What's the best car you've owned?

[SALEEN S7R]

Best car for me was my old MK3 Toyota Supra turbo, would cost far too much to keep on the road these days unfortunately thanks to it averaging around 22mpg but around 7 years ago when fuel prices werent so high it was fine. The thing held on well enough in the twisty stuff to a point and then the back end would just snap out and you had to be on your toes to catch it. Driven sensibly though it was a very comfortable car to drive and had bucket loads of power. The only real problems I had with it was that it seemed to go through brake pads pretty quickly, although that might have been the fault of the driver..

[MGDavid]

...a 1968 Lotus 7 which I ran as my only car for most of '72 and '73.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Mike Wroe

Best car for me was my dearly beloved and sadly missed Mondeo 24v Ghia X, bought it at 6 months old at a massive idscount from new and put over 245k miles on it before it finally died. l.

The Mondeo S we had was pretty good and reliable too. Bought that brand new.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Wroe

Best car for me was my dearly beloved and sadly missed Mondeo 24v Ghia X, bought it at 6 months old at a massive idscount from new and put over 245k miles on it before it finally died. Up until then it never missed a beat, still had the original clutch all I did was put in fuel (35 mpg) & service it regularly. Tyres lasted for 40k on the fronts and 80k on the back & I think it had 1 set of front discs but that was it. My other half still says it was the most comfortable car we've had, even better than the Jaguar and it had all the toys which all worked as well.

That sounds like an absolute bargain.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

On the subject of comfort, at work I'm driving one of these at the moment. It's about the most comfortable truck I've driven but it's the slowest of all slow trucks in all slowdom. It seems to go back to my days in the 1970s when I used to drive to Italy every week in trucks that had engines less powerful than today's average family car.

Are you in the Actros rather than the Axor - pretty rare as a rigid. Worth a bloody fortune at the moment even though prices hav been weakening recently.

[rwindle]

Most fun car: 1966 Shelby GT350, (yes, it was a real Shelby). Taught my ex-wife and daughter how to drive 4-speed manual transmission in that car and we didn't burn out the clutch. But, we did inflict significant wear on the rear tires.

Most practical: 1998 Chevy Tahoe, 2 door, 5.7 liter V8. Still own it at 176k miles. Lowest maintenance cost and most reliable vehicle I've ever owned and I've owned German, English, Japanese and American vehicles. Yes, fuel is US$4 per gallon here. I live in Texas so a truck is required in the garage.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Are you in the Actros rather than the Axor - pretty rare as a rigid. Worth a bloody fortune at the moment even though prices hav been weakening recently.

It was an Actros, now gone back to another depot, the slowness turned out to be a split turbo pipe and the wrong programme in the gearbox ECU.

[Adam43]

That make sense! I didn't think anything was really underpowered nowadays.

[wnut]

Can't believe nobody has claimed Ford Escort Mk2 Coupe.

Flogged and modded one mercilessly for 780 000 km, was as fast as, handled beautifully, dead reliable and simple to boot. Very cheap and quick to work on and modify! Track days, hillclimbs, drive to work!
I still reckon it was the best road car ever built.

Sold it for more than twice what I paid for it after 15 years of ownership, and I am still a bit sore that I sold it!

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by wnut

Can't believe nobody has claimed Ford Escort Mk2 Coupe.

Flogged and modded one mercilessly for 780 000 km, was as fast as, handled beautifully, dead reliable and simple to boot. Very cheap and quick to work on and modify! Track days, hillclimbs, drive to work!
I still reckon it was the best road car ever built.

Sold it for more than twice what I paid for it after 15 years of ownership, and I am still a bit sore that I sold it!

I question your maths - I think it unlikely one could do over 32000 miles per year for 15 years on the trot in one of those!
And surely they never made a coupe model, they were all either 2-door or 4-door saloons

[wnut]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

I question your maths - I think it unlikely one could do over 32000 miles per year for 15 years on the trot in one of those!
And surely they never made a coupe model, they were all either 2-door or 4-door saloons

2 door saloon equals coupe. Nobody said drophead.
Lived 120 km from work and managed transport depots.
Part of the deal was, I ran the car and was paid mileage.

[Catingaround]

First car was my favorite/best 1977 VW Rabbit (Golf Mk1)

God I loved that car

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by wnut

2 door saloon equals coupe. Nobody said drophead.
.......

indeed nobody said drophead (so why mention it?).
A 2-door saloon is not a coupe. A coupe when derived from a saloon has a reduced roofline, example from that era would be the Morris Marina.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

indeed nobody said drophead (so why mention it?).
A 2-door saloon is not a coupe. A coupe when derived from a saloon has a reduced roofline, example from that era would be the Morris Marina.

You could say it is a horse drawn buggy which it wasn't.

But:

coupé
n coupé [ˈkuːpei, (American ) ku:ˈpei]
a two-door car with a fixed roof.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2010 K Dictionaries Ltd.

There would seem to be some flexibility in the definition, probably regionally sensitive, thanks for the pedantic discourse, always a pleasure.

[JHamilton]

oooooh, I love this semantics argument. It comes up on every automotive forum. Two door sedans (saloons) are coupes but not all coupes are sedans. By definition, a sedan has four seats and a trunk (boot). For example, a Mustang and a Corvette are both coupes, but only the Mustang is a sedan. However, common definitions are sedans have four doors, coupes have two.

I was brought up to believe any car with a B pillar is a sedan. Later I realized while this is often true, it is not always true. Then you can go old school and discuss the difference between a two door post and a hardtop. Is a Mustang notchback a post or hardtop? What about a fastback? Does its crap back window count?

