What other cars have you owned ?

[Bob Z.]

Too many to list here but the notables are:

6 Vipers
2 Vettes
SLK350
Saab 9-3 Aero
3 '66 Chargers
'67 Charger
'87 930
SVT Focus
5 Harleys

All had varying degrees of mods. And lots of others - trucks, bikes, SUVs, etc. I figure you only live once so try as many as you can...wife feels the same way. Not sure what I'll get after I get tired of the new 987S though.

[Kevfra]

Not that I'm all that old at 53~! But I have always collected cool cars, and have had many amazing machines. I spent twenty years restoring classic Mercedes and such. However I'm not going to go through the whole list but rather just mention one that I drove for eleven years beginning when I was eighteen - the original Studebaker Avanti. Amazing car.

Mine was indeed the original - one of three custom ordered - a 1963 with black on black and woodgrain interior. For you kids out there the Avanti introduced disc brakes to the US, introduced Borg Warner, set the world speed record for a production car at 178.8 by Andy Granatelli who went on to STP fame. Still holds the world record as longest lasting body design in production. It had a hill-holder clutch pedal which was quite handy growing up in San Francisco. When you pushed the clutch pedal and the brake you could take your foot off the brake and as long as the clucth was in the car wouldn't move - no fast jump from brake to gas when ready to take off. Had a nice blower on it and I mean supercharger not turbo.

Ian Fleming originally wrote James Bond as driving an Avanti, but succombed to native pressures that it be a domestic car for the English Bond and so the Austin came into play. But Fleming ordered a custom Avanti car - the second of the three including mine, and it is on display in the Ian Fleming museum. The third was totaled almost immediately upon delivery.

The body was fiberglass and was designed by Raymond Lowry who was at that time designing our rocket ships. Not one straight line on the car.

The features go on and on forever and are worth some study if you are a fan of classic cars. Fabulous automobile, and when I stepped on the pedal mothers would grab their children from the sidewalks there was so much intake roar. Damn thing went through engine mounts like breakfast cereal. 70% of the weight was up front, and the tires were old bias play 700 which means skinny, pretty much couldn't drive the thing on a damp road because the ass would pass the nose every time.

Just an interesting side note... this was the car that was supposed to save Studebaker, but it couldn't. Ford killed them. Studebaker had the fabulous Borg Warner tranny and Ford had crap, and wanted to license the BW from Studebaker. Well Studebaker refused and Ford launched a campaign to destroy them. Wherever there was a Studebaker dealership Ford opened one across the street and undercut the prices until Studebaker folded. Damn shame - they had a lot of nice cars.

End of lecture kids.

[NickCats]

Kevfra,

Wow - that is one crazy looking car :



Nick

[Kevfra]

That sexy car got me lai...uh a lot of female company over the years!
Red instrument lights, overhead climate controls, a special makeup tray in the glove box, introduced stock seatbelts in the US, no visable radiator or grill. New buyers got a gold Studebaker pocket watch along with the car. Keys were aluminum and broke instantly, but other than that a remarkably reliable car. At one point I parked it in my father's yard and didn't come back for four years. Just left it sitting. Put a jumper on it and the thign started right up and ran fine for the remaining years I owned it. My father saw that and went right out and bought one!

I finally sold it and bought an airplane, but I miss that car all the time.

[Dragonwind]

Here's my list.

1978 AMC Matador
1984? Dodge Aries
1982 Chevy Cavalier Wagon
1988 Buick Rigatta
1965 Ford Thunderbird (for resto - turned out to be a lost cause)
1990? Ford Escort Pony
1998 Ford Escort Wagon
1995 Dodge Intrepid
2004 Hyundai Accent GT
1999 Porsche Boxster
2008 Mazda3 5 Door

[05speedyellow]

Here is my list from newest to oldest
2008 Mini Cooper S (Daily Driver) Red
2006 Porsche Boxster S (Current) Basalt Black
2007 Chevy Corvette Coupe (Current) Special ordered Blue with Red/Black two tone interior. Watched them build this one.

