We have another post by a person who can’t find what he is looking for and feels manufacturers are not adressing his needs.
Since most poster are seasoned car owners, what was or is you favorite car you owned or leased that made you remember fondly the days you drove it?
Archie Bunker and his wife Edith sang “Gee, our old Lasalle ran great” in “All in the Family”
I enjoyed my '83 VW GTI from day one until the day I sold it 12 years later. It was fun, fast in a way that was useful, and got 25 mpg. I could drive it nearly flat out from a stop, enjoy the shifting, and not worry about getting a ticket. Try that in a fast car today, you’ll be doing 120 mph! It was completely reliable (rare in a VW, it seems), and never let me down in Anchorage, where I drove it for almost that whole time. I sometimes wish I kept it (but have no place to store it).
Like Paris Hilton, I had several favorites. The first one was my 1965 Dodge Dart, top of the line 2 door hardtop, custom ordered with HD suspension, 273 V8, power steering (optional in those days), Torqueflite Automatic with console shift, deluxe wheel covers (with fake spinners), vinyl bucket seats, front and rear deluxe seat belts (only front was compulsory) and a few other odds and ends like winshield washers and variable speed wipers. All this stuff had to be ordered extra in those days.
We drove the car for 13 years (honeymoon car, brought first child home from hospital) until it had rusted so bad as to be unsafe. The car was very reliable for that period, and only left us stranded once with a burned out alternator.
The second favorite car was a 1980 Olsmobile Delta 88 Royale, with 350 Rocket engine, the F-41 suspension handling package and all the goodies. We drove this car, a company car, for 4 years and it was completely trouble-free and totally original when traded, incuding tires, belts, hoses, etc. The next owner (the company president who bought it for his cabin on the West Coast) brought all the maintenance up to date and drove it for a further 4 years.
This car was quiet, comfortable, handled well and was perfect on a long trip. I drove it across the country twice and averaged 800 miles a day without getting tired.
- 1965 Sunbeam IMP ***
- 1970 VW ***
- 1976 Rabbit Diesel**
- Mazda 626 *
- Mazda RX7 ***
- Mazda Miata ***
- 2002 VW NB Diesel **
- = Good
** = Very Good
*** = Outstanding (fun and function)
They all were/are very good cars and the right car for my needs at that time.
1980 Lancia Beta Zagato, targa top with 2.0 Lit engine and 5 speed manual tranny. Google it. Did the job for me when I needed it for what I needed it.
There are others too, but they are 2nd on the rank.
Easily my old Saab two stroke…lots of faults but it afforded me fun on the frozen lakes.
After that; a non car Norton 750.
I liked a 76 Chevy Impala that I bought from a waitress who worked at a restaurant at my trailer park. Sawyer Rd. in Limestone Me. on the Caribou border. She may have had a sister who worked at The Dew Drop Inn on Water St. in Caribou. Too specific maybe but if the car sees this, I want it to recognize itself. You don’t have to look for a car in some fancy shmancy dealership to find a good one.
It was a two door model with a concave rear window. It was about the color of this beige background (the one around the OP’s post) until I sold it and the owner painted it gold and sold it back to me a year later. He thought I was going to cheap out on him but I paid him the same amount that I charged him for it.
I had crushed velvet velour on the seats to replace the cracked vinyl. It was built like a tank and only needed a thermostat and a brake caliper. Parts were cheap and easy to replace. It was able to move on ice even with a stuck caliper. Round glass headlights cost me $2.50 on the base. Nice car.
1st- '67 Mustang hardtop, 289 2brl carb, 3 speed stick. Pretty much a base Mustang with options of the V8 and Wide Oval tires. The tires lasted barely 10K miles, they were non radial. I installed rear shocks with “helper” springs wrapped around the shocks. They kept the back end on the ground. Otherwise it was a stock car and lots of fun to drive. Fast, cornered well, about 24 mpg.
2nd- '04 T’bird that I’ve got now.
