Top 10 Cars to drive, not drive, on first date

The folks at Autoblog have recently done some posts on the 10 best cars to drive or not drive on first dates. The cars-not-to-drive list is fine, mostly uncreative, but number 10 is pretty amusing:

Any time you get behind the wheel of a Ferrari, you're having a good day. The 599 GTB has all the goods: the prancing horse, a 600+ hp V12 and a $300,000 price tag. But it's not for first dates. We know you think we're crazy here, but if you show up with one of the hottest supercars around, the date peaks at "Holy $!%*, nice car!", and has nowhere to go but down.

However, the list for 10 cars to drive on a first date starts badly and goes downhill from there. The (not yet available) new Camaro and the Mustang? Mazda RX-8 and Caddy CTS-V? The (also not yet available) new Honda Insight? When they said:

The only problem is that we're less qualified to write [the best date car list] than [the worst date car list], but we decided to give it a go anyway

They weren't kidding. Two cars you can't even buy. Two pony cars ( ok, maybe that works for a subset of "ladies"). Two serious sports cars. The Camry made it on the "good" list because it's boring and would appeal to a date's parents (I didn't realize this was written for the High School audience only) but the Taurus made it on the "bad" list because, well, it's boring and somebodies' parents probably like it.

But lest I be accused of all talk and no action, I think I can come up with better list of 10 cars to bring on a first date:

1. Cooper Mini. Probably not the Clubman.
   
2. BMW 2002. Old BMW has cachet, doesn't scream prick, pretty hip. Won't strand you like the cooler but less reliable Alfa GTV
3. 2nd (and maybe 3rd) generation Benz SL. A classic, not as pretentious as the newer ones.
   
4. Original Saab 900 3-door. Hip and different. Not a Volvo
5. Volkswagen Passat. The choice if you want to look practical but not dull at the same time. Wagon may be preferable, may not, depending on the date (if date likes wagons, any Euro version may do, which also negates "Not a Volvo" from above)
   
6. Volvo C30. Ok, there's really nothing wrong with any new Volvos. I'm just a Saab guy. But the C30 is cool.
   
7. "Smokey and the Bandit" Firebird. Mainly for the ironic hipster, but even my wife likes it (and she's the reason the new Camaro and Mustang drew my ire earlier)
   
8. Jeep Cherokee. Note: there is no "Grand" in there. An unpretenious SUV, and in my opinion the one that deservedly began the current SUV craze, but not ridiculously large.
   
9. Any old, formerly expensive car. Good chance date won't really know what the hell it is, makes for interesting conversation, shows some eccentricity. And daring, since it might break down.
   
10. Any non-beater. If you need a car to impress your date, you're a loser. And who wants to date somebody who's that impressed by your car?

I've actually strived to make my picks fit number 10. I don't choose cars for potential dating situations because 1. I'm married, and 2. I'm a car guy. But if you are seriously considering my advice on this, uh, don't. See previous sentence.