History Main / ImprobablyCoolCar

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': During the race that gets Sean Boswell expelled, the high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo in his rich dad's Dodge Viper. While the exterior is crude and ugly, Sean's Monte Carlo seems to be a straight example of this trope. Beneath its patchy paint, Sean's car has a full roll cage, racing slicks and a massive V8. It's more justified with Main/BigBad Takashi and his crew's custom [=350Z=]'s later in the movie, since Takashi's uncle is a member of the Yakuza.
** In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', After discovering Owen Shaw's crew have gadgets that can hack modern cars, Tej and Hobbs go to a car auction to buy bespoke classic muscle cars to take them on in. For the abuse they were willing to put them through to stop Shaw's convoy heist, slightly newer cars (or simply less rare ones) would have sufficed.

* While his original form is a neglected Beetle in his [[Film/{{Bumblebee}} solo outing]], in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', Bumblebee comes into Sam's ownership as a crusty 1977 Camaro (with a suped up engine under the hood), which is still too cool for a high school outcast like Sam. It gets worse when he [[ProductPlacement turns into a car that's not even out yet...]]
** Inverted in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', where Sam's replacement for Bumblebee is an absolutely miserable Datsun 510. It's more likely that Sam would find a mid-90s sedan, which could be had for peanuts in the 2010s (and would be easier to insure), but the writers really wanted to show that his life went down the tubes between movies.

* The brothers Winchester on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' roam around the States in a (apparently magical) 1967 Chevy Impala. It's absolutely ''gorgeous'' -- and should have gotten them caught a dozen times over, considering that they're wanted men. In season seven they finally have to leave the car behind as the new BigBad made sure that all his minions all over the US are on the lookout for it. It is heartbreaking. When Dean resorts to StormingTheCastle in the season finale, he decides they can forget stealth. "Dick knows we're coming, so we're gonna announce ourselves big."

* Series/NashBridges' 1971 Hemi Barracuda convertible. One of only seven made, and worth more than a million dollars. How many ''honest'' San Francisco Police detectives could afford one?

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': During the race that gets Sean Boswell expelled, the high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo in his rich dad's Dodge Viper. While the exterior is crude and ugly, Sean's Monte Carlo seems to be a straight example of this trope. Beneath its patchy paint, Sean's car has a full roll cage, racing slicks and a massive V8. It's more justified later in the movie, since the crew Sean joins after shipping off to his DisappearedDad in Japan finance their highly modified cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.

[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4699873398_52b018213f_b_1310.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:360:"What can I say? There's some big tippers on my paper route."]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4699873398_52b018213f_b_1310.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"What can I say? There's some big tippers on my paper route."]]

[[caption-width-right:350:What can I say? There's some big tippers on my paper route.]]

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': ExtravertedNerd Urkel's AllegedCar ''could'' have been a [[EveryCarIsAPinto Ford Pinto]] or [[BoringButPractical Chevy Chevette]], well worn examples of which were common sights in high school parking lots in America circa 1990; but that just wasn't weird enough for Urkel. Hence [[CoolCar the Isetta]].

* In the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games starting with 2008's ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedUndercover Undercover]]'' and especially 2010's ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHotPursuit Hot Pursuit]]'', the police force is loaded with all kinds of rare, expensive, high-class cars, such as Lamborghinis, Porsches, Pagani's, and even Bugattis. Ostensibly, this is because street racing has gotten so bad in the area that they pull out all the stops and crack down hard on the racers, but really, it's just a HandWave for [[CoolVersusAwesome extremely high-speed supercar police chases]].

* In the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games starting with 2008's ''Undercover'' and especially 2010's ''Hot Pursuit'', the police force is loaded with all kinds of rare, expensive, high-class cars, such as Lamborghinis, Porsches, Pagani's, and even Bugattis. Ostensibly, this is because street racing has gotten so bad in the area that they pull out all the stops and crack down hard on the racers, but really, it's just a HandWave for [[CoolVersusAwesome extremely high-speed supercar police chases]].

