Best car hands down.
Posted on 09/08/2017 7:58:09 AM PDT by Army Air Corps
And now, for something a bit amusing for a Friday. This is a call to all automotive enthusiasts, motorheads, car nuts, etc.
I ask the following question: Of all the vehicles that you have driven, what car (or truck) have you owned that you loved in spite of its faults, quirks, and foibles? As a follow-up question, what made that flawed vehicle so endearing to you?
Bought my car new in 62’. It was a 62 Chev Belair ‘bubble top’ coupe. Honduras Maroon with a white top. Inside was Fawn color. 250/327 motor. Real nice car. Got the car as a senior in high school. Worked since the 8th grade to afford it, $1900.00. Really a fast ride back in those days.
Yikes! Did you drive around with a jug of coolant in the trunk?
It got 8 city, 12 hwy. Wanted leaded 100 octane(when you could find it), the real stuff. No corn fuel.
Good old Alpha 6. It belonged to the taxpayers, but I got to use it. An old Jeep. She had two of those hair dryer heaters in her.
Over hill over dale
We will hit the dusty trail
I finally got tired of fixing the leaks and traded it in on a ‘74 Power wagon. Which was also a bad move. That truck went through 4 alternators in 6 months at $110 a pop. It had the “new” electric ignition. The dealer claimed it was not warranty and charged me every time. The last time I asked them to think real carefully about charging me again because, “I am a young man and after this I may never buy one of your products again”. The guy looked me right in the eye and said he didn’t give a damn. Been a Ford man every since. Not one Plymouth, Chrysler, or GM product since.
3 speed stick on the floor.
But the girlfriend made it more than tolerable.
I’ve owned a LOT of cars. Variety is the spice of life.
The smartest cars you can buy:
1988-91 Civic Hatch. Perhaps the 2005 hatch too. Or an old CRX if you don’t need the seats.
The GMT800 truck platform is THE, penultimate, best thing on the road. Not the fastest, not the sexiest, not even the strongest but it’s still the smartest buy out there.
The first generation Mercedes Benz ML (320, 500, 55, etc). Strong, they perform like cars, and they are safe and reliable with a decent AWD system that doesn’t break every damned season.
The faves though do have some quirks. Some personality disorders and even some craziness.
E46 BMW in any trim level.
Second gen Toyota Supra.
Second gen RX-7.
First gen Toyota 4Runner.
The exotics that suck, but no one will fault you for owning..
an air cooled 911.
The 944, the 928 Porsches. The 914, of course but we all knew that was a quirky fun car. No question.
The first gen Lotus Esprit. Also the Europa.
The Lancia Scorpion. No doubt.
the C4 Corvette with the 4+3 trans.
There are others that I haven’t owned, but I look forward to it. My next passion in life are trucks. I haven’t had a truck in my collection for YEARS and I’m so sick of cars that I think it’s time to shift my attention.
I got my driver license in the spring of 1963 and have driven a bunch so this is a lot tougher than if the choice would be what you have owned. Apologies for multiples but here are a few chronologically. #1: 1955 Chrysler 300. My father bought it new and in a few years it sat in the driveway at our farm so I started driving it in our fields when the adults were out. I could get it up to 80 on the upper field tractor path that was about a quarter mile long. It only had two forward gears and the Hemi’s dual quads took a second or two to kick in. The brakes were marginal. The body and leather interior were stunning.
#2: 1964 Pontiac GTO. June of 1964 we went to SoCal to visit relatives and friends. My friend Lee who was a year older had received this Midnight Blue GTO as a high school graduation gift. It was the 389 with three dueces and a four speed, optional “NASCAR” suspension, and rear gears in the 3.70 range. As soon as dinner was over, we took it out to cruise Buena Park and surrounds. The car had 1,500 miles on it when I took the wheel. Negatives being that car was not mine.
