BS: Your favorite car ever....

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 06:59 PM

Etoire Bugatti was once upset by a complaint that a Bugatti was hard to start in the Winter...he replied, "Anyone who can afford one of my cars can afford a heated garage!"

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bobert
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 07:03 PM

Nice list, Richard, an' there's quite a few on there I at least know something about...

A buddy on mine had a Facal Vega. I think it was made by Farrari but I would swear to it... It looked good but was a bear to keep everything working....

I'm really surprised that, given the age of a lot of Catters, that we're not seeing more 50's cars...

Oh well...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 07:47 PM

Cars? Given the 'Catters ages---cars?   Let me tell you about my Surrey with the Fringe On Top.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,Jaze
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 08:26 PM

Open Mike, my first car was a 1963 Plymouth Valiant with push-button transmission. Cost $199.00. Had a lot of fun in that car!

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 08:37 PM

Jaze: You must have purchased it used. Correct? So-=--now what kind of fun did you have? Yu drove it so you wer not in theback seat for sure.   

Bill Hahn (doing a survey on fun in cars)

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 08:49 PM

hey! How many of you have ever ridden in a gen-you-wine rumble seat? . My mother's cousin had one in the mid 40s, very much like the pic...though probably a Ford or Chevey...I remember getting to ride somewhere in it...(The National Safety Council would no doubt turn blue if anyone tried to intorduce one today)

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: harpgirl
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 08:54 PM

This one's easy, too! My mom had a little baby blue Plymouth Valiant with those baby fins in 1966. My next door neighbor Rick, who was my best friend, and I used to push it out of the garage and down the street in the middle of the night then start it, so we wouldn't get caught. I loved that little car....

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Amos
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 11:14 PM

I rode in a rumble seat as a boy, Bill.. don't remember the model but the rumble qwas a blast!!

My best and first car was a Willys Jeep Station Wagon with a Ford 8 cylinder engine adapted into it. Sucker would wind up in every gear and walk up the side of a building.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 03 Feb 05 - 01:16 AM

"Rusty Ford Cortina" which is a song I am waiting for the words for...

TTO: "It never rains on the dusty Diamantaina"

I had both a Rusty Red Ford Cortina & a Fiat 128....

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Mooh
Date: 03 Feb 05 - 08:18 AM

No classics here, but my Dad's '61 Valiant with push button gear shift on the dash was my first idea of cool. My own favourite vehicle was a '74 Volvo sedan...for a year I lived in it more than my "fixed address". I suppose if I never ditch the '93 Voyageur van in the driveway it'll become a classic before I figure on leaving, and I'll always be able to get parts, if not fuel.

How are those for dork cars?

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 03 Feb 05 - 11:28 AM

Bill D,

I think it does have something to do w/ age, but also w/ circumstances. The 2 cars I mentioned are the only ones I have gotten to choose completely on my own & I've really liked both of them! Prior to that, my parents or my husband chose. Not the same at all!

best,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,Jaze
Date: 03 Feb 05 - 08:02 PM

I wasn't ALWAYS driving, Bill :>) It was the freedom. Being able to get out and go wherever I wanted. That's what made it fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 04:24 AM

peugeot diesel 50mpg great to drive good seats

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 04:31 AM

Now I've thought a bit...
The Landie (landrover) that I crashed in. The defender 90 pickup, diesel. Only slightly overloaded coming back from the builders merchants, probably weighing about 4 tons total, so going nice and gently, 20mph, or so. Not a car to be driven at speed empty, let alone like that. So about a mile from home, on the little twisty country road, the one I've driven so many hundred times I could do it blindfold, I come to a corner by a farm.
Bettet slow down for the corner. Off road tyres, and a thick layer of mud put me in a nice skid. How about going round it? Nope. Wheels turn, car doesn't. So I decide to crash....
Through the hedge. Slowed it down nicely, so I didn't hit the wall too hard. Just enough to push it over.
It is hard to believe how stupid you feel, crashing at slow speed, on a familiar road, and doing enough damage to write off a small car. Not a broken headlight, or noticeable new dent*. I almost died, as I was laughing so hard I could scarcley breathe. And I manged to stall a diesel, I was that distracted. Drove home, unloaded the thing, then went back round to apologise, when I could hold a straight face again.



