On the other foot, The car from your past you miss the least!

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The boat that actor Jack Elam used to drive. That Son OF A B***** nearly ran me over and almost forced me to crash into a parked car when we (he and I) lived in Ashland, Oregon. I'm riding my bike in my lane (the downhill side) on (Abby) Normal Ave. as close to the edge of the right curb as possible (I was in the door zone of the cars that were parked curbside). There was plenty of room on the road for us to have passed safely even with the parked cars on both sides of the road. However, he was driving in the middle of the lane and forced me to swerve and brake hard to avoid smashing into the back of a parked car when he moved even more into my side of the road. F*** Him! Ashland is safer without him on the road.

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My father had a Datsun B210 hatchback that could barely get out of its own way and had horrible visibility that I certainly have no desire to ever drive again. That one was around when I was in high school. It did get great gas milage, though....
That's not right. The understanding that I had with my father was that if I paid for four years of college, he would buy me a car for graduation. I accepted that deal. I graduated in 1978, a time of high inflation and gas shortages. Maybe I could have stuck the old man for an expensive car, but I wanted a new car that would suit my needs and be cheap to maintain and run, so that I could accumulate money for a house faster. My first choice was a Honda Accord hatchback, but my father claimed he could not find find one, and suggested a used 260Z. I did not like that idea, although I might have accepted a 240Z in immaculate condition. I then settled on the Datsun B210 GX. It was a 5 speed manual rear wheel drive hatchback weighing a bit over 2000 pounds with a 1.4L pushrod four-banger. It had manual rack and pinion steering with excellent road feel. It was rather spartan, and low quality, but I was able to install a decent stereo, and I did most of my own maintenance.

It was a fun car to drive, in the sense that I was frequently extracting maximum performance from it. I did well with it on autocross courses, and I could just edge out a more experienced driver with a VW Sirocco. Top end was 90-95 MPH depending on conditions, although that is way too fast. There was a shimmy or resonance at about 85 that reminded you to slow down, but it smoothed out if you pressed on. It had good visibility, and no trouble "getting out of the way". It had great gas mileage and it got me to many rocket contests and conventions.

It did have a U-joint on the drive shaft that went bad, but the dealership found a used one and fixed it cheaply. The head gasket blew, not from abuse, but something about an aluminum head on an iron block. I managed to fix that myself. I always wanted to rebuild a motor, but the head gasket replacement was as close as I ever got. I shattered the clutch, but that was pure driver error. I was driving on an unfamiliar two lane highway in central Missouri, going to support a launch with a new group getting started in Independence. I was stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, and when I finally got the opportunity to pass, I down shifted from 5th to 4th. When I noticed oncoming traffic I decided 4th gear was not going to get the job done safely, so I down shiffted to 3rd. And then nothing. It took me a monent to realize that clutch was gone, and I had to get on the brakes. Had I down shiffted to 3rd to start the pass, and upshifted to 4th midway through the pass, everything would have been fine. Getting the clutch replaced in the middle of noware was another experience. By the time I got to Independance, the lauch had been cancelled. Still, a higher quality car probaly would not have given up the clutch.

After I bought a house, I bought a very nice car, a 1984 Toyota Supra. Still, the B210 was such a good car that I kept it. It was the worst of cars that I have owned, but I would certainly put it on the good car list.
 
The B210 we had was a four-speed. I do not remember which engine but I suspect it was the same 1.2L engine the B210's predecessor (the B110, though it was not called that, just Datsun 1200) had. I only saw this car when I was home from college, and after I got my Rx-2 sedan, I didn't really pay any attention to it.

I fondly remember the 1967 Datsun 411 station wagon (1600 cc SOHC, two side draft carbs, 4-speed stick) we had before that. It got kinda light on the front end passing through 70 mph, but when those two carbs were in synch, it was a kick. But that's really for the other thread, I think.....
 
2005 Chevy Aveo. Damn thing nearly bankrupted me just keeping it running... just about anything that could have broken did.
 
Chrysler K car. An early 80s Aries. Got a "good deal" because it was a dealer demo with a couple hundred miles on it. Had several issues including it leaked water into the cabin every time it rained. Drove like a wheelbarrow and couldn't get out of its own way. Dealer wouldn't fix issues under warranty because it was a demo until I threatened lawsuit. Dumped that pos as soon as I could afford to.
 
My dad had a '68 AMC Rambler. We had to tie off the passenger side door from the inside. Although the door latched, the frame of the car would bend on a left hand turn... and the passenger door would fly open! Rust from road salt added to the cheap construction. It was white, but with more iron oxide than this stock photo. ;)

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The Ramblers were great cars.
 
Agree! My family had a 880 when I was a teen. Had a two speed rear dif. Sporty around town in low range even though it had a 6. Got to use it all the time until my mother found out the seats laid flat into a nice bed. There went my date car! 😭

My step grand father had a rambler. Loved it.
 
I was living in the big city in about 1978 when a big gas crisis hit. Gas stations were open just an hour a day, lines would form around the block, etc. I was driving a pickup with 454 motor. It was great to drive in traffic but it got worse than bad gas mileage. My father had bought a 1973 Datsun pickup from insurance salvage after it was recovered from a tornado. I sold my pickup and bought the Datsun. It was very basic- rubber mats, standard transmission, no fancy anything, I don't think it even had a working radio, but it got 26mpg. It would barely run 70 downhill with a tailwind. Little old ladies would run off and leave me from traffic lights and not even realize I was racing them. But it got 26mpg and got me to work. I don't miss that one.
Ya, I had a 78 Chevy Luv pickup…nothing Chevy about it except the logos…Engine was made by IZUZU motors of japan and it would only do 80 mph going downhill top speed…. Most of those mini trucks were not meant for speed, just mpg. A whole different automotive era. Before that I had a 69 El Camino Malibu 350 short block….a beautiful auto….it was hard going from an American muscle car to a Japanese piece of *&^#.
 
