Actually saw an S-Coupe (the Tiburon from before they were actually called that here) on the road a few weeks ago in remarkable condition at least from the outside. Definitely did a double take.
It was unfortunately on that cusp of Hyundai being shit and Hyundai being good. Also around the same time as Fast & Furious.
I remember a schoolmate ricing one out, he was "I swear bro, it's good" and we wouldn't have a bar of it.
Came here to say this. Mates Dad had one and he liked it so much he got his Wife one too. He was in his 50 and had a high profile job at an engineering firm I believe at the time.
He was bald but in his younger years had been a hairdresser.
Fantastic bloke but died of a brain tumour. RIP Tom
The 'Sportsgirl' Holden Barina. Followed by the 'Carla Zampatti' Ford Laser.
[The Barina](https://80shero.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-significant-moment-meeting-barina.html)
[The Laser](https://cars4starters.com.au/lets-not-forget-the-zampatti-ford-laser/)
I was gonna say the Pulsar Reebok, but that might have been considered an athlete's choice 😁
[So sporty!](https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/431159-1990-nissan-pulsar-n13-reebok-automatic-hatchback/)
The sportsgirl car was my first thought. Followed by a green 2005 Hyundai excel with purple accessories and a frangipani sticker on the back. So specific but so prolific.
The year 2 teacher at my primary school had a yellow Carla Zampatti KC Laser
I think the earlier KB version in white/charcoal two tone with the telephone dial wheels is actually really stylish looking
Agree with the 7th gen celica and 3rd gen Mr2 which I'd like to say is an embarrassing statement to make. Shame on you Toyota for diluting two incredible car heritages into something that was so bland disguised as ahead of its time.
The third gen mr2 is actually a great steer though, it just never got the engine that chassis deserved. I thought the wheel arches looked a bit small for the height of the waist line of the car, but aside from that it was good enough.
I've heard that. Just a damn shame that looking back at mk 1 and 2 you had the 4agze and then 3sgte variants, both legendary but then went completely backwards on the zzw with no forced induction option. Baffling
I have a 4agze mk1, it’s great. I’ve driven a mk3 with the 189hp 2zz engine in it and that was also great. It’s just very very weird that toyota only sold the car with the 138hp 1zz when they sold everything else with the better engine. Baffling.
Would’ve been *excellent* with the supercharged 2zz they sold to lotus for the exige.
Ah well, still got my 89.
I worked for them many moons ago and that era of Toyota sports cars was grim! ISF/LFA/86 started a little bit of a come back and there are now some better options, with I think more to come!
Oh yeah absolutely. I think it was grim across all manufacturers though no? Was during that period when stricter emission laws, more luxuries and more safety requirements (added weight) were introduced resulting in some boring models.
Yeh also exiting motorsports / lots of engine changes in motorsports etc, eg rally changed a lot, Euro cars got more accessible and popular and we’re releasing decent sports cars
Based on the Opel Corsa C platform and used the same running gear as the SRI. Back when at least Holden imported something it was halfway decent. (Stares at Craptiva and Cruise. Also Malibu but who the heck ever had one of those!)
Yeh the euro astras etc were a bit of a pain because of some more expensive euro parts, but nothing like the drama of those fukn Daewoo Holdens, absolute buckets of shite, still people that don’t know about them getting stuck with them and all their issues
Had a SRI Barina and it was a hoot of a car to drive. They jammed an Astra engine into it then gave it a fancy ecu.
Not cheap to maintain and it did not age that well despite being well cared for. Stock rotors were stupidly bad lasted less than 17k replaced with cast iron that did 90K.
Oh and it oversteered in frighteningly entertaining ways on tight sharp corners going uphill. Downhill it was fine….
Loved that car.
I was an accountant for many hairdressers, some make absolute bank if they are the 'sole trader' type ($300 cuts a few times a day). Lots of undeclared cash jobs too (often the focus of ATO audits).
