OT: Talking Cars Tuesday - Your "Most Fun" car
"Most Fun" has a lot of potential definitions. Maybe most fun was that convertible where you could drop the top and cruise on a warm summer night. Maybe it was teaching your 3-year-old to say "HEMI!" when you would accelerate in your new Dodge Charger. Maybe it was the GTI you just took autocrossing (Was a blast this past weekend). Maybe it's the old Jeep that you'd get stuck in mud despite the 32" tires (Miss it every day... that I don't buy gas). Maybe it was the old Impala with the huuuuuuuge back seat in high school.
What was the most fun car you've ever had? Why?
*Have personal experience with convertible (both Jeeps), GTI, and Jeep. No experience with owning Chargers or back-seats of Impalas.
Sure, the first Jeep would let snow through the soft top, sure it got 18MPG (the 2nd Jeep got 16. Hello 4.0L!), sure it was slow as hell, rusting, dangerous, etc...
But take the top down and the doors off and go cruise and all of that melted away...
April 12th, 2016 at 10:08 AM ^
"But take the top down and the doors off and go cruise and all of that melted away..."
Its amazing how that works. One thing I worry about with autonomous cars is the loss of soul that seems to be a part of them. Rowing your own gears with the top down is a special experience.
"(the 2nd Jeep got 16. Hello 4.0L!)"
The 4.0 liter was inefficient and heavy. And I wish I could have it in every car I owned.
Have you seen the torque curve for a 4.0 litre? Its like a table!
If you get a chance, look at David Tracy's articles over at Jalopnik where he takes a $600 XJ with the 4.0 liter to Moab; or where he breaks down a guys 4.0 liter with 225K on it and its in damned good shape.
I'm really bummed Chrysler couldn't figure out a way to keep it in the lineup. Natural balance, durable as hell,easy and relatively cheap to fix when something did go wrong.
I emailed with him a bit.
I love his devotion ot the XJ.
April 12th, 2016 at 12:24 PM ^
I have fantasized about starting a business to mass restore and resell XJ Cherokees with the 4.0 litre engine. These things are simple, indestructible vehicles, and there are tens of thousands still on the road in various states of (dis)repair. Anyone know of anybody doing this?
I think its a brilliant idea. I'd buy one.
The XJ is one of those designs that I don't think was intended to be as versatile and successful as it was. I can think of at least once when Chrysler tried to kill it only to keep it because sales kept going.
With some limited mods it can off road pretty well. And it just lasts and lasts. The biggest issue I've seen on them is rust.
With Selec-Trac I think its quite versatile well.
there was a company ( this was probably 20 years ago but they still might be there) in Seattle that used to take VW classic beetles and restore them to like new and sell them for around $7,000. I think as a business plan you could do a similar thing.
The car I had the most fun in was the 1991 Trans-Am with t-tops I had when I was 17. The amount of stupid things I did in that car are numerous.
The car I CAN have more fun in is my current vehicle, a 2010 Challenger R/T with a 6 speed manual. Sadly, I'm too responsible to have a ton of fun in.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^
I think of the things I did in my car (old, with shitty tires) and my buddies did with their cars (old, with shitty tires) in HS, I'm glad we didn't kill ourselves. I'm really glad we didn't kill anyone else.
But man, did we have fun.
April 12th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
A friend of mine was very fond of backwards donuts in his Bonneville. It had the supercharged engine, and would just spin in circles, roasting tires off.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:01 AM ^
April 12th, 2016 at 10:09 AM ^
had those cool curved windows at the top, correct?
If I remember right at one point they had a 455 option. Wowsers...
April 12th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
the cool curved roof windows. I know GM/Olds had a couple of optional "Big" V8s available back then, as my uncle (a GM tool-and-die worker) had one in their wagon (which I think was a late-60's Buick) for towing a travel trailer.
Dad, OTOH, went with the standard 330* V8, which he THOUGHT was big enough to tow our 8-person pop-up camper. And I remember laughing as he cursed that engine as it strained on uphill grades when towing the camper, usually with the station wagon loaded with kids and gear. Good times!
*(edit-looked it up, the standard V8 back then was 330, not 350 cubic inches. The 350 wasn't introduced until '68 in the Vista Cruiser.)
pictures of the '65 Vista Cruiser. Mine was light metallic blue, like this one:
front end:
This wasn't us, but I do remember Dad pulling off I-75 once before pulling the camper across The Mighty Mac ( Though I remember him claiming he was making sure the hitch and harnesses were secure, I think he always had a bit of fear driving that bridge).
I took that same car across the bridge and on into Canada on a camping trip several years later, spending a weekend up at Lake Superior Provincial Park drinking Molsons before doing an all-night drive from there down to Sanduskey to do a day at Cedar Point.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
Pinto wagon. My dad bought it from my uncle (dad's brother-in-law). That thing burned oil well. With my friends in the car with me, I'd drop it into neutral and give it the gas when we passed folks standing near the road. The cloud of blue smoke was epic.
April 12th, 2016 at 11:03 AM ^
While introducing Bruce Springsteen at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors, John Stewart had the best comment about his old car, a 1976 Ford Gremlin:
"The Gremlin was invented for two reasons:
One, birth control for young males;
and two, so that the Pinto wouldn't feel so bad about itself."