* Note to Americans, and all those unfamiliar with landies. They have been manafactured in very much the same shape for 50something years, which is a solidly built box. They are manafactured to be, from new,

At least 20 years old,
Mud coloured, and coated,
Dented, scraped, etc

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,Phot at work
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 08:12 AM

My Landrover 110 V8 csw(prototype), which will get restored at some stage, followed closley by my Discovery V8 (No 451 off the production line) I know I'm sad! The best 4x4'sxFar!

Wassail! Chris

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: kendall
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 09:42 AM

I've driven and owned hundreds of cars and the most impressive one ever was a brand new Rolls Royce. It belonged to the father of a good friend of mine, and he was delighted to show it off.
As the propaganda said about these cars, the loudest sound was the dashboard clock ticking. I had to see it to believe it.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,skipy
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 10:27 AM

Toyota Spatula RSI

Skipy
(in a white wine sauce)

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: beadie
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 11:15 AM

My Dad was a brilliant man, but clueless about automobiles. When Mom said she wanted a second car to run about in while he was at work (and for me to use to get to and from after-school activities), he brought home a '58 Ford Ranch Wagon. He seemed a bit unsure, however, about the significance of the insignia on the front fender, . . . . it said "Interceptor Special."   I never told him that this was a retired police vehicle with the BIG engine.

Thankfully, the price of gas in those days made keeping the thing on the road affordable.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: robomatic
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 12:09 PM

Just drove a Toyota Camry LE across country. Talk about a sweet ride...
I'm convinced those folks at Toyota like not only cars, but DRIVING.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: JennyO
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 11:24 PM

My favourite car now has to be the '93 Ford Fairmont wagon I have just bought. After some of the sorry old things I have driven in the past, to me it is pure luxury. Power everything, including windows, glides along quietly, comfortable seats, nice cherry red colour, a good size for when I go camping, it even beeps at me when my fuel is getting low - which can be kinda annoying actually. Reminds me of the baby magpies we have that go "yark yark yark" at their parents, demanding to be fed. So I have christened her "Maggie" or "Maggie May".

Another car I had some years ago which was lovely when I got it, was a 1974 Valiant Charger Coupe. It was metallic blue and went like a rocket. Unfortunately the rust got it in the end, although it was still going like a rocket. I sold it to some young guys who were going to do it up, so I didn't feel so bad.

I get quite attached to all my cars, and even when they get really old and decrepit, I like to think they are going to a good home, not the scrap yard. Call me sentimental but I do believe those old hunks of metal have a soul.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Charley Noble
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 12:33 PM

Bill-

My parents put their foot down when my brother and I were drolling over a Messerschmidt. It was probably a good thing in the long run...

My favorite car has to be my grandmother's 1963 Buick Skylark, one of the first compacts, It was black with a white vinyl top with red leather upholstery. It was hot! I inherited it when she passed on and managed to keep it running till 1975. The VW Rabbit was a less than adequate replacement.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Scoville
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 02:19 PM

My favorite of vehicles we've owned was probably my 1986 Nissan Stanza wagon. No kidding. It was hideous and slow but it had great visibility, sat five adults comfortably, and had sliding doors in the back. The back seat came out so it was like having a pickup only everything was enclosed. Mazda is supposed to be introducing something similar this summer and my Dad is on the edge of his seat waiting to see if it will come in a stick shift so he can have an excuse to replace his Ford Contour (Mondeo). The Ford is our least favorite car--Ford can't get the hang of standard transmissions. Dad prefers the Beetle (1974). Mom's favorite was her 1972[?] Toyota Carina.


In my dream world:

1957 Chevrolet pick-up (the one with the big grille)

1953 Packard Caribbean

I think these are a trip.