* One wonders how paramedic Roy [=DeSoto=] afforded a ''Porsche'', even a used one, on ''{{Series/Emergency}}''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': When Bob Parr is fired from his lowly office job at Insuricare and accepts Mirage's offer to work as a super again, he uses his handsome paycheck to buy a sleek new sports car. This, combined with his new optimistic attitude, long hours and [[AffairHair one of Mirage's hairs stuck to his suit collar]] makes his wife Helen think he's having an affair.

* [[Manga/GunsmithCats Rally Vincent's]] Shelby [=GT500=] is an extremely rare and valuable car for a semi-employed half-broke teenage bounty hunter to own. Apparently, even Kenichi Sonoda agreed since she can't replace the Shelby after it gets destroyed and buys a Mustang II Cobra in the ''Gunsmith Cats Burst'' sequel.

* When Bob Parr is fired from his lowly office job at Insuricare and accepts Mirage's offer to work as a super again, he uses his handsome paycheck to buy a sleek new sports car. This, combined with his new optimistic attitude, long hours and [[AffairHair one of Mirage's hairs stuck to his suit collar]] makes his wife Helen think he's having an affair.

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': ExtravertedNerd Urkel's AllegedCar ''could'' have been a [[EveryCarIsAPinto Ford Pinto]] or [[BoringButPractical Chevy Chevette]], rusty and dented examples of which inhabited high school parking lots in America circa 1990; but that just wasn't weird enough for Urkel. Hence [[CoolCar the Isetta]].

* 17 year old Dylan's ''pristine'' classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky, then of Jalopnik]] wrote a full article about the matter. Broncos of that generation in good condition regularly fetch over $50,000 at auctions. Hardly first-car material,especially not for a broke teen like Dylan.

* The Mini Coopers used extensively in ''Film/TheItalianJob2003''. Justified for the chase scenes, as they were chosen for their size so they could be driven down subway tracks and through storm sewers, and extensively modified to carry several ''thousand'' kilos in gold at high speed. Not so much in the opening scenes, where a ''legitimate'' safecracking expert has one just for zipping around.

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': The high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo drives a Dodge Viper. The Viper apparently belongs to the jock's very rich father. Sean's Monte Carlo seems to be played straight, having a full roll cage, racing slicks and a massive V8. It's more justified later in the movie, since the crew/gang Sean joins finance their highly customized cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.
** In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', After discovering Owen Shaw's crew have gadgets that can hack modern cars, Tej and Hobbs go to a car auction to buy bespoke classic muscle cars to take them on. For the abuse they were willing to put them through to stop Shaw's convoy heist, slightly newer cars (or simply less rare ones) would have sufficed.
* Also, the Mini Coopers used extensively in ''Film/TheItalianJob2003''. Justified for the chase scenes, as they were chosen for their size so they could be driven down subway tracks and through storm sewers, and extensively remodeled to carry several ''thousand'' kilos in gold in reinforced trunks. Not so much in the opening scenes, where a ''legitimate'' safecracking expert has one just for zipping around.

[[folder:Film]]

* Vinyl Scratch from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' is a high school student who works part-time at a guitar shop, yet at the climax of the film, she pulls up in a nice looking convertible. And if that weren't enough, said convertible can [[TransformingVehicle transform]] into a fully functional DJ booth, complete with four bass speakers and light show.
** In the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls first film]], Flash Sentry is seen with a black sports car which resembles a modern Chevrolet Camaro or Dodge Challenger complete with custom decals of his cutie mark (which in human form he wears on his shirt).

** Kramer's Impala is actually an experimental Impala built with an Oldsmobile dashboard and an airbag ([[RareVehicles one of only 1000 made]], all of which were in its original metallic green, seen under the light green respray coat), while George's car is a 1983 Chrysler Lebaron Town and Country convertible, one of only ''500'' made that year.

* 'WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E15OhBrotherWhereArtThou When Homer's half-brother Herb asked him to help design a car]], it turns out that [[IdiotHero his]] ideas of what makes a car "cool" differ from what the regular automobile industry designer (and client) deems "cool", including such details as aerodynamics or an accessible price range. To call "The Homer" an EpicFail is to be too lenient... and as a result, Herb's company went out of business.

