Motoring history; cars I've owned and loved, liked, or Hated!

[Coolkorat]

No.1 son, who is learning to drive and only a couple of weeks from his test, wanted to go to a local car show at the Motor Museum. So off we trekked to the barren wastes of the north...

He (i.e. his dad) has a Ford Fiesta. It's an 'S', with a 1.0 turbo. Easy to insure for a 16 year old but bloody fast all the same. This trio of Ford's seemed altogether more difficult to insure. You could eat off the engines.




The Dino is a very pretty car.



This was undisputed star. De Tomaso was the bugger cousin of Italian exotics in the 1970's. Really beautiful car in a fantastic colour.



I should have taken more of this Maserati. It was a great looking Quattroporte.








This Smart isn't what it seems: inside the back is a Suzuki Hayabusa engine, a real fire-breathing monster...












All in all a really enjoyable few hours. Amazing to see what people have hidden in their garages. The supercar days are a real eye-opener: there is some real exotica squirrelled away....

[Eagle 3]

Now here's a car, a 1930 Chevy Coupe. It's my brother's in Iowa, USA. He's 83 years old and started collecting old cars, restoring and modifying them after he retired about 20 years ago.

[Coolkorat]

Great car and what a thing to do! It's much more fun as an heirloom than some old dusty furniture or picture!

[Roger]

Some nice snow pics in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2020/dec/04/snow-falls-around-the-uk-in-pictures

[rdrokit]

Now here's a car, a 1930 Chevy Coupe. It's my brother's in Iowa, USA. He's 83 years old and started collecting old cars, restoring and modifying them after he retired about 20 years ago.

I would get along fine with your brother as I restored classic cars in the US before I came to Thailand. Had many cars but this was my favorite as it was one of only 49 made. 1961 Pontiac Police chase car. Built for the Georgia State Police to chase down moonshiners.
Yes that is me when I was 54.

[Roger]

RDRO nice pic but your Pontiac is SO shiny that when I looked at it, I thought it had crash damage that side - but that's just your reflection. Good picture of you.

Eagle 3 interesting vehicle - your Dad still 'working' at 83    It's a labour of love I guess.

[Eagle 3]

I would get along fine with your brother as I restored classic cars in the US before I came to Thailand. Had many cars but this was my favorite as it was one of only 49 made. 1961 Pontiac Police chase car. Built for the Georgia State Police to chase down moonshiners.
Yes that is me when I was 54.

Yes, you and my brother would have gotten along very well. I think he would have liked your 61 Pontiac. Nice car.

[Eagle 3]

Eagle 3 interesting vehicle - your Dad still 'working' at 83    It's a labour of love I guess.

Not my dad, my brother.    He has slowed down quite a bit. Just tinkers now. His son does a lot of the heavy work now.

[Coolkorat]

I would get along fine with your brother as I restored classic cars in the US before I came to Thailand. Had many cars but this was my favorite as it was one of only 49 made. 1961 Pontiac Police chase car. Built for the Georgia State Police to chase down moonshiners.
Yes that is me when I was 54.

What happened to the car in the end RDRO? I assume it is in someone's collection now and probably worth a fortune!

[rdrokit]

What happened to the car in the end RDRO? I assume it is in someone's collection now and probably worth a fortune!

I had 5 classic cars in my collection before I moved to Thailand. Due to the excessive import tax I could not bring any of them to Thailand so I sold all of them to collectors. All of them have appreciated greatly. When I arrived in Thailand I bought another classic but there are no "car guys" up here in Issan as they are all in Bangkok. In the states there was a car show every weekend. Here there are a few each year. Not the same. I had the Oldsmobile a couple years than sold it to a member of the Thai American Car Club in Bangkok.

[Coolkorat]

I've been trying to think of a modern car that has managed to capture even an ounce of the American muscle car vibe. I'm really struggling (bearing in mind we see almost no US cars here, other than Jeeps and Teslas). Perhaps the Nissan GTR? Seems unlikely.

[rdrokit]

I've been trying to think of a modern car that has managed to capture even an ounce of the American muscle car vibe. I'm really struggling (bearing in mind we see almost no US cars here, other than Jeeps and Teslas). Perhaps the Nissan GTR? Seems unlikely.

There aren't any Japanese cars that capture American muscle. Classic American muscle (60s & early 70s cars) are hard to recreate. I think the current Dodge Challenger and Shelby Mustang do the best job.

[jungle]

RDRO that Pontiac model  looks familiar
Like as in the early Batmobile ?

[Roger]

RDRO here's the Mustang in red - Shelby GT350 5 litre. I happen to know the Owner. I think he buys top end stuff and sells it on sometimes, in addition to farming durian. So if you want to make a bid   

[rdrokit]

Roger,
Nice ride but I have never been a Ford fan. GM and Mopar for me. My daily driver before I cam to Thailand. 2002 Camaro.

