What was the overall best car you ever had

You decide what constitutes best.

Although most of the car's we've had over the years were imports for us it would have to be a 1992 Ford Thunderbird we used to own. It was a V-6 standard version and the thing simply never broke. It got quite reasonable fuel economy, it was very comfortable and nice to drive, it seated 4 comfortably and I just can not emphasize enough that the thing simply never broke. We put almost 250,000 miles on it before we gave it to a neighbor's daughter and I never had to make a single repair to the car (brake replacement and oil changes is all we ever did to it). Granted when we got rid of it the thing was plum worn out; we left it in need of ball joints, shocks, door hinges, and one electric window was getting kind of antsy but put that up against a quarter-million trouble free miles and it put the car way ahead of any import I ever owned.

What was the best car you have had?

until my ex-husband totaled it. :(

Cowboy Cadilac...i loved that car.....

The car had the bad habit of breaking one of the 4 half shaft (rear axle) U-joints from time to time. I went through lots of them. There were two holes busted through the floor behind the seats where they came through when they broke. Always quite a thrill.

Loved it.

Got T-boned by a Ford Crown Vic going 40 mph through a red light. Hit my driver side. All I had was a scratched ear and a totaled car.

Snif.

Monstrous amounts of power, but gas was only 50 cents.

off of anything around and the other gets 40MPG on the highway and has only required 'recommended maintenance'.

Rusted all to hell and butt-ugly, but that thing had 19 lives. Great in snow, easy to work on, tons of room and trunk space. If I hadn't been hit and the car totaled back in '82, I'd STILL be driving that ugly old gem.

I loved that car.It was the last real car I'll probably ever own.

That little yellow car went for 200K miles without a complaint.

never needs anything done to it and gets decent mileage.

The thing has eighty-something thousand miles on it and has never needed anything other than routine maintenance and tires.

My GF is an Extreme Skier, and that little truck gets the crap beaten out of it.

It's a workhorse. Over 120,000 miles on it now.
The only things that seem to break on it are the nylon gears that operate the windows.

Not a single problem until 105,000 miles, and very few afterwards.

It has over 200,000 miles and is no longer my primary vehicle, but I just can't part with it.

the 1965 Rambler Ambassador and my current car a 1991 Toyota Camry. I believe the Ambassador may have had fewer maintenance issues, but by the time we finally got rid of it parts were unavailable. The Camry gets better gas mileage.

Small pop, distinctive dings made ol Ditto easy for my bro to spot and report on. He hasn't seen it the past 9 months.

Rest in peace, Ditto. Thanks for all the good years and adventures! Hope your last owner loved you as much as I did.

A quarter-million miles on mine and it still gets me to work every day.

I think it was going to need a fuel pump when I traded it in. I got next to nothing for it, but it served me well.

Inexpensive to buy new, ran like a top, handled like a dream, reliable as you'd expect, fun with the sunroof open, great on gas, and while it only seated two, the rear hatch could swallow most anything I put in there.



Wish they still made something like that.

them come back too. They looked nice too.

I had the first series of CRX as well, an '84 which had (I think) a 1.2 liter engine and I'd sometimes manage about 50 mpg on my highway commute.

Of course it was a bit pokey, but I didn't mind--it was still fun to drive.

laid out interior and full of handy amenities. The 50% - 50% weight distribution accounted for much of this, came with a stock posi rear end. When it did need maintenance it was almost fun to work on, everything was well placed for accessibility and there was plenty of room. The only down side for me was those shitty carbs which I fixed with a kit to put a Holly 650 double pumper on.

Oh and it retailed for $3K and ate Porsche's for breakfast (mostly because their drivers didn't know how to drive).

I did everything on it that didn't require a lift, excluding fuel injection and brakes. I LOVED that car! Mike, the mechanic from Scotland, recognized my determination to properly maintain our shared obsession and taught me everything I needed to know. Look, listen, smell.

ZBUGR was my VolksPorsche. Like The Beetle, you could keep it running with rubber bands, paper clips and a hammer.

Moments after I acquired him we experienced "technical difficulties" on the freeway. I managed to get off it and a man who spoke no English stopped to help. He took one sniff and look, indicated I should stay put as he ran across the median strip to the auto parts store. He returned with a short length of hose and was a bit surprised at my interest in watching him replace it. He inspected the old piece, reacted, then showed me the thumbprint that broke through the rot, pointed out another bit of crap, then went on his merry way insulted that I would offer a dime...