1971 Peugeot 304 Wagon... Was saving for a better newer car. The two cars I had were both for sale. (1966 Cadillac Fleetwood, mint condition, 1975 Pontiac Firebird with 250 straight six, a real dog.) Both cars sold the same day, I needed something quick, so I bought the cheapest thing I could find that both was running and had a PA state inspection sticker that was valid. I bought the Peugeot for $50. This was around 1980. Rust holes were repaired with Budweiser beer cans, my brother painted flames and a skull on the hood. Car was orange like the photo. interior was trashed. Had a whopping 1288cc engine, 70 HP new... Mine was real tired and third gear was toast. Had to wind it out in second then hit fourth and hope there was enough speed... or was slowing back down. The real bizarre thing about the car: It rode smoother than the Cadillac. Peugeot suspension systems are legendary. I eventually bought a Ford Mustang II Cobra, Black with Gold trim, V6 four speed. I had no real issues with that car, I put headers on it and had the heads machined for higher compression. Got 50K miles out of it, Sold that to a guy at work who drove it for 10 years. I then bought a new Trans AM in 1983...

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The B210 we had was a four-speed. I do not remember which engine but I suspect it was the same 1.2L engine the B210's predecessor (the B110, though it was not called that, just Datsun 1200) had. I only saw this car when I was home from college, and after I got my Rx-2 sedan, I didn't really pay any attention to it.

I fondly remember the 1967 Datsun 411 station wagon (1600 cc SOHC, two side draft carbs, 4-speed stick) we had before that. It got kinda light on the front end passing through 70 mph, but when those two carbs were in synch, it was a kick. But that's really for the other thread, I think.....

The B210 I had "ate" water pumps, from about 1975-1985--Maybe 4 of them. We got to looking at it, and found the fan was missing a blade (and probably had been since the mid '70's). We broke off the blade opposite the missing one, and the water pump lasted, for the rest of the cars' life.
 
For me it was the 1980's Yugo that I bought while I was stationed in the UK (1986-89). It was bad, but not as bad as the ones that were being sold in the US. It was similar to this with four doors and a trunk instead of the hatchback version.

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For me it was the 1980's Yugo that I bought while I was stationed in the UK (1986-89). It was bad, but not as bad as the ones that were being sold in the US. It was similar to this with four doors and a trunk instead of the hatchback version.

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OK, we got a winner for Worst Car Ever...
 
On man, Yugo's. When we got to Vegas from England. Our car was still on the boat. My wife's parents let us use their faded yellow Yugo. It didn't have A/C. It was July with temperatures about 110 or higher. One weekend we went car shopping and bought the first car we looked at. A 1991 Grand Am. Didn't like that car much either. The paint delaminated after a couple of years. They fixed it under warranty. Traded it for the 1994 Ranger. Which I still have.
 
My paternal grandmother owned a 1963 Galaxie 500 with a 390 in it. Nothing slow about that car (at least the one time I got to drive it).
Sure thing if it runs….mine was a 390 snail….bad transmission with improper gearing for its size and weight and finally rusted out radiator….everything went bad in that car,,,true FORD acronym. It was meant to be a family car and not a muscle car. Way too heavy thats why ford just slammed a big one in there hoping once you open it up on the freeway it would be fine….lemons in every car type and this was one. Some friends had one also and sold it within a year…it was junk also. Probably a lemon too….lots of lemons.
 
I have two candidates.

My first car was a 1962 Chevy II, which was renamed as the Nova in later years. 6-cylinder, two-speed automatic that went 'thunk' when it shifted. You'd think it would sip gas, but no, it got 12mpg.

When I left for grad school, I bought a 1973 Pinto wagon. On a trip back to GA from PA the thing suddenly slowed down. I never found out what the problem was, but it wouldn't go more than 30mph after that. It took over six hours to go the last 200 miles.
 
I have two candidates.

My first car was a 1962 Chevy II, which was renamed as the Nova in later years. 6-cylinder, two-speed automatic that went 'thunk' when it shifted. You'd think it would sip gas, but no, it got 12mpg.

With a 2 speed Transmission, the gearing is wrong for good MPG.
 
Well, first I can tell you the cars I miss the most:
My dad's 68 Lincoln Mark IV with the 460 (7.54 liter) engine... This may have been the smoothest riding car of any kind, ever
My first car, a '59 T-bird
My second car, a 67 GTO

But the car I'm most glad not to still have is my wife's Datsun F10. There's a website describing the F10 as the ugliest car ever. And that was with the factory paint job. My wifes' F10 originally was yellow with green interior, but she had a red Charles Schwab paint job done on it. So intrinsically ugly, but now red on the outside, green on the inside. Yoiks.

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My dad's 68 Lincoln Mark IV with the 460 (7.54 liter) engine... This may have been the smoothest riding car of any kind, ever

‘68 would be a Mark III, and I fully agree. Long hooded coupe, very nicely appointed. As nice/well made as most any luxury car you could buy at that time, regardless of brand.

Near silent engine at idle, but would leave very long black stripes on the pavement. I backed off ours at 130mph, never to find top speed.

I long for one.
 
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