“Regular Cars” is a YouTube channel run by a guy who test drives cars, videotapes himself doing it, and then talks about the car over the video. What appeals to me so much about this YouTuber is that, as his title implies, “Regular Cars” deals with regular cars.
This is not the channel where you would go to ogle over the specs of the Bugatti Veyron or speculate about the next generation of Lamborghinis. “Regular Cars” has sometimes reviewed performance cars, but he has also reviewed a Toyota Camry, a Volkswagen Phaeton, and a Dodge Nitro. Now, what makes his reviews so special is not this alone. Rather, “Regular Car”s is so unique because he puts humor and charisma into all of his reviews, humanizing a car and going off about the potential lives of its potential owners.
When I first found “Regular Cars,” I was beaming upon seeing that the channel had indeed reviewed the notorious 2011 Dodge Avenger. The Dodge Avenger is a very exciting car because it was quite possibly the worst car in production during the early 2010s. “Regular Cars” does the review of the Dodge Avenger justice by establishing the basic reasons why the car is terrible (cheap interior and bad handling), and then launching into a monologue of a middle aged man living in suburban hell, who presumably owns the car. The monologue, which involves French fries and cheese, is delivered in a deep and growly voice that is simultaneously funny and disturbing.
In this sense, “Regular Cars” reviews feel like something that’s been needed and missing for a long time in car discourse. A Consumer Reports write-up on the Dodge Avenger will say things along the lines of “Cheap build, shoddy interior parts. This is a subpar vehicle on all levels.” Reviews like these are satisfying in how they “shut-down” a vehicle, but they leave so much to the imagination. What kind of parents must someone have to have to purchase literally the worst car on the market, a car that even a modicum of research would sway a person against buying? What kinds of societal messages have influenced a person to think that a midsize sedan—whose only positive attribute is its vaguely “muscle” aesthetic—is the one to buy? These are the kinds of questions that are entertained and answered by “Regular Cars.”
Not all “Regular Cars” reviews are as scathing and vicious as the one offered to the Dodge Avenger. Some are very inspiring, in fact, and they aren’t always the ones you would expect. One of the most inspiring “Regular Cars” reviews is of the Buick Grand National, a sports coupe from the 1980s. Despite the car having an automatic transmission, “Regular Cars” makes a case for the Buick Grand National as a symbol of the rebellious sentiment of the 1980s. At the end of the review, he revs up the car engine and laughs like a child as it flies off into the highway at dawn. It’s honestly tearjerking to watch.
For a car enthusiast who loves to think about makes and models of normal, everyday cars, “Regular Cars” is a dream come true. Reviews from “Regular Car” are detailed, humorous, and engaging, bringing new life into the previously clinical genre of car reviews.
