Ask Lemmy

My 911 is nice. Very fast and fun.

But my Saturn sw2 station wagon is by a long shot my favorite.

So far this has been my only car I owned. Have driven plenty of rentals and still none hold a light to my 34 year old Opel Corsa. This is a picture i took in the hills of Georgia near the Turkish border.

My first!

A 1974 Layland Mini with a Cooper S engine my uncle and I rebuilt together, a carbie big enough to suck in a cat, disc brakes, big fat tyres, faired arches, monster stereo and a muffler big enough that everyone knew I was coming...

I miss that little beast, it was quicker off the line than most of mates V8s, wish I'd never sold it.

25yrs later, on my 8th car, and it's still the one I think about the most. I drive a family friendly 3L diesel 4x4 now, which I also love, but that Mini will always be king.

My 2004 BMW Z4, I use it almost every day and every drive feels like a special event.

'08 Subaru outback. Mostly because I went in a cross country road trip in it, and put money into the audio system.

I've owned probably 20 cars in my life, everything from 1951 to a 2012. That being said, my absolute favorite is my 1965 Volvo P1800 (not my pic, but same color, minus the hood which is rusted). What a joy to own, drive, and talk about with other car people

Worked for my brothers custom fuel injection company. They had a late 80s CRX that was used for testing drive by wire systems.

I ended up buying it as one of my first cars. Got over 40 mpg when you drove like grandma, and turned into a wild cat when you put your foot down.

It's pretty close between the CRX and my 84 Fiero. Just something special about a 2 seater with manual transmittion and no bells and whistles. Though I did prefer the real wheel drive and mid engine on the Fiero.

Now days I drive an Impreza wagon, which comes close, but just isn't the same. Sure it's more comfortable, the heater works, and I don't have to have a triple A card in my pocket to drive farther than the corner store, but where is the excitement in that?

None, they are all metal boxes that get me from point a to b. I accepted a long time ago im just not a car guy, i dont even reserve the neurons to differentiate make/model/year at a glance. Forming emotional attachments over hunks of metal/ machinery that all operate generally the same way is a very monkey-brain thing to do. He smugly says as he nervously eyes his book collection he would actually tear up over if they were damaged in any way.

A Lada Niva

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Niva

My 1981 Toyota pickup. It never ran 100% but it always ran. That thing lived in a perpetual state of almost broken. Oh and it was the ugliest mustard yellow color it was always so easy to find in a parking lot.

After the engine shat all its oil I sold the thing the guy rebuilt it then road tripped on a 6000 mile road trip.

I've owned idk how many cars, they've always been a hobby of mine. But the one I miss the most was my 1959 Chevrolet pickup truck. I bought it for next to nothing, it was rusty and beat up, but 100% original. I fixed all the broken and worn stuff on it and slapped a turbocharger on the factory engine and daily drove it for a year or two. Even with the turbo it was dreadfully slow, but it was a riot to drive. It turned a lot of heads and got smiles everywhere I went. Really wish I'd never sold it.

My 2002 Chrysler Neon was pretty special to me. I was driving it until 2 years ago where it really started getting bad.

I inherited from my grandfather when he could no longer safely drive. And I just associate the car so closely with him.

He passed away a couple of years ago. So it was even more special to me because of that.

My mom had a 90s f150 Thing was a tank and had two gas tanks.

We called it the magic button. Would be on empty and watching it switch from empty to full was satisfying.

What was not satisfying was filling up 2 tanks after procrastinating.

1998 Saturn SL1

Often shat upon, but it was incredibly reliable until I overworked the little 4 cylinder engine. It handled like I imagined a go cart would, it had good gas mileage, and it survived hitting 2 deer and only needed cosmetic fixes afterwards.

I've never owned a car and likely never will, and honestly, that fact holds a special place in my heart

I have a Ford EL XR8 that I just love so much (Australian car). It's my fav because of V8 sounds.

2011 Honda Fit/Jazz. That thing was like the god damn Tardis. Seats folded any which way you could think of so it could haul pretty much anything and paired with a roof rack you were invincible. It was small and nimble and was capable of anything. Snow? Sure. Camping down some semi rough tracks? Why not. Haul all your friends l? You got it boss.

I wish I still had it as I probably would have turned it into a battle car by now but sold it when I moved country’s.

My 1989 LeBaron soft top. 4cyl turbo. It wasn't fast, but man it felt like it was fast when you were driving it.

It was more trouble than it was worth maintenance-wise considering the age, but my '66 Beetle. Such a fun little car, like an elaborate go-kart.

I had an '06 Jetta wagon TDi. The fuel efficiency of that car was incredible. I could get 44 mpg when cruising near 100 mph. Damn shame they bought it back because they cheated emissions tests.