[Coolkorat]

GM and Mopar for me.

RDRO - forgive my ignorance, what is Mopar? (I know GM!)

My daily driver before I cam to Thailand. 2002 Camaro.

Lovely car. I hope you rapidly moved-on the poseur leaning against it! 

p.s. I might create another thread, a 'motors I've owned - loved, liked, hated' and move these posts into it.

It used to be that Europeans would belittle US sports cars as being great in a straight line but rubbish in the corners. Lotus built an entire brand on their mythical ability to make cars handle well. But the flip side (from a British perspective) was woeful reliability; Lotus was know as 'Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious. The acronym still haunts Lotus to this day... Seeing a Lotus is a rare event now.

[Coolkorat]

1. Austin Metro. Back in the day, the choices for small cars were limited. My brother had had a Fiesta (which was typically Ford, and reliable). I decided to go with the British option and went for a Metro (I think the 'mini' had been dropped by then). It had the odd suspension system, which was okay. But the build quality was appalling: The brakes failed, the wheels rotted. It leaked. It epitomised the mentality of British manufacturing in the early 1980's; the workers believed in their own worth, and not the worth of the things they were making, and the directorship and shareholders (who were normally the same) had identical values. Recipe for disaster...

2. VW Polo 'breadvan'. The odd estate version of the Polo. Well made, but soulless.

3. VW Golf GTI Mk2. Nicked off my father. Great car; fast, well made. Cemented a lifelong love of hot hatches.

4. VW Corrado. A V6 masterpiece. 3 litres of road-ripping magnificence. Now a sought-after classic, worth more than when they were sold. I once 'raced' Nigel Mansell - he was in a new Mercedes S500 AMG - over a short stretch of road and nearly shat myself. I could see Mansell in the mirror, cool as anything steering with one hand. Taught me that talented drivers are talented, and mortal drivers should stick to being mortal.

5. VW Polo GTI. Great car; nippy and fun. Written off when I met a teenager head-on on a one track road (his fault, but he injured his passengers in the process. Not seriously, but it was an very unpleasant event. I tell this story to my son so he knows the consequences of not paying attention.).

6. Mercedes C220. My first MB. I've always had a soft spot for a Benz. Slightly quirky - particularly the umbrella handbrake. But very well made and comfortable.

7. Mercedes ML320. First SUV. I owned this car for 11 years. Completely bulletproof and did amazing service. Went across Europe without fault. Not easy on the tyres - that diesel weighed heavy on the front. Immensely comfortable on motorways, and happy to sit in the 'fast lane' at 80+mph.

8. Hyundai i30N Performance. Possibly my favorite car. Hugely likeable; easy to live with, but press the 'manic' button and it transformed into a fire-breathing monster. Faster that I could keep up with. On tight local roads I could not see where a Ferrari/Porsche/Lamborghini could possibly excel over this car, other than in road presence.

9. Ford Fiesta Zetec S. Bought for my son, and our daily driver (me and him - my wife can't drive a manual). The biggest issue with any car for a 16 year old (the age when you can drive on the IOM) is insurance, and this car is insured in his name for a very reasonable cost. He builds his No Claims without it costing a kidney. And the car is a revelation. When I think back to the Metro I had, this car is so much better. It has all the gadgets - antilock, traction, stability etc. - making it so much safer than the cars I grew up with. But it is also much, much faster. Faster than the Golf GTI I knew.

Looking forward to reading the car history of you guys! I am sure mine is very tame; I suspect some of you guys have amazing history with cars.

[rdrokit]

I never hated a car I owned.

1. Frist car was a 1956 Ford with 312 V8 and a manual 3 speed with overdrive
2. 1964 Studebaker Avanti. supercharged 304 V8 and 3 speed automatic
3. 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring with a 383 V8 and automatic 4 speed
4. 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air with 301 V8 (bored and stroked 283) with 4 speed manual
5. 1957 Chevrolet 210 with 327 V8 and 4 speed manual
6. 1973 Chevrolet Malibu SS with 350 V8 and 4 speed automatic
7. 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder replica 350 V8 and 4 speed manual
8. 1964 Dodge 440 with 426 hemi V8 and 4 speed automatic
9. 1940 Studebaker Champion coupe with 454 V8 and 4 speed manual
10. 1961 Pontiac Catalina with 389 V8 and 4 speed manual
11. 2002 Chevrolet Camaro SS with 350 V8 and 4 speed manual
I did have some company cars as drivers but they are non descript.

[Kev]

Ummm WOW 😳

[Roger]

I thought that Kev - my list of Standard 10's and Renault 12's would look a bit soppy in comparison