[garcon]

Dare I add the Mercedes CLS and similar 4 door coupés into the mix?

Although by technical definition a 2 door Mk2 Escort could arguably be said to be a coupé, I have never before heard it described as such. And I'm fairly certain the Ford UK brochures described it as a 2 door saloon.

As you were.....

[Raspberry]

Ahhh...1986...un sacré numéro, the car that saved Peugeot, Car of the Decade etc...Just marvellous, perfectly suiting the "If it looks right..." saying. 96,000 miles from brand spankers to sad goodbyes due to parenthood and end of Lease. Only ever headed by a Colt Turbo (that blew up spectacularly on the M25 one morning after his daily overtake), always beating Golf GTi's, Fiesta XR2/3i's (Don't make me larf), Renault 5 Turbo's and whatever else came my way.

The only problem in 3 years was an Airflow sensor failure...diagnosed & cured by a Bosch specialist, after the Pug Dealer wanted to replace pretty much anything & everything (as was their wont). So many happy memories, such a wonderful, delightful little car.



The runner-up, similar to this one, except mine was Dark Blue...without fog/spot lights. A 1585cc Series 2 - Beyootiful, luxurious, fine handling (McPhersons all round), and eventually quick enough, once I'd run it in 'properly' - I bought it off Mother-in-Law #1 when Father-in-Law #1 died, and he'd been seduced by the 'change up early' vogue of the day (to save fuel), hence engine and gearbox were very tight (He'd covered 24,000 slow miles in his 4 years with it, typically changing up at about 2,000rpm - I know, ghastly). I eventually got the Lancia-headed Fiat Twin-cam spinning like a sewing machine (stop tittering at the back) up to it's more comfortable 5-6,000+ rpm range. This model was built in Italy, so was unaffected by the rust of the Saloons.

My tame Lancia mechanic reckoned the box was strong as a tractor's (leave it), and I got it from uncomfortably heavy to pleasingly snickable (relatively) with my 'pressing on' stylee. I had to change the DOHC Cambelt at 50,000 miles, which I did with mucho trepidation, due to dire warning in the Haynes manual - boy, was I chuffed when it fired up (after several revolutions performed by hand, to try and feel if the valves were contacting anything piston-like). Disc brakes were by a choice of manufacturer - I had the 'orrible ones, French I think, which were a beach, but I beat 'em.

Eventually lost the car in Divorce #1 - a few weeks later, I got a call from Ex-Wife #1, asking me where she should add water...I resisted the urge to sabotage such a fabulous car. Several months later, she called again to tell me she'd wrapped it into the back of a Granada. Poor thing, she deserved so much better (The car, not...you know).

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by garcon

.......Although by technical definition a 2 door Mk2 Escort could arguably be said to be a coupé, I have never before heard it described as such. And I'm fairly certain the Ford UK brochures described it as a 2 door saloon.

As you were.....

I'd agree but I decided to let this thread go; I suddenly realised that anyone who had a Mk 2 Escort for 15 years and it's the 'best car they've ever owned' probably deserves to be cut some slack.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

I'd agree but I decided to let this thread go; I suddenly realised that anyone who had a Mk 2 Escort for 15 years and it's the 'best car they've ever owned' probably deserves to be cut some slack.

Oh my aren't you just a sweet and generous little man!

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by wnut

Oh my aren't you just a sweet and generous little man!

oh come on, where's your sense of humour?
(and I apologise for mine, which is too often down at the sarky level)

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

I suddenly realised that anyone who had a Mk 2 Escort for 15 years and it's the 'best car they've ever owned' probably deserves to be cut some slack.

. . . says an MG owner!

[wheelsportaddict]

Originally Posted by wnut

Can't believe nobody has claimed Ford Escort Mk2 Coupe.

Flogged and modded one mercilessly for 780 000 km, was as fast as, handled beautifully, dead reliable and simple to boot. Very cheap and quick to work on and modify! Track days, hillclimbs, drive to work!
I still reckon it was the best road car ever built.

Sold it for more than twice what I paid for it after 15 years of ownership, and I am still a bit sore that I sold it!

I had a yellow Mk2 1600 Sport. Fitted a 4 branch manifold and K&N and it went like stink.

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

. . . says an MG owner!

see post #27

[dtype38]

I think everyone needs to regain their sense of humour and tolerance or this discussion is headed for the cutting room floor and the closed thread department.

And I say that with no hint of humour or tolerance.

[VIVA GT]

I've had a fair few cars. My first "real" road car, an Anglia 1200 Estate was close to my heart. Owning this car taught me to gas weld, use filler and spray paint, change engines, and al about automotive wiring (as I added a complete fibreglass dashboard (Cortina GT lookalaike) with all of the relevant additional gauges taken out of different cars at the scrap yard (Cortina speedo, MG 1100 Rev counter, Hillman fuel gauge, Jaguar Oil Pressure and so on..).
However, it was my 1968 Vauxhall Viva GT that was a 'coming of age' car for me. Suddenly having over 100 BHP in a car that practically no-one had heard of (including my local Vauxhall agents when I wanted spare parts) was very entertaining. I soon became an expert in knowing what other Vauxhall models many various parts had come from and my numerous scrap yard trips (this was the late 1980's) enabled me to keep the thing mobile, and even improve upon bits that I regularly broke including upgrading the front suspension to much stronger Vauxhall Ventora specification, something that Vauxhall later did themselves with the Droop Snoot Firenza (another wonderful car I owned)...