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Didn't see a thread by this title, so here goes my short list:
1. 1976 AMC Pacer. Yes, that's right, a Pacer. Just like the one in Wayne's World. Blue. Blue basketry-weave cloth seats. Had the most comfortable bucket seats I ever sat in, and I've been driving now for 41 years and close to a million miles. The seats were deep, they came out far enough to support the ENTIRE thigh, all the way to the knee. Too many bucket seats stop 6 inches or more from your knee, not very comfortable. But the Pacer had great seats and you could ride in ALL day and not get beat up or tired. I could drive down the interstate at full speed and that thing would track perfectly straight, not wonder left or right. At 3500 pounds, it held the road like a big car and was fairly aerodynamic for its era. I got 18+ mpg with the manual transmission. The car had so much glass that visibility was perfect, but AMC had to make A/C standard because of the solar heat gain. The 4L straight-6 engine was bulletproof, never had a problem, tuned it myself no problem. That engine had been around a long time and was fully perfected. Only thing was it would eat a water pump every 2-3 years. Never had to replace the clutch either. Other than water pumps, it was superb, gave great service for 13+ years and 185,000 miles. One day, when it was on its last legs, it ate the fan belt on I-66, so I let it burn up the engine and come to rest on an exit ramp. Called the tow truck and signed the title over to him on the side of the road. Gone but not forgotten. I even T-Boned a guy one night when the car was 3 years old and I'd just made the last payment. He ran a red light, we T-boned him. Totaled his piece of crap Dodge Dart. Wife and I walked. He was okay too. With the thickest sheet metal of any car AMC ever made, the body shop fixed the Pacer and we drove it for 10 more years. Great car. Really.
2. 1976 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. Yep, made by AMC. Last year AMC owned the Jeep Corporation before handing it off to Chrysler. What a mistake that deal was. AMC should've keep Jeep and stopped making auto's. Anyway, our 1976 Jeep had the SAME type of 4L straight six, bulletproof as always. Four speed manual O.D. transmission. Only ate one water pump this time in 17 years of faithful service. I'd put 500+ pounds of books and stuff in the back of that Jeep and head to Ohio from the DC area to do hobby shows (Railroad History stuff). It would go over the PA turnpike, up Allegheny Mountain in overdrive and never need to downshift. A real runner. NEVER let me down. Solid. Yep, it got wrecked on a rainy morning on I-66 in a chain reaction thing. I was third in line, pushed in the front enough that the insurance took it and gave me a check. If it had ABS brakes we may not have hit the second car in line, but who knows. Loved that AMC product too. Having them for so many years allowed us to save TONS of money that most people would've just spent on endless car payments.
My rule of thumb: cars are a necessary evil, buy safety and reliability (not bling), drive gently, put all the money you save into into your kids, your home or retirement fund. No amount of big engines, loud exhausts or peeling rubber will compensate for any inadequacies in yourself nor make you more of a man; I guess I figgered that out by my early 20's, and so I grew up.
Okay, your turn, what's the BEST car you ever owned.
Oddly enough (or maybe not), one of my favorite cars was also an AMC -- '82 AMC Eagle 4WD Wagon. It had the same 258 I6 that they ran in the Jeeps. It was ugly as sin (black and yellow like a bumble bee), smoked when I came to a stop and was made fun of by cops on a stop once but that thing was one of the most comfortable rides I've ever experienced. It rode smooth and had big pleather captains chairs that made you want to just kick back and cruise. I also took it to Catfish Lake in NC after Hurricane Andrew and had it nearly up to the door handles in mud without it losing traction once.
I also have to put a vote in for any Buick/Olds with the 3800. I had two of them, a '90 Olds Delta 88 Royale and a '92 Buick LeSabre. Neither of the cars were quite as comfortable as the Eagle (it was those chairs...) but that's one of the smoothest riding engines ever produced. I never had a lick of trouble with either of them as far as the engine was concerned (both had issues with the paint just coming off and the LeSabre had brake issues but that may have been due to the previous owner). I'd love to have another newer model LeSabre.
Has to be my 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I lifted it 2" put 31 inch tores on it and proceeded to off-road that thing like crazy! Banged over rocks, mud over the tires everything I could throw at it and it just begged for more! I did real good maintenance on it, it always ran really good. The 4.0 ltr. 6cyl engine was as reliable as a tank! I loved that Jeep! After 160,000 hard miles the bushings in the suspension were shot and there were little things going wrong (wiring and stuff) so I sold it and Bought a 2005 Grand Cherokee. So far it's a good vehicle but I don't know if it will match the '93.
