I'm limiting it to cars sold in the USA in the last five or six years to remove the easy choices like the Yugo, Pontiac Aztek or AMC Pacer. At this point they probably have ironic cache anyway.

My list:
Smart car (all variants) - the answer to a question I don't think any rational person would ask.
Hummers (all variants) - if you are insecure about your masculinity maybe you should try to find a used Oscar Meyer Wienermobile?
Nissan Cube - I applaud Mazda and Nissan for being willing to take some styling risks but sometimes when you take risks you fail.
Chevrolet Aveo - I'm depressive enough without driving an Aveo.
Cadillac Escalade (all variants but the EXT deserves special mention) - I'm neither a nouveau riche white guy or an OG or trying to pass for either one..

Honorable mention:
Both Chrysler and GMC have had their share of recent disasters but the Jeep Compass/Dodge Caliber and the Chrysler Sebring have been especially notable.
Subaru Baja

 

Aveo? Um, if you drive a Fit, it's pretty much the same thing, just a different manufacturer. To most drivers a subcompact hatchback is a subcompact hatchback.

I always swore I'd never be seen driving a lifted, 4x4 full-size pickup... then I needed to move more than the Fit could handle, and borrowed a friends. I'm glad the windows were tinted. Oversized off-road tires, blacked out wheels, the works.

 

nissan juke

 

I would drive the Hummer, but it would be dented, scratched, and muddy. Douchebags who buy and use (or design) such an offroad vehicle as a luxury pavement queen should be shot. Of course, it is just a Silverado (or Colorado H3) anyway.
I would put some of the Honda line here too. The Pilot, Element, and Crosstour are just plain ugly. The Rangeline is just a weak copy of a truck, too.
Funny, the Jeep Compass is the first CAR I saw in the ditch when it first snowed this winter. I thought Jeeps were supposed to be able to handle off road adventure! This goes for the "Patriot", too. Seven slot grilles and trapezoidal wheel wells do not a Jeep make.
I agree completely about the Escalades, I always tell the owner, "Nice Suburban" or "Nice Avalanche".

Honda CRV
Toyota Rav4
Kia Rondo
Kia Sportage (Just the newer ones. I'd wheel the whee out of the older part-time 4wd model.)
Mazda 5

 

Are there any modern cars you wouldn't want to be caught dead driving?

To specifically answer your question, I have to say no. I guess I'm poor enough to think of automobile ownership and operation as being a paid for priviledge, therefore I have to say, given the opportunity, I'd drive anything available.

Of course like anyone I have preferences...but you want to give me the keys to anything from a Smart Car to a Hummer and I'll drive it....

 

Oh hell yes.... I have owned and driven many cars and motorcycles that a less secure person would end up on a psych ward for months if seen standing 10 feet from.

 

If it has more than 6 cylinders, I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole right now...

It just cost me $52 to fill my Civic. Anyone that doesn't need a truck or SUV for career related purposes, but still chooses to drive one needs to have their head examined.

I actually disagree with the opinion on the Nissan Cube. I think it's a great competitor to the xB. But I wouldn't be caught dead in the new Nissan Juke. It looks like a Titan swallowed a Rogue and a Versa, and when it crapped out the remains Nissan decided to call it the new Juke.

I also can't stand the face on the new Mazdaspeed 3. Cars are not supposed to look that happy unless they are named after a bug. (I.E. Beetle)

 

My list is pretty similar to losthighway's- except I would drive an Aveo--looks like a base model Fit. The Nissan Cube intrigues me, so I would drive one just to see what it is like.

I rode in a friend's son's Hummer two years ago, (I wanted to put a bag on my head so no one would recognize me) LOL
Considering the size of it, there was no more room inside than your average sedan and much less storage capacity than the Fit.

 

The Aveo, which is actually a Daewoo, is a miserable piece of crap.. maybe it remotely resembles the Fit in silhouette but in reality they are nothing alike.

 

Let's see here...

You wouldn't catch me at all in the majority of Ford's products unless it was a true "Shelby" model or either a Focus RS or RS200.

Other things I wouldn't be caught dead driving...

