Cars that speak to you

[John V]

I think a lot about cars. As busy as I've been lately with work, car projects, car parts projects, and the other things I commit to but don't have time for, I'm kind of surprised that I find time... but I do. Lately I've noticed my thoughts always drift back to specific cars, and that made me realize the cars that I'm NOT thinking about.

The cars I've owned are listed in order of ownership below. The ones I still own have a * next to them.

1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
1989 Honda Civic Si
1995 Ford Taurus SHO
1995 BMW M3
2000 Porsche Boxster S
1996 Nissan Altima
2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
1990 Mazda RX-7 GTUs
2003 BMW 330i ZHP
2002 BMW 330Ci*
2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD*
1987 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
2011 Porsche Boxster S*
2005 BMW 330Ci

What is it about certain cars that imprint so strongly on our psyche? The RX-7 was my first car, the first thing that I spent my own money on. It was broken more than it ran and when it did run it was neither fast nor efficient. It was, you'd say, a bad car. But it had personality. It was always surrounded by the wonderful aroma of un-burned hydrocarbons. It had comfortable seats. It carried me to and from college year after year and accepted all the abuse a 16-20 year old could dish out. It seemingly begged me to run the tach up until it sounded the over-rev buzzer. And I don't care what anybody says, I love the sound of a turbocharged rotary.

My M3 was my first really good car. Maybe the first really good car I'd ever driven. It was love at first drive, and was the only car I've ever owned that truly lived up to my unrealistic expectations. I remember reading Car and Driver's effusive praise of the E36 M3 in my senior year of high school and thinking I'd have to drive one some day. The tactile nature of that car was like nothing I'd experienced, and I don't think BMW has yet made a better-sounding engine than the S50 inline-6 (sorry, S65). Mine was a very low-mile example when I bought it from the first owner, and it still smelled new, with that weird BMW aroma of crayons and leather. The E36 has a bad reputation for build quality and long-term durability, but mine was a sweetheart. Not many like that exist anymore.

There are some good cars in the rest of that list. My ZHP was arguably a better car than my M3, but the M54 engine lacked character and vigor. The chassis lacked the precision and playfulness of the M3. It was a good car, but I don't miss it tremendously. Whereas my M3 always sounded and felt faster than it really was, my ZHP always felt slower than it really was. There's something less fun about that.

My Z06 was, on paper, the best out of all of them. It had a reasonably spacious cabin. Plenty of room for road trips. A trustworthy chassis, lacking feel but ultimately extraordinarily capable and with seemingly endless grip. And the engine... oh my. The LS6 that pops and crackles between every shift, not from gimmicky programming but from a fat camshaft and mufflers that were just barely so. A bolt-action shifter. But I don't miss it. I had my fun with it, and moved on with life.

The Civic? Fun, but too slow. The SHO? A tire destroyer, and fun in its own way, but no. The 986 Boxster? When I sold it I never thought about it again... I was always wanting more from that car, and the 987 filled that bill perfectly.

I'm not sure the point of this post, other than to remind myself that nostalgia is a hell of a drug. It would almost be easier if my childhood lust for Ferraris and NSXs and Turbo Porsches had continued into adulthood, but it didn't. So please excuse me while I go back to surfing autotrader for E36 M3s and old RX-7s.

[clyde]

Can't type out list of cars I've owned, but I still think about my Fox body 5.0s. The '69 Corvette. The Q45. The RX-8. The Buicks, but not in good ways at all. I thought about my brother's SHO the other day that I drove a lot in the year he had it (which was not long after it was built), taking more than a few multi-day long driving trips, but had not really thought about it in years.

The most indelible impression of any car was the 2005(?) Ford GT and I only had a brief drive.

But I don't think cars speak to me universally. I think they speak to at the time. Maybe that's the nostalgia piece. The itches I need to scratch right now are of qualities, not embodiments of them. I want torque without torque steer. I want feel good V8 noises. I want enough tire.

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by John V

nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

Yes sir it is. Memory lane is fun!

My ZHP was arguably a better car than my M3, but the M54 engine lacked character and vigor. The chassis lacked the precision and playfulness of the M3. It was a good car, but I don't miss it tremendously. Whereas my M3 always sounded and felt faster than it really was, my ZHP always felt slower than it really was. There's something less fun about that.