I took it as a sign for me to be proactive, bought a Chilton's, proper tools, did regular maintenance and enjoyed the close contact to my little sports car. In the 80's I lived in my Z for a time.

they are unlike any of the other Datsun/Nissans. I'm still looking for my "Z guy" up here.

Just an awesome car until they started "Americanizing" them.

;)

and, other than routine maintenance, had to replace the brakes and the radiator. loved that little car. oh--and it got 40 mpg (nearly 50 with a good tail wind--of which there were plenty on the routes I drove!!)

followed by Subaru Forester

was an Oldsmobile Starfire SX. They didn't make a lot of this model, couldn't get the clutch right. I had a racing clutch put in it and problem solved. That thing was like a rocket! V6 5 speed. I'd hit Gratiot on a Saturday night put a 10 on the window next to a muscle car and they'd laugh and laugh "Sure little girl, we'll race ya." haha Light to light I never lost a race. That baby kicked butt and made me lots of money. Sadly some dumbass who didn't know how to drive in the snow lost control of his car and as he spun out of control hit me really hard, head on. My front end turned into an accordian before my eyes. I felt like someone dear to me had died.

Ah the good ol' days. *sigh*

Julie

My 2000 Blazer, 42,000 miles, only oil changes till the lease was up. 2003 MALIBU, it has about 70,000 miles on it now front pads, oil changes,NO warranty claims.


And then there is the 87 Buick Regal Turbo slick roof (no sun roof or T-Tops) bench seat factory SS/EA racer sitting in my Moms garage. Paint's fading, but in the 21 years I have owned it (including street racing) with 106,000 miles, it never failed me. Nothing broke, One set of brakes, quite a few sets of rear tires. Lots and lots of racing parts though. Those were the days.

Fabulous little car, runs perfectly, and have almost no trouble with it.

I have absolutely PUNISHED this car (once I didn't change the
oil for almost a fucking year), and it keeps on ticking ...
Has 103K miles so far and I'm driving this baby until it drops.

I've had some good American cars.

74 Dart. Slant six, the enging that couldn't die! I drove it for a month on 5 cylinders before I got a

73 Dart. Major engine upgrade 318 V-8. Still a great car to drive and work on too.

2001 Chevy Malibu. I only drove it 3.5 years, but it was PROBLEM free.

2008 Dodge Caliber SRT4. Flies like a bat out of hell and gets almost 30 MPG. Oh yeah, 5-star crash rating and can carry my stuff in the back too! It's ugly but look at my other favorite cars and see if that matters much to me. :loveya:

Never had to take it into the shop, thanks to regular maintenance and having friends with basic knowledge of car care.

>_<

Of course, the TR3 required a lot of pushing, a wealth of profanity, and a sense of humor. But, on the rare occasions when it ran, it was a ball.

I am still grateful to whoever was stupid enough to steal it and allow me to collect on the insurance.

But what modern car has the "LeMans" brake lever, the option to hand crank start, and a windshield that came off with 4 quarter turn fasteners??

I've had a shitload of cars more reliable or sensible but none ever equalled the thrill of a four wheel drift through the corner while dancing a four speed crashbox.

i can see why people love their suv's. there is no sport in my uv. but it is pretty bulletproof.
93 suburban, almost 300K miles.

It would not die.

My wife had a '83 Honda Accord until about two years ago.

A careless driver ran into it and that's the only reason she's still not driving it.

125K miles. Wish I still had it.

(although the rear quarters were starting to show a bit of rust, likely from having been hit in the rear some years earlier.)

I've only had 2 cars (the other one was a 1994 Toyota Corolla). All I really care about is fuel economy and reliability, and it certainly excels at both. I have to commute a total of approx 27mi every day to and from work, but I only have to refuel once every 2 weeks. I've never had any problems with the car so far.

I still own it, wife drives it most of the time now. I bought it used for $4900 in 2003with 100k miles already on it and we have driven the ever loving shit out of it. It now has 206k miles and it still runs like a champ. The only thing I had to do to it, which I knew I'd have to do, was replace the air suspension at about 140k miles.