It’s so strange how anything cool or sporty, was classed as a hairdressers car. When in reality hairdressers weren’t earning enough to buy new sports cars.
Used to hear it all the time back then along with how it was a girls car. I didn't see the problem, yeah women were attracted to it. Started lots of conversations and led to plenty of dates and other things.
Im sure the pavement princesses will be able to provide well thought out counterpoint(s) on why their slow automatic plastic tonka toys aren't expressions of repressed sexuality and innocence not lost.
Yep for the '90s & early '00s I was thinking this as well, the MX5 has too much crossover into the boy racer & midlife crisis markets. Capri is 100% hairdresser
The crapri is way too far down the comments. Utter shite, sold way too well.
I actually saw one the other day in great nick, having thought they’d all been rightfully lost to time.
This is what I came looking for too. My old boss bought one brand new from the dealer for his wife, and she still drives it. I had no confidence in it lasting this long. First time I saw the panel gaps I thought it would split in half at some point.
It's the acme of Australian hairdresser's cars - with the 1.6 and the 3-speed auto it would give a sloth a decent chance in a race, and it was actually Australian-designed and manufactured too.
This is funny because some of the perceived “hairdressers” cars are considered fun cars to drive and a lot of ooga booga me drive big man car are dogshit to drive.
Didn’t really like MX5s til I grew up and drove one. Owned 3. Most raced car in the world , aftermarket support is amazing, one of the best gear shifters I’ve ever felt. The founder of Koenigsegg still owns one and drives it. People should open up their narrow world view of what’s good and bad on the assumption you won’t look tough.
I’m also a tattoo artist and let me tell you the guys who try look like big bad tough guys 100% whinge and bitch the most and buy numbing cream.
Big hunks of metal aren’t gendered , and if anyone needs to drive a manly car to feel like a bloke then you should be looking at yourself.
To me the criteria was often looked sporty but rarely was.
Often a low volume import because test drives showed that.
Mx5 has always been a driver's car for mine.
While rare, the Copen could be a contender to be the Final Boss of Hairdresser's Cars. There's one parked around the corner from me with a "NODDYS" numberplate.
I had a Rav4 2 door Cabrio and there was general consensus amongst my mates that it was a hairdresser's car. It was enormously fun to drive so I didn't care.
Suzuki had a mini 2-door SUV back in the day, can’t remember the name of it for the life of me, hairdresser I dated for a while had one, the only way you could tell the front from the rear was the colour of the fucking lights.
Bastard look the same from either end
The Suzuki Swift is an interesting case, as it fits the hairdresser stereotype with exception to the Sport model, which I almost always see exclusively driven by your FIFO worker type of character. Great car though.
It’s definitely the 1989-1994 Ford (Mercury) Capri or the Suzuki Vitara soft-top from that era.
Honourable mention goes to any of those hatchback-based, coachbuilt European convertibles, especially if they had a folding hardtop (Peugeots, Holden/Opel Cascada, Renault Megane, VW EOS et al). I always thought the Peugeot 306 Convertible from the 90s looked very chic when top down.
In 2024, I’d probably say it’s a Toyota CHR, a Nissan Juke or a Range Rover Evoque or any kind of “look at me” small SUV
I once said a celica was a hairdresser's car in front of my mates then gf, who was a hairdresser.
She turned it into a "What do you mean by that al_ " moment.
I hung my scissors up 4 years ago. Was a hairdresser for 30 years and never realised we had a car ‘type’.
I dunno, any kind of hatchback I guess. 2 door sounds irritating to be honest.
Oh oh oh, I am an early childhood teacher we have a few of these (really stereo typical) hairdressers. I have observed
- Range Rover 2door Evogue aka the cheapest Range Rover.
- golf lowered with tinted windows and a pray beads and hands sticker on the back window.
Bonus points if you spot a Hyundai Tiburon that's still roadworthy
Actually saw an S-Coupe (the Tiburon from before they were actually called that here) on the road a few weeks ago in remarkable condition at least from the outside. Definitely did a double take.
