Calling all car buffs...

[TransWarpDrive]

This thread is for anyone who likes cars. It doesn't matter whether you're old enough to drive; I was a car buff back in grade school (and we're talkin' some 40-odd years ago, folks), and had my favorites even then. Growing up, my favorite car makes were Ford and Volkswagen, mainly because those were the brands my parents owned. I still favor those two, although the only Ford model I currently like is the Mustang - very nice design, reminiscent of the Mustangs built between 1964 and 1968 (the best years, design-wise, for that car, IMHO). I also liked the Mercury Cougar, especially the ones built between 1967 and 1968 (Mercury's other cars back then weren't bad, either).
During the 70's, I came to like cars by Buick and Oldsmobile (my dad owned a '73 Buick Century that I eventually got); their early- to mid-70's designs I found very stylish.
Other brands I currently like: Audi (a division of VW), and Mercedes-Benz.
So, what are your favorite cars? I'd like to know.

(Ladies and gentlemen, start your keyboards!)

[canuck31003]

Let's see, I was first interested in cars as a child -- Porsche, Jaguar, Ferrari, Lamborghini, et cetera. This tailed off about the time I had a realistic appreciation of the concept of money.

I didn't renew my interest until 5 or 6 years ago. I was strongly influenced by my brother who is also a big fan of cars, and who only sold his beloved Passat due to family considerations. That's probably why my first new car was a Volkswagen, a 1.8T GTI. I was happy with it, but one weekend I was bored and decided to test drive a VW R32. Big difference. I traded my GTI in for a R32 and that's what I'm driving now, after a few modifications along the way.

Whimsically thinking, my future vehicle will be a BMW 3-series, or Infiniti G35. And perhaps Audi if they ever get around to putting their nav on *top* of the dashboard, and not down low where it's difficult to see the road even with peripheral vision.

I like a lot of different makes, but my knowledge about them is pretty restricted to VW, and the R32 in particular.

[campy]

Vehicles I've owned include an AMC Pacer, VW Dasher, International Scout (a surplus USPS truck with right hand drive), Mazda pickup truck, 2 Honda Civics, and Pontiac minivan.

I like luxury cars now. I could never see myself trying to squeeze into a little sports car, even when I was young enough for one. (If I ever was. )

I came close to buying a used Cadillac DeVille last year before I bought my current Toyota Avalon. I was looking at one with almost all the luxury options, including heated rear seats and power sunshades. It didn't have a moonroof, though, which I really like in my Avalon.

If I had unlimited fundage, I'd probably be driving an S-Class Mercedes or a Lexus LS, or maybe a Bentley.

[TransWarpDrive]

I still have the brochure from when my dad bought the 1973 Buick (he got a Century 4-door sedan, BTW). Every now and then, I pull it out and look through it. It's interesting to look back now and see how many different models, and how many variations of said models, one car maker offered back then.
That brochure also brings back a lot of memories for me - I was in junior high school (8th grade) when Dad bought that car. Good times; good times....

[campy]

I still have the brochure from when my dad bought the 1973 Buick (he got a Century 4-door sedan, BTW). Every now and then, I pull it out and look through it.

That's quite a collector's item. I still have a few of my brochures. I have my '79 Dasher one, the '83 Mazda, the '85 and '97 Civics, and the '04 Corolla.

I wish I had one for the Pacer. That would be a real classic. Like the car itself.

All I remember about that car was that the parking break cable snapped twice while we were getting our state inspections, causing us to fail. And we practically never used the brake otherwise.

[TransWarpDrive]

I still have the brochure from when my dad bought the 1973 Buick (he got a Century 4-door sedan, BTW). Every now and then, I pull it out and look through it.

That's quite a collector's item. I still have a few of my brochures. I have my '79 Dasher one, the '83 Mazda, the '85 and '97 Civics, and the '04 Corolla.

I wish I had one for the Pacer. That would be a real classic. Like the car itself.

All I remember about that car was that the parking break cable snapped twice while we were getting our state inspections, causing us to fail. And we practically never used the brake otherwise.

Parking "break?" Did you mean to spell it that way, or was it accidental? Either way, it's ironically fitting... :P
....I also have the brochures for my '98 Bug, and my '05 Passat.

[canuck31003]

The first car I remember is my dad's yellow '70-something VW Bug. I remember one road-trip we took it all the way from Canada to Yellowstone Park. A bear walked right up to my mom's window. Boy, she'd never rolled up her window faster than that!

In hot weather the plastic/vinyl seats were terrible. If I was wearing shorts I'd keep my legs raised so I wouldn't burn my skin against the searing seats. :P I wish my dad had never sold it.

After the Bug we bought a blue Pontiac LeMans. That thing was like a tank. On another trip to the United States my mom was taking her turn driving, traveling at highway speeds. I was playing with my Star Wars figures when I heard a thump, and my mom was slowing down and pulling over. We'd hit an adult deer that had jumped out. On our front right there was a nice v-shaped indent and our radiator was a goner.

At the time I was too young to think anything of it, but afterward I was amazed that there wasn't any more damage. The LeMans was all steel, built in the 70s, and I never noticed the impact of the deer. We had the radiator fixed and we were on our merry way. If that happened with my plastic car it would be totaled.

[lunchmeat]

The first car my folks had was a Hudson Hornet, my dad wanted something with lots ofpower to pull our Spartan house trailer.

[campy]

Parking "break?" Did you mean to spell it that way, or was it accidental? Either way, it's ironically fitting... :P
....I also have the brochures for my '98 Bug, and my '05 Passat.

Hmmm, I don't know how that happened. I even used the correct spelling in the next sentence. But I guess it does fit.

[jeriddian]

The first car my folks had was a Hudson Hornet, my dad wanted something with lots ofpower to pull our Spartan house trailer.

You mean like the old car that Paul Newman voiced in "Cars"........