Replacing the air ride is insanely expensive, so I bought the aftermarket spring suspension, spring struts for the front and coil springs for the rear and replaced all of it for about $750 including the labor to have it installed. Other than that, replaced the fuel pump at about 180k miles. I had a frien walk up to the car the other day and was really surprised when he realized it was running, at idle, you have to almost stick your ear in the grill to hear it run. :)

I got a 2004 VW Passat wagon last year and it has been great. It is nice and I like it that it is more utilitarian (for lack of a better word) than many cars with 9 million bells and whistles. It is the least used car I have owned in the last 15 years and is perfect for me now. I did LOVE 2 volvos I had previously, but they both had over 100,000 miles on them when I got them, and they were gas guzzlers.

What a great machine. Horrible on 50 cent gas, but a gem. We bought it after if had an engine fire. Pulled out the 327, put in an available 350. It broke motor mounts like crazy but I loved that car.

It looke da heck of a lot like this one, but without the front end damage.

police officer totalled it. He was drinking and skidded 283 feet down my side of the road, turned it sideways so I T-boned it, and went into the ditch and hit a pole. He called his office and they stopped the state highway patrol from coming to the accident scene. I was cited for having the Malibu stop with its left front tire 6 inches over the center line. The entire front end was gone. I bent the steering wheel with my face and had big blood clots on both knees from the dash. Had my seat belt on even though I was less than 2 miles from home. I had to start my freshman year at Ohio State the next week ... looked like I'd been in a wreck!
Our insurance company fought the whole thing and the cop finally was relieved of duty.

Glad he finally got caught and can't believe the home team had the hall to charge you. Bent the steering wheel with your face? That was a pretty unforgiving wheel. What a waste of a nice car, too.

I don't think I even had seat belts on mine. The seat back gave way on my bench and I swapped one out for $20 from a friends junk yard. Never worked the seat belts through. It was the 70's, what did we know? Glad you were wearing yours.

I bought it new in 1995. It's got just over 180,000 miles on it. I estimate it's cost me less than $2000 in repair costs (not maintenance) in the time I've had it. The starter has gone out 3 times on it, and I had a bad oil leak once (and those are expensive to fix). I often go several thousand miles over when I'm supposed to get the oil changed, and I drive it rough (or as rough as you can get with a Sentra), and that thing just won't die. Advertised as getting around 30 mpg when I bought it. It still gets 25 mpg (more if the wind is at my back).

TlalocW

My sons still drive the thing, over 200K miles on it. The only thing that has ever broken on it was an oil pump and a window motor.

Still driving it actually. It has never broke down and the only repairs I've had to make it on the wear and tear type, brakes and a couple of CV boots (I think that's what they were called). I had the timing belt replaced as well about 4 years ago because my dad recommended it, but it hadn't broke or anything.

I live in Canada and no matter what temperatures it's been through, it starts up every time on the first click.

It has almost 300 KMs on it.

118,000 no problems.

So I say mine was a '63 volkswagen chassised dune buggy with a 12" pan chop. Cold every winter and wet every rain, it was in fact a four wheel motorcycle. Sometimes "Fun" trumps everything else. The tipoff is that I'd trade anything I've owned since to have it back.

Just turned over 221,000 miles. It'll probably be good for at least another 100K or more. Still very solid, runs great.

Worth every penny.

I listed mine as the worst.

I also loved my Hyundai Elantra -- pretty much NO maintenance except for oil changes.

1993 Toyota Paseo
( sport model of Tercel)




It has the gas milage, and reliability of my '74 Beetle
and the roominess, zoom zoom of my 79 Arrow.

Almost 30 years of happy driving among them.

Lasted me 14 years and then I sold it to a kid down the road.

Never had any major problems. And so fuel efficient too. I loved that car.

My favorite was my first car that my father handed down to me, and it was an 1976 AMC Pacer. People make fun of that car, but I LOVED it, and it was like a little tank. I put so much mileage on that car because my summer job was to drive all over Los Angeles five days a week. It broke my heart when the day came that I had to give that car up, but damn it was fine.

My "Best" car hands town is my current 2001 Toyota RAV 4. I say this because it is a superb car. This is my first "new" car that I bought all by myself. Nothing has needed to be done with it except to put gas and oil into it. I take it in to be serviced and they say, "Nothing needs to be done." Mind you, there's not much mileage on it and I'm fortunate in that I don't have to drive very much.

Acceleration, cornering, top speed, comfort..... that car had everything.