#3: 1961 Jaguar XKE. March 1968 I’m home on 14 day leave after finishing boot camp in San Diego. My father’s friend lends me his E-Type for my leave. Gunmetal gray, black interior and rag top. 40,000 miles on the odo. Car has been rode hard and put away wet. I put that car through its paces on the Pennsylvania back roads I’d been driving since I was 12 and this car was the absolute fastest, best handling and sounding vehicle I ever drove. Biggest flaw was it needed a new clutch since when I hit 4th gear at 6,500 that was about 105, it wouldn’t go any faster. In 1968, a clutch job on that car ran about $400. My father’s friend would have sold it to me for $2,000.
whoops, missed the “faults” part.
The cars i mentioned had no out of the ordinary problems, especially the Supra.
I put 300,000 miles on that car and when i sold it the engine still purred like the day i bought it.
My current Mazda has multiple electrical prob that would probably cost a fortune to fix.
My WORST car was a 1993 Lincoln Continental i owned for a short time.
Car looked good, blue, had a HUGE interior,digital dash, automatic air suspension.
EVERYTHING broke on that POS.
air suspension Everything EVERYTHING!
Will never buy another Ford after owning that sh!tbox...
But I will never forget driving away from the dealership and taking one last look at it. There was a stream of antifreeze running through the parking lot. LOL.
Bought it in Michigan in 1971 with a blown up engine for $200 in my mid-twenties. A few Ford Cortina parts turned it back into a good engine since the twin overhead cam head was OK. It was fiddly to keep running smoothly with shims to adjust the valve clearances and frequent adjustments to the twin dual Weber carbs, but it was a kick to drive.
The other drivers thought it was a little Fiat, but it could keep up with older muscle cars up to 70 mph and simply lose them when the road became winding.
It was amazing I didn't kill myself given the lack of safety features in 60’s cars. Even the bumpers were fiberglass...:^)
1999 Discovery II V8
Starter failed, transmission failed, coolant system leaked, ABS/traction control had issues, dash lights failed
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of cars that were quirky, flawed, or even lemons that you loved in spite of their shortcomings.
1982 Chevy Malibu Station Wagon. Bought it used with 66K on it. We needed a bigger car with 2 kids.
It had a 4bbl 305 V8 (like 180hp tops). Prior owner blew the 200 transmission and replaced it with a Turbo 350 with a shift kit. I added rims and tires, new dual exhaust system and a receiver hitch. Sold it with 166K miles on it and it still ran like a champ! Rock solid dependable, but ugly according to my wife. ;-)
Only think I had to do to it while I owned it was oil changes every 3K miles, tune-ups, brakes a couple of times and replace the intake manifold when corrosion caused a coolant leak. Easy fix, and I was back on the road driving again!
My kids still remember it!
That’s better than a trail of parts. :-)
Not gonna win too many races, but is a heavy duty car that is tons of fun to drive.
Last body on frame, rear drive V-8 sedan made in North America. Tough as nails and rock solid reliable.
I had a dark green `99 Miata. Classic looks. So easy to work on. Intuitive. Ran like a scolded dog (after my mods) and cornered like a cat on shag. Should have kept it!
1990 Ford Ranger. I loved it and hated it.
No AC. No Radio. No Power ANYTHING (Steering, locks, windows... nothing). 5-speed manual Trans. 4-cylinder dog of a motor. 2 wheel drive no cruse control.
The only mechanical repairs that were EVER needed (beyond normal wear and tear items) include Alternator and clutch (at 150K miles). That is it. It was the most reliable and lowest cost vehicle I have ever owned. It got good gas mileage and I ran the hell out of it. At times, I abused it. I once buried the back end of it in a very large mud puddle on a construction site. It had to be pulled out with a loader. The bumper was in the mud. It made a couple cross country trips. When I sold it, there was a bidding war for it and it was damaged and had almost 200K miles on it. I sold it in 2002 for $1,000. I had it listed for $950.
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