OT..Best Vehicle you ever had....and gas prices

[fordwannabe]

Best all around vehicle was a 1977 f-150 4x4, 36 inch swampers 6 inches of lift, swapped in 460,and swapped in heavy dana44 with disc and full power steering.
Favorite is a 1966 mustang coupe I bought in 1980 and still have. It is now a prostreet vehicle with 19.5 inch wide rear tires and a full cage but with a 351 cleveland and enough nitrous, it sure can get out of the way. Tom

[gak]

1964 Ford Galaxy 500 fastback w/289 and a fourspeed, .

Man, i love those cars ----- even today i would love to have a 64 Galaxy or its smaller brother, a 64 Fairlane 2 door

Streetstar and Griff, yes those are great cars. The '63 and '64 Galaxies are the nicest of the 60's full size cars IMO. I'm never been that much of a convertible guy (being a skin cancer poster child) but one of my dreams is a 63 Galaxie convertible....but a 64 will certainly do To me Ford (and GM) ruined their large cars in '65--forevermore. The early 60s Fords were very elegant. 1964 was probably the pinnacle--the very best for cars overall. There were exceptions--meaning later small and mid-size that were pretty decent, but they lost it on the big'uns.

[Jeff H]

when I was in HS I had a friend that had a volvo P18?1800? sports car.I got to ride in it a few times.I was into austin healys at that time.the volvo was a nice car.

P1800?
Odd-looking, but I wanted one so badly.
No idea how they performed, but it was a classy car.

[kaschi]

Volkswagen Diesel Rabbit! Had three of 'em. One died an unnatural death (got hit by another stupid driver who wasn't paying attention), the other two rusted out so bad that after 22 and 23 yrs of being on the road, they wouldn't pass inspection. You couldn't kill these little cars and at 50+ mpg, I bought a lot of guns with the money I saved!

Now I'm driving a Jetta TDI (2009) and it's getting 45-50 mpg on a trip so I'm pleased with it too.

[txpete]

sometimes gotta say screw the gas mileage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkXA0GQT ... re=related

[Dawg]

My favorite was a 2004 Mustang Mach1. I kept it for three years and sold it. It was a garage queen, and just didnt seem too practical......not my house.

DCP_12277.jpg

[Southern Bamboo]

Robbed the blonde from the cradle in 85.
Bought the Wrangler new in 95.
Somehow managed to hang on to both.

My next "new" ride will likely be a Jeep, just not sure what flavor, perhaps a Willys!

spaceman

4cyl Jeep Wrangler, any year, is one of my favorite vehicles of all time...

Of course, I now drive a '07 4dr v6 6spd 4x4 Unlimited Wrangler...

But, like you, I love 'em all... (I've had 4 so far)

Southern Bamboo...

[Southern Bamboo]

'98 Cherokee Sport.
Not my first, but my BEST. First was a '45 Willy's MB.
It will have a quarter of a million miles on it before the next oil change, and I just changed it.
It's perfect.
A plain ol' station wagon with REAL running gear and a torquey, growly straight six.
Just enough. Won't do what my friend's dually will but his dually won't do what this will either.
Box stock except for a K&N air filter and metal radiator (the only thing replaced except for hoses, belts, fluids, brakes and lots of tires). Just got back from getting a load of firewood with "station wagon."

+1 - Go Jeep. I've had 3 Wranglers, and currently drive an '07 Unlimited 6spd v6.

The only non-wrangler I've owned was a '94 Cherokee 4x4 sport - 4.0l, auto, what a great truck. Miss her dearly.

I like yours... a lot!

Southern Bamboo...

[Cimarron]

I haven't had as many cars as some here. I learned to drive on my dads 1960 Chevrolet Belair then moved up to his 1968 Chevrolet Biscayne (250 six with 3 speed manual transmission). My first car was a brand new 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix with a 400 V8 and 400 turbohydramatic transmission. That car could get as much as 18 mpg if I kept my foot out of it. At the same time I had a 1967 Chevrolet C-10 short stepside pick up (again a 250 six and 3 speed transmission) it got about 17 mpg (still have it and it has over 350,000 miles). I bought a new 2001, 2500 Dodge/Cummins with the HO engine and 6 speed transmission. I still have it and drive it almost daily (151,000 miles). It is the most reliable vehicle I have ever had with only a wheel bearing going out in the last 10 years. It gets from 22 to 24 mpg on diesel. The last car I have is this used 2002 Chevrolet Corvette I bought 5 years ago (5.7 litre V8 and 4 speed automatic). It now has 121,000 miles on it. I get 22 mpg with it around town and 28 mpg on the highway. If you put your foot in it the mileage will drop a bit I guess I'm not living right since I've only owned four vehicles in the last 35 years, and still have three of them.

[OJ]

Only 5 MPG at 115 MPH - but cuts cross country not having to follow roads



And - 55 MPG on twisty mountain roads staying within not more than 10 MPH over the posted limit - at 34 years old!! Wife would rather go over Independence Pass to Aspen on it than in the auto - makes the road seem wider !!

[Ysabel Kid]

The Toyota Camry I leased when I first got out of college was probably the best car I've ever had. It ran and ran and ran. Perfectly reliable. It was a manual, and on the highway I could get 40+ mpg doing 70 mph.

Best overall vehicle though, not thinking about gas mileage, is our Suburban. Yes, with it's large (35 gallons+) gas tank, it's over $100 to fill it when it is dry, but I like my family being protected by a large hunk of steel - and having more mass than almost anything else on the road short of semi's. Well worth paying the extra for the horrible fuel economy.

