Posted on 07/22/2005 6:10:31 PM PDT by The Other Harry
My top two are both Volkswagens, back in the 60's. One was a Karman Gia, the other was a Squareback. My, they were awful. I tried to like them, but I couldn't.
Third would be a Chevy Suburban, also in the 60's or possibly the early 70's. I used to joke that I could see things falling off it in the rear-view mirror as we drove down the road. Still, it had its place in the overall scope of things.
Best would be a 1996 Ford Ranger. That was a great truck. If I hadn't wrecked it, I would have kept it forever.
My new Toyota Tundra is not as good. It's okay. I don't like the controls. I should have shopped more.
My GEO Tracker is pretty good. I can't figure out how to set the clock, but it works pretty well otherwise.
(my mustang being the exception)
Ford trucks are excellent, Toyota makes very reliable cars...sorry for your bad experience :(
1984 Ford Thunderbird. The primitive onboard computer was screwed up, every time you used the power seat adjustor, the clock reset to noon. And the body, which was coated with every kind of weather proofing available, ate itself up with rust in about three years flat. Every tiny nick turned into rust cancer. The dealer service people just laughed. I actually met an inspector one time who worked at the plant where the POS was made and told him about it. He said, "Yeah, we had some bad alloy that year," and shrugged.
Is that yours? I'm seriously considering buying myself a new GT for my birthday next month. I have it down to a Charger, Mustang, or really dressed out Harley.
I had a '74 Ford Torino that I could never get the brakes working properly on. I replaced master cylinders, calipers, brake lines, you name it. You hit the pedal and it just sank to the floor. I had to pump the brakes to make it stop, starting about a half block away from the sign/light. Stopping that car took advance planning. I drove it for three years like that.
The guy I bought it from was a mullet fisherman, and he used to throw his cast nets in the trunk without rinsing them off first. 60's and 70's Fords were rustbuckets under the best of conditions anyway, so the trunk floor and lower fenders were rusted away. I had to use a LOT of bondo and plywood to keep things from falling out the trunk onto the road.
Once the tailpipe rotted off, and as a result exhaust fumes poured into the car through the big gaping rust holes in the trunk floor (did I mention that the carburetion was ummm, less than complete? I think more gas went unburned out the tailpipe than what did burn). I drove that car all the way home from Gainesville, Florida one night, about 150 miles, with all the windows open and my eyes still streaming tears from the gas and exhaust fumes. It's a miracle I didn't asphyxiate. The next day I went to the parts store and bought three feet of that cheap flex pipe and bolted it onto the rotten stump of the tailpipe, and that routed the fumes out and away from the vent holes in the trunk.
Having had my car totalled and neck broken by a drunk driver as a teen and broke, for a time I rode a bent up Puch moped.
A 79 AMC Concord. Bought it used in 83 when our second car died. It leaked, it rusted and I don't know how it lasted three years with us. It got me to work and back but you'd never take it more than ten miles.
My fave? My 93 Saturn SL 2. Just sold it this past March. It had 140K. Replaced the alternator once and nothing else but brakes and belts and hoses for 12 years. And it handled wonderfully with surprising oomph for a 124 HP.
One hot car.
So I was TDY in NM, and I went to the harley dealer - I was having a mid-life crises. "Hey, somebody sell me a bike!"
"I am sorry, sir, we are closed."
"Do say what?"
"Perhaps ... snif... you might be happier at the Ford dealer accross the street."
I looked at the wad of cash in my hand - $20,000 and said, "Yeah, guess you are right. Sorry to have bothered you."
So, anyway, I walked across the street. "What go you want for that 2005 Mustang GT convertable, with the 5-speed transmission?" I asked. Sticker. SOLD!
This was the BEST car I ever owned.
Uummm....no....
Guess again!?
I'd get banned.
(snicker)
You got it!
I'm not THAT old....yet.
Ford Expedition: the worst.
The best: Toyota Lexus.
Me neither.... ;-)
dd
Perhaps if I show that pic to my Wife, she'll get ideas.....
(thinks again)
Then again, maybe not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.