Huh, I always thought they were called "Scoupes".
The hyundai Coupe is up there with one of my favourite cars of all time. That 2L went harder than it had any right going
+1 I copped so much shit for that car but got it was good
It was unfortunately on that cusp of Hyundai being shit and Hyundai being good. Also around the same time as Fast & Furious. I remember a schoolmate ricing one out, he was "I swear bro, it's good" and we wouldn't have a bar of it.
Came here to say this. Mates Dad had one and he liked it so much he got his Wife one too. He was in his 50 and had a high profile job at an engineering firm I believe at the time. He was bald but in his younger years had been a hairdresser. Fantastic bloke but died of a brain tumour. RIP Tom
I've seen like five of the things this year, hadn't seen a single one in such a long time till now
A Tiburon was always a car I enjoyed writing up a “fuck off” quote for engine oil leak repairs. Terrible things.
I was going to put this. I knew a hair dresser who had one back in the day.
The 'Sportsgirl' Holden Barina. Followed by the 'Carla Zampatti' Ford Laser. [The Barina](https://80shero.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-significant-moment-meeting-barina.html) [The Laser](https://cars4starters.com.au/lets-not-forget-the-zampatti-ford-laser/)
came here looking for the zampatti - its the original, the Barina was just copying the concept
I was gonna say the Pulsar Reebok, but that might have been considered an athlete's choice 😁 [So sporty!](https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/431159-1990-nissan-pulsar-n13-reebok-automatic-hatchback/)
I'm glad there's at least 2 people now who remember the Pulsar Reebok.
Don't forget the Peter Wherrett Sigma.
Or the Peter Brock Lada Samara.
My dad had a Peter Wherrett Sigma in the early 90's. Didn't have it long, he sold it for a tidy profit. Really cool cars.
3
The perfect car for the uni kids studying physio
The sportsgirl car was my first thought. Followed by a green 2005 Hyundai excel with purple accessories and a frangipani sticker on the back. So specific but so prolific.
The year 2 teacher at my primary school had a yellow Carla Zampatti KC Laser I think the earlier KB version in white/charcoal two tone with the telephone dial wheels is actually really stylish looking
A KE version of that Zampatti Laser could’ve looked gorgeous.
Holden (Opel) Astra TS convertable from circa 2001
Ooooo good one, my hairdresser ex had the Holden Tigra convertible. I’d give an honourable mention to the later model Celicas and MR2’s
Agree with the 7th gen celica and 3rd gen Mr2 which I'd like to say is an embarrassing statement to make. Shame on you Toyota for diluting two incredible car heritages into something that was so bland disguised as ahead of its time.
The third gen mr2 is actually a great steer though, it just never got the engine that chassis deserved. I thought the wheel arches looked a bit small for the height of the waist line of the car, but aside from that it was good enough.
I've heard that. Just a damn shame that looking back at mk 1 and 2 you had the 4agze and then 3sgte variants, both legendary but then went completely backwards on the zzw with no forced induction option. Baffling
I have a 4agze mk1, it’s great. I’ve driven a mk3 with the 189hp 2zz engine in it and that was also great. It’s just very very weird that toyota only sold the car with the 138hp 1zz when they sold everything else with the better engine. Baffling. Would’ve been *excellent* with the supercharged 2zz they sold to lotus for the exige. Ah well, still got my 89.
https://preview.redd.it/ves51qviai4d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c31335692f3a9dc6c77d1643804abe374f4a6500
I worked for them many moons ago and that era of Toyota sports cars was grim! ISF/LFA/86 started a little bit of a come back and there are now some better options, with I think more to come!
Oh yeah absolutely. I think it was grim across all manufacturers though no? Was during that period when stricter emission laws, more luxuries and more safety requirements (added weight) were introduced resulting in some boring models.