[williamranks]

1971 BMW 2002. Carbureted 4 cyl. Added 10.5-1 pistons and water injection to run it on regular gas. Hit it hard and it didn't move forward until I shifted into second. Cornered with the inside front wheel clear of the ground. Kept it 12 years because I liked it.

1975 Jeep Cherokee full size with QuadraTrak, don't know how many miles it had on it. Odometers only went to 99,999 back then.
Bought it in 1985. Sold it in 1994. Rebuilt the motor twice. Rust finally got to it. Put on a 4 barrel manifold and built my own panhard rods from water pipe and threaded rod to hold the axles centered.

2009 Chevy Colorado. Bought it just over a year ago when the President convinced me a 1990 full sized Wagoneer was worth more tradein dead than alive. The only small pickup I saw with electronic traction control. Extended cab, 4 cylinder, 5 speed, 4wd, and limited slip axle.
I bought the bed tent with it and use it for fishing and Home Depot runs.

Any BMW 7 series. They're expensive new and cheap used. Currently an '01 740iL. Paid $15k three years ago with 50k miles on it. Original sticker was $78k. 17 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4300 pounds. 268cid V8 and over 300 HP. Gets 32mpg at 90, less at the speed limit. Corners so hard you feel the squishy stuff inside you move over. If the dealer offers extended warranty get it. Lots of expensive stuff on them.
Wouldn't say no to a low miles 750iL with the 300cid V12.

[madman4570]

2001 Ford Escape

Has the little 2.0 L (Ford Focus)engine and the 5 speed
Sips the gas like a major miser and with studded aggressive winter treads goes about anywhere needing going.
This combined with my little Mid Atlantic 5X7 foot 3500 lb gvw trailer (30mpg"hwy")could just be my perfect one???

[jorgy]

My first car & the best I consider was a 65 Ford Falcon 289 V-8 3 on the
column. Had 90000 when I bought it over 200,000 when I sold it to a
neighbor kid. I beat the tar out of that car & the only things I did to it
was regular maintenance. The neighborhood kid who bought it drove it
another 3 years & the last I heard it had over 300,000 miles & still going strong. That is what I call "Ford tough!"

[bdhold]

'84 Alfa Romeo GTV6

23 mpg - at 115 mph...

25-27 mpg the rest of the time.

[new pig hunter]

here's my first car/baby/first child/never-sell vehicle: 1974 BMW 2002tii ..... bought it new in November 1974 right after I went into the Navy. Still driving it, can't find a reason to sell it. Still gotta buy premium gas, I don't care: 30 mpg on the freeway, 24 mpg around town. It's the vehicle I take when I go pig hunting, got a few thousand off-road miles on it, lots of ground clearance:
this is not my car, but mine looks just like it:
http://2002ad.com/images/carsforsale/ACF5E2E.JPG

my other vehicle, 40mpg.
(again, this isn't mine, but mine looks just like it).
http://obairlann.net/reaper/motorcycle/ ... r65ls.html

Cheers,

Carl

[RIHMFIRE]

The Toyota Camry I leased when I first got out of college was probably the best car I've ever had. It ran and ran and ran. Perfectly reliable. It was a manual, and on the highway I could get 40+ mpg doing 70 mph.

Best overall vehicle though, not thinking about gas mileage, is our Suburban. Yes, with it's large (35 gallons+) gas tank, it's over $100 to fill it when it is dry, but I like my family being protected by a large hunk of steel - and having more mass than almost anything else on the road short of semi's. Well worth paying the extra for the horrible fuel economy.

+10 on the safety factor...
My neighbor was rear ended last week at 65 mph and her jag was turned into a pinto....
Both cars were totaled.......If the dingbat had rear ended my truck she would have gone
under the bumper.....if she could get passed the 80+ pound trailer hitch....

[86er]

The best car I ever had in terms of gas mileage and maintenacne was a 1995 Nissan 300ZX. It got upwards of 30 mpg, was fast and responsive and other than oil changes and air filter I never put a dime in it for over 75,000 miles. Then it needed tires and brakes. Another 50,000 and it was still going perfect before I parted with it.

[rbertalotto]

Love the GTV!

I had three of the 1990s vintage Jeep Cherokees (company cars) put hundreds of thousands of miles on them with zero issues. The 4.0L straight six had to be the best engine ever made!

Now I have two vehicles that they will bury me with.............

1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa. Totally stock in showroom condition. Just went over 50K miles!


2006 Dodge 2500 Cummins, just turned 150K, zero issues other than a waterpump last week........

[marlinman93]

My old Toyota 4x4 PU was probably the best truck or vehicle I ever owned. Sold it earlier this month because it just rode a bit stiff for our old bones, and wanted something with more room. That truck never gave us any problems for the 23 years we owned it.
Just replaced the Toyota with this '69 Suburban for my daily driver. It's a 350/TH400, with all new engine, trans, 5 bolt hubs power disc conversion, HD swaybars, air ride rear suspension, and drives like a new truck! Found it on our local Craigslist for $2,000 and was lucky enough to be the first caller to get there! My wife and I love it, and it gets the same mileage as our old 4 cyl. Toyota.

[Booger Bill]

I havent read all this yet. Due to my age I have owned a lot of cars. Never had bought a new one until my last car, a 2,007 toyota avalon. Handeling, dependability, gas mileage, and power, it has it all. What I dont like is sitting down on the road or sidewalk to get in and out of it! It also has what I consider too hard seats.
All the cars now days sit too low. To get decent seats and heigth it seems you have to go with trucks and suv`s. We have two pickups I drive mostly and save the avalon for longer trips out of town, and really that from a gas mileage standpoint. I really like driveing our silverado or sierra better!
But then again not everyone is 6ft 2"s and 300 lbs I guess.