Aloha, and Welcome to Hawaii! I recently returned from a week-long vacation on the island of Hawaii (more commonly known as the “Big Island.”) While many people vacation here for the beautiful beaches and sunny tropical weather, I keep coming back here year after year for its unique automotive environment (well, that and the beautiful beaches and sunny tropical weather). Much like the Galapagos formed a unique natural laboratory for Charles Darwin to study evolution, the relatively closed automotive ecosystem of the Big Island (every car has to be shipped on and off) forms an interesting automotive environment worthy of further study.
Parking garage full of rental cars. Yes, this is a color photo.
There are two distinct classes of cars in Hawaii: Rental cars driven by tourists, and cars owned island residents. Tourist rentals are easy to spot: A Late model vehicle (one or two years old, tops), almost always achromatic (white, silver, or gray), in a low trim level made by Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan or Jeep. Toyota is a bit player in the rental car market here, while Honda doesn’t seem to play at all. Still, if I had to pick an archetypal rental vehicle in Hawaii, it would have to be a white Mustang convertible.
Rental Mustang convertibles are like Kudzu in Hawaii: They seem to be everywhere. Truth be told, Hawaii isn’t a great place for a convertible. It is hot and humid, and it rains almost every day at some point (especially on the “wet side” of the island). The mailbox sized trunk won’t handle the large amount of luggage that a week-long trip almost by necessity forces one to bring (And if you are going to the time and expense to fly to Hawaii, you are going to stay at least a week). When I’m on vacation, I want to be comfortable, which is why I always get a closed car. That said, most people don’t have a convertible parked in their garage at home like I do, so renting a ragtop for a one week vacation is the only top down motoring most people are likely to experience.
The other class of cars comprise those owned and driven by the local residents of the Big Island. These are much more interesting than the sterile rental pods, and are what I will spend the remainder of this (and subsequent) articles covering.
2003 Hyundai Accent that probably started life as a rental.
Not that there isn’t some crossover between these two groups: Some rental cars are destined for a second life as a vehicle owned by an island dweller after being sold off by the rental company. Chances are that white Chevy Aveo or Nisan Versa that you see on the road started out life as a budget rental. But there are limits to how many second-hand Mustang convertibles and Jeep Wranglers the big island can absorb (based on my observations, the amount is pretty close to zero). So the vast majority of these rental cars ultimately end up going back to the mainland on the same boats that brought them here in the first place.
The “official” vehicle of Hawaii – a Taco with a ladder rack
Aside from the two small towns of Kailua-Kona on the west coast (population 12,000), and Hilo on the East (population 43,000), almost the entire 4,000 square miles of the Big Island is rural, so pickup trucks reign supreme. The Big Island is sometimes referred to as the Texas of Hawaii, not just because of its relative size (twice the size of all the other Hawaiian islands combined), but because of its large cattle ranching industry. Indeed, if I had to pick a prototypical vehicle of the non-rental set, it would be a Toyota Tacoma, with a ladder rack, like the one pictured above.
All three FoMoCo brands under one roof. Wait, what??
The cars of the Big Island are predominantly Asian. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia rule the roost here, and are all sold from stylish modern dealerships. In contrast, the Ford dealership in Kailua-Kona is an older building, paired with Lincoln, and apparently Mercury as well. I didn’t stop in to check out the new Mercurys.
By far the easiest way to identify local cars is by their cataract-like cloudy headlight covers. You see, the Big Island has a bit of a pollution problem. For once though, the problem is not from your usual man-made culprits, but rather from the active volcano that resides on the southeastern part of the island. This has given rise to some cutesy names for the resulting atmospheric phenomena, like “Vog” (volcanic smog) and “Laze” (haze created when hot lava enters the ocean). Honestly, it is hard to use terms like this and still feel like an adult.
Island ravaged Toyota Corolla
Whatever you call it, the combination of volcanic acid rain, strong tropical sunshine and salty humid ocean air quickly attacks the paint and plastic bits of every car exposed to it. Any car older than about five years that is not regularly garaged or waxed will start to have a noticeably dull finish. Once it hits about 15 years, most of the finish on the horizontal body parts will be gone (as on the car pictured above).
The Big Island has perhaps 20 miles of divided freeways, none of which are limited access. Honolulu (on the island of Oahu) has three “Interstates,” H1, H2, and H3. However, they are all urban and highly congested. Bottom line is that cars here are subject to lots of hard stop-and-go driving. and few easy freeway miles. This, combined with the previously mentioned environmental factors, means that cars older than about 15 years are very uncommon, and cars older than 25 are virtually nonexistent.
So where do all the old cars in Hawaii end up? Come back tomorrow for part 2, for the revealing answer.
You aren’t wrong with the somewhat severe dichotomy of vehicles on the Big Island, I noticed the same when I was there. The rental car colors were a little more varied back then though, even as we had a silver Malibu, I remember seeing scads of that very popular brown colored Buick Enclave (it was new the year we went) and Jeep Wrangler 2-doors were all over the place in various colors. The main convertible at that time (besides the Jeep) was the Chrysler Sebring. After a couple of days we realized the Malibu was perfect, you couldn’t really enjoy a convertible the way the weather was ever changing and when you did drive somewhere it was usually low speed and gasoline was quite expensive.
