I hope they keep a semi auto option as they currently do.
The Boss has a VW T-Cross. Auto box, 1.0L engine. Honestly, it’s not that bad even round the hilly terrain of North Wales.
Criticisms? Probably a tad small for us and the auto box. There’s this lag on the throttle / gear change coming out of a slow corner, or exiting a tight roundabout which frustrates the crap out of me. But it’s not a deal breaker for the Boss.
Maintenance and purchase costs bug me most on modern cars to be honest. I still have a real nagging doubt with it all having seen and heard a few struggles from friends etc. but you win on the refinement.
First Family Car : Suzuki Omni
Car I learned to drive : Daewoo Matiz
First Car I owned : Suzuki A Star
Worst Car I owned : Chevrolet Optra (the low mileage for one , the car was pretty good otherwise though)
Fastest Car I’ve driven : Jaguar XJ (Used to work in OBD2 based GPS Tracking systems and this car belonged to a client of mine.
Slowest Car I’ve driven : Tata Nano
Dream Car : Mclaren P1 perhaps
exhaust rattle is likely a heat shield, happens all the time as they’re just thin pieces of metal. a hose clamp works in a pinch or just cut it off with tin snips.
battery also a 3min replacement. oil change as well
But with someone who hasn’t maintained the vehicle it would raise so many more questions for me…I’d check it into a shop for sure.
I think my first reaction to that was Oh yes! However, I think for me that classic cars are far better to look at than own. If I did the maintenance myself it would probably be a different matter.
My local mechanic in Scotland always had a restoration project on the go. Once they were complete he would sell them on and buy a new wreck. He had some fascinating projects and not always the obvious ones. There were a few very mundane but now rare ones that he restored - a Vauxhall Victor, for example.
I see quite a few classics knocking around in Germany. They have a special “H” plate for them to indicate that they are of historic interest and kept as close as possible to their showroom condition. (Oddly enough, the name for a classic car is the mangled English phrase Oldtimer)
Again, there are a few unusual ones. I saw a Lloyd car in Bremen a while back which I hadn’t even heard of. Apparently they were quite popular in the 1950s but had a somewhat dubious reputation for safety and reliability.
I could live with that but I’ve decided that my daily needs to be something a little industrial. I carry too much crap for one reason or another. Pointless me having a normal car.
My dad keeps a few family cars from the time of my grandad and grandmother (she was crazy about cars, more than anyone in the family, used to own a De Tomaso Pantera for a while). Starting to get more involved with that with him, how to take care of them, how to drive them, etc. All as stock as possible, no upgrades, no nothing. We just want to keep them in the most original and best condition as possible for as long as possible. Will post a few pics when I get down to Dalmatia.
'74 BMW E3 3.0s. My dad’s favourite, calls her his “beatiful old lady”.
'87 BMW E28 M535i.
'86 Mercedes W126 500SEC.
'80 Autobianchi Lancia A112 Abarth 70HP. Small but feisty!
Some of my dream/favourite cars, not in any particular order:
Eagle E-Type Low Drag GT.
'70 Dodge Challenger like from Vanishing Point (the original one!).
Steve McQueen’s '68 Bullitt Mustang GT.
Steve McQueen’s '67 Ferrari 275 GTB/4.
'73 BMW 3.0 CSL.
427 Shelby Cobra.
C2 (split-window!) & C3 generation Corvettes.
First generation (60’s) Camaros.
'58 Plymouth Fury like from Christine!
'53-55 Maserati A6GCS Berlinetta Pinin Farina.
'70s Plymouth Barracuda (single headlights!).
Could probably name more, but that’s quickly off the top of my head.
I generally don’t like remakes, but I love the work from Eagle and their modern E-Types. You can ruin a car or it’s legacy by going too modern (most of them look just generic these days, a lot of originality has been lost), but sometimes it’s just wow. They’re absolutely incredible. Just like Singer do with Porches.
Yeah… I’m a 90’s kid, but in love with old(er) cars, music, movies.
There’s a simplicity to them mechanically which to this day I find appealing. I tend to do most of my own mechanic work and having loads of room and things being basic really helps. Mechanically there tends to be a robustness to stuff. Bodywork, not so much but mechanically they are often quite solid.
that’s a great list. Having grown up in this area, I’ve been exposed to some great vehicles.
my footy coach from my teen years was a Ford freak.
64.5 Cobra Shelby (428)
67 GT 350
68 GT 500
70 Mach1
and a GT40 which was a long-term project that I don’t know got finished.
one of my closest friends has a 69 Ford Falcon with a 351 Cleveland which was purchased from an Nascar team 25+ years ago. he’s had it since he was 21, one of the fastest cars I’ve ridden in. pushing 600hp to the back tires. entire car has been rebuilt
one of my current neighbors has a unique hand-made replica of an AC Cobra, the husband built the molds himself and hand-crafted them from fibreglass. shorter nose, larger wheelwells and slightly wider stance. car is about 5% bigger than the original, and I believe it was based off a reinforced MustangII chassis from the late 70’s. has a Chevy 454 in it! he passed from ALS five years ago, his widow drives it up/down our street a few times a year to keep it moving. midnight blue with white stripes, it’s a stunning original build.
that said…I’m still pining over this 1962 Sunbeam Alpine rebuild by a guy in California
No doubt Ford have made some great engines over the years.
Shame most of their interiors could be improved upon by the under 10’s Blue Peter competition entries.
all cars of that generation were built that way. they couldn’t put out vehicles fast enough. and back then, cars that were built for “go fast” were designed with the interior as an afterthought. nobody was concerned with comfort, they were built to be light and fast as hell. so much of those cars interior panels were still paperboard covered with foam and vinyl.
