BEST and Worst Cars You've Ever Owned

[Porsche Chick]

I'll start:

Best is my 2009 Boxster, obviously. Second to that, a 1990 Celica. Fit my price range at the time, had a lot of torque, fun to drive. Oddly roomy, I was able to wedge quite a few pieces of furniture inside it and drive them home, including a large rocking chair. I got way too many tickets in that car, though.

Worst was a 2000 Mercedes ML310, bought used. Sluggish, no actual interior room, steering felt muffled. In retrospect, I think the engine was underpowered for the weight. At about 40K miles, the ML started getting weird; burning plastic smells, mushy brakes. The dealer could never find a problem. Then one day the brakes just weren't there at all, pushed down with my foot, and nothing happened. Managed to slow the car by nudging the curb and limp into a parking lot. Luckily, not driving fast at the time. The dealer couldn't find the problem! They guessed it might be the sensor that tells the brakes to pull up (sorry, guys, I don't know what that's called) and that would be a $4,000 repair. But it drove fine for them. Long story short, we made the dealer buy the car back. I wonder if he just stuck it back on the lot and let some other sucker drive it away.

My favorite line in the ML's owner's manual: Don't operate cellular phones inside the vehicle, results may be unpredictable. What . . . ?

What were your bests and worsts?