When I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii a few years ago we got a Wrangler Unlimited for our rental vehicle. We LOVED it, Mrs DougD could take out her side of the roof and I could leave mine in, it carried all our stuff.
Although we decided it was a great vehicle for Hawaii or Utah but not so much for our driveway.
Hawaii really is fantastic, the only downside is the time and expense of getting there.
“Mrs DougD could take out her side of the roof and I could leave mine in, it carried all our stuff.”
I’m vacationing on the big island with a small group of friends at this very moment, and am also driving a (4 door) Wrangler. The split roof design is very clever, and there’s ample room for our group plus luggage (five adults).
We’re flying to Oahu next Monday, and for that island I’ve reserved a Rent-a-Wreck of unknown size and features. I’m very curios to see Honolulu, and I’m hoping the Rent-a-Wreck will be the perfect vehicle to bash around that (relatively) urban environment.
“Hawaii really is fantastic, the only downside is the time and expense of getting there.”
+1- That rare location that lives up to the hype!
Stayed in Waikiki for a few days in the eighties on the way back to the mainland from visiting friends on Maui. A tourist brochure in the hotel lobby advertised a Jeep for $29 a day at an independent place a few blocks away. We walked down and saw a row of shiny new Suzuki Samurai for $59. The $29 Jeep was in back, covered in dirt, perfect “local” vehicle for our North Shore adventure. Reluctantly, they hosed it out, put in some fresh gas and jumped the battery.
So that’s where Hummer got their model names from. They were each named for a highway on Oahu.
I have a son stationed on Oahu. A large transitory military population led to a subclass of car on that island known by soldiers as an “Island Beater”. Typically they start life with a local who keeps one for 8~15 years. When finally traded, they have low mileage and have been spared the worst of the sun and salt by being parked a bit mauka and under some sort of cover. Even so, they are too old and worn to have much resale value. Viola – an island beater is born.
My son’s is a ’99 Monte Carlo. It is now a rusted out POS with all the problems common to that breed of GM product. Yet it only has 55k miles and still provides good serviceable – albeit highly unstylish – transportation. On Oahu, even if it breaks down, you’re never too far from The Bus.
One good thing I’ll say about the Monte, I’ve got a lot of father-son time in the Post Auto Craft Shop whenever I visit. I must be the only visitor to the island that leaves more pale than when I arrive.
I grew up on AF bases, the “Lemon Lots” for reselling vehicles quickly before a reassignment were always interesting. I’d love to check one out overseas like this Japanese one:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/used-cars/car-lot-classics-whats-on-the-lemon-lot-may-2016/
I remember reading somewhere online that in 70s&80s Peugeot 504&505s were kind of popular in Hawaii. I wonder how many is still on the road over there?
I don’t recall seeing a single Peugeot on my multiple trips going back to 2013 (and it would be hard to miss or forget).
Went to Maui in 2008, and rentals had more color variety, i.e. more red and blue cars. The obvious rental seen was the Chrysler Sebring drop-top, followed by Caravans.
I got a red Cobalt 2 door. Try renting a 2 door hardtop now.
We saw a Fox body Mustang with local young folks 2 times. I cant remember if it was a 5.0 or plain.
In the ’90’s, I rented from Rent-A-Wreck on Oahu. A Chevy Spectrum (actually, Isuzu), that drove me over hill & dale.
No AC, but I was young & it was cheap & reliable. Great fun.
In 2005 we rented from a similar place on Maui. It wasn’t Rent-A-Wreck, but a local place with a similar business model renting older cars. Our car was a late 1990s Corolla, which I almost wondered if it had belonged to an island resident before being purchased by the rental company as a used car. What made me wonder that was the fact that it was sporting a bumper sticker (I don’t remember the slogan, but it had a dolphin on it). I kind of liked having an older than typical rental with a bumper sticker because I felt like it helped up blend in a bit and not stick out as obvious tourists.
At least as of 2014, the Tacoma was the best selling vehicle in Hawaii. I assumed it was a combination of lots of farms, tight mountain roads, and expensive gas that pushed its appeal. Plus they’re also popular with the surfer/beach bum crowd in the lower 48 too.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65313/best-selling-vehicle-each-state
Also, I find it interesting new car buyers in HI pay the same window sticker “shipping” we do on new cars in the Continental US. That definitely helps keep it from being an almost closed market of high priced used cars, like it would be if people were paying individual, market rate for new shipping.
Reading this post instantly reminded me of the extremely weird eBay ad for a 1996 Taurus from Hawaii I wrote up about a year ago:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-for-sale/ebay-classic/ebay-find-1996-ford-taurus-gl-jared-2/
Probably the most fun I’ve had while writing for CC.
We couldn’t afford a honeymoon back in 73. We did manage a week in Florida in 79. At that time the rental people were discounting/ pushing Mustangs. Being a GM guy I balked at first. The price was right, so we took one for a week (Non Convertible)
My wife loved it. She wanted to buy one when we got home. I just couldn’t” pull the trigger” on a Ford
Hawaii for our 25th anniversary. Maui ,and the road to Hanna in a silver 98 Mustang convertible. We flew to the big island and rented a white 98 rag top.
