. Never buy a new QP.
My neighbour’s spouse had one of those and very much liked it, aside from the gas milage problem. This summer one of her kids killed it by ramming it into the ski-boat that her hubby was trailering. That solved the fuel consumption problem, but created a few other problems.
The boat was repaired, the trailer was repaired, hubby’s F150 was repaired, and she replaced her Tahoe with something used and gray, figuring that the insurance pay-out would best not be put into another nice vehicle. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later we had to straighten it’s bumper which the kid had bent down while towing the used and grey SUV out of a ditch.
(Just for icing on the cake, the kid weaseled by trying to pin the displaced bumper on me. His dad noticed the bent bumper along with a sledge hammer on the driveway. When questioned, the kid said he didn’t know how the bumper got bent, and that the sledge was mine.)
I’m a car guy. I like to drive and so I like cars that make it an experience, one way or another - because they drive well, because they’re comfortable, or because they’re beautiful or some combination of those. That said, I currently drive a 20 year-old pickup, as I’ve always wanted something that could haul my motorcycles around. I also have a house now, and it’s proven handy being able to haul things home instead of renting a truck or getting them delivered.
2009 Volvo XC90 - was my wife’s car, now mine because I just need wheels. She picked it because she is a very fearful person and it made her feel safe. When she got her dream car last year, I inherited the Volvo. My previous car was a BMW Z3. So, I guess we take turns getting our dream car. Although at this point I am not inspired by anything out there, I would be perfectly fine with a Ford sedan.
We drive beaters:
- My daily driver is a 2002 Saturn with 241,000 miles on it
- Wife drives a 2005 Saab 9-5
- Daughter 1 drives a 1994 Firebird
- Daughter 2 drives drives a 2002 Taurus
- I also have a pickup truck (2005 F-150)
Yes, I spend way too much time working on cars.
Why? I hate car payments. I always buy used and pay cash. I do almost all the work on them myself, and I run them until the wheels fall off.
My wife is urging me to swap the Fusion Energi for a Mustang (a red one, at that). I’m 45 and worry about the “midlife-crisis-mobile” a little bit, but mostly worry that it will be a pain in the ass to get into and out of. Like I said, I’m 45 (and not 22).
Worse, she can’t drive a stick, and she’s not driven on American roads enough that I’m confident in her ability to learn (she’s scary enough with an automatic). So in addition to perceptions, horrible fuel economy (compared to the Energi), getting in and out, Michigan snow, higher monthly cost, and lack of features, I’m going to be stuck with a not-at-all-fun automatic. 
If you do, I strongly (STRONGLY) recommend you invest in a set of winter tires for it. The factory “all season” tires the Mustang comes shod with are worthless on snow. Ask me how I know.
Toyota Aygo. Small, nippy, very frugal on fuel, yet does everything I need a car to do.
I chose a small car because I’m compensating for something.
An unusually large post count?
I’ve got All-Seasons on my Stang and I’ve had very little problems with Maine snow. Of course, I learned to drive in rear wheel drive cars in the snow so that helps a little.
I drive a 2013 Jeep Wrangler, with a manual transmission. I’ve got a hard top for winter and a soft top and soft doors for summer. It also has AC & power windows. 
It’s my 4th Wrangler, and my favorite so far. I got my first one back in 1994. I’ve had many other cars between Jeeps but this one and #3 were back-to-back purchases. I don’t have any plans to trade or sell this Jeep, but when I do, I’m just going to buy another one. Maybe next time I’ll get auto transmission instead of manual. Who knows. That and the color are pretty much the only questions. I wouldn’t even consider buying anything else.
I don’t consider myself a “Car Guy” but I love Jeep Wranglers. Driving with the top down & doors off in the summer, 4WD in the winter, being able to tow my boat, etc. Wranglers just do it for me.
2013 Civic.
I had a 2013 Yaris that I loved. I bought it in August '14. In June '15, Betsy was suddenly attacked by a giant oaktree, resulting in her being totaled.
At the time, I was 3 weeks from closing on the condo and couldn’t buy another car. My brother had our dad’s old pickup truck that I used from then, through the move (and it was useful for that) until I could find one to buy.