And I've always had a soft spot for both Chrysler Airflows and Tuckers. I think they're very interesting even if they didn't work out as well in reality as they did in concept.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Greg F.
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 08:51 PM

Austin Healey 3000. No question.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 09:06 PM

I'm convinced those folks at Toyota like not only cars, but DRIVING.

Maybe they like driving Camrys, but the Corolla I rented a few years ago for a run from Pensacola to Miami and back was pure torture. Might have been okay for a midget, but I'm 6'3".

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,Auggie
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 09:11 PM

1952 MG-TD

It's what a classic sports car should look like.
If you could only get one to run like a classic sports car should.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 10:26 PM

We had a 38 woody I dont even know what it was I was so young that I never knew but we loved it as a person . I think we had it right up to the flood in 55 . My first driving car was my dad's 1949 Willies Jeepster convertable with the starter on the floor and a hand choak.It was gry with a black interior. God I loved that car. It was cool and elagant and everyone thought it had a majestic feel on the road . My father sold it for $300.00 while I was away in Wales."It had a flat tire ". Its the only sad thing I can remember of the time in Wales
( much worse then the broken neck off theTriumph bonnivile ) .All the best , Guy

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bobert
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 10:53 PM

HEY, CHANGE OF RULES!

Heck, I started this thread so I have the right to change the rules and I don't wnat to hear nuthin' more about nobodysw '76 Toyotas 'er Subarus that they just happened to loozer his or her virginity in, gol dang it....

NO MORE of this crap...

Okay, if you maybe lost yer danged virginity in a Subaru ST then you shouldn't even be posting here but at some contortionist website.

I mean, like lets get real here. In 50 years there won't be no group of old folkies singin' about their '76 Corollas... Like none... So can we get beyond the sentimentalism and get back to like, ahhhhh, real friggin' cars here?

Thank you very much...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,bflat
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 11:53 PM

My favorite was a TR-3 that my older brother gave to me while he was in the US Marines, to be returned upon his return. He taught me to downshift and not use the brakes which I think was very cool. I met a wonderful man because of that car. Yeah, that would have been my fav. It was a convertible and red. I don't know a thing about the model, they may all have been convertible and red. Driving a stick shift made me a better driver for the rest of my life, I do believe.

Ellen

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Mudlark
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 12:21 AM

Well, Bobert, I still feel pretty sentimental about my 52 MG TD.

It's not true that we all love our first cars. My first car was a humongous V8 Hudson my dad fobbed off on me. I could barely see over the dash and it had such a wide turning radius. cul de sacs were a disaster. God, I hated that car. I never got the "elegance" of stepping DOWN into it...what was that all about, anyway? So there was more than a little relief mixed in with all the love I felt for my MG. It was the bright metallic blue of a butterfly wing, had a moveable windshild which could be laid flat for the full effect of wind in the hair, and was more fun to drive than was legal. Driving along the coast on a summer's night, radio blasting 50's rhythm and blues...for my money that's what's in the dictionary under "youth."

The only other car I ever coveted was a friend's British racing green Morgan, with a leather strap that held down the hood. Very cool. But, like the MG, it was in the garage more than on the road, but definitely worth the trouble.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: JennyO
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 10:41 AM

In 50 years there won't be no group of old folkies singin' about their '76 Corollas... Like none...

Hey Bobert, you might be wrong about that. There's this song. Some friends of mine, Craig and Simone
sing it. In fact that Frank Sample character looks a lot like one of them:

The Ballad of The Little Ford Laser

When I was about 16
I had no idea I was so green
but somehow got involved with a girl.
Then one night beneath the stars
we were in the back of her new car
we thought perhaps we'd give it a whirl.
But there aint a lot that you can do
You can try and try until your
face turns blue -
there aint no room in the back
of a little Ford Laser.

And so a few months went by
we were doomed to fail
though we did try
It doesn't even matter how poorly
endowed you are.
So we split up went our separate ways
but you'll never guess within a few days
I met another girl who owned a
similar type of car.
And I never thought
in my wildest dreams
I'd stay a virgin throughout my teens
The greatest contraception
is a little Ford Laser.

