Everything Else

MisterDNA wrote: That car was more like a truck sometimes and I've yet to find another car that can swallow as much gear as that one did.

The latest Camaro I liked was the '69. Hatchbacks do swallow a lot of gear, though. I moved the entire chassis of my '87 Merkur XR4Ti to the junkyard in the back of my '85 Toyota Supra - in pieces though. Cut with a blowtorch. Not recommended - use a Sawz-all - much faster. I was using it as an additional form of physical therapy, though, after my beloved car was T-boned by a drunk.

As for my original list - Ferrari's and Aston's get highly model dependent. Ford GT is great. Nissan, not so much - I'd rather have an earlier Skyline GT-R - passion for inline-6 engines.

Lotus Esprit V8...in white, black, red or yellow...'nuf said.

-J

MisterDNA wrote: 27MPG all the way back, though the V6 wasn't liking the climb out of Death Valley.

27 MPG In a Camaro? Even on flat roads without traffic, that's pretty amazing! Maybe the wind was at your back, and the bedframe was acting as a sail!

josehill wrote:

MisterDNA wrote: 27MPG all the way back, though the V6 wasn't liking the climb out of Death Valley.

27 MPG In a Camaro? Even on flat roads without traffic, that's pretty amazing! Maybe the wind was at your back, and the bedframe was acting as a sail!

Wedge shape, cruise control, GM's excellent 700R4/4L60 automatic transmission and Sequential Fuel Injection. Hold a steady speed and keep your RPMs below 3K to take advantage of American torque-centric engine design.

The 3.4L V6 was just a mutant of the original 2.8L V6. Kinda shitty.

The 3800 Series II 3.8L V6 is incredible in the efficiency department. The 1999 Camaro I owned long before that would net me 31MPG. That one, however, was a 5-speed. When it got backed into and I was given an '01 Dodge Neon to drive during the repairs, I couldn't help laughing at the Neon's barely-30MPG economy. That car had the 3-speed automatic transmission, though. Good for a 0-60 of "yes".

Utah's not your average state. Between major cities, you're usually looking at a thirty mile drive. Look at that space station photo of nighttime lights over the USA and you'll see what I mean. Plenty of cruising space.

I spent a long, long time trying to decide what car to buy, since it was mainly going to be a toy (or so I told myself at the time).

* I toyed with the Lotus Elise S2, but what was a viable dream when I lived in Ireland became a major pain in the neck in the part of the world where we don't drive on the wrong side of the road: practically everything I could find was right-hand drive, British reg and often crashed and repaired.
* I toyed with the Porsche 928, but after the initial glee from the 5.4L V8 you apparently discover that the electronics are nightmarishly unreliable, and unless I was a tricksy hobbit the insurance was going to cost me €700/month. I'm 27, see, so I clearly cannot be trusted with anything more powerful than a riding lawnmower.
* I toyed with the 80s Porsche 911. Stylish, simple, fast in a straight line, relatively reliable if you keep the oil filled up...but visibility is odd, engine access is so-so (I do my own maintenance) and finding one that hasn't rotted somewhere is a pain. Plus the (IMHO) most beautiful ones - 60s to early 70s - are the most rotten of all, since they didn't start galvanizing the chassis until IIRC 1977.
* I toyed with the majestic Jaguar E-type - and mind you I still want one - but it's a mechanical disaster AND more often than not, rotten to boot.
* I toyed with follies like the DeTomaso Pantera (Italian looks, Ford V8 in the back, hard to find under €30k) and the Maserati Merak (€20k worth of magic, when it's not broken down).

What I ended up with was a 1999 BMW 530D Touring. A diesel, and a station wagon. Go ahead, laugh.

But for those out there (I'm mainly looking at Americans, and I especially get to do that because I am one) who still think of diesels as slow and boring, think again: it's a 7.7 second-to-60MPH wagon with a wall of torque that comes out of nowhere at 2000RPM and pushes you well past the speed limit if you're not careful. I've had it on the 'bahn and I still have not found the top end, because I get scared over ~140MPH. But equally importantly it still manages about 36MPG (U.S.) which is damn important over here in expensive fuel land, AND you can fit about 3% of a 1960s Dutch mainframe in the back and still have room for your bags, random crap, toolset and two passengers -> http://www.flickr.com/photos/theodric/3911122436/in/photostream/ Try doing that in a Porsche

pierocks wrote:

iKitsune wrote: Ford Crown Victora Police Interceptor. Fun, fast, safe, and affordable by mortals. Besides, it's like driving a land-boat, the last of the great body-on-frame rear-wheel-drive American gashog monsters.

This is exactly what I drive Fantastic car...it's an absolute tank and it hauls ass!

A close friend of mine in college got one, in black no less, as a hand me down from his grandpa. It was awesome to drive it in LA and see the traffic slow down around it, since a lot of drivers would get disoriented for a few seconds and think it was a cop car. I have never seen so many taillights flashing at once for no apparent reason.

We had an awesome halloween when we drove around in it dressed like 70s cops en route to a few parties that day. We even jury rigged one of them detachable "detective" flashing light on the sucker.

It drove like sh*t though.

As far as supercars are concerned, I'd take an Aston Martin One-77 any day.

When I was shopping for a car recently I actually seriously considered a second-hand police crown vic. You can get them with the bull bars still attached which I figured would come in handy if I ever got bored in a traffic jam. The sales guy told me that they're designed to be able to drive over a high curb at 50mph without damage.

Then I drove one - let's just say it was better in my imagination.

Those cars are the definition of a boat lol

Dr. Dave wrote:

iKitsune wrote: Ford Crown Victora Police Interceptor. Fun, fast, safe, and affordable by mortals. Besides, it's like driving a land-boat, the last of the great body-on-frame rear-wheel-drive American gashog monsters.

First car was a hand me down '75 Ford LTD Landau...

Some notes:

- Speed bumps? OK, I'll speed up...
- Hood longer than most microcars these days
- Lawn roller fit in the trunk, with the trunk closed.
- Seats wide enough to sleep stretched out in, or other things...
- Record was 7 people at the drive in, 3 in the front, 4 in back, beer in the trunk. Not really cramped at all...

Know the feeling, first car was a '66 Chevy Impala, 327 with a 2-speed power glide. What a piece of junk that trans was but the car itself was a tank. Could fit a whole keg of beer in the trunk with plenty of room to spare

I loved my Lotus Elise .. but I had to sell it when I moved to New Zealand ... was almost in tears!

Still, now I'm going to get myself a Morris Minor now