My uncle had a Vanden Plas. Can’t remember what vintage but he often joked..”Good trip to Toronto. My Jag only caught fire twice!”. Apparently this was a well used joke amongst Jag owner back then..

 

My second car, a bare bones 1975 Alfasud 1.2 N.



Was listed as having a top speed of 154 km/h, I managed 156...

Loved that car.

 

The original “Gone In Sixty Seconds”, a cult classic...seems I’m working my way through “the list”...

 

My father's first car was a VW T3(they're called the transporter here in EU), a generation older than yours. It had the naturally aspirated diesel and he recalls it being insanely reliable although it was at the cost of it being a slouch. My father traveled across the EU in his, visiting Germany, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria and many more.. The older VW's were well built. My father described his as being a mobile hotel as well.

 

My car had a Dinan header, full exhaust, lowering springs, BBS rims (225/50VR/16 Goodyear "Gatorback" tires) and a manual trans so it was fast for a car in 1987 and it handled very well. The car was rock solid even at 140mph which it saw several times. I bought the car through their European delivery program and flew from Chicago to the factory to take delivery of the vehicle. I drove it to visit relatives in Italy, then back to Munich so it could be shipped back Chicago. Saved me the trouble of having to rent a car and I got to drive it on the Autobahn were even stock it had no problems cruising at 125+MPH for extended periods.

 

Yes, checking weather forecasts to decide if it is going to be too hot to drive the car is something I don't miss.

I had that car for 7 years, and that was partly due to the fact that I became good friends with a Jaguar Master Technician (he is now the equivalent for BMW's). He did a lot of work on the side for me, and I helped when I could. For example when all the hoses for the A/C system went, and Jaguar wanted something like $800 for the full set, I had the mechanic remove them from the car, and I took them to a hose distributor I was working with in my job as an engineer at the time. I had the hose ends cut off, soldered onto Parker reusable hose fittings, and then assembled them with the new hose stock myself for $120 all in.

Also, when the A/C compressor blew, I could buy a new one for $1200 from the dealer, or go get a rebuilt one for a 350 Chevy for $160...same compressor.

There were ways to make it less expensive, but in the end my wife was getting fed up with the constant issues and bills. At that time she had a 1989 BMW 325ix sedan, and so I made the jump to BMW for this one:



1994 530i with the 3 liter V8, then a 1998 540i, a 2003 Z4 3.0, then the 2007 Z4M, then a 2009 128i, and now the 2017 M2.

 

My first car, which I've stupidly sold after 9 great years of ownership...



And I have my fondest memories with a coupé version of the car below, as I have had the luck of spending thousands of KMs on some of Italy's nicest tracks in it, and the bond I created in it with the owner is the nicest aspect of it.
And yes, it makes a pretty nice noise

 

I was 25 when I bought this car, my parents were strongly against the purchase.

We had 6 people in the car once, had to drop the top to get everyone in and the car bottomed out on just about every bump.

 

I dearly miss my 2nd gen Legend coupe. I regret selling it. Nothing as long and low will be made again. Miss the radio buttons on the cowl.

 

Cobra vert? 400hp with a pulley change.

 

I have two memorable cars. The first car was a metallic blue 1992 escort. It was "Totalled" in 1997 due to the rear end damage cost to fix and it continues to be driven to this day. I would have never expected that car to last for over 350,000 miles and still routinely achieve low 40s in mpg. My brother uses it for his commuter car...
My most fun car was a gutted 1989 Civic with a 1995 vtec del-sol motor in it. Vtec had a separate switch to engage the vtec and achieved 35 mpg regularly. The car was not last at autocross events and shaved 5 minutes off my commute. That five minute time saving was purely on the mountain part of the commute. Traveling at 60 mph uphill on a curvy road because of the power to weight ratio was nice. I liked the g force too. I did not like the "want to race?" challenges on the commute home. I was getting to work and back, not being fast and furious.

 

Had a 1995 Cobra, sold it and moved to San Diego with 2 other buddies of mine. Had no job and no transportation to drive to interviews in. Found this 1988 Hatch for $2,500. It was basically stock, no rust but had the famous faded Cali sun paint and I loved it. A few months later a cute blonde girl in a 2001 Gt convertible moved in the apartment above me. After chatting one night I told her I drove a Mustang also. She had no idea my turd was a Mustang. I finally asked her out and we went out on several dates in it. She went to the University of San Diego and if you know that school, it’s a very beautiful campus and students don’t drive old shit cars. But I drove it there many times to pick her up during her breaks from class. She never cared what I drove. Here we are 14 years later, married and 2 kids. I still have the Mustang and now it is far from stock, but it symbolizes that my wife met me when I was pretty much broke and I always remember it was never about the money with her.

 

It was a '94 Cobra so it still had the 5.0 liter motor. It didn't have much horsepower from the factory, but it did have an aluminum block and heads which made a good base for some upgrades: porting, polishing, lifters, cam, and roller rockers. The catalytic converters and stock mufflers were removed which made for a great sounding car. I also added a 96 Cobra hood and the Cobra R wheels.

PS: My parents were 100% correct, it was the wrong car for a 25 year old.

 

I still have it...my 2001 Mustang Bullitt GT...I purchased it new in 2001 and it remains in stock configuration...

 

I never had the chance to own one of these... but the first time I saw one of these as a teenager when one of my dad's friends stopped by our house and parked it in our driveway... it was love at first sight.

Have been enamored with BMW cars ever since, have owned several generations of M cars.... but not an e30 YET. Someday, maybe.

 

While I've never owned one, the early 70s Jaguar XKE was always the epitome of what a sexy, sports car should look like, and still is to me.
I grew up in Detroit, and so 98% of the cars we used to see in the late 60s and early 70s were built in Detroit. But walking to grade school, we'd always pass a house that had a dark green XKE ragtop, with spoke wheels. It was such a departure from the Chevy Nova my Dad was driving.
I was in love with the interior as well, it was like an airplane cockpit with all the toggle switches and guages.

 

My daily driver for the past 9.5 years.
I want to go electric, I really do, but I can’t quit the thrum of that V8

 

I rationalize keeping my V8 by telling myself that since the car is 11 years old and I don’t swap my cars every three years, I must still be ahead of others when it comes to my real carbon footprint!
Of course, in the end, I must do (much) more to save Mother Nature!!!

 

For me, it's the one with the most zorsts.



And it's my current car but plenty of fond memories.

 

First car a 1956 MGA 1500,

Best car 1962 Lotus Elite Super 95 SE