The car from your past you miss the most?

[Rob Campbell]

My old red 1989 Ford Probe GT.

 

[bjphoenix]

I've had some interesting ones- 1966 Corvette 427, 4 C3 Corvettes 1968 through 1975, later I owned one of those 1st gen Sciroccos and after that a Jetta GLI. From the Jetta I went to a 1990 Taurus SHO, the a couple of gen3 V8 SHOs. Now I have a 1st Gen CTS-V. All of those are good cars for an enthusiast and each one has its good points. Keep a car for long enough and there are downsides that reduce the fun of ownership, and that applies to all of the cars above.

I think it's obvious that the 1966 Corvette would be the one to have now. For daily driving the 1st gen SHO is pretty close to the CTS-V except for the difference in horsepower. Living in the big city you can't enjoy the performance of some of these cars and these days I work from home and hardly drive anywhere. I have a Jeep Wrangler that I drive the most because I drive it on long trips to Colorado and Utah for camping and Jeep trails.

 

[modeltrains]

1969 Dodge Coronet 500 with the little 318 V8 which was parents' car then passed down to me.

It was comfortable; it rode well; it handled well; trunk was plenty capacious; mechanicals were easy to work on and rarely needed to be worked on; even though it had power steering you had a sense that you could feel exactly what the front tires were doing on the road surface.
Towed a Jayco tent trailer like a dream.
Carried a Grumman 17ft aluminum on its roof without complaint.
(and sometimes did so simultaneously)
Trunk lid and rear window when covered with a blanket were perfect for reclining to watch airshows.
Was purchased at Nunes of Newport, Rhode Island, which everyone knew was run by the Mafia and nobody cared.
Didn't have air conditioning, which I need now here in Missouri summers with my health the mess it has become.
I learned to drive in that car.
Car was in our family from 1969 to about 1985.

Was a pretty hue of metallic medium blue with black vinyl roof, black rocker panels, white seats, white interior walls, black carpet and headliner.
Car had been ordered for someone who ended up rejecting it because of white upholstery.
My parents bought it to replace a Studebaker.

Oh, trivia about Dad's 1977 International Harvester Scout II ...

When sitting inside that truck you would swear in court the windshield was as vertical as your living room wall.
Yes, you could see the triangular vent wing windows.
But something about how flat the windshield was tricked the brain in to assuming it was vertical.
And then there was the steering wheel, which was sized appropriately for a four funnel ocean liner.

 

[lr64]

1976 BMW 2002. Great handling, if a bit tailhappy, but that's manageable in a car with rear wheel drive and a stick shift. A bit iffy in the snow, but it's not like I lived on a big hill in northern Vermont or something. Easy to work on, lots of room by my standards, but still got good mileage. And, I admit, I liked the way it looked, though I try not to let that be important. It got too rusty, as all my cars eventually have. It would have been nicer if:
-it was more rust resistant
-it had rack and pinion steering (I'd been spoiled in that department by a '78? Fiesta)
-it had an air conditioner
-the drivers window didn't get sucked away from the door seal at highway speeds
I didn't have a problem with the vague, mystery shifter, which required ESP to operate, but my brother once put it in reverse without meaning to. Fortunately, it was at very low speed, and no one hit us.

 

[goose_in_co]

1974 Opel Manta Rallye. Dark Blue, Black hood and racing stripe, small 4 with 4 on the floor.
I learned to drive a stick shift in that car. Small motor (1.9l?) didn't make it accelerate too fast, but it stuck in the corners like glue. Had so much fun on twisty roads with that car. Of course looking back now, I wonder how I survived.
This is the best photo off the Web;

 

[MarsLander]

Ha! Opel. My first car was an Opel station wagon. Learned to drive in this vehicle. Gift from my sister...brother-in-law taught me to drive a stick shift in the winter. Great car!

 

[RocketDestroyer]

Dark green 1967 Ford Mustang with a 289 V8 and 3 on the floor. That year had the turn signals on the hood and the nicest looking fake air scoopes of any Mustang ever. Loved that car and sadly I don't even have a picture of it. I got it used in 1971 and paid for it, and university, by working as a DJ at a local radio station. Those were the days.