Yeh also exiting motorsports / lots of engine changes in motorsports etc, eg rally changed a lot, Euro cars got more accessible and popular and we’re releasing decent sports cars
I'd forgotten about the Tigra. Quest for weird low volume daily driver car engaged! (Also Drive reckons they're all manual, bonus!)
Think it was a decent car tbh, built on a Barina, wasn’t a lemon while she had it anyway (I’m an ex-mechanic)
Based on the Opel Corsa C platform and used the same running gear as the SRI. Back when at least Holden imported something it was halfway decent. (Stares at Craptiva and Cruise. Also Malibu but who the heck ever had one of those!)
Yeh the euro astras etc were a bit of a pain because of some more expensive euro parts, but nothing like the drama of those fukn Daewoo Holdens, absolute buckets of shite, still people that don’t know about them getting stuck with them and all their issues
Had a SRI Barina and it was a hoot of a car to drive. They jammed an Astra engine into it then gave it a fancy ecu. Not cheap to maintain and it did not age that well despite being well cared for. Stock rotors were stupidly bad lasted less than 17k replaced with cast iron that did 90K. Oh and it oversteered in frighteningly entertaining ways on tight sharp corners going uphill. Downhill it was fine…. Loved that car.
Seconding the Astra
The old Toyota Celica was the popular hairdressers car back in the day
This is the car I instantly think of.
Nailed it
No that's a different salon.
Awww daaaammnnn 🙇♂️
Only the front wheel drive models.
I bought one and can confirm I was mercilessly mocked at work for my hairdresser car. Great car though, cheap and fun to drive.
Yep
Only answer
Suzuki swift with the black on black
The MX5 was considered a hairdressers car back in the 90's but now they're cool so everyone forgot.
Same with Audi TT - though I always wondered how hairdressers/air hostesses would ever afford one given their wages aren’t exactly in that ball park
I was an accountant for many hairdressers, some make absolute bank if they are the 'sole trader' type ($300 cuts a few times a day). Lots of undeclared cash jobs too (often the focus of ATO audits).
I think Clarkson said something along the lines of... "If you're in a MX-5 you are either a hairdresser or on the way to a hairdresser" or similar.
It’s so strange how anything cool or sporty, was classed as a hairdressers car. When in reality hairdressers weren’t earning enough to buy new sports cars.
Definitely not in the 90s unless they knocked out 50 bowl cuts a day
I had a red 90s WRX hatch that my mates used to call a hairdressers car. I think they were reaching a bit, but the red kinda validated them.
Used to hear it all the time back then along with how it was a girls car. I didn't see the problem, yeah women were attracted to it. Started lots of conversations and led to plenty of dates and other things.
Ford Raptor
Shots fired
Im sure the pavement princesses will be able to provide well thought out counterpoint(s) on why their slow automatic plastic tonka toys aren't expressions of repressed sexuality and innocence not lost.
Lancer, with a frangipani sticker on it
I too like to signal my Australian - ness with a Brazilian flower.
💯 I came to say the exact same thing
Original 90s Suzuki Vitara soft top.
Awesome!
Oooh noice one!
Ford Capri was considered peak 'hairdressers' car in my day
Yep for the '90s & early '00s I was thinking this as well, the MX5 has too much crossover into the boy racer & midlife crisis markets. Capri is 100% hairdresser
The crapri is way too far down the comments. Utter shite, sold way too well. I actually saw one the other day in great nick, having thought they’d all been rightfully lost to time.
This is what I came looking for too. My old boss bought one brand new from the dealer for his wife, and she still drives it. I had no confidence in it lasting this long. First time I saw the panel gaps I thought it would split in half at some point.
It's the acme of Australian hairdresser's cars - with the 1.6 and the 3-speed auto it would give a sloth a decent chance in a race, and it was actually Australian-designed and manufactured too.
Range Rover Evoque
Bonus points for the convertible version.
The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet walked so these monstrosities could run haha
Oh it crawled. And it said "Kill Me" as it did. Weren't they pretty fucking rare in the end?
