These Were Your Most Ill-Suited Automotive Experiences

They say the best camera is the one you have on you, and the same goes for cars — no matter what you need to do, you’re probably best served by the car you already have rather than jumping through hoops to swap it out. But, sometimes, even we automotive adventurers are forced to concede: We simply have the wrong tool for the job. 

Now, because we’re automotive adventurers, that’s not likely to stop us. We’re often going to just use the wrong vehicle for the wrong purpose, and so earlier this week I asked you all for your best tales of doing just that. Today, we look through your answers, many of which had to do with driving incredibly unsuited cars on unsuitable tires through deep snow and ice. Godspeed, you beautiful fellow Northerners. As a former daily driver of a Scion FR-S through upstate New York lake effect snow, I feel an instant camaraderie with you. 

I used to drive my Camaro 50 miles through Michigan winters to go snowboarding. With a good set of skinny snow tires, it drove just fine. Fit myself, a passenger, 2 boards, and our snow gear in the car without a problem. In a parking lot full of small SUV’s and Subaru’s, the Camaro really stood out. 

Submitted by: Mr Rick

One morning, it was in the upper 60’s, so I figured it would be fine to ride my motorcycle to class. I was wearing an unlined leather jacket and leather gloves with my helmet.

I got to school and everything was fine. I got out of my first class, and it had started raining. Getting cooler, too.

I got out of my second class, and it’s snowing. The temp has REALLY dropped, too. Greaaaaat.

When I got out of my third and final class, I went to my bike, and there was 2″ snow on the seat. I cleared it off as best I could, fired it up, and rode out of the slushy parking lot.

As soon as I pulled onto the road outside my community college, bike died. Outta gas.

Switched it to reserve, rode to a gas station, rode home and called out of work. I figured God was trying to tell me something.

Submitted by: Stillnotatony

I used to have an 85 mile commute from Palm Springs to a prison out in the middle of nowhere. If there was an accident on the way back, oftentimes your choices were to wait 4-6 hours for traffic to clear, or risk the desert trails. I chose the desert trail. In a fully loaded 15 passenger Ford Transit, RWD only. I had to make sure to keep my speed above about 25-30mph so the van didn’t get bogged down in the sand.

It was a democratic process, really. I had the other riders vote on it before I sent it. 

Submitted by: MrMcGeeIn3D

The year before I sold it, I decided to store our 1960 Impala convertible for the winter somewhere other than our garage so I could park the daily inside. With car storage prices in Minneapolis as high as they are, my boss at the time had a space in his storage barn up near Brainerd that he offered for a good deal (2-2.5 hour drive from home). Given we both worked at a car dealer with only one day closed and our days off didn’t line up, the only time I and my other coworker that stored a car there could make it up was Thanksgiving weekend. We had a heavy wet snow two days prior that stuck and packed to the ground, luckily they didn’t salt the roads since it was warm enough to melt quick-ish so I decided to still make the trip. So I drove well over two hours in a not so well sealed huge 60 year old convertible, with zero steering feel, obviously no driver aids, open diff, with wheels so inset it was impossible to place them on the road two days after a snowstorm. The main highways were cleared by traffic but all the many country roads were lined with snow on either end of the lanes with drifts across randomly. It was a very interesting way to experience the car how people back then probably did, but never again for me.

Submitted by: Wantsamanuelalpharomero

I drove a 1985 Pontiac Fiero to a Chili Contest that I was competing in. The rules are that you must bring all your equipment and ingredients to cook on-site – coolers, cookstove, pots, meat, veggies, sauces, and booth set-up. Needless to say the car was overloaded with only room for me to drive. Driving home was easier as I used all the ingredients and gave away the Chili – and brought home a two foot tall Spicy Award trophy!

But I was really impressed when one of my competitors used his Ferrari 308 GTS as part of his display booth – he even beat me with a First Place win!

