What Made You Choose Your Vehicle(s)?

[Fleet 500]

Got this idea from another message board (city-data.com).

The question is "What made you choose your vehicle(s)?" Usually there is a good reason why people buy the car they drive... their brother gave it to them, or for fuel mileage or because they always have owned that particular brand of auto, etc.

Since I own 4 cars, I will spread my replies over two posts. First my two oldest ones:

1966 Plymouth Fury VIP (383 V-8)...
Mainly two reasons... nostalgic and I've always wanted to own a big-block Mopar. One of my brothers owned a '66 Fury III with 318 V-8 for 22 years. I always liked the size and reliability and just the general feel of driving it. When I decided to start looking for one, I wanted to find one with a big block engine... either the 383 or the rarer 440. Quite a few for sale did have the 383 and that is what I eventually found. The 4-bbl version which I prefer over the 2-bbl. Being the top-of-the-line model, it has big and soft seats... you sink several inches in them. It also has generous amounts of chrome, inside and out- just the way I like it.

1969 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
Somewhat for nostalgic reason (my parents once owned two '69 Coupe de Villes at the same time). But more so because '69 is my favorite year for Cadillacs and the Fleetwood Brougham was the top-of-the-line, except for the limos. I chose this one because it is triple black, has leather seats and a vinyl roof and big chrome bumpers. I also like the front grille the hint of fins the taillights. And the real wood in the interior, the spacious interior and the big 472-cu-in engine which still had high compression in '69 (it was 10.5:1).

[Mugen_Ferio]

Well i drive a '99 Civic 1.6 Luxline with a few mods. I like it because ive always been a jap car fan and mre to the point a honda fan. I believe hondas are good cars, easy and inexpensive to maintain and their obviously very popular among import tuners

[Matra et Alpine]

pre-ownership ..
Not legally permitted on public roads but
Mini, Imp, Escort forest/special stage rally beasts.

Mini ... cheap rallying option with my first car
Ford Orion .. "first baby" family car that had a little bit of poke but looked the sedate family car. Ghia finish meant comfort adn gadgets adn the XR3i engine meant a bit of fn.

Ford Galaxy ... the "second baby" family car
Renault Espace ... replaced the above with somethgin much better at dongi the same job.
Renault Espace QUADRA .. adn then 4wd for also towing the horses.

IN parallel with the whole 'family transport' we had
Matra Bagheera ... coz I was a cocky 20 y/o entrepreneur who thought sexy looking car was why we set up the business

Alpine A610 ... you have to own a supercar at some time and despite spending time looking for an A110 coudl not resist the opportunity to own a BBC TV start car. Still got it.

Matra Bagheera RHD. May be a "mid life crisis" or it was falling back in love with the looks so picked one up 20 years fter the first.
Followed soon by another Bagheera LHD and then a never used, glavanized chassis from the Matra factory in Romarantin. All in verous states of restoration/transplant.

Mazda RX-8 PZ, Prodrive version. Made the mistake of getting a test drive "just for fun" while the A610 was on one of its extended off-the-road fixing-the-blown-engine(again)events. THEN hey allowed me a "Proper" test drive of the PZ and it had to be. You don't get this level of handling for the price anywhere and the engine makes me grin all the time. Costing me a fortune in fuel as it gets ragged to the redline in every gear even if only going to the shops and of course the 'Ring.

Quantum Coupe. 2 Kit cars originally for daughters and now being turned into track-toys for sprint/hillclimb and if possible full time in 'RIng. Ford XR2i gear in a lighter fibreglass monocoque gives oodles of FWD fun.

And the sportsbike for sun fun days in the Scottish highland glen roads

hmmm, must go seek psychiatric felp ... FAR too much fast, fun machinery in my life

[roosterjuicer]

1996 Chevy Suburban k1500, 350 CI vortec v8, auto, 4x4= I like to hunt, fish, and wakeboard. I also take long road trips (24hr+). Thus I need to haul lots of guns and dogs and stuff so i need a lot of room, and i need to be able to tow a boat, often for long distances. I also need a vehicle that is good off road because hunting involves lots of off roading, plus it snows a lot here. so really my only option for a vehicle is either a pickup or a large suv. i have had 2 full size gm pickups, 1 diesel and my little brother wanted to buy my last one off me and i sold it to him for what i paid for it (sucker) and I found this suburban for such an incredible deal and it was in great shape, so i had to go for it. In hindsight i probably should have just got another pickup. I miss my bed!!

2002 Camaro z28. i wanted a car with decent gas mileage as my daily driver (it gets around 18/28 which is fine for me) but that was also fun to drive, good looking, manual, fast and cheap. If you can think of another car that will do the quarter mile in the very low 13's for less than 8 grand with relatively low miles and is still reliable and gets 18/28mpg im all ears. but until then im thinkin the camaro was the best car I could get for the money for what I was looking for in a sports car....o, and I love camaros.

[NSXType-R]

Practicality.

We needed a wagon, wanted a Legacy, but only got a Forester.

Close enough, but I still would have preferred the Legacy wagon.

[Dary]

'88 Mercury Cougar. it was an extra car in our home, so i have no option. i were in love with it! you know, 16 years old boy with a rear drive coupe and 5 liters engine! that was cool.

'99 Ssangyong Musso. well.. i have no option on this car too (pity me). i really hated it! crappy noisy faulty car! the only nice thing about it, the 3.2 L MB engine.

'03 Mitsubishi Magna (current car). back in 2003, i was using the Musso, and constantly complaining about it. mom told me, ok ok, you have one week to find a new car with this budget! so i got the Magna, cheaper than the others with a little more features.