I know what you're thinking
about this song
I didn't think - I had it all wrong
Just take out a blanket and head
for the nearest tree.
But there's one thing
you don't understand
A Ford Laser girl doesn't like the land
A prim and proper and fussy
little Missy is she.
And the front of the car is still too small
Just four cylinders and that's all
You slip and slide on the bonnet
of a little Ford Laser.

This anti-sex machine is carefully designed
by an engineer with the weirdest
sense of humour
With seats too small to steer
and no room in the rear
you wonder what's the use
of a little Ford Laser.

I can't work it out - I'll never know
why these women thrill me so
Is it their smile or that look
within their eyes?
That seems to suggest
they know a lot more
Than you or I could ever bargain for
When you jump in the car you'll
no doubt get a surprise
'cos you'll think you're bigger
than what you are
when you twist and strain inside the car
A modern day chastity belt
is a little Ford Laser.

Well now I'm older and married too
my days of matchbox cars are through
but I have to tell you 'bout the
woman who moved next door.
Well, it's not her hair or her pretty eyes
Its more to do with the car she drives
my heart skips a beat and my
jaw falls to the floor
I'm reminded of my misspent days
when we tried and tried a million ways
I'm a frustrated man with a passion
for a little Ford Laser.

©2004 Frank Sample

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: open mike
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 01:59 AM

yes i miss the wing-wing windows too.
i guss the engineers thought that
air conditioning would eliminate
the need for them..they are esp.
good to draw smoke out of the car
as they cause air currents to flow
both in and out. or i should say
"caused" as they are extinct now.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 10:58 AM

I have a 2000 lb collection of die cast cars of every era.
What I'm going to do with them isn't clear.
I was thinking of welding them together* in such a way as to form a VW bug or something but I am open to suggestions.
Maybe a horse sculpture made of cars is a better idea?

*I have a friend who is a an expert steam fitter weldsman.

.............................................

My first favorite one was the gull wing Mercedes.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 09:07 AM

The story about the safari style Landrover brought back vivid memories of my reconnaissance geology training mission in Ethiopia, back when I was a Peace Corps volunteer there in the 1960's.

Most of the year I was teaching sciences at a secondary school 9 to 5 but during the summer vacation we were supposed to do special projects. Since summer was the rainy season in Addis Ababa, I decided I wanted to be somewhere drier and the area around the old railroad center of Dira Dawa, at the foot of a high escarpment, seemed to fit the bill. Making use of my geology training and mapping experience in the wilderness of Maine, I was able to convince the University and the Mining Ministry that I should lead their prospecting students on an 8-week field course. I was provided two brand new Landrover jeeps, camping equipment, surveying accessories, and money for provisions. We were able to use the classrooms of a secondary school in Dira Dawa as our base camp which greatly simplified things.

Everything worked out great. Each morning very early I'd assign an area for a team of two to explore, using air photos, and we'd load up the teams in the Landrovers and head up the dry river valleys which provided a good view of the rock structure. We'd drop off the teams and pick them up a few hours later before it got too unbearably hot. Then we'd head back to town for refreshment at the local pubs, take a siesta, and in the late afternoon process the morning results.

One did have to be careful about working the river valleys. If it rained in the highlands, they were subject to floods. We never got caught but there were a few close calls. And the only time we turned over a Landrover was when some University faculty members were visiting and took one of our vehicles out for a spin. They took a gravel curve at 20 mph and that was it. The Mining Ministry was not too pleased.

Still, the Landrovers were great rugged little cars and with reasonable care would get you most anywhere.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: GUEST,James
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 10:16 AM

1964 Austin Cambridge.....I LOVED it, great car.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Cats
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 06:37 PM

My blue Citroen Dyane 2CV. Where one or two 2CV owners are gathered together, there they will take them apart...

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: frogprince
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 02:06 PM

Perhaps this one..

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Becca72
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 02:18 PM

My dream car is a '68 cherry red Mustang...I asked for one for my 8th birthday but I'm still waiting.