I've never owned a car myself, but my fam swears by the Datsun 280z, especially thanks to its dependence on standard parts. My grandpa's Z was nearly a ship of Theseus, with only a few original parts remaining when he died, maintained by him and my uncle.

2007 Subaru Impreza SE with a 5 speed manual transmission with nice crisp shifter bushings. It wasn't fast because it was the naturally-aspirated version, but damn was it literally invincible in the winter. I once helped a Jeep up a snowy hill by cutting a path for him to follow me up after he failed to get to the top multiple times. Also, drifting in that car was a point-and-shoot endeavour. You could be sideways at almost 100km/h and have absolute pinpoint control of the car at all times. The AWD system in Subarus is a technical marvel.

I also loved the kinda minimal dash layout. It felt like an older car because the dash wasn't like a meter deep. It was small and compact. The car was also incredibly easy to work on. I learned a lot about maintenance with that car. I miss it a lot.

grand caravan. minivans already start as the most versatile vehicle around. Able to haul cargo and people equally well while having mileage that only gets beat by small cars. Basically it was honda or toyota that had the rear folding seat but dodges flip and fold brought it to a new level and they were good about having the captains chairs be comfortable. This is actually the main reason we have a minivan. It is the easiest vehicle to get in and out of for the driver and front row passenger. The captains chairs are at perfect but height for a human and most people don't really have to climb up into them or overly drop into them. Seriously if you ever see an occupational therapy handout for getting in and out of a vehicle, look at the pictures, they almost always use a minivan. Then dodge did the same thing with the roof rack. can fold it in for better mileage and fold them out when needed rather than having to retrieve them from sitting in the garage. Unfortunately they messed up the pacifica in that its captains chairs are less comfortable (and its more expensive and for some reason they took out the ability to vent open the rear window which was another nice thing.)

1969 Chevy Impala convertible. Massive red boat, totally impractical, and my daily driver for YEARS.

I have only had 2 vehicles so far in my life, but my Audi Q5 definitely takes the cake.

I never would've been able to afford one normally, but I was smart and took advantage of the covid lock down. Car dealers were considered essential businesses, and I decided it was the right time when I learned car sales were down over 40% across the US.

I was right, and they were desperate. If I had waited a few months, that car would have been completely unaffordable to me with how insane car prices got/still are.

My first car was my favorite:

1982 Toyota Celica GT Coupe

Fun, fun, fun to drive!

I had a Chevrolet Vitara (for Venezuela... for US people it would be a Suzuki Vitara) that my father bought in 1998 and gave me when I was 17.

First car I "owned", used for 6 years, never had to repair it or anything at all, took me everywhere without problems and since it was a small 2 door it fit everywhere.

I took my friends with it, my parents, traveled with it, etc. Also, surprisingly, we never had to do any repairs to the car since 1998 up until 2021 when my dad sold it because it was almost dead. That car was the best and I miss it.

Then I got a Dodge Dakota from 2002, it was good but I didn't like it as much as the Vitara.

Now I drive a VW Gol (2005), good car, a little fucked up.

I took over my mom's minivan during college. My frat bros made fun of me at first, but damn that was a great road trip vehicle.

Though on the whole, my current Subaru Outback might be my favorite because it came with a sweet sound system. I've never splurged on premium sound, and this was included because I wanted the towing capacity of the premium trim. Game changer.

Well I've only had two but my current one is basically my dream car so the answer is 2007 Nissan Navara King Cab, 2.5 litre turbo diesel 4x4, all black and murdered out.

I used to have this truck. It was a 1989 C1500. It was a single cab, long bed truck which is the best configuration. Under the hood was a 5.7 liter V8 with very primitive fuel injection, and that was hooked up to a 5-speed manual transmission.

It wasn't the fastest, most powerful truck I've ever had, but it had tons of personality and wouldn't die. It was really fun to drive with the torquey engine and the stick shift which was the exact opposite of a short-throw shifter.

I have a 91 Chevy S10 that I will likely be buried in. I've had it for nearly 15 years and it's my favorite. I learned to drive in an S10 and sadly we had to sell that one. I bought the current one as a "replacement" and I love it even more. It is objectively not that great, but it's clean and runs well and when it dies, it's getting a V8.

My first car was a 73 Buick Electra, maroon, fully loaded. It wasn't in the best shape as it was about 30 years old, but I loved it. It was so fun to drive.

1985 Toyota Supra. I've also owned an 84 and an 83, but they were both beaten half to death before I owned them the 85 was amazing. It really didn't have a ton of power, but the torque of that six made it feel like it did, and it handled like it was on rails.

206 GTi180, 2006 model

It was red, had performance cams, free flow exhaust and awesome vinyls that I ripped from Need For Speed Underground. I loved that car so much.

My dark cherry 2000 Chevy Malibu.