History Main / TheAllegedCar

* ''ComicStrip/{{Retail}}'': Cooper's van, "The Orange Crush", which apparently has a beanbag for a back seat, pliers to turn the heater/ac controls, and ''no seatbelts''. Cooper chalks that up to the previous owner being [[AcceptableTargets from New Hampshire]]. (Ironically, Cooper's ''never'' been pulled over in the van.) It's also such a gas guzzler that Cooper uses a scooter instead in the summer months. It eventually breaks down for good, and even the mechanics are baffled as to how the van survived so long.

* Garbage Time is an offshoot of ''WebVideo/DankPods]]'', focusing on the automotive application of the term 'nugget'. Stars include:

* In ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'', Goofy drives an AMC Pacer that begins to fall apart as the movie goes on.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': After retiring from his "Mr. Incredible" identity, Bob Parr drives a blue microcar that he barely fits in and stalls while ascending his driveway. After he finds work with Mirage, he replaces it with a jet black sports car.

* Some of the diesel locomotives in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' are prone to mechanical breakdowns. One of the most notable examples is Derek in "Double Teething Troubles", who has a tendency to overheat, which, as noted in the Real Life section, is very much TruthInTelevision.
** On the steamies' side of things, Henry the big Green Engine starts out as this, having a small firebox that results in him being a poor steamer and feeling chronically ill. His problems are remedied over the course of two early episodes, first with the use of Welsh coal, then with a complete rebuild as a different engine with a larger firebox.

--> I said, "You know, I don't think you're listening, asshole. The car is a ''Plymouth Horizon''. It is not a ''joy to RIDE!''" This is a car that goes 45 miles per hour ''with'' the wind. If you turn the air conditioning off, you can supercharge the little fucker to 48.

** One comic had Jon buy a car from an HonestJohnsDealership, the owner of which claims they stand beside every car they sell. When Jon asked if he means behind, he discovers that the man's engineers are so incompetent that they seem to have fitted the gearbox the wrong way round, and the car rockets backwards into a wall. Not to mention, windshield wipers, seatbelts, and *tires* are optional, and the salesman's office is a truck with the engine running.

* The [[{{Ruritania}} Transbelvian]] Belv in Creator/EyrieProductionsUnlimited's ''Franchise/StreetFighter''/[[MegaCrossover whole bunch of other stuff]] fic ''Warrior's Legacy''. The author/narrator describes it quite well:
-->I insist, though, that when in Transbelvia, the truly discriminating tourist is obligated to drive the national automobile, the one and only Belv. The Belv is the quintessential East-European car, a tiny tin box with a two-stroke motor that sounds like a mimeograph machine on Self-Destruct and smells like a burning blackwall tire. This particular one had a four-speed manual gearbox that liked to crunch and jitter on shifts, brakes operated by cables, and no gauges that worked.

* A friend of [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin's]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3481778/1/The-Hero-Strikes-Back The Hero Strikes Back]]'' has a predilection for these when it comes to starships, though whether because he's trying to be cheap, or the Force hates him that much, it's hard to say.

** As for 2013, there were Greenlight car codes that collecting them rewards you with an 1967 Shelby GT500. One of the Greenlight cars is the worm 1973 Ford Pinto from the beginning of the game.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'', the title family's vehicle, affectionately named "Vanzilla" is certainly this. It has a tendency to break down, forcing the family to push it to force it to start back up, and is also known to have uncomfortable seats and faulty door locks. The only reasons it hasn't been replaced is because it's a Loud family heirloom going all the way back to Lynn Sr.'s grandfather, and because the family's resident grease monkey Lana keeps it in shape. In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E5MakingTheGradeVantasticVoyage Vantastic Voyage]]", the one time they succeeded in getting Lynn Sr. to part ways with the van caused him to become obsessive and possessive with the new van he purchased, prompting the family to [[StatusQuoIsGod re-possess Vanzilla in spite of its faults]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'', the title family's vehicle, affectionately named "Vanzilla" is certainly this. Aside from having a tendency to break down, forcing the family to push it to force it to start back up, it is also known to have uncomfortable seats and faulty door locks. The only reason they haven't replaced it is because it's a Loud family heirloom, going all the way back to Lynn Sr.'s grandfather. Lucky thing in spite of the van always breaking down, the family's resident grease monkey, [[spoiler:Lana,]] keeps it in shape. In "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E5MakingTheGradeVantasticVoyage Vantastic Voyage]]", the one time they succeeded in getting Lynn Sr. to part ways with the van caused him to become obsessive and possessive with the new van he purchased, prompting the family to [[StatusQuoIsGod re-possess Vanzilla in spite of its faults]].

