Is there a car you once owned that you still wish you had?

Recently I was tripping down my memory lane and also looking at pictures of a car that I once had and now wish I still did, my 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z. 5 Speed manual, Turbo II intercooled 2.2L. Yes, I know the Daytona was nothing extraordinary, but they were fun cars made during the 80's into early 90's. For that era they were quick and fast enough stock to lose your license in and they did handle nice (on smooth road) for a front driver. On rough and bumpy roads the K Car platform was not very rigid and it felt like Jello on wheels BUT DAMMIT I MISS THAT CAR AT TIMES!!!

How about the rest of you?

Oddly enough, this is probably the car I miss the most.

Back in the day it was really the Talon/Laser (series) cars and the Daytona Shelby or CS that I most liked, in the relatively affordable sporty type cars. Oh Yeah, Mustang 5.0 litres too.

oddly enough, i think i miss my liberty the most.

Do you even have to ask?



'77 Firebird Esprit, bought as my first car from my aunt for $1500. 305 V8, auto, gutless as fuck but taught me a lot about driving, and maintaining a car.
Plus the chicks LOVED it.

Truckers too.

nope. the only car I don't have anymore is the hand-me-down '89 Prelude I got as my first car. I was glad to be rid of it. Sure, it taught me to drive stick and (attempt to) maintain a car, but it also taught me to walk five miles to call for a ride or a tow because the stupid thing ALWAYS broke down on the freeway. The worst part is that it was barely ten years old when it finally died of an engine aneurism: oil pump and thermostat went out almost simultaneously, and the engine started overheating. I tried to limp it to the nearest service station (because i was a sixteen or seventeen year old idiot and thought i could make it), but i was on the freeway (of course) and it didn't. blew its load all over the 55 in Tustin.

I really miss my '65 Malibu. It wasn't technically my first car, but it was the first one I drove, so I consider it my first car.

It had a 195 hp 283 with a Powerglide. It was in rough shape, but it started up every time and drove just fine. It had granny steering which was wonderful for a car it's size.

I've always been mad that I got rid of it, because within the next couple years all the repro parts companies started making parts for '64-'65 Chevelles.

I wish I still had my CRX and my Mustang. The Talon was fun but liked to break down.

also, I never realized the Dodge Daytona was on the K-car platform. Learned something today.

Turbojett wrote:also, I never realized the Dodge Daytona was on the K-car platform. Learned something today.

From what I recall... The Daytona (series, incl. Chrysler Laser and the Lebaron Coupe) were J body variants off the K-Car. The biggest diff was that J body had a slightly shorter wheel base than the K-body cars about 97 inches as opposed to 100 inches.

Pretty well every Chryco front driver in the 80's was spawned off the K-car platform It was a truly serviceable and not a bad platform given its vintage and cost. The K-Car and Reliant-K saved Chryco along with the mini van and them bagging AMC for their JEEP division.

I wish I had your Daytona too, Les.

As far as my own cars go, my first car, definitely.



It was slow. It was a giant floaty yacht. Its fuel economy was measured in gallons per mile. It wasn't terribly unreliable like some other cars I've had, but occasionally it needed help getting going. Most of the vinyl on the roof was gone, thought the seats had plenty of tacky vinyl to spare.

I loved it.

Both owned by my dad, but i got to drive them for the few days they were in the driveway before being sold on. I've never bought a car myself, no point having one where i live. The 205 GTi is about the most fun car ever built, whilst the 560 was just magnificent isolation from the outside world in a way ive not experienced since.

the Peugeot looks like a fun little puddlejumper.

JaysonAych wrote:I wish I had your Daytona too, Les.

As far as my own cars go, my first car, definitely.



It was slow. It was a giant floaty yacht. Its fuel economy was measured in gallons per mile. It wasn't terribly unreliable like some other cars I've had, but occasionally it needed help getting going. Most of the vinyl on the roof was gone, thought the seats had plenty of tacky vinyl to spare.

I loved it.

My first car was a 1965 Plymouth Valiant, 4 dr. sedan with the 225 slant six. 3 speed auto, but not push button. It was a gift for my 17th birthday and I really dug that car too. Oddly I really like it more today not having it for a gazillion years and wish I still had it as it would be a cool classic car resto project. But alas back in the day I did not see it that way.

Turbojett wrote:the Peugeot looks like a fun little puddlejumper.

Sure was. They had the rally car up to almost 500bhp by the time they were banned

wierd how I remember television from the late-80's-early 90's looking a lot clearer than it does now...
but damn, nice stuff...so much oppo.
they probably don't even allow people to get that close to the track anymore, let alone on it.

People aren't allowed on the track anymore and the cars have been neutered to 300bhp ever since the '86 season.

There's a story in the current issue of Motor Trend, retelling Sir Stirling Moss' win of the '55 Mille Miglia. He relates how there were people standing right on the side of the road, and in some places, the crowd was so dense he couldn't see his apex. Pretty interesting read. Would love to have read the original 1955 article though.

Watch to the end

Jeesh.
It's amazing now how people could be so cavalier about their safety standing on the track, mere meters after a blind crest, where the car catches air and has no way of stopping, even if it weren't going too fast to stop in the first place. even more amazing that everybody in such a large group could get the hell out of the way so fast and cleanly without anybody tripping, being trampled or hit by the car. That must have driven the racers crazy. Never mind the special breed of Lunatic who jumps out in front of the car to take pictures and misses getting hit by inches.

Good topic. I've only sold one car and it was to my friend. 88 Civic. I drove it about a year ago and it did live up to my fond memories. That said, my current cars are better in every way - apart from fuel consumption.

I am considering upgrading to a BMW 135 or Maserati 4200 GT. But it would probably mean selling all of my current cars and I think losing the MR2 Turbo could be a big mistake.

Turbojett wrote: even more amazing that everybody in such a large group could get the hell out of the way so fast and cleanly without anybody tripping, being trampled or hit by the car

Well, sometimes they couldn't, which is part of why they banned Group B. One driver swerved to avoid a group of spectators, lost the car and took out 34 people, killing 3 of them.

All came to a head when one of the most talented drivers that had ever been in rallying crashed and burned down the side of a mountain. It was banned shortly after