I also love my current car...'02 VW Passat. That thing has BALLS, baby.

My first car was an '82 LeBaron...shit brown with tan interior. Can you say Nana??

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: PoppaGator
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 02:27 PM

My grandpa's 1952 Studebaker Land Cruiser. Big, comfortable, and absolutely futuristic-looking for its time.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: redsnapper
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 03:38 PM

Don't own a car.

Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada for me.

RS

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Gurney
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 03:46 PM

Austin 1800. But not for towing. Too short between back wheels and towball.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 04:25 PM

Subaru Legacy.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: bobad
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 04:48 PM

Volvo 122S - had two of them, a 1965 and 1966 - great, solid cars - I rolled one 360° and walked away without a scratch - unfortunately the car didn't fare as well but the motor went into a friend's car and lived on.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Amos
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 04:58 PM

My first car was a Willys station wagon from the 50's that someone had swapped in a Ford V8 engine. The sucker was all windup, even in top gear, could climb brick walls, and as for virginity, well, it had plenty of lying about space int he back.

But I think my favorite of all time is going to be a V6 RAV4 Ltd I am about to purchase, I hope. Fully loaded, all mod cons, plenty of power, good gas mileage, relatively, and comfortable as a bug in a rug.



A

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 06:45 PM

My dream car and one I have driven ....once....was a Lamborghini Espada.....a superb but now very dated four seater sports saloon.
Very sleek and very very fast even by todays standards but in 1972 when I drove it.......well...need I say more?

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bee
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 06:57 PM

Prettiest car I remember was my Florida Aunt's 1957 DeSoto, deep scarlet and French vanilla cream, lots of chrome, cream leather (or leatherette) upholstery.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 07:28 PM

My Dad's Humber Hawk - it went about 12 miles to the gallon. comfortable miles though.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 07:52 PM

Go sit in the corner, LH...

The Subaru Lagacy is worse than yer, or anybody's, grand-daddy's Oldsmobile...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: number 6
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 08:31 PM

Is it worse than my grand-daddy's Buick?

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 09:27 PM

100

I finally get one!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Your favorite car ever....
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Mar 08 - 09:33 PM

Had 7 Vettes, a 68 Shelby, a beatup E-type, a Lotus Elan+2S/130 and a piece of crap Europa as well, a 67 442, a 70 Goat, and a slew of interesting everyday drivers from junk to good fun.....and a few pickups and vans as well. Which one do I want back? All of them.......

But to pick one?

71 LT1 roadster, yellow.........This car was my garage queen of sorts. She only went out occasionally outside of going to SoloII events and Hillclimbs.   Engine was balanced and blueprinted, 202 angle plug heads, Offy roller cam with roller lifters, Jahns 12.5:1 pistons and Carrilla stainless rods, custom 1 3/4" tube headers exiting out the side, Edelbrock Equitube aluminum manifold with 700 cfm DP Holley, Mallory Dual Point (later replaced with an Echlin Electronic conversion). Borg and Beck Clutch tied to an M22 Muncie rockcrusher shifted by Hurst, and a 3.98 rear gear. Frame was all-seam welded, triangulated and gusseted, F41 suspension with the rubber bushings replaced with nylon/composite, polished Moog linkage, Adco sway bars, 1 1/4" front and 7/8" rear, Koni shocks, American Racing wheels with BFG T/A's shaved to half tread depth. The interior was black and the driver's seat was replaced with a Recaro.

Lots of other neat touches to the setup as well and some other fun parts but that was it in a nutshell. At the SoloII's it was a Porsche killer and that was the whole point. I have friends who'll verify this car could take a freeway offramp loop at over 75 mph like it was glued to the road. I sold it in '79 for $17,000 which was a lot more than a new one at the time.

I was young and healthy, made a lot of money, and spent it all as fast as I could......and I loved every minute of it. Now we struggle through like everyone else and I have paid for all my youth.............But I'd give my ass in hell for just one more Vette.


Spaw