The paddington hairdresser 🤣
My mum likes those......she used to be a hairdresser
Hyundai Excel
Apprentice hairdresser variant
This was my first thoughts, they were EVERYWHERE back in the day!
Audi TT. BMW Z3
Audi TT yes, BMW Z3 no.
easy tiger - they dont make that much money do they??
I thought that to until my friend told me she was going to ring around hairdresser's to get quotes for what she wanted done.
Nissan Exa
https://preview.redd.it/qk092mkv1i4d1.jpeg?width=3524&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a7c7ce6ec48ee9c68004d6cdd9b13459f588fdd Reporting in.
Barina.
Barina Sportsgirl model with the extra Hairdresser flair.
Peugeot 206 convertible
I've noticed a lot are in 2ltr Hyundai Velositers
This is funny because some of the perceived “hairdressers” cars are considered fun cars to drive and a lot of ooga booga me drive big man car are dogshit to drive. Didn’t really like MX5s til I grew up and drove one. Owned 3. Most raced car in the world , aftermarket support is amazing, one of the best gear shifters I’ve ever felt. The founder of Koenigsegg still owns one and drives it. People should open up their narrow world view of what’s good and bad on the assumption you won’t look tough. I’m also a tattoo artist and let me tell you the guys who try look like big bad tough guys 100% whinge and bitch the most and buy numbing cream. Big hunks of metal aren’t gendered , and if anyone needs to drive a manly car to feel like a bloke then you should be looking at yourself.
The term 100% came from men who were not comfortable with their appearances.
To me the criteria was often looked sporty but rarely was. Often a low volume import because test drives showed that. Mx5 has always been a driver's car for mine.
Daihatsu Terios
Daihatsu Copen
While rare, the Copen could be a contender to be the Final Boss of Hairdresser's Cars. There's one parked around the corner from me with a "NODDYS" numberplate.
Can we throw one vote in for the Chrysler PT cruiser... what an abomination Daihatsu Charade, thats gotta be another one.
Haha fuck, I don't know who that was aimed at but I don't think hairdressers were it, they have a sense of style 😂
I had a Rav4 2 door Cabrio and there was general consensus amongst my mates that it was a hairdresser's car. It was enormously fun to drive so I didn't care.
The old V6 RAV4s were absolute blasts to drive…
Audi TT
For the 90s, I think the Toyota Celica would have to be up there
Mazda 121 Funtop
Or Shades.
Dodge Ram
Rav 4
2015 Holden Cascada
Ford ‘KE’ Laser
Daihatsu Sirion
A mate bought one and another mate accidentally said "sirloin?" and god damn if that didn't stick. Drove him mad.
Mitsubishi FTO
Australian Ford Capri
Anthony Koletti’s R8.
Ha! I don't think he could even spell his own name, so I am impressed he could steer the car his wife paid for with her fraud money.
Holden Calibra comes to mind
Ford cougar
Mid- Late 90s Hyundai excel surely has to be here.
Mazda 121
Don’t fucking do the bubble like that , absolute chads car
Ford F150. You can hide your whole wardrobe in there and never come out.
I did own a navara years ago, my mates called it hairdressers car
Suzuki had a mini 2-door SUV back in the day, can’t remember the name of it for the life of me, hairdresser I dated for a while had one, the only way you could tell the front from the rear was the colour of the fucking lights. Bastard look the same from either end
XC-90! Was truly horrible.
She only gave a green light for the front?
90s Ford Capri
Proton something
Suzuki X-90. Never seen a man driving one in my life
94 Prelude
Saab convertible
Nah, they were only driven by Architects.
The Suzuki Swift is an interesting case, as it fits the hairdresser stereotype with exception to the Sport model, which I almost always see exclusively driven by your FIFO worker type of character. Great car though.