I was looking used, and preferred a manual transmission, but then the Honda came up at Carmax. It was 2 years old and had under 20,000 miles on it, basically a new car. I had had enough on my trade in for the Yaris that I had enough for a decent down payment on the Honda, and honestly, I knew that if I took care of it, it would last me a long time. So I bought it. It’s a car. I drive it. I don’t have fun driving it like I did the Yaris, but I have a steady car that gets me where I need to go.
I’ll count on the Expedition for that. Fuel economy figures don’t look all that different!
real world, I averaged about 21/22 with my 2012 Mustang GT. But that was probably 60-70% highway.
Mazdaspeed 3 (Mazda 3 MPS) - I wanted a 6-cylinder, 4-door, manual transmission car. There aren’t a whole lot of choices so I settled for a 4-cylinder turbo with 265 HP and 6-speed manual. My first new car. 9 years and 114,000 miles later it’s been a great car and I love the styling and utility of the hatchback.
1995 F-150 - When you live in a rural area and/or are a do-it-yourselfer you need a truck. This truck has moved several people, hauled appliances and lumber, commuted to work a few times, drove dusty back roads, went swimming at the lake, and has had very few problems even though it was ~13 years old when I got it. It’s good looking too, bright red with a 302 V8 and 4-wheel drive.
Cool idea for a thread, FairyChatMom! I’m enjoying these stories. 
I’m a Driver. I love cars. I’ve tracked my daily drivers a few times, though it’s been years since the last time. I’m also in my 40s, 5’3, with no kids (just a dog) and no need to haul anything.
In late 2013 I wanted a sports car, but I only had a $30K budget. I’d been eyeing the Subaru BRZ for a long time, with the thought of buying a new one, but they were still pretty new and (a) they were stupidly underpowered; I was convinced a turbo would come out as soon as I bought one, despite Subaru’s insistences to the contrary, and (b) Consumer Reports did not recommend them the second year. So I decided to look for something used, hoping to get a much cooler car than I could afford new. The first website I hit belonged to the Audi dealership close to where I worked, and they had a 40th-anniversary edition 2010 Nissan 370Z with 16K miles for less than $30K. I think I knew immediately that I was going to buy it, but I made myself wait a few hours and do as much online research as I could (including a thread here) before leaving the office. I test-drove it that day, and took it home a few hours later.
I traded in a 2011 Honda Accord V6 coupe that I’d bought new, and that had absolutely nothing wrong with it except being boring as hell to drive. It had been an overreaction to a 2008 Mazda RX-8 that developed a gremlin. As soon as I drove the Honda off the lot I knew that I really wanted another sports car, but then I had to wait until I wasn’t upside-down on the loan. It was a perfectly fine vehicle with a lot of nice options, but it was a big yawn. I never took it to the track, because why bother? The V6 was the only thing that kept me from crying every time I drove it. 
I love my 370Z. It’s now 7 years old and still has under 50K miles on it, it gets very decent mileage (22-24mpg), and it’s a ton of fun to drive. It’s still in great condition, too: no one ever guesses that it’s a 2010. Aside from the cheap-ass OEM clutch components (that almost every Z owner has to replace at some point) the only negative is that the cabin is super noisy at highway speeds, but I rarely have passengers so I almost never have to choose between music or conversation. And even with all-season tires it isn’t snow-friendly, but like Dallas Jones said that’s only an issue a few days a year.
Sometimes I ask myself what I’d get if the Z were to be totaled (assuming I survived), and I like this car so much that I honestly have no idea. Maybe another one…I’d never be able to find another low-mileage limited edition, but maybe a new one. I also thought seriously about a muscle car back in 2013, though, so maybe not. 
We usually have only one nice car at a time. We’ve sometimes had a second car, to park on the street in our dense urban area. Right now we take care of one or our sons’ cars, which used to be ours, now a semi-beater, that he doesn’t need much, in that role. We have reasonable access to more open roads so some use for cars, but we don’t commute by car.
Our current nice car is more my choice, previous one was mainly wife’s choice. It’s fun to drive but comfortable, very nice by our lights, she likes a bit of prestige with her better off set of friends, but neither of us want to be embarrassed by a super expensive car with our less well off set of friends and extended family. And a really expensive car which has problems is a bummer also. The choice: 2015 BMW 328i with add on tuning electronics (up to 312hp). I feel it’s the optimum of pretty fast and fun car but reasonably practical for us.