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[folder: ComicBooks]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]
* Entertainingly averted in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' (though probably not intentionally). Bella's impossibly gorgeous, badass [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys brooding]] vampire love interest Edward Cullen drives... (drumroll please) ...a ''Volvo''. A new and rather expensive Volvo with most of the optional extras, but still a Volvo. Although [[DrivesLikeCrazy the way he drives]] it's probably for the best. Played straight with Bella's classic 60s Chevy pickup, but more or less justified as it was a gift from her dad. This is also taken to a ludicrous extreme in ''New Moon''. Bella finds a ''motorcycle'' (and a rare and valuable Harley Sprint at that) left out on somebody's curb as trash to be picked up and decides to restore it with Jacob.
* Justified in one of Patrick Robinson's books. A Navy officer drives a Jaguar. On the other hand, he didn't ''buy'' it, he apparently received it in a trade.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

[[folder:FolkLore]]
* There was an urban legend about a kid who went shopping for his first car, looking at every car anyone was trying to sell from the footpath or driveway of their house as well as the budget used car yards, when he finds a middle-aged woman selling his dream car for a buck. He pays, drives off, hears a rattle and takes to a service centre, believing he may have found out why she was so happy to get rid of the car. The service personnel dissemble the car until they find a man's wedding ring loose in an a/c vent. The kid returns it to the woman, who says he can keep that too. It was her husband's and he had left the ring and car when he left her for a younger woman, then called later to ask her to sell the car and send him the money she got for it.
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[[folder:RealLife]]

* In TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse games (''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'' and ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'' being two prominent examples) PlayerCharacter classes (or "playbooks") that provide a car among the starting gear are automatically assumed to own a "cool" car or truck (especially in ''Spirit of '77'', because of it being inspired by media like ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' and ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'').

* While his original form is a neglected Beetle in his [[Film/{{Bumblebee}} solo outing]], in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', Bumblebee comes into Sam's ownership as a crusty 1977 Camaro with a suped up engine under the hood, which. It gets worse when he [[ProductPlacement turns into a car that's not even out yet...]]

** ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift'': The high school JerkJock who tries to take on Sean's secretly awesome Monte Carlo drives a Dodge Viper. The Viper apparently belongs to the jock's very rich father. Sean's Monte Carlo seems to be played straight, having a full roll cage, racing slicks and a 10 liter V8. It's more justified later in the movie, since the crew/gang Sean joins finance their highly customized cars through shady deals with the Yakuza.
** In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', After discovering Owen Shaw's crew have gadgets that can hack modern cars, Tej and Hobbs go to a car auction to buy bespoke classic muscle cars to take them on. For the abuse they were willing to put them through to stop Shaw's convoy heist, slightly newer cars(or simply less rare ones) would have sufficed.

** ''Series/TheMonkees'' definitely fall under this trope, portrayed as a struggling band - their car must be pretty pricey.

* 17 year old Dylan's ''pristine'' classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky of Jalopnik]] wrote a full article about the matter. Broncos of that generation in good condition regularly fetch over $50,000 at auctions. Hardly first-car material,especially not for a broke teen like Dylan.

* 17 year old Dylan's ''pristine'' classic Ford Bronco in ''Series/MareOfEasttown'' stands out as an Improbably Cool Car so glaringly that [[https://jalopnik.com/hbos-mare-of-easttown-has-a-huge-car-casting-fail-1847049467 Jason Torchinsky of ''Jalopnik'']] wrote a full article about the matter. Today, 60's SUV's are hardly first-car material, let alone in that condition, often fetching over $50,000 at auctions.

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', Franklin's car is a top of the line Buffalo S (Dodge Charger SRT-8)... while he complains about having to live with his aunt. Probably should've spent your ill-gotten gains on a deposit on an apartment instead, dude... [[spoiler: Though, he later gets a nicer house up on the hills to move away from his aunt.]]

* Justified in ''Series/{{Life}}'', where the ordinary cop character drives a flashy Bentley thanks to a large legal settlement. [[spoiler:The car is crushed by a tractor at the end of the pilot episode]].