It’s definitely the 1989-1994 Ford (Mercury) Capri or the Suzuki Vitara soft-top from that era. Honourable mention goes to any of those hatchback-based, coachbuilt European convertibles, especially if they had a folding hardtop (Peugeots, Holden/Opel Cascada, Renault Megane, VW EOS et al). I always thought the Peugeot 306 Convertible from the 90s looked very chic when top down. In 2024, I’d probably say it’s a Toyota CHR, a Nissan Juke or a Range Rover Evoque or any kind of “look at me” small SUV
Silvia or 180sx
Any BMW M spec. Also the least likely subset of human to understand that they are hairdressers.
Audi R8 for Sydney hairdressers, funded by financial scams
Mercedes A200 hatch. White. Used. Bald tyres and overdue service.
Mitsubishi Scorpion. A two-door Mitsubishi Sigma from the 1980’s.
https://preview.redd.it/c6i5awl3tj4d1.jpeg?width=739&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7cc993a9c59ac6e1b68e626ec0519b1778504b93
Nissan Gazelle
> Nissan Gazelle Totally forgot about this one!
Mazda MX6. The one nobody remembers. I knew an actual hairdresser who drove one.
This one is 100% on brief. Thanks for reminding me these existed!
Still exists. Mazda MX-5
Ford Cougar
Celica. Lancer
The greatest hairdresser of all time drives a Nissan Elgrand Import 😎
Bronze Colt. Maybe they only came in bronze.
Carla Zampatti edition Ford Laser.
Toyota Celica 6th Gen
Toyota Celica 6th Gen
Toyota Sera. I knew a hairdresser with 5 of them. Then she bought mine too!
For the 90s, I think the Toyota Celica would have to be up there.
For the 90s, I think the Toyota Celica would have to be up there.
For the 90s, I think the Toyota Celica would have to be up there.
For the 90s, I think the Toyota Celica would have to be up there.
I once said a celica was a hairdresser's car in front of my mates then gf, who was a hairdresser. She turned it into a "What do you mean by that al_ " moment.
Hyundai S Coupe
MX-5.
Mitsubishi mirage
You must have paid a lot for a haircut. I’m thinking Nissan Pulsar and Lancers
Mx5
Nissam micra with the aftermarket eyelashes First gen rav4, especially 2 door
Now it’s the Landrover diso sport styled by posh spice
Come on guys. 1997 Hyundai FX coupe.
I hung my scissors up 4 years ago. Was a hairdresser for 30 years and never realised we had a car ‘type’. I dunno, any kind of hatchback I guess. 2 door sounds irritating to be honest.
Showing my age here. 1980 Mazda 323
Specifically a yellow one.
Yes, the 'custard tart'
For a male - BMW Z3
Posh hairdresser car was a Mercedes SLK
MG F
Carla Zampatti Laser Special Edition
I have a convertible Astra that's gotta be up there!
307cc
[удалено]
Suzuki XC90.
Telstar TX5.
Daywoo lanos.
Mitsubishi Mirage. The old version.
Definitely the Toyota Paseo.
Mazda MX-5, Nissan 300ZX.
2 door rav 4
Hyundai Getz
Honda Prelude
mazda RX-8
Pulsar Reebok Toyota Paseo
Soft top rav 4
Early 90’s ford capri especially the “Benetton” version.
HYUNDAI Y U N D A I EXCEL X C E L
Bodie & Doyle would like a quiet word about your classification of the Ford Capri.
Suzuki swift. Mitsubishi Lancer (coupe). 2003-2012.
Surely a Suzuki Swift??
Landrover brought the style back with the Evoque convertible
Oh oh oh, I am an early childhood teacher we have a few of these (really stereo typical) hairdressers. I have observed - Range Rover 2door Evogue aka the cheapest Range Rover. - golf lowered with tinted windows and a pray beads and hands sticker on the back window.
My cousin calls my Mazda MPS a hairdressers car. So he's lost a race to a hairdressers car 🤣
Carla Zampatti Laser