Cars that speak to you

[equ]

Cars that have "spoken to me":

OWNED

* 2000 Audi A4 2.8q 5-speed: my first nice car, bought when I was 27 and single, lots of memories, ski trips, etc. Bought new, owned for 4+ years.

* 2001 Porsche 911 C2: my first sports car, the steering truly spoke to me, so very direct. The suspension beat me up. Aerokit lapis blue. Lots of attention even in NYC. Owned for a summer. Decided it was not practical enough for an only car (should've kept the a4, but I thought differently back then and limited myself to one).

* 2004 BMW 330Ci & 2003 330i ZHP's. These were awesome all-around for the day and my driving abilities, where I was much closer to max'ing them out both in a straight-line and occasionally on turns. Very balanced, great on highways. The coupe was leased. Imola/Natural Brown had to go (long story) so I swapped the lease and bought the Orient Blue/Cloth sedan.

* 2006 Porsche Cayman S: Sold the Orient ZHP for this car. Atlas gray, very low option, bought new. Owned for 5+ years. First real commitment to porsche and enjoyed it greatly with no headaches. Car had no actual faults, at all, other than a trunk adjust here and a slight noise there. This is when I started owning more than one car at the same time.

Those were an e39 528i, b6 s4 avant and finally an e90 330xi. All three were good cars and relieved the cayman for the winter. None really spoke to me, nor did they need to.

* 2006 BMW 330i ZSP: Even as a daily/winter, this car spoke to me. I had tons of fun and connection that I never had with the same year 330xi.

Sold the 330i rwd after a particularly difficult winter for the b8 a4 (bought new). The a4, I had for 4+ years, but it never spoke to me. The x5 diesel that replaced it was a total fail. The 2011 335xi lemans blue, kind of spoke, but the front suspension still ruined things a bit (and overall level of grip). That was replaced by a b8.5 s4 (bought new) which also failed a bit (as well as the red getting to me). I should never buy a red car again, although I continually get attracted to them.

* 2011 Porsche Cayman S - Very much so. More than a 997.2 (2010) Carrera or a 2016 GT4 (go figure!)

* 2001 BMW M3 (e46): Flawed but speaks to me at times. It must as I'm at 4+ years. Still don't like the stock suspension/handling. Great rear grip, funny front end and a little lacking in feel for a hydraulic. Weighting is perfect. With SSK, shifting and stoc clutch are excellent. Engine sounds great with an exhaust. Laguna Seca makes it for me. So it does speak, but not like a porsche because turns are just not as fun.

* 2013 Boxster S - Still a bit overly modern, too many toys in the interior. But the sound, feel and driving is first rate. Awesome and it continues to excel. Not one issue.

The f10 535i doesn't speak to me. I do like the mk7 GTI Perf Pack 6-speed, APR Stg 1. It's not mine, but it's great when I drive it.

TEST DRIVES - WISHES:


* s2000 : again and again. I just loved this car in 2006 and it was a close second to the cayman. Just didn't want a convertible at the time. The z4 or the miata cannot touch it.

* aston vantage v8: sort of like a not much faster but better looking and figured out e46 m3 with only 2-seats. The balanced feel & steering, revvy v8 definitely spoke to me

* subaru brz: this was an awesome car, baby base cayman, great in turns, slow and unsatisfying on a straight.

* e36 m3/rx-8: never owned these cars, but always enjoyed driving them. I wasn't into cars until about 2004.

CONCLUSIONS

I do love manuals and relatively simple interiors, and my choices are getting fewer and far in between. I could go into audi, bmw, porsche dealerships 8 to 12 years ago and be excited, those times are passing. I love the 981S, but I do miss certain aspects of the 987 (simpler interior, steering feel) this is made up for by better brakes, more front grip, better long distance.

I am running out of break time, so to be continued on conclusions...

[equ]

I drove an aging 1st gen Jeep GC near a Maine beach a few years back. Perhaps it was the surroundings, friends, etc, but I kind of liked it. Straight-six, not oversized, decent steering feel for an SUV.

[blee]

Hmm, cars I've owned (as the primary driver):

1987 Oldsmobile Calais (parents)
2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
1999 BMW M3
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee
1988 BMW M3
2004 Ford SVT Focus
1992 BMW 525i
2007 Saturn Aura XR (inherited)
2011 Chevy Silverado (still have it)
2003 BMW M3 (still have it)

Most of these cars spent a short amount of time with me; in fact, the Silverado is the first one to pass five years of ownership. And only three of them were bought new.

I've always been a gearhead, but I think my uber-frequent car trading was a sort of self-therapy for being miserable at work before I quit. It was pretty stupidly expensive to do that, but on the flip side, I've owned some pretty cool cars. Favorites include...well, you know already. I've liked them all, though, and my reminiscence of each one brings with it the memories of that period of my life -- some much more pleasant than others.

[Alan]

Now this is a cool thread ... I've had 37 cars not including the one's I've purchased for my wife and kids and to think of the favorites is tough ...

Like John I love the Rx's having had 3 of them ... there is nothing like them, also LOVE LOVE LOVE the Corvettes (had 4) !!

If I had to pick my 'past' favorite cars ever it would be my 85 RX7 GSL-SE, 91 MR 2 turbo and my 2006 Corvette coupe ... all purchased new and was in love with all of them.

Currently love the present 991s and R8 !!!

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by AF

Now this is a cool thread ... I've had 37 cars not including the one's I've purchased for my wife and kids

Holy shit man, that's incredible.

[Terri Kennedy]

Originally Posted by Jeff_DML

http://bringatrailer.com/2017/05/09/...uring-5-speed/

Originally Posted by BaT

There’s only one interior shot, but leather on the driver’s side doesn’t look too bad–that said, we can’t see the upper bolster very well.

That's because it is leatherette, not leather. No cold weather package or PDC, either. Someone went through the [large] effort to order an Individual car and then didn't option it up.

The rub strips on the sides and bumper are a nice standard feature of the E46, but you really need a dark exterior color for them to not look out of place.

I think my wagon's title of "highest-optioned E46 325xiT ever sold in the US" is safe.

[FC]

Originally Posted by rumatt

Holy shit man, that's incredible.

Damn.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by rumatt

Holy shit man, that's incredible.

Originally Posted by FC

Damn.

It just makes me realize how old I'm getting

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by AF

It just makes me realize how old I'm getting

I'm conscious of the fact that my current car is probably one of the last--if not the last--sporty cars I may own. I can't see myself still bumping around on sport suspensions in my '60s. But who knows?

[lemming]

Cars that spoke/speak:
1999 M3
2000 M Coupe
2004 STi
2004 Z06
1991 MX5
2009 987 S
2004 C4S
2013 M3
2008 R56 S
2009 MX5
1985 Carrera 3.2

Cars that made me shrug:
C6 Z06
1998 C2S
1998 SAAB 9-3 SE
1998 Volvo S70T5
2005 Legacy GT 5spd
2011 135i
2008 WRX
2011 G37
1997 VW GTI VR6
1998 VW Jetta GLX

Did not include any SUVs or station wagons for obvious reasons.