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I think I had 7 people in my TJ Wrangler in College a few times - with the hard top on!
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April 12th, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^
or CR-X??
I always wanted to drive a CR-X. They looked super fun.
At one point an automag made a 2 engine CRX. :-)
April 12th, 2016 at 10:57 AM ^
Your right it was a CR-X. Autocorrect got me. I still see them on the road every once in a while and it brings a smile to my face every time.
1991 Ford Mustang GT convertible. "Wild strawberry" color (metallic cherry red) with black rag and silver ground effects. Zero to 60 in about, oh, before you even think about hitting the gas pedal. Numerous times other cars would start drag racing me, like from a red light, and I only laughed at them in the rear view mirror. Beautiful purr. I had a manual, too, and while the clutch was heavy it wasn't that bad to shift.
Exact same model/color scheme as the car Michael Douglas drove in Fatal Attraction, btw.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:14 AM ^
did it have the cheese grater tail lights?
I loved that model. IIRC it was the first time Ford bumped the 302 to 225hp and it could pull solid 6 second 0-60 times.
April 12th, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
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As someone mentioned above, I could pile a dozen-ish high school friends into it. Also, the bench seats totally came out whenever a special lady was involved.
And by "special" I obviously mean "willing to hook-up with me in the back of a 1987 van."
Removing bench seats is a magical form of foreplay.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:13 AM ^
totally expecting Hatter to make that comment...
April 12th, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^
Please note that I refrained from any drug references, so Hatter still has some wiggle room on this hallowed topic.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^
Hatter sold him the removable bench seat mod.
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April 12th, 2016 at 10:01 AM ^
recovery for a Mustang II!
The only car I truly detested was the old King Cobra II's. All paint and fairings, around like a 130hp mill.
But putting in a real engine I can see how that would be a fun car.
Had suicide seats in the back and could fit 6-7 in it. Broke down a lot but was a blast.
Other was my wife's 1992 civic. She paid $9,000 new and sold in 2001 for $7500 to "tuner". Never in the shop in 10 years. once got about 40mpg fun to drive.
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April 12th, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
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April 12th, 2016 at 10:12 AM ^
I'm going to stretch here because 2 weren't mine.
A) '94 Miata I own now. Stupid ridiculous fun just stock. Drove it from LA to TC and felt like I was a member of project Gemini, except I could drop the top.
B) When I was 13, after years of sedans, my Dad bought a Dodge 600 convertible turbo. Cars and Concepts cut of the 600. 146 horses of doom, and an audible turbo whine. We also convinced my Dad to install a HiComp stereo head from ABC warehouse so we could play tapes. This was at a time that convertibles were still somewhat rare. While it wasn't mine, and I didn't drive it, my brother and I LOVED that thing. Often times when he'd go out to a HS football game he'd let me tag along.
C) Tie: my brothers '95 Wrangler (we took a couple cross country trips in it, top off, doors off). and prior to that, he had a '9(something) Geo Tracker. Easiest car to drop the top on; and our first experience at two tracking. 1.8 litre 4 cyl, 5 speed, 4hi and 4 lo. I laughed at it when he got it. I fell in love with it while two tracking.
i'll keep an eye out for you when i'm in TC.
April 12th, 2016 at 11:50 PM ^
'94 NA.
I'll be the guy with the bald spot and the shit eating grin. :-)
I work near Meijers, on South Airport, so I drive around there. If I bump into you I'll get you a beer. :-)
to have a beer to coincide with some michigan event.
sun is coming out and warming this week. get your convertible on the road starting tomorrow.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^
I'm game for celebrating any Michigan event with beer.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
a 600 acre apple farm. One of the "farm trucks" was a 1982 Chevy Luv truck (think S-10 sized) with a 1.8L diesel, and a manual transmission. Starting about the time I was 14 or so, my Dad would drive it down to the house at the end of his work day and the ask me to go park it in the barn for him. He never cared that what should have been a 5 minute trip always took me about 45.
Second place comes in the form of the fleet of 80s Chevettes that were owned by a pizza shop I worked at in college. Nice thing was the owner of the pizza shop also owned about half of the other businesses in the small college town, and the pizza mobiles were unmistakable. The police didnt bother us much. I even got let go after getting pulled over doing 51 in a 25 right through the middle of downtown Bowling Green one morning aroundt 2.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^
"He never cared that what should have been a 5 minute trip always took me about 45"
is awesome. Sounds like a cool Dad.
April 12th, 2016 at 10:15 AM ^
I am currently having fun with my current car. Volvo C30 R-Design w/ the Polestar added. I took it the the Tail of the Dragon (in North Carolina) a couple weekends ago and had a blast. First time I had been there. Highly recommended for anyone within driving distance!
April 12th, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^
I have a tie. My first car, a 1979 Z-28. White with blue stripes and a light blue vinyl interior. My first taste of freedom by car. And I felt really cool in it. I had a personalized license plate-- LLROCK (Long Live Rock) -- it was pretty freaking awesome. I almost died when I burned a hole in the console with a cigarette.
Second would be my Alfa Romeo Graduate. It was the most bare bones version of the Spider. No door locks. Vinyl top, vinyl seats, crank windows. But so fun to drive with the top down. I miss that car.