 

[lr64]

Ha! Opel. My first car was an Opel station wagon. Learned to drive in this vehicle. Gift from my sister...brother-in-law taught me to drive a stick shift in the winter. Great car!

View attachment 631286

My Dad had an Opel wagon as a company car for a short while. I remember liking it. Back then, I always read the owner's manuals from cover to cover, though I don't remember that one. Now the manuals all start "Call me Ishmael...". Didn't it have a little valve noise, presumably from mechanical lifters?

 

[Greg Furtman]

An orange 1974 Volvo 145 with a tuned suspension. At that time in my life I did a lot of canoeing and camping. It could easily haul four people, two canoes, and enough supplies for a 2 week trip in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. I sold it with 300,000 miles on it & the guy who bought it ran it for another 200,000!

 

[ghostfather]

I've had so many cars over the years, from my first car, a '63 red VW bug, several Mustangs and small pickups, and here in Europe mostly German cars (Opel, Audi, VW). The car I miss the most was a tiny little '73 MGB convertible. It wasn't the fastest kind of sports car, and I had to rebuild those strange Solex carburetors and pancake fuel pumps a few times. It was probably because it was my main car in the formative last few years of High School, and the first few of college.
I remember going in to the local insurance agent when I first got it, and he asked me what color it was. That was a strange question, what difference does color make for insurance. Apparently there are higher rates for red cars, the rest are all the same (at that time). I told him to fill in "British Racing Orange", the official color . At one point, some friends mounted a suction cup wind-up key to the back trunk. It was great fun.


Like this one, but with steering on the left, and a luggage rack on the trunk. I loved the wire wheels, but mine weren't the knock-off hubs, which were outlawed in the US by 1973.

 

[Travis NTexas]

2006 Toyota FJ60. First car I ever bought for me, new! Loved that truck, underpowered though it was

 

[Event Horizon]

I miss being able to drive this car during the winter. Purchased in March 1972. Still own it. It's been everywhere with me, to Florida twice, across all the southern states fro FLA to CA. Spent time in Flagstaff and Phoenix, it's been to Yellowstone and all the awesome places in between there and home. It's mostly a survivor, and it's a ton of fun to drive.

 

[tfrielin]

What I Miss: My 1995 Ford Ranger five speed manual. Had only 83,000 miles on it and a new paint job when I gave it to my son. What happened to it then is still a mystery. To me. anyway.

Don't Miss At All: My 1976 Fiat 128. My first car and, I hope, the worst I'll ever own. Always needed repairs---Yes, Fix It Again, Tom applied. How many clutch cables did I have to replace on the damned thing?? Also prone to rust. Sure, I only paid $3,600 bucks for it, but in 1976, that was real money for me.

Wish I Had But Never Did: A 1975 TR-6. Red. The last year model, I think before they re-designed it to that un attractive wedge shape. Maybe someday...

 

[BruceS]

Green Fastback Mustang. 289, 4 barrel carb, hurst shift, hush thrush exhaust.

 

[bcook7135]

1983 Rabbit GTI. It was a street racer in a bunny suit.

 

[ZEDL1]

I miss my first car.
It was/is a 1976 Camaro. I bought it brand new back then after working 6 days a week at 2 different jobs to be able to pay cash for her. I owned her for over 40 years before selling it to a very good friend who is also a Camaro guy. I wanted to buy another brand new Camaro, a 2013 ZL1 which I now still own, 12 years after buying her. My DD is now a 2015 Camaro.

The new owner of the 76 lives near Toronto, Canada, where I'm from. I now live in America, but I can see her when I travel back north of the border. Now that I have more garage space, I wish that I still had my 76.

 

[conneryc]

For me, there are so many (67 GTO, 69 Mach I - 428SCJ, etc) but the one that I miss the most is my 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. Picture below is how it looked before repaint/restoration work was started. Dad's '69 Mach I is sitting beside it. It was originally a 390, but when he bought it the engine was gone, so we found a 427 (top oiler) out of a Galaxy (I think) and put that in there. One of my '69 Mach I's is at the far left in the first picture. 351W-4v Black with red interior and red stripes.