For GM lovers my favorite GM car was a '77 Cutlass S, 2 door, with 350 4bbl V8, automatic. This was a company car that really worked nice. When the secondaries opened up on the 4 bbl it really took off. Hard to enjoy the power without getting speeding tickets. I got 3 with that car. That was during the CB radio craz, prior to good radar detectors, and I still got the tickets. The car just begged to be driven hard.
I live in a dry part of the country, and see that exact car every now and then. It is huge by today’s standards, has no rust, the color is metallic beige/gold, and those big doors must take some muscle to open!
1968 cougar xr7, black over white wide tires in the back and mags, sequential turn signal in rear flip up headlights, leather seats, but then there was the 6 cy mgc-gthttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/437087323_26b65a9fb7.jpg?v=0
My favorite vehicle I owned was a car that was older than me by 15 years. A '65 Chevelle Malibu
The VW Beetle!
If we only had a car that easy to work on today!!
What size engine?
Too cool!
I had fun changing door hinges. They weren’t too hard to close because they didn’t have to be slammed. The thing it needed the most was rear springs from overloading the trunk. If the rear end was low, the u-joints would wear out in a year. Now it does me no good to have such knowledge unless I go to a dry part of the country and get one of those cars.
I Had An 83 Or 84 GTI As A Company Car For A While When I Worked At A VW Dealer.
I agree that it was a very fun car to drive. I disagree with the part about not worrying about getting a ticket. I’d be bombing along, look down at the speedometer and I’d be hauling. It was fun running through the gears at every opportunity, though. That thing was comfortable, too.
1974 F-100 ( 2 stars out of 5)
The highs: with the 390 swapped in and 4.11 gears, it was sleeper. It was/is indestructible.
The Lows: 7-9 MPG on high test gas. No AC, no power brakes, no power steering, Due to an oversight with the 302 to 390 swap, it overheated in the summer. It is horrible in the snow.
1992 Ford T-bird SC (4 stars out of 5)
The Highs: Good power, very comfortable, good fuel mileage (18 MPG on 93 octane)
The Lows: It carried alot of heft, a few minor annoyances with the interior bits not working. While it had AC it wasn’t particularly powerful.
1995 Ford Bronco (5 stars out of 5)
The Highs: Built like a tank, great front captains chairs, surprisingly agile for such a large vehicle. The 351 provides good power when warmed over with GT-40 heads and the stock 3.55 gears have been replaced with 4.56’s. It’s the most confidence inspiring vehicle you can drive when there is snow on the ground.
The Lows: 9-11 MPG on 91 octane. I am constantly having to buy new exhaust tips as they tend to get smooshed between the bumper and the ground when off-roading.
2003 Ford Mustang GT (4 out of 5 stars)
The Highs: Excellent combination of performance and fuel economy. Good handling. Strong aftermarket support. Even the mid-level Mach 460 sounds better than most custom sound systems. A supercharger really wakes the engine up. You get alot of car for the money.
The Lows: Seats are okay at best. Fit and finish is not great. While aftermarket shocks/springs/struts help with the handling, the highway ride quality is brutal.
The LA police department and O J Simpson must have the same opinion as to the “agility” of the Bronco. I understand sales went up rapidly after everyone saw the real life chase scene of the white Bronco.
haha, it’s no Miata, but due the HD suspension stiffer front springs and quad shocks up front, it doesn’t have much body roll. It’s agile in the sense that you never see an elephant trip over its own feet 
1985 mazda 626GT turbo. Only way to tell it was turbo was a little badge on trunk, REAL sleeper.
It would eat up mustangs and cameros from 20mph up, ford thunderbird turbo coupe was 2 car links behind in 20mph to 60mph.
It was 2000lbs and had a sport setting that firmed up body lean, really handled great.
2 cameros and I went over 100 miles threw ohio and never went under 80mph, went threw some little towm and passed 2 cars in center lane doing 90. Cannot believe I did not get ticket or arrested.
Do not know how fast it would go, spedo only went to 120.
While in michigan visiting friends going about 80 and giving it gas turbo started rattleing, not good!
Got back to nc and knew I would either blow it up ,wreck it or get a bunch of tickets so I sold it.