Celica Forums General Discussion General What makes a car...a car

Honestly, is it the engine that "names" the car or is it the body. People say that if you put a supra engine in a Mustang, the Mustang is a supra. But there is a Celica engine in a Lotus...that doesnt mean the Lotus is a Celica. So what do you think. Are cars named for body or the power of their soul...umm, engine.

I think this is a stupid ass question.

come on, lets not be hating on this issue, its an question of opinion. Although I would have to say that eveyone will give a different answer. To put in plainly, its not really a question to be answered

if it's not a question to be answered why ask it?

wheels

To me, if you get a celica and put say a 3s-gte engine in it, it's still a celica. Even by law(insurance), it's still a celica. Does an old school camaro swapping his small block for another chevy big block make it a different car than a camaro? No, even though that engine could be a vette engine. I think no matter what you do to a car, it's still the car it originally was.

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yeah i agree... it is what the title says it is... even if you modify its parts... if i were to go get a heart transplant i'd still be april...

That's a great way to put it, that would suck if you got a heart transplant and turned into a Herbert.

You can't say that the engine or chassis is the determining factor. Take Toyotas for example. The 1ZZFE engine is in the Corolla, Matrix, and Celica. Those are certainly not the same cars. As for chassis, the Neon and PT Cruiser share a chassis, as does the Sequoia SUV with the Tundra Pickup. Clearly, none of these are the same.

Cars do get classified as 4-Door Sedan, 2-Door Coupe, 2-Seater, SUV, Pickup, Wagon, all that. But those are generalizations, and there is some crossover, like a 2-door and 4-door Corolla, for example.

I think the people behind a design are as key as anything else, if not more. A specific design team designed the Celica, the Mustang (whatever generation you have), a De Lorean. My feeling is, that's it. The people who create, design, what have you, a car, decide its identity.

yeah you're tellin me... haha... i'd be a cute herbert though j/k

hahaha, me saying cute and herbert in one sentence is just wrong.

I wanted to see what others though. My opinion is that no matter what you put under your hood, its still the same car...just (i hope) better. I never asked because I didnt know, I just want to "poll" the board.

how about this question, what makes you, you?
and relate it to a car

ok... dont get offended.. but anyone who ever spoke the words supra and mustang in the same sentance needs their teeth smacked out.

a mustang is nothing compared to a supra

whatever the frame is, that's what the car still is.

I'd say it's the interior and exterior styling that define the car. But then again, you can always just mod the hell out of it, making it something else...

So, I'll have to say, it's the name on the paperwork that defines the car!

If you change something, it's still that car, but with something else.

(ie. as in the previous example, it'd be a Mustang with a Supra engine... or a Celica with a 'Vette engine *grin*))

Some machines are also called Celica while they share 0 part with the Celica itslef.

Amen.

But to get on topic, I'd say the soul of the car is in its engine. Couple that with its heritage, and you've got a winner.

The car is what body its based on. If its originally a mustang, it'll always be a mustang, no matter what powerplant you put in it. I see a lot of older RX7s that have a 350 in it, that doesn't make it a camaro or firebird, its still an RX7. And some people take a civic and mod its entire body to look like a BMW or whatever, with a prelude motor, well its still a civic.

and, if it has 4 wheels, isnt big and high-like, its pretty much gonna be a car

what makes a car...a car??

the driver.

Uhh,,, I would have to say it's based on the body of the car for name sake a celica is a celica b/c of the body not the motor... The motor in a celica is made by Yamaha and last time i looked i drive a celica not a yamaha...

I would have to say that i like Skyla's answer the best "what makes a car...a car??

the driver."

Yeah, I would have to go with both the engine and the body (frame). What makes this question difficult is engine swaps. So technically, the name given to the stock car is the name it'll keep.

Like Turkish said...


"Seats and a steering wheel"