Stolen in 1999.

all in all, I wish I still had it.

w/ an honorable mention to my 67 bug

It could kick the asses of all the cars mentioned in this thread (0–60 mph in 6 seconds - or better with relatively inexpensive performance add-ons - it regularly beat Corvettes and Porsches in autocross), made decent gas mileage (for a Shelby with a turbo and an intercooler :evilgrin: ), and could park wherever a Mini Cooper can. Plus, grandmas even liked to drive it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_GLHS

It was the perfect commuter car....small 6 cyl...and a manual transmission.
I believe it was an aluminum block engine or some of the engine was aluminum...
anyway we bought it new for me to drive 100 miles round trip up the coast to
Santa Barbara to University.

We broke it in perfectly and it just purred all it's life. Fairly good
gas mileage and never went to the side of the road...and our son drove it
for a some years as it got older.

I called her Missy and she had nearly 300,000 miles on it when she retired.


The Tikkis

ps The Camaro is not the most comfortable car for really long haul driving, though.

Still going at 271,000 miles, everything original except the radiator, aside from brakes and normal replacement items.

My first car, brand new off the lot. I thought I was hot stuff!!!!!

1988 Ford F-150 truck. Six cyl. auto. Wish I still had it.

hands down.. is still running after 250k - though I don't have it anymore.

so I might live - fell asleep and ran off the road at 70 mph. Car was totaled but all I suffered was a bruised shoulder from the seat belt.

Wrote Acura a nice letter and they sent me a hat.

Will not ever be able to afford another one, but it was great while I had it.

Fast, good handling, never broke down. Not bad on gas, considering.

Looked a lot like this one, except the color was sable:


--IMM

Still have it and I've never had a major repair. However, this car gets bad mileage, it's underpowered, it's uncomfortable and it handles like a stagecoach. Can't say I ever really had a great car.

Lots of crap in between, e.g. '81 Buick Century with a transmission failure at 14,100 miles (plastic governor gear failed).

Lousy mileage, but it's big comfortable and safe and handles like a dream and goes like a bat out of hell.

Definitely the best car I've ever owned.

this thing keeps on going and going like the energizer bunny...good for hauling stuff, just take out the seats. Now the old gal's heater/defrost fan comes on only when it feels like it (when it's below zero, that just is not a good thing at all), and the ignition is tricky, have to wiggle the keys just right to get it to start, but it has 120,000 miles on it and it has been driven hard. Haven't had it in the shop 3 times in the past 9 years, knocking on wood.

Though I liked the '86 Calais I had - until a tree fell on it.

It carries, it pulls, it climbs, it's only taken required maintenance since I bought it new.

My 1990 4-Runner finally died after giving me over a 1/4 Million Miles and 13 years. That was my "favorite", but that is not the same as my "best" vehicle.

Peace,
MZr7

ran for 200K plus miles before the "tragic rear-ending" that left me in perpetual tears... For those who remember the manual choke-- mine had a Holy-4-barrel carburetor replacement before I got it. It was fast as a whip, agile as can be and just ran and ran and ran! God, I still miss that car.

Motherfucker didn't even get a scratch, but it was totaled. I looked for another one in good shape for years, never found one. That's when I got my '86 300.

I miss mine too.;(

Never had any trouble with it but some rust.

only one I've ever seen in my entire life. Anyone ever hear of it? They had it for years, I'm guessing it was German, but I truly have no idea. My memory is trying to tell me it looked something like a mid-70's Nova built by Volkswagen or something.

I'm starting to wonder if it was the only one made... : ) Perhaps for good reason, but it seemed reliable for many years so I don't know.

Maybe it was American made, I have no clue...

Edited to add: I had the wagon.

what I am driving now. No problems at all (my parents owned it before me).

Chevy Chevette. I can't remember what year it was but it was the best and most reliable car I ever had. That thing is probably still on the road somewhere.

I can see where they'd be pretty simple to keep running. A very straightforward design, easy to work on.

didn't have a single problem with it. Looking back that seems pretty amazing considering I was a teen driver and drove it as such :)

And yeah, there was really no good excuse for Chevy to still be making rear-driver small cars.

But practically speaking, did it really matter? So the drive train weighed a bit more and took up a bit more interior space, and maybe it was a little embarrassing for the company to still be selling the thing in (I think) 1986. I knew people who owned them and they never complained.

Named Rhonda. I loved her and she gave me almost 200,000 mile with nothing more than brake repair and oil changes. She rocked!



mine was baby blue.

I spent $1.00 per week on gas driving this car when gas was $0.49 a liter. The gas
gauge always showed empty because I never put more than two gallons in the tank

she was candy apple red and beautiful. the first car i bought and i was in love. ohhh memories.

Got 200K+ on the Neon and the Focus.