 

[BruceS]

Green Fastback Mustang. 289, 4 barrel carb, hurst shift, hush thrush exhaust.

Similar to this

 

[OC-Patrick]

I miss my Saab...

Got accidentally pit-maneuvered by a lady on the freeway. Damage wasn't that bad but the insurance company said the repairs were more expensive than the worth of the car at that time. (internet photo)

 

[smstachwick]

My dad’s 1966 fastback Ford Mustang. Modified with a longer stroke, racing cams for a low rumble at idle, slightly larger rear tires, and a CD player in the trunk. He still has it, I just miss when it ran well enough to enjoy it. We used to ride around in it all over town, often with “Carry On Wayward Son” blasting out the windows. Now it only gets to the end of the driveway if it starts at all.

He also used to have a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado that went on all the camping trips with the Boy Scouts and a bunch of rocketry events. Bench seats, 4-wheel drive, aftermarket XM radio. He had to give it up after a recurring failure with the fuel pump that proved too expensive to keep fixing.

Lastly there’s my 2014 Ford Mustang. A former rental with a V6, it got me where I was going in style. I didn’t really know how to take care of it though and I drove more recklessly with it than I should have. I wrecked it when I hit a curb at 30 mph and destroyed the suspension and electrical systems.

 

[cerving]

1974 Opel Manta Rallye. Dark Blue, Black hood and racing stripe, small 4 with 4 on the floor.
I learned to drive a stick shift in that car. Small motor (1.9l?) didn't make it accelerate too fast, but it stuck in the corners like glue. Had so much fun on twisty roads with that car. Of course looking back now, I wonder how I survived.
This is the best photo off the Web;
View attachment 631285

Opel made some great cars. Pity that GM decided to stop importing them... they were way better than any of their domestic small cars (i.e. Vega...)

 

[gburke568]

My first car. A '73 Dodge Challenger. Started with a 318, then changed to a 440, then up to a 425 hemi.

 

[Alan R]

Cant choose just one. But that ventura was a tank. Nothing could stop it. It was a straight 6 and 3 on the tree.
My bug was a 68. The only thing that stopped it was points and fuel filters, so I kept spares in the glovebox.

 

[K'Tesh]

The car that put me off of getting my driver's license until I was 21... My stepfather's vey rare Continental Orange,1978 Porsche 928.


Photo for example, not necessarily the original (but it could be)(apparently there were something like 10 of these in the US).

My stepfather was a lawyer, and bought the car off the boat, sight unseen, and had no idea of the color until he arrived at the dealership to pick it up. He was surprised to see it was orange. However, it made such a sight, he opted to keep it (it got regular repaints as his commute to one of the towns he did court in was on the far end of a regularly graveled, chip sealed road in the adjacent county 70+ miles away).

The one time my stepfather drove me to school in it, one of the guys who was a major prick saw it, and was losing his mind over it, only to be shocked when I got out of it. He tried to buddy up, only to be snubbed by me.

Had they (my mom or stepfather) promised to allow me to drive it ONCE (even if I had one of them sitting in the passenger seat next to me), no matter how short the drive, I'd have gotten my driver's license the day I turned 16 just to do that. But they refused, and so I didn't. I kept riding my bike (to HELL with the school bus) until it was too late, and I had already entered the USAF (1988). Once in I'd have gotten it if I had been stationed in the US. However, I duty swapped with a guy who had a seriously ill father and didn't want to go to the UK (in the event he had to return to Texas for a family emergency). So, he went to Cannon AFB, in New Mexico, and I ended up at RAF Upper Heyford, in Oxfordshire England. Driver's licenses in the UK are not cheap, and I didn't have a car... So... I kept using a bicycle, or bumming rides off of folks. RIFd in '90, and by that time the Porsche was gone. Ended up getting my license in a Subaru.

