I think that the ultimate of crude cars was the 1957-58 Studebaker Scotsman. You couldn’t even get a radio as factory equipment–you had to buy an aftermarket radio. The heater was the old fashioned recirculating box that hung down under the dashboard. The hubcaps were painted–not chrome. An automatic transmission wasn’t available, but if you wanted to get great mileage, the Scotsman could be had with the Borg-Warner overdrive. These cars really appealed to me.
I’m chuckling right now - partly over some of the comments (like thinking of the Suzuki Sidekick and how I always though it might be fun to have one & Tridaq’s comparison of the Maverick to a wheelbarrow) - but mostly about the what the OP’s must be thinking when they come back to posts likes this. “What that heck is wrong these people?” they must often be wondering. Yet another thread hijacked by the the quasi-random musings of the CarTalk population.
This car was a comfortable, responsive, and very nice car & very reliable & very good on gas.