Cars you have yet to love or hope to love again.

[AutoshiteBoy]

Theres another car that wasn't as good as it should have been; Metro GTI. The ordinary 1.4 was so sublime, so refined, responsive, so delicate and rewarding. One of my top ten cars.

[Broccoli]

51 here as well and my list used to be huge. Now not so much.
I’ve learned that you can have too much power in a car making it no fun at normal speeds or worse, undrivable if you put your foot down.

Maybe one day:
Lotus 7 replica (Caterham or Westie) with around 120bhp max. - none of the 300hp no fun on the road crap
60-69’ Karmann Ghia
Jeep or some other real off roader
Frogeye sprite
Cafe racer style car something like pretty much any of these (the whole thread is full of win!) https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/16 ... rs?page=23

Maybe if I’m really lucky:
55-59’ Karmann Ghia because I missed the boat on...

Not in this lifetime:
356 A or PreA porsche coupe
65 - 73’ narrow bodied 911 like this: https://petrolicious.com/articles/this- ... e-r-gruppe

[paulplom]

Theres another car that wasn't as good as it should have been; Metro GTI. The ordinary 1.4 was so sublime, so refined, responsive, so delicate and rewarding. One of my top ten cars.

I had a mint gti about eight years ago. It was okay but not hardcore enough. On a stretch between two slip roads local to me I used to get 80mph before slowing down. My van is 90+ on the same stretch.

[AMCrebel]

For looks -

E-type, MGA, Pagoda Merc

Will never own any of these.

My favourites over the years -
79 Polo only 895cc but smooth and fun to drive. Cost £100 in 1985.
That petrol/lpg X350 Jag I had - although I cut it a lot of slack for only costing £1500.
That Red MK2 Mondeo I bought off Sierraman and sold on to Bub. Very very good at just being a car.

[AMCrebel]

Wouldn’t mind another motorbike at some point.

[AMCrebel]

Oh and my B4 Pastit estate was great- 1.8 pez, not fast (although would cruise all day at 90 fully laden) but very economical and quite nice to drive. I was disappointed by the VR6 I had later - that was quick for the time but less fun somehow.

[SubPar]

51 here as well and my list used to be huge. Now not so much.
I’ve learned that you can have too much power in a car making it no fun at normal speeds or worse, undrivable if you put your foot down.

I'm only 33 and already coming round to that opinion.

I've never owned anything with significantly less than 100hp, but anything with 200hp+ also just seems dull at sensible speeds.


All the talk of Xantias in here reminds me, I'd like to try a decent one. I had a really shabby HDi for a few months and it was lovely and comfy but I just didn't gel with it for some reason, and I usually like 90s PSA group cars! I reckon a 2.0 16v petrol would be lovely though. The Saab 9000 I currently have reminds me a bit of 90s PSA cars though, with the way it's squishy and soft but also somehow handles remarkably competently.

Another car I'd like to own again would be a Lexus LS400. I briefly owned a really shabby one (3 weeks) and in that time took it round Knockhill on a track day and experienced all the electrics in the whole car simultaneously shitting the bed.



Cars I never want to own again:

2000 Vauxhall Omega 2.6 auto. The most dimwitted gearbox I've had the misfortune of using, and the only car with a driver's seat that actively hurt me. I still see the spiteful fucker driving around Aberdeen, and I sold it in 2016! It looks good, mind. Black with a lip spoiler on the boot lid and the 17" 5-spokes from the Elite trim level.

1999 Audi A4 1.8t quattro sport. Massive money pit that was never 100% right, and even remapped to 200hp+ was just dull as dishwater to drive. Cornering consisted of grip, grip, grip, then sudden catastrophic understeer, with absolutely zero feel through the steering. What a load of wank. Nice interior though, and a 10-speaker Bose sound system. This one was in Java Green (retina burning) and got written off 6 months after I sold it by an HGV changing lanes and claiming they didn't see it. Good riddance.

[paulplom]

I wouldn't mind a blast in a MK1 cavalier two door coop for old times sake. A silver S reg one was my first car in about '89 when I was 17. It was mint condition but the clutch was slipping like fuck. It went okay for a 1.6.

[mercrocker]

Funny enough, the first experience I had in a Mk1 Cav was a silver 1900 Coupe, OOW2S. It was a company car, allocated to one of the directors who had just parted ways with the business and the car had to go off to auction. We had a 1900 saloon as well - I used that quite extensively but sadly only a brief blast in the coupe.

Many years later I got a 2.0 Ascona B off a local trader and smoked it for a year but it obviously lacked the crispness of those new Cavaliers after an intervening 18 or so years. Those Mk1 Cavs were superb cars, so much nicer than Cortina, Ital/Marina, Alpines and the like.

[LynehamHerc]

We had an Ascona A 1.6s, MUB907L, for about 7/8 years from about 1974 onwards. It was light years ahead of the competition in everything, especially build quality. The only problem was the automatic choke and I seem to remember we fitted a Weber 28/36 to fix this.