Back home ,whenever my wife spied a Mustang convertible for sale, I heard about it for days. Finally, after I retired I bought a 2008 rag top. . Since then I bought a new 2015 hard top and use it as as a DD. My summer car is 2005 GT drop top.
With the cost of shipping those Rag tops both ways, I don’t imagine Ford and the rental people are raking a lot of cash in. However, from a marketing stand point I wonder how may sales are generated.
We went to Oahu, Kauai and Maui back in 2000, had a typical white or silver sedan of some sort.
Though I don’t recall anything distinctive about the makes and models in use by local residents, I do remember lots of rust and faded paint, and at the time I attributed the paint fade to the intense sun; didn’t consider abrasive aerosols, but that makes a lot of sense.
My strongest vehicular remembrance was of abandoned, rusty hulks along roadsides, especially in more rural areas. I was told that this was because the paucity of junkyards and the need to eventually ship cars back to the mainland for scrapping made it expensive for terminal owners to legally dispose of their vehicles. It seemed to me that it would be pretty easy to track down the owners of most of these cars, so I think there was more going on than that. Though I am not against creative decay, it was a source of ugliness in an otherwise beautiful place.
A fun a very instructive post for someone who’s never been there. Interesting dichotomy between “rental” and “local” vehicles.
As to the latter: I think I found the Ford dealer in question—Used Car Inventory very instructive: https://www.fordhawaii.com/used-inventory/index.htm
Very interesting article, thank you!
Now I want to go back to Hawaii…
Rental ragtop Mustangs are a worldwide curse, I posted a shot on the cohort of a rental Mustang convert taken outside Transport world in Invergargill NZ, why you’d choose a V8 convertible in mid winter south island NZ to tour around in is beyond me, you’re hardly likely to lower the top in snow and sleet,
Cars with yellow headlights and peeling clearcoat are pretty common here too, its sunlight rather than volcanic activity that eats the finish,
I’m taking a trip to Kauai next month, and I have to admit I thought about splurging on a convertible for my rental car, too… until I saw how much more expensive they were compared to the other options. So I just reserved a compact, but I was still thinking that if they offered a cheap option to upgrade to a convertible when I arrived, as they sometimes do, I would take it.
I visited Hawaii in 1986.
In Honolulu , I got a Mercury Cougar with 3/4 tank of gas. I had the car for less that half a day and had a dog fight with the girl behind the rental car counter for they wanted to charge me an inordinate amount for the refill. Finally, she relented and gave me a full credit.
On the “Big Island” and Kaua’i (the garden island), I got a Nissan Sentra.
Not sure if they still have this feature; but for a flat fee, you could visit another island for the day that included a round trip airline ticket and rental car for the day. Usually consisted of the first flight of the day to the neighboring island, pick up the rental car, spend time discovering the island, then return to catch the last flight back.
Best memory was the black sand beach on the Big Island (stumbled upon this by accident) and also got to walk on top of the harden crust of a lava flow. Also saw the steam plum for the lava that was still flowing under the harden crust into the ocean. This was back in the day when you had a camera and Kodak film. Not sure were the picture are:-(
I’m surprised you wouldn’t just love a convertible in Hawaii, especially if you’re a tourist. 22 years ago my new bride and I had a splendid honeymoon on Maui. We rented one of the then-ubiquitous Chrysler Sebring convertibles. Top down on the road over to Hana, through the tropical forests and along the seacoast, was unforgettable.
Two years ago we returned and enjoyed one of those now-ubiquitous Mustang convertibles. Didn’t have time to go over to Hana, but enjoyed the top down all the same.
Great idea for an article — I love seeing the different Vehicular Fingerprints of places that I visit, and Hawaii seems to have quite a unique one.
I just got back from a two-week vacation to Nebraska, S. Dakota and Wyoming and was amazed at some of the differences from the US East Coast. For example, I saw three (running) Chevy Celebrities in one day, plus that part of the country seems like the last haven for stripped-down sedans. Two of them (a Chevelle and a ’64 Ford Custom) I was able to photograph, but there were many others. Not nearly as many rental cars as Hawaii, though!
In 1975, our rental car in Maui was a red Ford Pinto station wagon. I remember that it would take forever to start. My dad would comment that if there were a tidal wave or tsunami, we would never get away in time.
As kiwibryce has alluded to above, Tom, I rather suspect it’s just the sun causing the cataracts and fading of paint. In Aus, where, despite perceptions, most of the population (and thus car population) live in relatively temperate climes, that Corolla in the photo looks pretty normal for an un-garaged 14-15 y.o. car even in the south here.
Re the paint – I don’t know if this is true on the mainland, but just try to get a whole car (not partial) car painted by anyone other than MAACO in Hawaii for less than $4K. It seems that unless it is collision work (i.e., paid for by an insurance company), the body shops won’t touch it. I sought to have two cars’ solar damage remedied, but redonkulous prices drove me to either expensive or sketchy solutions. One wonders if the insurance payroll has skewed the situation…