I remember back when I first got my E46 and everyone in the forums was shitting all over it and raving about the E36 M3. I went and test drove them a couple times and every time I left not feeling the love. It was different and nice in many ways, but it felt dated, flexy and rattly... and not all that much faster.

Not that there's anything wrong with dated, flexy or rattly. But if I'm willing to accept those compromises then it opens the door much wider. Why not just buy a sports car instead?

A 3-series is a frigging family sedan, not a sports car. To me there's something strange about a luxury sedan with a stiff suspension and loud exhaust. To me the E46 330 is more authentic and owns what it was designed to be more than a E36 M3, or even an E46 M3. And for whatever reason, in my bizarre brain that scores a lot of points.

EDIT: This is also what kept me out of the M2. I couldn't wrap my head around the dual personality. Loud exhaust, stiff suspension... in a luxury coupe. Given those characteristics I'd rather have the real thing - so I bought a Cayman.

EDIT 2: I'm not poo-poo'ing anyone else's preferences. Just trying to elaborate on "cars that speak to me" and try to figure out why.

[ff]

I've owned a few, but my clear favorite is the S2000. Ironically, the qualities of that car that made it destined not to survive beyond one product cycle (simple, no-frills, and involving to drive), are the qualities that I liked most about it. I guess the rest of the car-buying public just doesn't get it.

[bren]

Lately my cars seem to be saying "F U" to me. :/

[FC]

I've liked all my cars in one way or another. I'd have to say the 987S was my favorite as far as driving nirvana, but I probably had the most attachment to the ZHP. Just too many firsts (first new car, first MT car, first performance car, first ED, etc).

The Turbo is definitely memorable and an awesome experience to own and drive. The Miata, surprisingly, is a car I'm loving more and more. It fulfills it role perfectly. I could say the same of the LR4. I've had it for 3.5 years now and I could still see myself owning it for 10+ years.

[Plaz]

I haven't owned as many as most of you, but I'd say the three that stay in my mind are my '85 CRX, my '02 E46 330i, and of course my current '11 1M.

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by bren

Lately my cars seem to be saying "F U" to me. :/

[John V]

Originally Posted by rumatt

I remember back when I first got my E46 and everyone in the forums was shitting all over it and raving about the E36 M3. I went and test drove them a couple times and every time I left not feeling the love. It was different and nice in many ways, but it felt dated, flexy and rattly... and not all that much faster.

You're not wrong. The E46 is a better car. And neither the E46 nor the E36 (nor the E90) are sports cars.

What the E36 represents to me is a fairly visceral and engaging multitasker. I think Josh has called the 3-series "The Ultimate Compromise Machine." You have an E46 and a Cayman so you don't need one car to try to be both a practical daily car and a sports car. When I was thinking about cars in 2002 I needed something that could do everything - fun daily driver, enough room for road trips, reasonably efficient, and affordable - and the E36 fit that bill. The closest "new" thing that exists to that in my mind is (was) the RX-8, and I probably would own one if (ironically) it didn't have a rotary. The GTI is close as well, but ... FWD. Boo.

Bad E36s are pretty bad, as you say they can be creaky and rattly. Good E36s are really pretty good.

[Biggins]

Being probably the youngest one on here, I missed most of the pre 90s cars. I still enjoy the FR-S and don’t plan to sell it, but I’m one who holds onto cars.

The 1-series BMW is probably a car I will need to own. I drove a diesel hatch version briefly in Europe over a decade ago, and it’s a car I still want to own. However, I spoke with a couple guys from VA Beach who autocross one, and all the “care” that car needs has had me second guessing getting one.

The next two cars on my list are an E36 Touring and an old 2002, but I have to wait a couple more years to import the wagon and affordable 2002s don’t seem show up anymore. If I don’t get anything else fun in the next few years, I will seriously consider these options. I’m always looking for unique BMWs though.

My tastes usually differ from what my attainable budget allows, so that has always led me more to Japanese cars, but I find myself regularly checking classifieds for: Nissan 240SX/300ZX/350Z, Honda Civic Si/S2000, Lexus IS F, Mazda RX7/8, Acura NSX, Toyota MR2/Supra. I guess it would really be all of the “Fast and Furious/Gran Turismo” era cars… except Subarus, never loved Subarus (I realize the irony of my FR-S).