Best/worst,fastest,slowest cars you have owned.

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by bishbang

In the UK if you pass your driving test in a manual you can drive both manual and automatic gear change cars. However if you pass your test in an automatic then you can only drive an automatic. Automatics only account for a very small percentage of vehicles here

I read elsewhere that 16 % of cars in the UK were automatic in 2012.

[richardoe]

Most police motorway patrol cars in the UK are automatics.

[Lance_Link]

Every car I have ever owned has been a manual transmission. Guess I'm a rare American I'm kinda looking forward to getting an automatic someday though Getting lazy in my old age I guess

My current car I absolutely LOVE. A 2003 Honda S2000. Very quick and agile. And a blast to drive, especially on nice days with the top down.

[billybunter]

My old man has a auto Merc. Loves it, just cruises and helps his bad leg.

[winebeavis]

Originally Posted by Lance_Link

How did you get the cool tie-dye license plate?

[Lance_Link]

Originally Posted by winebeavis

How did you get the cool tie-dye license plate?

A highly noxious stew of chemicals and a washing machine wringer

I'm actually surprised they don't offer a tie-dye plate along with the other 97 different ones you can get

[73north]

My best ever car is my present one , 3 litre BMW 330ci Coupe ' Clubsport ' 2003

Like this but with New USA Import Alloys ( the original Clubsport one are
notorious for corrosion ) -

[bubbs999]

What cars have you owned throughout your life ?

I'm including here those company cars you may have had (for periods of 6 months or more).

I'll set the ball rolling :-


I've been through a few cars

Most comfortable - The Vauxhall Carlton (I wish they still made those)

Most practical - The Vauxhall Zafira (worst to drive though)

Most reliable - The Honda CRV (should never have sold it)

Most economical - The Mercedes A class (that thing sipped diesel)

Nicest drive - The Ford Mondeo (surprised me)

Best looking - The Rover 75 (they really are a lovely looking motor)

Least reliable - The BMW 316 (I know !)

Least economical - The Saab 9-5 (guzzled petrol - but it was quick)

Worst drive - The Vauxhall Zafira

Worst looking - The Vauxhall Vectra

So now over to you - looking forward to reading about you guys . . . . .

[nudgenudge]

Any I had on hire

[Schwenck]

Worst Cars:

Vauxhall Viva Mk II - Full of rust, broke down often but was easy and cheap to fix. Bought it of an Uncle for £45. Dreadful car, but I managed to get 3 years motoring out of it. Only car I actually owned until I was over 50.

Ford Escort Mk 3 - my first company car, so great from that point, but a horrible red, sub-base (specially commissioned by my company) model, with awful plastic seats, (They were known as plastic pigs by everyone). No radio, no nearside mirror and 90,000 miles in 2.5 years when I got it. Fortunately, I didn't have to keep it long.

Rover 200 Vitesse - seemed to look like a fun car, but it was dreadful. Very difficult to change gear (you had to time it just right), until the garage discovered it had been fitted with the wrong clutch cable.

The Best Cars:

Fairly difficult choice, as I have had quite a lot of nice cars, but here's my top three.

Audi A6 1.8 Turbo - surprisingly fast for a big car with only a moderate engine. Beautiful design, in pure black, fantastic engine, gorgeous interior. However, once I got a BMW, I realised that standard Audi's could never handle like a standard BMW - though there a lots of thing that are better about Audis.

BMW 525 - I managed to talk the FD into getting me a 525, rather than a 520 as I wanted the 6 cylinder engine - which really does make a difference in terms of smoothness as well as acceleration. The 'classic' 5 Series, that won every award going. Fabulous car. I have had quite a lot of BMWs over the last 20 years.

BMW 330d M-Series Coupe - At one company, my boss had a Porsche 911 (his own - I had a company BMW 520), but as he had a long commute, he was worried that the mileage would drive down the value of the 911 too quickly. So for commuting, he bought a BMW 330d. He took me out in it one day, and I was astonished at how quick it was for a diesel. So when I ended up with a job with a fairly long commute, I managed to raise the money for a black coupe 330d. Six cylinder, twin turbo, 3 litres. This was my absolute pride and joy. My wife was away for a few days, so I managed to buy it in secret, and just arrive home with it one day, wearing the biggest grin you have ever seen. It was an absolute joy to drive and I did over 90,000 miles in about 4 years. The M-Series suspension was hard, so you felt it if you hit a bump, but was great when cornering, the car barely leaned at all. Six speed semi-auto box with paddles, plus a really great sports mode. Superb steering, stupendous brakes. It made driving to work a pleasure and it had the mid range acceleration to make overtaking a doddle. My wife also loved to drive it. I was just thinking that it was about time to change it, when my wife wrote it off on a French motorway. Which lead to my current car...

Current Car

Porsche Macan - not had this long, and still getting used to it as it is so different from BMW 330d. Amazingly, it is as fast as the BMW, despite being twice the weight. It is also has a 6 cylinder, 3 litre, twin turbo diesel engine. If you have not heard of the Macan, it is a large 4x4 SUV, just a bit smaller than the Porsche Cayenne. I find it it's size a bit daunting still, and as you are high up, you lose a certain sense of speed, which means it is very easy to go very quickly with quite realising until check the speedometer. And it will go very quickly, if you want - especially if you press the sports button. What I do like is that everything is switchable. You can amble along quite happily; if you want to progress more quickly, just press the throttle beyond a quite clear point; if you really want to zoom, just press the Sports button. Similarly with the suspension, which has comfort, hard and super hard settings. The 7 speed PDK dual clutch semi auto gearbox, is just a dream. So long as I have one of these, I'm not going back to a standard manual, as it is always in the right gear. There is a manual mode, with paddles, but I have rarely used it. Interior is superb, and for someone like me, who is into music, it is wonderful: 6 CD player, in-built hard drive, iPlayer or MP3 player input, USB drive input, DAB radio - there is even a TV. This is not the Porsche I ever imagined owning - a Cayman would have been my choice - but we have a touring caravan, and this was the best compromise I could find between sensible tow-car and fun, sporty drive car. It is certainly very quick and nimble for a heavy 4x4, but I am still fairly tentative with it. The only thing I do not like is that the turning circle is rubbish compared to a rear wheel drive BMW, but you would get that on any 4x4.

Special Mention - Top Hire Car

Ford Mustang - a day-glo green, 4.8 litre beauty of a convertible. I hired this as a treat for myself, when we toured around Virginia and the Carolinas. It was a Mk 4, I think, the one before the current model (which is the first Mustang released in the UK with RH drive, so you see more of them around here now). Great fun to drive, though not many opportunities to put your foot down. Every time I stopped for gas, the girl behind the desk would say "Nice car, mister"!