Submitted by: Radar Lover Gone

How about a Christmas story

Wife and I decided to recreate the iconic picture of a Christmas tree strapped to the roof of a Porsche. The issue was our Porsche was a 2001 Boxster S. The other issue was my wife insisted on a fresh cut tree from a tree farm up in the hills. The Boxster did actually really well on the semi muddy, rutted roads of the tree farm. We picked out our tree, cut it down, and prepped it to bring home. We then put the top down, got the tree netted, and proceeded to rope it to the car. Got a nice scenic pic somewhere of the tree strapped to the open top Boxster. And then there was the drive home through the canyon roads…. Needles flying everywhere, One hand on the wheel, another on the tree, and riding 3rd gear for as many sections of the road as possible. A year later I was still finding pine needles in the car. 

Submitted by: Brian R

I’m sure this fits the spirit of the story. When I bought my latest Miata in 2022 my Dad says “let me send you a few thousand, you’re gonna get it eventually and I’d rather be around to know you’re enjoying it.” A plan was hatched to take a Road Trip from Fort Worth to Vegas so he could see the car he contributed to.

Not sure how we came up with the timing, I left November 2nd. I’d driven through Flagstaff in January and wanted to avoid that. Well sure enough I get to Flagstaff on the 3rd and there’s some snow on the ground and grass. Streets are wet but clear. I’m filling my tank at Sam’s in shorts and a jacket with a few flurries. Figure “I’m good, I can handle this.”

5 minutes west of Flagstaff is a total whiteout blizzard. In a Miata. On a serious downhill grade with the road all but lost. I’m getting constantly passed by tractor-trailers on the left. The few exits available show zero evidence of civilization (not that I can see all that well) there were crossovers where I could double back to Flagstaff but then I’d be having to go through this going UP this same steep grade.

It took about 50 miles of this to get to clearer roads, safer weather with daylight and a more level playing field. At roughly 40mph top speed that meant maybe 90 minutes. It obviously seemed much longer. In retrospect, I noted that being alone meant I could properly freak out, if I’d taken my wife with me I’d have had to maintain a “Nah, we’re just fine” facade.

Trip home : clear and dry

Submitted by: DungBeetle62

For a time, I had a taste for running sick cars on autocross courses. Some kinda fun.

My two Grand Prize winners were a Last of the Bigguns ’78 Lincoln Town Coupe and a mid-80s F-250 4×4. Took F-Stock against a field of Camaros and Mustangs with the F-250 because the course was too tight for the pony cars to open it up. That really ticked everyone off … 4WD High for the win!

Submitted by: jrhmobile

I have so many ill suited driving experiences it’s hard to pick, but here’s some highlights:

1. Driving the entire Ring road of Iceland in a Ram 1500 4×4 with a high profile camper shell: It seemed like a good idea at the time. The first problem was gas was something like $9 per gallon which meant $100 per day. However, the biggest issue was managing ridiculously high cross winds in a truck that wasn’t at all set up for managing a camper shell, meaning it didn’t have a whit of stability because it didn’t have the camper suspension you’d normally order in an appropriate 2500 series truck. Driving this truck was like keeping a weeble wooble upright. It was white knuckle at anything above 45 mph. Not a great time at all.

2. Back in my Chrysler days I drove 250 miles through a full on Midwestern blizzard in a buy back B-series Dodge conversion van with very bald tires. I avoided going in the ditch and dying of hypothermia only by sheer luck.

3. Back in ’91 we had two feet of snow on Halloween, otherwise known as “The great Halloween blizzard” in certain corners of the upper Midwest. I was driving a Dodge Shadow convertible on summer Goodyear GT radials that had the traction of a greased pig. I remember diligently shovelling the driveway and heading out to our office and getting about 6 feet into the road before making the realization that snow above the hood wasn’t compatible with forward motion. For the next several weeks, the roads were basically all iced over. Bad tires/bad time.

Submitted by: Factoryhack

I took a 26 foot uhaul on a first date, picked her up in it. 

Submitted by: Gabriel S