whats the best car you have ever owned...and give reasons why...it doesnt have to be the fastest, best looking, most expensive...just the best car you have had the pleasure of living with...?....as i have posted several times, i'v owned a lot of cars...some pretty fance jags, mercs etc...amongst em, but all secondhand....best car iv owned and the one i miss most....tie between '74 saab 95 v4 estate car and '72 beetle 1200.....but i think the beetle just edges it....i KNOW its dynamics are pretty dire compared too moderns, but it ALWAYS started, even when it looked like a wee igloo under a foot of snow...it cost me one exhaust (36 quid or so...) in almost 2 years and 24k miles of driving....i always KNEW id fet to my destination..its reliability was unimpeachable...it would climb any hil, even in deep snow, embarrasing some moderns..(i remember passing my mate in his mr2 as he sat, wheels spinning, stuck on the roadside on a steep hill in 6 inches of snow and ice, doing a three point turn in front of him, going back to the bottom of the hill, handbrake turning the bug, and repassing him...he was dead chuffed, i can tell ya...!!)...it only had 34hp, i sat at 55-65 everywhere and can honestly say in all the time i had the wee car, i never wished for any more power..and this from a dedicated twisty road nutcase...it was just a different pace pf motoring, relax, watch the world go by, smile.....nostalgia trip over...what was your best, and why......
golf mk2 gti 8v; no PAS, ABS, not even electric windows BUT this kept kerb weight below 1000kg - able to outrun 1.8T gti's with ease
-------------------------------------------- Two junior particle physicists were dismissed today after using the Large Hadron Collider to smash conkers into each other at near-light speed.
Fantastic, flat 4 noise, reved for ever, loads of power for a 1.7. Had 140k miles on it when it went (to some one I knew and made it past the 170k mark before I lost track of it) and still looked very smart in white.
It didn't get up peoples noses the way a GTV did, didn't look as 'flash' as my old 155. I still have a picture of it above my desk.......along with a most of my old Alfa's/Lancia's and me going through a ford in my Samba S.
handbrake turning the bug, and repassing him...he was dead chuffed, i can tell ya...!!)...it only had 34hp, i sat at 55-65 everywhere and can honestly say in all the
so..nothing to do with your bodybuilder's physique, and the weight that goes with it?
providing that oh-so-necessary ballast to give the bug some traction?
quote:
it only had 34hp, i sat at 55-65 everywhere and can honestly say in all the time i had the wee car, i never wished for any more power..
having owned bugs of the 1200, 1300 and 1500 variety, and knowing their brakes and handling....it would take a very brave prson to WISH for more power..............?
strangely enough, I still have my best car..albeit currently in bits...my Cannon trials car special...ackward to get in and out (no doors)..although comfy for a passenger, the driver (or at least, me...6foot3") having to adopt a truly strange driving posture...the whole chassis is a tad too short...in fact, the only part of me actually in the car, from a profile view, is me bum!
if it rains, I get wet..although I eventually made a windscreen of sorts...I have a large brolly strapped to the (lip service) roll bar, for traffic jams....
it handles like a drunk on a slack titerope...needs bootful of power on bends, steering twitches all over the place...one-and-a-bit turns, lock to lock....chassis flexes, to the extent that when I declutch, the front of the car twitches......speedo is from a mountain bike.....yet...I have the confidence to take it anywhere, on any terrain, knowing that the more difficult it gets, the more of a challenge it is....no good for tesco's though....
it's pretty much all pre-WW2 technology, but it WORKS...and generates smiles wherever it goes....even in its tractor paint....and it's NEVER failed an MoT!
Hi-Lux 2.4d - roads no longer become a restriction, nor do rivers, pavements, fat people - they all just disappear
Crashed mine into a resevoir - bummer, - future tip, unless you can hold your breath real long get one with a sunroof - otherwise you get some hairy do-gooder sucking your lungs out to revive you - or you die and having only experianced the former - its a hard call
Best car ever owned: Current Mercedes Benz E320 Avantgarde. Bought brand new Jan 05. Mileage to date 89,500. Fabulous sports sedan. Very fast, very good fun and perfect after its high mileage.
2nd best Ford Scorpio Ultima. Owned 1995 to 2000. From brand new. Finish mileage 212,500.
Originally posted by Palmira: Best car ever owned: Current Mercedes Benz E320 Avantgarde. Bought brand new Jan 05. Mileage to date 89,500. Fabulous sports sedan. Very fast, very good fun and perfect after its high mileage.