For now, i decided to spend my life saving to study again instead of buying a new decent car.

[johnnynumfiv]

'00 GMC Sierra: First off, the deal was too good to pass up. So I got it for about 3 grand under KBB value. It being an extended cab 3-door allowed to carry 5 people around if needed, 6 if there was one in the middle up front. The 4x4 helped in the winter, the ability to haul a trailer, and put a ton of stuff in the bed added to its practicality.

'06 VW GLI: I got a new job w/ a 100 mile daily commute, so I needed something that got good mileage, was comfortable, and fun. My family has had good luck with VW's so the GLI was a car that fit my needs. The interior space is nice, huge trunk for family trips so it's very practical. Mid 6's 0-60 times make it fun, the handling is awesome, and next spring I might get some autocrosses in with it.

[cmcpokey]

having apparently had almost as many cars as matra, despite being quite a bit younger, i will only cover the G.

as a mid-20s married man, with the intention to spawn, i needed a car that had a back seat, and preferably comfortable as well. after the mini, i wanted a shift to rear wheel drive, and higher horsepower. and for reasons i wont cover here, i won't drive a bmw. that knocked the list of contenders down quite a bit. i went back and forth between the G and the RX-8, but after back to back drives of the two there was really no comparison. the G has a much ballsier engine, more interior space, and a better gearbox. i also think the G is a better looking car. oh yeah, and a year old, pampered, low mileage example was a few grand cheaper than a comparably equipped new RX.

[Cobrafan427]

1990 Ford Crown Victoria LTD LX: Bought brand new by an old lady who only drove it to church and the grocery store. 16 yrs later i bought it for $1200 and it only had 90,000 miles on it. White w/ dark red vinyl top, power everything, dark red leather interior, 5.0 liter V8 engine, 155 hp. A couple very small rust spots on the wheel wells but nuthin major. I really can't complain about it, the ride is dreamy, it just floats over the bumps and it's rear wheel drive and heavy so it just bulldozes thru the snow. I have had some problems w/ it tho. Replaced a brake line, the whole exhaust system was rusted thru, had to replace a starter crank and the driver's side door lock doesn't work. It also eats oil, antifreeze, and power steering fluid. Other than that it's been pretty reliable and does the job gettin me from school to home on the holidays which is a 2 hr drive.

[Fleet 500]

A lot of varied reasons, as I figured.

Matra: I didn't realize you had so many cars!

Here are the reasons for buying my other two cars...

1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine
Reasons: As far back as the '80s, I always thought it would be fun to own a limo. I didn't seriously consider it until the late-'90s. I owned a '71 Fleetwood Brougham at the time and realized that there was nothing stopping me from seeking out a limo. It took a while (1 year and 2 months) to find just what I wanted, but I did find one. And local, too, about 8 miles from my house. I like it for several reasons... the giant size (151.5" wheelbase, 252.2" overall length- 21 feet); 9-passenger capacity; the super-smooth and quiet ride; the features such as two separate climate control systems; the power-operated glass partition window; the rear jumps seats and footrests and the rear radio controls. The huge rear compartment is very fun to ride in. One of the best cars to have a relaxing drive in.

For me, a limousine really is the last word in luxury... can't really be topped. I've owned this car since July, 1999 and I enjoy it just as much now as I did when I bought it. The only problem is I can't drive it and ride in the back at the same time!

1995 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series
Reasons: Wanted a car which I could drive for 30 or 40 miles without using too much fuel. The Town Car is a good compromise. A big luxury car which averages about 20 mpg... even more if most of the driving is on the highway or open roads. It is very quiet and has a smooth ride, more so on the highway than on surface streets.

[Spastik_Roach]

Already owned 3 cars and only 17...hah!

1983 Mitsubishi Sigma: Got it for free off my nana, was slow and much money was spent on keeping it road-worthy (despite its mint condition looks it was anything but), sold it when it started smoking like a chimney!

1995 Mitsubishi Diamante: Got it cause it looked nice and the electronic gizmos were tempting! Fast, but went through the fuel, sold cause it needed 3 or 4 new tyres and I had put a big dent in it sadly, and 5 speed tiptronic wasn't the same as a nice old manual.

1994 Honda Accord: Bought this week cause it was the best thing in the price range in my area and its been well serviced. Really happy with it so far, surprisingly peppy for a sohc non-vtec model, very comfortable and very tidy.

[Matra et Alpine]

^ didnt' think we were counting clunkers given to us to run into the ground coz they're cheap
Half of BMC production line seemed to go throguh my hands that way when I was young before I got the first Mini

[Ferrer]

The BMW because it was rear wheel drive, the Lancia because it was italian.

[Fleet 500]

Already owned 3 cars and only 17...hah!

1983 Mitsubishi Sigma: Got it for free off my nana, was slow and much money was spent on keeping it road-worthy (despite its mint condition looks it was anything but), sold it when it started smoking like a chimney!

1995 Mitsubishi Diamante: Got it cause it looked nice and the electronic gizmos were tempting! Fast, but went through the fuel, sold cause it needed 3 or 4 new tyres and I had put a big dent in it sadly, and 5 speed tiptronic wasn't the same as a nice old manual.

1994 Honda Accord: Bought this week cause it was the best thing in the price range in my area and its been well serviced. Really happy with it so far, surprisingly peppy for a sohc non-vtec model, very comfortable and very tidy.

That is certainly more than I owned at 17 years. I got my first car at the age of about 17 years and 9 months.

[Fleet 500]

The BMW because it was rear wheel drive, the Lancia because it was italian.

Well, those reasons are simple and right to the point!