Honda Civic (excluding the Shuttle/Wagovan)
Chysler PT Cruiser
Pontiac G5 and G6
Saturn Sky/Sky Redline
Entire Scion range (until the FT-86 is out)
Entire Mercedes-Benz range (except the CLK GTR, the SL65 Black Series & CLK63 Black Series)
2010 to now Chevy Camaro
BMW 5 series GT, Z Coupes, or the E chassis 6 series
Porsche Boxter
Mazda's enter range (except the oil hungry RX-8)
Dodge Caliber
Dodge Nitro
Dodge Charger (great disappointment IMHO)
Chrysler Crossfire (needs a 6 speed, at least a 5.7 Hemi, and to not look like a dog taking a dump)
Toyota Yaris
Toyota Echo
Toyota Prius
Honda Insight
Honda Accord
Mitsubishi Eclipse (love the 1st & 2nd gens though)
Mitsubishi Galant
Nissan Juke
Hyundai Sonata
Subaru Tribeca

And somemore I can't think of, I'm really picky about cars when checking them out. haha

 

I hear people who say the same thing about all cars compared to scooters, mass transit, walking, etc. I'm inclined to say "drive what you want, but no complaining when gas prices climb.". Tank size has a big effect on perceived fuel economy. The Fit had a tiny tank, an while it only got about 1 mob more than the TC for my daily driving, it felt far more miserly since it rarely needed more than 10 gallons to fillthe tank. I gas up less frequently, but put more in the Scion each time.

 

And yeah, the Fit and Aveo looks a good bit alike, in the same sense that a Tundra looks a lot like an F150, a Hyosung looks a lot like a Suzuki, etc. Ever met those people who think all Cruiser-style motorcycles are Harleys? To someone who doesn't care that much about compact hatches, they'll all start to blur together. Theyre all just a handful of little cars that people buy because theyre either on a budget or unusually frugal, but don't want a used car.

 

I'm curious... so yes, I would drive just about anything but that does not mean I would purchase the vehicle.

Many years ago I owned a Ford Pinto Hatchback for a brief period of time. I removed the back seat and installed huge speakers back there... they would hear me coming for miles when KISS was playing.

 

If you love cars then it doesn't matter what you drive. Oops maybe a hybrid.

 

I've got a soft spot for the Pinto, for reasons I can't quite explain. I love to see them tricked out
If Ford released a modern Pinto today, I can't help but think that it would be a smash hit. Short wheelbase, light curb weight,rear-wheel-drive, V6 option, hatchback for hauling junk. sure, FWD is cheaper and can eliminate the tranny hump, and is better for starting out (but not actually steering) in the slush or on ice, but a RWD option in the budget car market would be a lot of fun.

Sometimes I wonde why no manufacturer has done an AWD hybrid with the motor assist in the rear. Computer control would be able to ensure that the power was engaging smoothly. Imagine a CR-Z with a K20 gas engine in the front to handle most of the locomotion, but that electric instant-on power in the rear for kicking the tail out in corners and givingnit some extra punch from a standstill while the K20 is still in Torqueless-wonderland (salivating!!!).

 

I don't get the point of this thread you started... Sounds like a put-down so I feel better/superior kinda thing. To each his own.

I'm with you guys TC and fitchet...

 

I took it more as either "car you that is so antithetical to your tastes you would never buy it."

There's no real prestige or snob appeal in owning a sub $20K subcompact (that goes for my Scion as well). You buy it because you like it. Aveo, Scion, Honda, Toyota, Mazda - whatever, choose your flavor, it's all pretty much the same... and, people buy said cars based on many factors beyond chassis refinement and reliability in 10 years.

 

what a stereotypical snobbish American question. I've been to countries where such a question is as appalling as it is offensive, however many people here in the states would just love to own a new modern vehicle much less happy enough to be found dead driving in any particular one. There is no vehicle i would care to be seen driving in as having something to drive is quite a privilege.
you guys are ungrateful.

 

American? Western/developed nation perhaps. I've spent plenty of time in Europe, and there is just as much love for automobiles there as you find here.

There is an element of "I may drive a cheap car, but at least it's not a _____" in the thread.

I've done the SUV thing, the pickup thing, the cheap econobox thing, the midsize sedan thing. You aren't what you drive.

 

Hahahahaha. No.

The only country I've been to (of many) where this would be considered remotely snobbish would be Ghana and even then I have heard similar sentiments regarding the Egyptian made Lada Rivas vs. well.. everything else.

So way to try and play on the provincial American bit and have it fail miserably. Even in Bolivia and Columbia there is a perceived hierarchy to cars.

Your high horse, get off it.