the best driving car was my 97 cougar XR7 30th anniversary model, and it was 15 yrs old when I got it. it was hell getting in and out of tho, with a bad back
the best riding car had to be my first 75 ford explorer supercab with the 390 car motor in it, and the255/70 tires on it. I took it from here (lower Delaware) to Plymouth mass. and back at least 5 times and it was a dream on the highway. it would cruise at 80-85 and beg for more. it was 23 yrs old when I got it. that was after I re built the rusted cab support tho. it had been completely overhauled in '85 too. the bench seat was perfect for my bad back.
my current 75 ford ranger supercab rides like crap, but it has served me well. hoping it improves with new cab supports
1985 Merkur XR4-Ti. It was an English Ford Sierra with a turbo-Thunderbird engine sold through clueless Mercury dealers. Best riding and best handling car I’ve ever owned. Comfortable at 35 mph on broken concrete and stable at 115 mph on straight, 2-lane back roads (in Texas). It had turbo lag that could be timed with a calender below 3000 rpm but kept on the boost, it was terrific. Even with a set of Eibach sport springs added years later, it still rode great and handled better!
It wouldn’t pull the raw lateral G’s that my Corvette did and certainly wasn’t as fast but it was very satisfying to hammer an autocross course, windy mountain roads or even a track day.
The best fit all around for ride, driveability and utility was my 92 Ford Explorer. Yep , i could drive that thing all day AND go anywhere, do anything.
Now I like my 08 Expedition and waay back my 78 Cordoba.
Probably the best overall riding car for me was a 1986 Cadillac ElDorado. The transmission was completely transparent in that car and it rode like a cloud. Next best- 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis.
Best overall driver was a 1989 Chevrolet Camaro RS.
I owned a couple of VW buses (a '59 and a '65) and those were pretty wretched. Hard vinyl bench seat, freeze in the winter, not much power, handling that could be described wobbly, and a steering wheel that was reminiscent of an old fork lift.
They would really get to rocking on the highway while in a crosswind.
I remember years ago, a friend was drinking that stuff. We told him to take it easy, because it didn’t really taste like alcohol. Which would tempt you to drink too much
he blew us off, and proceeded to guzzle it
Apparently, he got messed up, because we heard . . . from him . . . that later that evening, he had an interesting experience
He was asleep at the steering wheel, transmission in drive, foot on the brake pedal, stopped at a green light. In fact, he had been stopped for some time, according the police officer. Probably long before he got there.
The police officer hauled him into the station. Apparently, he didn’t qualify for DUI, because he’d been asleep for some time, but I believe he may have been cited for reckless driving or some other charge
My friend felt this was unfair. His rationale was that since he was stopped, it was okay. I politely told him, in my opinion it was a dangerous situation. What if his foot had slipped off the brake pedal, and the car took off, gathered some speed and hit somebody . . . ?!
He felt that was unlikely to happen. I said he’s right, because the police officer intervened and prevented it from happening
My 2002 Sienna with 213,000 miles is the best at everything of any car I’ve ever owned.
Of course, I am not into performance driving as such. but, we have had a number of 750 mile days with little fatigue. Great car for us. I do not ever want to own anything but a Toyota mini-van again.
Drive it on horrid streets and roads here in rural Mexico. Last time I bought new tires, the tire place told me they were worn so evenly there was no need to align the front end. and, I no longer rotate since Yokohama voids the guarantee the minute I cross the border into Mexico.
@db4690, I went into a store the other evening and saw they had a display with some Boone’s Farm on sale so I picked up a bottle. It’s in the fridge right now. I didn’t even know they still made that stuff which I used to buy by the case. Still unsure on the Ripple and as you can tell, I’m a connesseur of fine wines…
Maybe those VW buses wandered a bit because of the Boone’s and it wasn’t the so-so suspension and steering gear after all.
ok4450 I’m an accomplished wine connesseur. Not! When an actual wine snob wants me to try something I inform them my sophisticated pallet would not know the difference between 1921 Dom Perignon and Thunderbird.
My 2000 Dodge Caravan (shorty) was very comfortable, it was the sport version with larger sway bars and tighter suspension. The seat was the best. My current Mazda CX-9 handles better and probably accelerates better though.
I had a Lancia Beta Zagato, targa top with the larger engine and it was a blast to drive. Same with the Alpha Romeo Julietta that my buddy had. But they were repair and maintenance nightmares.
Ah Coreeentheeean leather. It was the reeechness that made it special. When I was a kid I thought the Cordoba was a beautiful car. My tastes have changed.
I know nothing about wine and don’t care to. They all taste the same. When I order wine I just say give me a white wine. They ask what kind and I say I don’t care. Red gives me heartburn. I have to donate a bottle to the local theater fundraiser so I wonder if maybe I should get a bottle of Boone? 'Spose people would talk? Mogan David?
Ahh, Boones. A couple of bottles of that will make your personal steering a bit “wobbly”. As I recall from my misspent youth, not much of a headache the next day from it either, unlike some other cheap “wines”.
Another car that rode great and handled poorly–A 1987 Lincoln I drove. It rode amazing, though you could get seasick from all the body roll on a twisty road.
I didn’t own it, but years ago, my mom had a 1994 Jaguar XJ12. Other that it’s inability to go more than 30 days without a mechanical or electrical problem cropping up, it did everything well, it rode smoothly, handled well, and had good power, fuel mileage wasn’t as a bad as you might expect for a 6 liter V12 either, mom got around 17 MPG overall with it, with the majority of the driving being back and forth to work.