2nd best Ford Scorpio Ultima. Owned 1995 to 2000. From brand new. Finish mileage 212,500.
can gaurantee ya there is nothing bodybuilderish 'bout my physique qj...am just a big fatchap that lifts heavy weights.......personal best in the beetle was about 80 on the flat, but i just didn't feel the need to thrash the wee bug..it was just too NICE!!
Best Car I ever owned Honda Prelude 1989 Automatic bought for my late wife. All the extras still worked after 160,000 in 4 years. A real joy to drive in or out of town and in the Perthshire countryside where I stayed at the time, drop the box into sport mode, kick down and a boring road becomes a pleasure. In the days before speed camera's I did door to door home to Edinburgh 79 miles in under an hour. The bridge could be a problem then and was the clincher for a move to Edinburgh. However garaging up while I was overseas did not stop the mice having a feast on the wiring. So was reluctantly parted with.
Second best 450 SEL 1977, bought from my ex boss when he had done 140,000 in 3 years. It had originally been imported for a South African cabinet minister, but the economic crisis following the Soweto riots meant he was offered it.I still own it in South Africa, a friend is using it now over 540,000 miles, same engine, and gearbox, has had I complete respray and has had the drivers seat re-upholstered.
i had a beautiful champagne/gold prelude..think it was an h reg...180k up, drove like new, switchable sportsbox, 2 litre 160hp 16v engine...4ws...unbeleivable handling...my old man maintains it was the best car he has ever driven....loved it....
Probably my 1.2 Nova. Pre-chav/Burberry. It was my first relatively new, rust/smell/dent free car that was reliable and was quite nippy. Had it all through my student days and ran it into the ground. It went to the great scrapheap in the sky after cam belt snapped. A sad day.
Haha nice try! Yes ok it looked like Old Mother Hubbard but it was a great car for what it did And the interior was luxurious and quite stylish for its time
Originally posted by Listerialouie: Best Car I ever owned Honda Prelude 1989 Automatic bought for my late wife. All the extras still worked after 160,000 in 4 years. A real joy to drive in or out of town and in the Perthshire countryside where I stayed at the time, drop the box into sport mode, kick down and a boring road becomes a pleasure. In the days before speed camera's I did door to door home to Edinburgh 79 miles in under an hour. The bridge could be a problem then and was the clincher for a move to Edinburgh. However garaging up while I was overseas did not stop the mice having a feast on the wiring. So was reluctantly parted with.
Second best 450 SEL 1977, bought from my ex boss when he had done 140,000 in 3 years. It had originally been imported for a South African cabinet minister, but the economic crisis following the Soweto riots meant he was offered it.I still own it in South Africa, a friend is using it now over 540,000 miles, same engine, and gearbox, has had I complete respray and has had the drivers seat re-upholstered.
Car I wish I kept the Prelude.
450 SEL - magnificent! Nice interesting history too!
I was about to buy a 1986 Jaguar XJ12 which had been a diplomatic car in Singapore and was in lovely condition but just before i bought it, its owner cooked the engine. A jubilee clip came off a hose, and the water leaked out. The driver saw the gauge move up to the red and called the Jaguar dealer , who said switch it off & get towed by the AA, then they will fit a new clip. But he couldnt be bothered to wait & carried on driving which resulted in a worthless car & a knackered engine. Some people have got no mechanical sympathy and shouldnt be allowed classic cars!
Was your 450 the 6.9 model? There is a mint condition one of those in the Sparkford Motor Museum
If I posted my "best car ever owned", then sadly this thread would just go the same way as every other. I'd get called an uneducated person who doesn't care or know anything about cars. So I'll just pass on this one. (shakes head)
my best car was audi (ur) quattro with 300bhp david sutton motorsport conversion. god that car had some overtaking performance due to short gearing and handling to match on twisty A roads.
6 speed ST220, you'll look long and hard (i did )to find anything that come's close as an all rounder at the price. You'd sell your granny for the engine note alone.
Best car has to be the current one: SEAT Ibiza 1.4 S, 1999. Simply because I have driven 9+ year old bangers before it, the Ibiza gets through the MOT without much expense. Also, it has central locking, power steering & electric windows.
I could have gone for something much more presigious, sexier & quicker but decided that I would prefer not to stay living with my parents at the age of 35.
For someone who claims to be a car enthusiast, I have had a fairly shocking car history but its only to detriment of other things like paying a mortgage. Besides, I spend less than 1 % of my time in my car.