#4: 1988 Mazda 323 GTX. Came factory-equipped with a 1.6L DOHC I-4 with an intercooled turbo at 9psi and AWD. A previous owner set it up for autocross: stiffer shocks, strut-tower brace, high-capacity fuel pump, re-mapped ECU and boost dialed up to 14psi. With this setup it was putting out about 185hp in a 2600lb car; I could hang with WRXs in that badass little breadbox, and out-corner them too. Unfortunately the extra boost was too much for the original 20-year-old head gasket, which blew at 170,000 miles.
#3: 1995 Saab 900 turbo. Of all the cars I've owned (and I still own this one), it has the best mix of performance, handling, interior comfort & amenities, and quiet ride. It does none of these things exceptionally, but it does them all pretty well and makes for a rather competent package.
#2: 1987 Porsche 924S. This car married the body of a 924 with the engine/driveline of a 944 to make it lighter, aerodynamically cleaner and quicker than the 944. With only 150HP (quite a feat from an 8-valve 4-cylinder in the mid-1980s), it wasn't a drag monster, but it had good high-end power for squirting out of corners, would cruise at 125mph all day long, and handled better than any of the 15 cars I've owned. More electrical problems than I could count, but the engine was bullet-proof and begged to be flogged. I gladly obliged.
#1: 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon. The most fun I ever had behind the wheel of a car. Also the smoothest 4-cylinder I've ever driven on account of the boxer engine. It was a little lumpy on idle, what with the cylinders moving side-to-side instead of up-and-down. But once it got up above 1500RPM, it was smooth as glass. One major advantage to a boxer-4 is that it is naturally balanced; no counterbalance shafts necessary. With 225HP being fed to all 4 wheels and with a rear LSD, this thing was an absolute blast to drive sideways on gravel, snow and/or ice. It was slightly prone to understeer, but a quick Scandinavian flick would get the rear end right out, and it would stay out all day as long as you stayed on the accelerator and didn't overgoose it. Plus, the fact that it was a wagon substantially added to the "sleeper" factor.
Pics of me rallycrossing the WRX near Stevens Point WI (1st one) and near Houghton MI (second one):
My favorite car was my 1987 VW Golf. It was red. Roomy, fuss-free, great gas mileage, and an air conditioner that would get the interior cold enough for snow! I didn't need brakes on that car until I got to 120,000 miles, whereas the 1998 Golf needed brakes at 34,000 miles. I kept the 87 Golf for eight years and 183,000 miles, until the suspension needed a few thousand bucks worth of maintenance and repairs.
1987 Nissan Sentra! I bought it used with 80k miles. Drove it for about 100k. It was a four cylinder (1.6L) with 5 speed. Had great gas mileage, 30mpg, was easy to work on, handled very well in snow and ice. Cornered very easy on ice, also on gravel roads. Living in Chicago, it started right up when the temp was -20.
It was starting to rust (fenders, doors, wheel wells), which I patched and repainted. But eventually, the timing belt snapped and I sold it to a shade tree mechanic.
My most favorite car was also my first car. I had a 1955 Chevy, 2 door post. 235 six that would start at 35 below zero. Put a lot of miles on it before I graduated high school.
I bought used, a 16-18 year old 1983/84 BMW 318i That car rocked. Took it 6-7 hours north to Frisco. and back with the family, thought that when I got back (because of it's age) that it would have all kinds of issues; it didn't, the ran exactly the same. Granted the original owner took great care of it.
Own -
2000 Ford crown vic ex-squad car with interceptor engine. That thing hauls. This is the way the cars should be built. Not an economy champ though. One tough car.
1992 Ford escort - the energizer car, just keeps going and going. No problems with it either. Not exciting but gets you there dependable.
I also had a 80s (?) era VW rabbit 2 door diesel. Strippo stick shift. You could drive from here to TX on a tank of fuel I swear. 52 mpg. Loved that car but frame was found to be bad, suspected from where it had been in an accident and I could no longer drive and be safe... was sad. 210,000 miles when we got rid of it. Ran strong still.
RE: the 924 - we had one of those too. That was SO fun to drive, although typical VW had electrical problems.
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Roomy, fuss-free, great gas mileage, and an air conditioner that would get the interior cold enough for snow! I didn't need brakes on that car until I got to 120,000 miles, whereas the 1998 Golf needed brakes at 34,000 miles. I kept the 87 Golf for eight years and 183,000 miles, until the suspension needed a few thousand bucks worth of maintenance and repairs.