2006 Chevy Corvette Coupe Red
2006 Porsche Boxster Speed Yellow
2005 Chevy Corvette coupe Red
2001 Porsche Boxster S Black
2002 Chevy Corvette Converitble Blue/ Red interior/White Top
2002 Chevy Corvette Convertible Blue/Black/Black
2002 Chevy Corvette Coupe Blue
2004 Mini Cooper S Red
2004 Jeep Wrangler Black
2000 Porsche Boxster Speed Yellow
2000 Chevy Corvette Convertible Green
1999 Chevy Corvette Coupe Magnetic Red
1998 Chevy Corvette Coupe Red
1999 BMW Z3 Blue
1995 Chevy Corvette Red
1999 VW Cabrio Green
1996 Nissan Altima Silver
1994 Chevy Camaro Z28 White
1984 Pontiac Trans AM Red
1983 Chevy Camaro Z28 Brown

[eqs]

Very nice 05 speedyellow, very similar to mine except I've got blk/blk.

Cheers

[FTD]

Dang, 05 and Thumper, do you get a new car every year, or are you, like, 80 years old? That's a LOT of cars.

[987gator]

2005 Porsche Boxster (atlas gray metallic)
2005 Honda Pilot EXL Navi (still own)
2003 Mazda B2300 truck
2000 MR2 Spyder
1999 Saab 93
1997 Acura 3.0CL
1995 Infiniti G20t
1985 Honda CRX si

Other than the truck, all the cars were alot of fun. The Porsche is by far the best of the bunch.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by FTD

Dang, 05 and Thumper, do you get a new car every year, or are you, like, 80 years old? That's a LOT of cars.

I am creeping up there in years (I graduated high school in 1976). I used to have no will power when it came to a "deal" on a vehicle. I owned quite a few of them at the same time. Common sense and an irritated wife necessitated in liquidating the fleet.

I'm still selling off stuff (I had to say that as the wife's looking over my shoulder)

[jonnycool]

5 x bmw
2 x audi
2 x saab
2 x porsche
4 x ford
1 x triumph
1 x mg
4 x austin
2 x rover
2 x vw
1 x plymouth
1 x renault
1 x volvo

i think that's all of them ?

[PhilNotHill]

1965 Corvair Corsa (1st car) New for about $2k Maroon/Black
1985 BMW 735i New Silver/Taurus (red)
1980 BMW 750iL Used White/Tan
1979 Porsche 944 Used Ocean Blue/Champaign
1983 Mazda MX-5 Miata New Red/Black
1985 Mercedes SL500 New Red/Tan
1996 Ferrari F355 F1 GTS Used Red/Black
2002 Ferrari F360 F1 Spider Used Red/Black STILL OWN pictured below
2004 Porsche Boxster S New Orient Red Metallic/Beige/Black
2004 Subaru Forrester Turbo New Silver/Black STILL OWN
2008 Subaru Outback Turbo New Pearl White/Beige STILL OWN
2011 Porsche Boxster S New Platinum Silver/Beige/Black STILL OWN

[PhilNotHill]

Originally Posted by PhilNotHill

1965 Corvair Corsa (1st car) New for about $2k Maroon/Black
1985 BMW 735i New Silver/Taurus (red)
1980 BMW 750iL Used White/Tan
1979 Porsche 944 Used Ocean Blue/Champaign
1983 Mazda MX-5 Miata New Red/Black
1985 Mercedes SL500 New Red/Tan
1996 Ferrari F355 F1 GTS Used Red/Black
2002 Ferrari F360 F1 Spider Used Red/Black STILL OWN pictured below
2004 Porsche Boxster S New Orient Red Metallic/Beige/Black
2004 Subaru Forrester Turbo New Silver/Black STILL OWN
2008 Subaru Outback Turbo New Pearl White/Beige STILL OWN
2011 Porsche Boxster S New Platinum Silver/Beige/Black STILL OWN

360 Front View

[RandallNeighbour]

Phil, what's it like to own a Ferrari long term? Are maintenance costs really as high as everyone says?

[PhilNotHill]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Phil, what's it like to own a Ferrari long term? Are maintenance costs really as high as everyone says?

Obviously it depends on the model. The 360 is cheaper bcus they don't have to remove the engine to do the timing belt replacement every three years. The 355 and older mid-engine cars have to have the engine taken out. That is about a $5k service vs about $2k for the 360. The 430 and 458 have timing chains which do not have to be replaced. The 355 and newer cars have hydrolic valves which are automatically adjusted. those older V12s with valve adjustments and belt changes are more costly.

Maintenance expenses average about $5k a year including tires. This is more than a Porsche for maintenance. I have heard people say that since Fcars depreciate less than Pcars, the total cost of owning each is about the same long term.

