Shamelessly stolen from /r/askreddit.
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.
On a similar vein, my first car was an Opel Astra G (2004) (Vauxhall for UK people.) I loved it. It was incredibly reliable. I knew when we went onto a 4000 km roadtrip that all I will have to do is pumping gas into it.
Very nice and very true. Where did you go on this trip?
Italy. From Hungary. We were there for about a week going through major cities, like Rome, Naples etc. It was a very intense week. I never walked and drove so much before or even since then.
Very nice my man. The roads leading there are great, also driving the narrow streets of those cities must have been great.
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
The P1800 is a beautiful car, completely different from normal Volvos of the time.
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.
That’s fair if a bit harsh…
I think your comment kinda points at the reason why I don’t like people who despise cars. Like we all have a thing we love to use. Some people like me it’s cars. For others it’s video games. For some it’s books. We all have a thing. I’d imagine even movie buffs have a favorite TV or midea format. The world is pretty boring when everyone is a carbon copy of the other.
Do you enjoy driving at all though? I feel like there are a lot of people who love driving but don’t care if they’re doing it with a “boring econobox”. Listening to music and cruising down the highway on a warm summer afternoon is fun to me no matter what car I’m in.
I can find it relaxing at times but I dont drive to drive more than maybe once or twice a year if that. Its bad for the environment (unless you have an all electric vehicle powered by renewable energy I can dig that) and a selfish waste of precious non renewable resources.
Being on the road is also an inherent danger as accidents happen anytime anywhere, though life is also about taking a fucking chance to do what you want risk be damned so if ypu enjoy driving its worth the risk I guess.
I’d rather get on my legs and walk around a nice forest/park than drive around but that’s just me.
I love getting around without a car. Public transport is great around europe. Still the 10.000 km trip I went on last year hit so many places public tranport don’t. Also getting to great places like forests or parks will require a form of automotion in the usa. About the risk, I feel that it is part of the journey to risk it all. The car I drive is light because it has no safety features like modern cars. This is not inherently a bad thing for safety breeds complacency. I have been close to catastrophe multiple times during the road trip, still I wouldn’t have had the experiences I did if it was just staying home.
So your Vegan, got 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 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.
Now that’s a car!
The best part is it had a steel flat bed and no exhaust. I could merge instantly in the heaviest traffic. People would dive out of my way because they had no idea if I cared one bit about hitting them.
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.
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.
Yoooo I have a 2015 Honda Fit. First car I ever bought and never had a single regret
Exact same for me. Bought a used 2013 Fit as my first car and just finished paying it off, this thing is a force of nature and is probably my favourite car of all time.
Small exterior, but big interior, and the manual transmission is rock solid, you definitely shouldn’t slam it into reverse while rolling forward but it’s good to know you can if you have to lol. Surprisingly good at drifting on gravel corners or through snowdrifts, and you can make it crazy far up a washed out logging road with a 14’ canoe strapped to the top. 10/10 no regrets
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.
I had a '56 chevy pickup that I got running in high school and had to sell when moving away to college. It was a quilt of parts that would fit (still the original 235 under the hood) but there was no way I was going to move to a big city with no AC, no power steering, three on the tree and all the safety features of a midcentury crumple zone with tires. I miss it tho.
My 2004 BMW Z4, I use it almost every day and every drive feels like a special event.
A Lada Niva
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.
