Cool is a word that can be used to describe many a thing...it can be a mass air flow sensor or alternator that is new and works in a unique way. It can also be a car that may look ugly as hell but for some reason we all want one....WRX STI anyone. The fact that a car is bad wont even make it loose its cool factor...in fact it may even help.
The cool factor is something that auto makers have struggled with for year and even tried to force on people. The truth is if a car is cool it will be made that way by the general public, it cannot be told to you by the "car hipsters". People tend to fall into crowds of what everyone else likes but many of us like what we like because it is "cool". This to me means that a car has the "it" factor, there is something about it that i like but i cannot tell you why. This is something that cannot be forced if it is not there. One of the best examples of a missing cool factor was the Pontiac Aztec which was billed as the car of the future and marketed to be the coolest new car. It failed....epically, not only was it one of the single ugliest cars ever made it was also trash in every way that can be compared to a car. On the other hand there are cars that are worthless that are cool like the Nissan 240SX. Not to say that it is not awesome but as a stock car it was a dud. A small under powered truck motor sat under the hood and while the car looked sporty the suspension was set up for comfort not sport.
The 240 personifies this "cool factor" like the old school civic because they became something very different then they were intended. The cool factor developed from the cars being modified and after a while no one saw the car as just a car. They saw what it could be...and this is the essence of cool. It is the factor where a person sees a car and thinks what if can become which make it just ...plain cool. Of course there is always Aston Martin which is just the epitome and has been since its start.