Hope this helps.

[AndyA6]

Wow! Old thread......

OK, I play and I hope my memory serves me well....

Challenge, spot the "special" cars!!!!!!!!

-'73 VW Beetle
-'63 356
-various Alfa Romeos, Spider, Bertone, Gulia from the late '60s and early '70s
-'78 BMW 528i
-'72 (?)BMW 3.0 si
-'83 Honda CRX
-'85 Mercedes 190E
-'89 Mercedes 300SL
-'78 911 SC
-'86 928S
-'89 BMW Z1
-'89 Mercedes 300TE
-'92 Alfa Romeo 164
-'90 Audi V8
-'92 911 C2 convertible
-'85 BMW 325i convertible
-'92 BMW 318i Touring
-'83 911 SC
-'89 911 C4
-'90 911 C2
-'94 Golf GTI
-'93 Nissan Quest
-'97 Chrysler T+C
-'95 Audi A6 Avant
-'02 Audi A6 Avant
-'04 VW Touareg V8
-'03 Audi A4 current
-'08 Cayenne S current
-'04 Boxster S current
-'07 Mazda 3 current
-various bikes..... and a nice waterski boat

[tawheed]

I'll play too! This is a collection of cars and bikes I've owned up to this point - not many nearly as exciting as some of the others listed here!

1983 Honda Prelude
1983 Suzuki GS750E
1995 Honda Civic LX
1988 Mazda RX-7 GXL
1996 Kawasaki ZX-6R
1996 Mazda MX-3 RS
2001 Honda RC-51
2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R SPEC-V
2003 Honda CBR600RR
2002 Suzuki SV650S
1990 Honda CRX Si
1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
1996 Honda del sol V-TEC
2005 Suzuki DR-Z400SM
2000 Acura Integra Type-R
2005 Honda CRF450R
1988 Mazda B2200
2002 Honda S2000
1998 Ford Ranger XLT
1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharger
1992 Subaru Impreza WRX
2007 Husaberg FS550E
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII GSR
2004 Honda S2000
1992 Honda Civic SiR II
2008 Yamaha WR250X
2006 Subaru Impreza WRX
2004 Volkswagen R32 4motion
2006 Yamaha YZF-R6
2002 Porsche Boxster S (current and favourite fun car)
1993 Suzuki Alto Works RSR
2003 Mazda B4000 SE 4x4 Cab+
2005 Toyota Echo RS (current daily driver)

[Mike_Yi]

I form relationships with my cars, so I hang onto them for a long time.

1977 Buick Skyhawk (231cid V6, with a glass roof)
1978 Chevy Malibu (305, automatic)
1989 Pontiac Formula 350 (Firebird - with WS6 suspension option and T-tops)
1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse (biggest PoS I've ever driven)
2002 Pontiac Firehawk (#1149/1501 - Sunset Orange Metallic - T/A based)
1999 Porsche Boxster

My GMs have been far more reliable than the two foreign cars I've owned, and FAR easier to work on.

[986_c6]

That's a cool pic jrdiesel...looks like the truck is eating the Box!

[southernstar]

With frequent overlap ( and noting that some were winter wheels:
1956 Ford F100
1965 Ford Econoline
1966 VW Beetle
1968 VW Squareback
1961 Porsche 356B
1970 Fiat 850 Spyder
1972 Datsun 510
1973 Capri V6
1974 Fiat X-19
1975 Audi Fox
1976 Capri V6
1970 Datsun 240Z
1974 Datsun 260Z
1976 Fiat X-19
1980 Mustang V8
1985 Porsche 944
1986 VW Jetta GL
1989 Isuzu Trooper
1995 Suzuki Sidekick
1998 Ford Ranger 4x4
1999 Beetle TDI
2001 Passat
1957 Karmann Ghia Low-light
2006 BMW X-3 Sport
2000 Boxster 2.7

The last two are my current cars; the 57 Ghia I sold 2 years ago. I had my son in 1986 and one can see the switch from largely sports/sporty cars to more mundane transportation from the purchase of the Jetta in 1986 through the Passat in 2001. I bought the Ghia as a toy when he went off to College (stock exterior with 1776 cc overbore, dual Kadrons, Cam, Extractor exhaust, close ratio gearbox, camber compensator, koni shocks etc.) and sold it to by the Boxster, keeping the X-3 as the winter ride.