** The ''Millennium Falcon'' manages to be both this and a CoolShip. It's reputed to be the fastest ship in the galaxy, and it can do [[WhatAPieceOfJunk some amazing things despite its condition]]. But that speed has been achieved at the cost of forcing various important components to withstand much greater stress than they were originally designed for, meaning that something could break under the strain at any moment (sometimes [[ExplosiveOverclocking in a loud and fiery manner]]) and turn its occupants into sitting ducks (usually [[PlotDrivenBreakdown for plot reasons]]). This is most famously used in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', where Han and Chewie spend much of the Hoth sequence trying (and failing) to get it into condition to escape from the planet. Its status as this even gets weaponized in one of the ExpandedUniverse novels -- because the Falcon is continually being redesigned and repaired, the Empire has three totally different confirmed sensor profiles for the ship gathered over a period of only ''four years'', and as a result have to assume that the bizarre sensor profile being given off by two distant fighters acting as decoy really is the Falcon, luring them away from targets of actual value.

** The ''Millennium Falcon'' manages to be both this and a CoolShip. It's reputed to be the fastest ship in the galaxy, and it can do [[WhatAPieceOfJunk some amazing things despite its condition]]. But that speed has been achieved at the cost of forcing various important components to withstand much greater stress than they were originally designed for, meaning that something could pack up under the strain at any moment (sometimes [[ExplosiveOverclocking in a loud and fiery manner]]) and turn its occupants into sitting ducks (usually [[PlotDrivenBreakdown for plot reasons]]). This is most famously used in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', where Han and Chewie spend much of the Hoth sequence trying (and failing) to get it into condition to escape from the planet. Its status as this even gets weaponized in one of the ExpandedUniverse novels -- because the Falcon is continually being redesigned and repaired, the Empire has three totally different confirmed sensor profiles for the ship gathered over a period of only ''four years'', and as a result have to assume that the bizarre sensor profile being given off by two distant fighters acting as decoy really is the Falcon, luring them away from targets of actual value.

** The ancient speeders on Crait in ''Film/TheLastJedi'' make the ''Falcon'' look like an Aston Martin by comparison. We see them actually SHAKING when they launch from the base, [[spoiler: Poe puts his foot through a panel on one]], and they bounce repeatedly off the ground unless the pilot deploys a stabilizing ski to drag across the ground beneath it. [[spoiler:Most of them get picked off easily by TIE fighters and First Order artillery]].

* In Ilya Ilf and Eugene Petrov's ''Literature/TheLittleGoldenCalf'', the Antelope Gnu was essentially what was considered the Alleged Car in the early 1930s Soviet Union. Unknown origins (allegedly Loren-Dietrich), but obviously heavily modified and jury-rigged, working unstably and [[spoiler: finally exploding into small pieces of debris (and being rebuilt)]].

* In ''Radio/CabinPressure'', GERTI, the sole airplane of MJN Air, is an Alleged Aeroplane. Her systems regularly break down. Parts fall off of her. She's perpetually on the verge of breaking down permanently and putting MJN out of business. The last episode reveals [[spoiler: the wiring is actually made of gold, as part of a scheme by Carolyn's ex-husband that went wrong when she took the plane in the divorce. Part of GERTI's problem has always been the simple fact that gold is much heavier than copper.]]

* In [[http://gaius0artemis.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4lwgxe Night Hunters,]] the Chevrolet Impala starts off this way, until[[spoiler: it's crushed and repaired]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': The short ''WesternAnimation/BlueCatBlues'' (yes, the infamous short that ends with the title characters [[spoiler: committing suicide by sitting on a railroad track]]) has Tom buying a car reminiscent of a Ford model T from a used car dealer, complete with a bulb reed horn and malfunctioning engine. It soon gets run over and squashed flat by the AbsurdlyLongLimousine being driven by his rival.

-->'''Popeye:''' "Used car"...wait'll i gets me hands on that [[HonestJohnsDealership Smilin' Dutchman!]]

