Cars I Keep Googling

Maya Ellison

@paperbackmaya

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These are the cars that keep wrecking my focus at work. I’ll be mid-SQL query and suddenly I’m three tabs deep on gearing ratios like that’s normal. This isn’t a buyer’s guide; it’s more like my brain’s parking lot: a mix of sensible, unhinged, and “what if I just drove to Vermont right now instead of doing my job.” Stats where they help, feelings where they don’t, and a little Boston winter reality check everywhere.

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Cars I Keep Googling — 6 items
Name	Type	Years I Care About	Engine / Power	Drivetrain	Practicality Score	Gas vs Electric	Quirk I Love	My Take
1Mazda MX-5 Miata (NA)	Tiny roadster chaos gremlin	1990–1997	1.6L–1.8L I4, ~116–133 hp	RWD, manual or auto, manual or bust	3/10 unless you’re a minimalist raccoon	Gas, and it wants every rev	Pop-up headlights like it’s constantly saying hi	Feels like driving a happy shopping cart that did yoga and found God. Completely useless for Costco, completely essential for serotonin.
2Subaru Outback	Lifted wagon for REI-core people	2010–2022	H4 or H6, 170–260 hp range	Symmetrical AWD, snow day enabler	9/10, eats bikes and Ikea runs	Gas, but sips politely for what it is	Every third one has a National Park sticker and a dog	The official car of “we might move to Vermont someday” couples. Also the only thing I trust in a February Nor’easter on Storrow.
3Tesla Model 3 RWD	Silent tech bro spaceship	2018–present	Single motor, ~250–280 hp-ish equivalent	RWD, feels way quicker than it should	8/10 if you have a plug, 3/10 if you don’t	Full electric, obviously	Cabin feels like an Apple Store dared to be cozy	I love that it launches like a roller coaster and hate that the whole car is basically a tablet. Still, imagining silent 2 a.m. drives down Storrow is… dangerous.
4Honda Fit	Tetris car / micro TARDIS	2009–2020	1.5L I4, ~117–130 hp	FWD, small but scrappy	10/10, swallows furniture like a cartoon	Gas, but super stingy	Magic seats doing origami so your bike just… fits	Looks like a jellybean, lives like a minivan. If my landlord raises rent again, I’m living out of one of these in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
5Toyota Camry Hybrid	Boring-on-paper commuter sorcerer	2012–present	2.5L I4 hybrid, ~200–208 hp	FWD, unbothered and smooth	9/10, adulting machine	Hybrid, lives at the gas station maybe once a month	Speedometer barely moves while mpg meter flexes	Looks like something your aunt drives, secretly eats miles like a bullet train. The car I’d buy if I ever became responsible on purpose.
6Ford Mustang GT (S550)	Modern muscle therapy session	2015–2023	5.0L V8, ~435–480 hp	RWD, hooligan by default	6/10, two doors, big trunk, zero subtlety	Gas, drinks like a sailor on shore leave	Exhaust note that makes tunnels mandatory detours	Absolutely too much for Boston traffic, which is why I want it. Nothing like idling at a light by Fenway and vibrating everyone’s iced coffees.