My mom made my stepfather sell it, while I was away in the UK, after it had the front wheels fold under it when some linkage broke (separate incidents). The first time, he was on the curvy, steep country road, going to a trial in the adjacent county, when the driver's side wheel buckled, swerving him across the road into the oncoming traffic lane (no oncoming traffic at the time). Had it happened to the passenger's side, he'd have gone over the edge of the road and down a several hundred foot drop. The car was repaired, and the other side was apparently "inspected". Not too long afterwards the second incident happened. This time in town. It was the passenger's side that buckled, causing the car to lurch onto the right-hand-side sidewalk (there was oncoming traffic in the other lane). Luckily nobody was hurt. Turned out there had been a recall on the linkages due to that very issue, but the dealership sold it to him and regularly maintained it didn't advise my stepfather of the issue until after the maintenance timeframe had apparently expired. I don't know anything else about the car, until I spotted it a couple of years later being repainted black as the new owner was apparently tired of being mistaken for my stepfather while driving.

PS. I can drive a stick, and I can drive a rear drive, rear steering, hydrostatic drive vehicle (namely MHU-83, or MJ-1 Jammers (Bomb Lift Trucks)).

 

[jsdemar]

Cant choose just one. But that ventura was a tank. Nothing could stop it. It was a straight 6 and 3 on the tree.
My bug was a 68. The only thing that stopped it was points and fuel filters, so I kept spares in the glovebox.

View attachment 631343

Your Ventura and my Nova were close cousins. ;-)
Mine was also 250 truck 6 cyl with 3-on-the-tree. 17 year old me installed a "one size fits all" Hurst shifter on the floor. It ended up a reversed shift pattern... an unintended anti-theft device!

 

[jqavins]

My wife's first car was a 1984 chevy Cavalier with more impetigo than metal.

Sad part is she used to leave keys in it to pray someone would steal it.

With more WHAT?!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impetigo

1989 Hyundai Excel 5-door. Black. Not a sports car, but peppy enough for me, and handled, as my dad would say, like a bicycle. I didn't notice during the test drive that it didn't have power steering, which says a lot about how nimble it was. Five speed stick. I took it places that a little car like that should not go, and never had a problem. That is, never had a problem going those places; sadly it had plenty of the quality and reliability problems or early Hyundai imports. If I could get one today with the quality of current Hyundais, and I were at least fifty pounds smaller, and I didn't have a family of four, and probably some other things, then I'd love to have another one.

 

[conneryc]

I've had so many cars over the years, from my first car, a '63 red VW bug, several Mustangs and small pickups, and here in Europe mostly German cars (Opel, Audi, VW). The car I miss the most was a tiny little '73 MGB convertible. It wasn't the fastest kind of sports car, and I had to rebuild those strange Solex carburetors and pancake fuel pumps a few times. It was probably because it was my main car in the formative last few years of High School, and the first few of college.
I remember going in to the local insurance agent when I first got it, and he asked me what color it was. That was a strange question, what difference does color make for insurance. Apparently there are higher rates for red cars, the rest are all the same (at that time). I told him to fill in "British Racing Orange", the official color . At one point, some friends mounted a suction cup wind-up key to the back trunk. It was great fun.
View attachment 631312

Like this one, but with steering on the left, and a luggage rack on the trunk. I loved the wire wheels, but mine weren't the knock-off hubs, which were outlawed in the US by 1973.

Loved the MGB's. Over the years I've had: 66 Roadster, 66 GT, 67 GT, 77 Roadster and a 78 Roadster.

 

[cwbullet]

With more WHAT?!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impetigo

Long story, but it took 2 rounds of antibiotics.

 

[ChuckH]

I'm only onto my sixth (and likely last) car, so not too many to choose from over the years.

1982 Toyota Celica. Koni shockers, King springs, gold Simmons alloy wheels with Yokohama tyres. A bit underpowered but handled like it was on rails. Very fun car to drive, on and off road, even given the lack of performance. Had that one for five years.

I also fitted 1kW of high-beams, fancy trip computer, CB, overhead console, central locking and electric windows.
View attachment 631156

^ Stock photo only. I'll try to find a photo of my car...

I had a silver 83 with fender flares and similar wheels. Loved that car.

 

[billpr]

I miss my 63 Olds Starfire Regal Red with red leather interior.