* [[https://xkcd.com/1837/ This]] ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' features a car with a stuck GPS that continuously attempts to direct its driver to Seattle regardless of where they're actually trying to go. The car gets rejected by a driver whose other option for a vehicle is [[SinisterCar haunted by murderous ghosts.]]

Sometimes, though, the owner of the alleged vehicle will become quite emotionally attached to it. Sometimes it's because [[OnlyICanMakeItGo only the owner knows the car's little quirks]] and can keep the thing running. Sometimes it's StockholmSyndrome. Sometimes they've been through so much together, it's hard to let go.

* Robert Dunn of ''Aging Wheels'' self-describes as 'the premier collector of obscure, poorly-made deathtraps'. His collection comes in two flavours: old but not as old as you'd think very-economy cars - such as a Reliant Robin, Yugo GV, and Trabant 601 - and surprisingly modern but no less terrible attempts by small startups to make cheaper electric cars - including a Wheego Life and multiple Codas - along with assorted videos on bizarre hyper-economy shed jobs from the 70s US oil crisis. Most recently, he's added a ''Lada'' to his fleet... Which, being in good condition, is merely a very basic but [[SubvertedTrope perfectly usable]] and unamusing car.

* The 1957 Chevy pickup truck from the C.W. [=McCall=] song (which is really more of recitation set to music) "Classified":

** Tiny Tony Kowalski, an FSM Niki / Polski Fiat 126P that needed major restoration to be barely usable. Big rusted holes in the bodywork, disintegrating interior, and leaking petrol into the oil supply were addressed to differing degrees. Despite his tiny size, Tony isn't even that efficient, since doing anything like keeping up with traffic means flooring it at all times.
** SLeepy/Smelly Jeff, a 1994 EF Ford Falcon with the odd combination of base level trim but a 5.0L V8. Jeff was in surprisingly poor condition in many areas at purchase (including a still unidentified stench that resisted a deep clean and deoderant/disinfectant bomb) and had a few low-class modifications like no mufflers. After assorted repairs, they found both performance and fueel consumption to be worse than expected.
** The DOnkey Van, a 2001(ish) Mitsubishi Delica purchased on the express point it was too rough to elicit concern when mistreated, having nearly half a million kilometers on the clock and Wade giving the prediction "3 months till it explodes" on it's debut. Donkey burnt oil and made wierd noises, but otherwise worked for over a year until responding badly to a can of engine conditioner spray.

* Garbage Time, an offshoot of [[WebVideo//DankPods]], focusing on the automotive application of the term 'nugget'. Stars include:

* Robert Dunn of ''Aging Wheels'' self-describes as 'the premier collector of obscure, poorly-made deathtraps'. His collection comes in two flavours: old but not as old as you'd think very-economy cars - such as a Reliant Robin, Yugo GV, and Trabant 601 - and surprisingly modern but no less terrible attempts by small startups to make cheaper electric cars - including a Wheego Life and multiple Codas - along with assorted videos on bizarre hyper-economy shed jobs from the 70s US oil crisis. Most recently, he's added a ''Lada'' to his fleet.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'':
** The Rusteze Bumper Ointment tent is full of rusty, beaten-up cars, much to [=McQueen=]'s dismay. Ironically, the similarly rusty, beaten-up tow truck Mater later becomes his best friend.

** Mater qualifies as one to a point; he's an ''entirely'' rusted over (flashbacks show that he used to have a baby blue paint job), dinged-up old tow truck missing his hood (he got it back briefly during the credits, but promptly sneezed it back off) with all the creaks and rattles you'd expect of him. Still, he's a decent backwards driver and can hold his own in a high-speed chase, and in ''Cars 2'' he is given several nifty gadgets that put him more in the [[WhatAPieceOfJunk What A Piece Of Junk]] territory.

** Click and Clack deal with these a lot, including infamously Tom's Dodge Dart, which he appeared as in the Pixar movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}''.

* Robert Dunn of ''Aging Wheels'' self-describes as 'the premier collector of obscure, poorly-made deathtraps'. His collection comes in two flavours: old but not as old as you'd think very-economy cars - such as a Reliant Robit, Yugo GV, and Trabant 601 - and surprisingly modern but no less terrible attempts by small startups to make cheaper electric cars - including a Wheego Life and multiple Codas - along with assorted videos on bizarre hyper-economy shed jobs from the 70s US oil crisis.