Car List

I’m a bit of a car guy, as many of you may know. I’ve owned quite a few cars over the years and have “lusted” over others. For a long time now, I’ve wanted to compile a couple of car lists. The first being a list of cars that I’ve owned that I still wish I had. Mixed in with that a “best of / worst of” list, again for the cars I’ve owned. The other list is my dream list. That could be a very long list! I thought I’d tackle the cars I’ve owned list today.

In no particular order, here are the cars I wish I still had.

• 1972 Chevy Monte Carlo – This one needed a bit of work but was a blast to drive and probably my favorite year for the model.
• 1969 Mustang Mach 1 – 4 speed with the 351 HiPo and the rear spoiler. This car was a ton of fun, especially for someone in high school!
• 1984 GTI – I loved the style, still do. It was quick for its day and handled very well. A great trip car as well!
• 1996 Ford Probe GT – The color was blue but looked purple in certain light. That V6 was a special engine and wow did it handle! On top of that, I could easily fit my mountain bike in the back.

• 2002 Miata SE – This was the dark grey one with the brown interior. This is still my favorite Miata, style wise. All the typical Miata qualities.
• 2004 Honda Civic SI – Another hot hatch! I loved the shifter coming out of the dash, the interior with the red stitching and the shape. It did everything well.

• 2001 BMW 330ci – In my eyes, the most beautiful modern coupe ever made. Thousand mile days were nothing, a wonder of an engine and handling! The shifter though, one of the worst (5 speed manual).

• 2004 Honda S2000 – In yellow, my favorite color for the car. Legendary performance and handling. To really feel what it could do though, you had to have the engine above 6000 rpm. It danced on the curves!

• 2006 Porsche Boxster – This one I still have. Everything you’ve read about how good a Boxster is, well it’s true.
• 2018 Subaru Impreza Sport – This one may seem odd on this list as it isn’t fast and handles ok but, there was something special about this car. Lots of character. It did everything well and was just a lot of fun and very practical. More power and tighten up the suspension and it may have been perfect.

Not a huge list but they were all great cars! Now some of the best and worst of the cars I’ve owned.

• Best engine: Tie between the Probe GT, BMW 330 and the Boxster. Honorable mention goes to the S2000 and Honda CR-Z. Two of the best four cylinder engines I’ve ever driven. One more, the 16v engine in the 1988 Scirocco. It was a genuinely fast car and that engine sounded good and was very smooth. The Jetta GLI I owned had the same engine but it just wasn’t the same as the one in the Scirocco. I wasn’t a fan of the second generation Scirocco body style having owned two of the first generation. I would have loved to put this engine in one of those or even better, the GTI!
• Best Handling: The Boxster followed closely by the S2000. The Boxster is sublime. It is a precision tool that is telepathic. Honorable mentions goes to the Probe GT, Miata and BMW 330ci.
• Best shifter: Pick one of the Hondas or Miatas. All were great! Next is the Porsche, Impreza and Mach 1.
• Worst Shifter: BMW 330ci. It just didn’t fit the rest of the car from a precision standpoint.
• Best Milage: Honda CRV – 48mpg
• Worst Mileage: Probably the Mach 1 or maybe the Ford F250 with a 460 or the Dodge Ram 2500 with the V10, especially pulling a trailer.
• Most Fun: The Boxster and S2000. Honorable mentions: 330, GTI, SI, Miatas, Probe GT, all Spiders and finally the Impreza.
• Least reliable: 1978 Saab EMS – It literally fell apart as I drove it!
• Most Versatile: The Subaru Outback Touring. They could go out in the evening, hit a four wheel drive road in the morning, haul most anything and get good mileage to boot! The four cylinder engine was woefully under powered though. Honorable mention goes to all the minivans and the couple of Suburbans I’ve owned as well.
• Best and Worst Seats: The 1984 GTI, BMW 330ci (once adjusted), The S2000 and Civic SI all stick out in my mind as having great seats. The worst, 2020 Audi Q5 or the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The Saab EMS also had great seats until the passenger seat bottom collapsed while someone was in it!
• Crazy Cars: 1973 Vega with a 327 small block in it. Fun but the whole car would twist when you got on it. Also, a 1968 Jeep CJ5. I rewired the entire thing. A dead simple car that was the most unstable thing I ever drove above 50 mph.
• Convertibles: I’ve owned two Fiat 124 Spiders, a 1973 Alfa Romeo Spider, two Miatas, two Porsche Boxsters and the S2000. Also a Fiat X1/9 which had a targa top. I restored the Alpha and Fiats. Easy to work on and all a ball to drive! The Alpha being the best. The X1/9 was the most frustrating as it was the only failed restoration I owned. Ended up donating it. My last restoration as well.
• Best Looking: S2000, BMW 330ci, Scirocco followed by the GTI, Civic SI, Impreza Sport, Boxster, Miata, Fiats and Alpha Spiders, Monte Carlo, Mach 1 (in no particular order) and so on.

Enough of lists! I’ve thought long and hard about the question “if I could only pick one” and have several answers. First, the Civic SI. It was one of the few cars I was emotionally attached to – saw me through some hard times plus it was just a great car. Second would be the S2000 followed closely by the BMW 330. Give the BMW the S2000 shifter and they would flip in order. Maybe. Just give me both! Finally the Impreza. There was just something fun about that car. Well, that 1984 GTI was pretty special as well! Since I still have a Boxster, it’s not on the list.

A lot of cars, I know! I’m sure I forgot something and the fog of time has clouded my memory a bit. What’s most important though isn’t necessarily the car but the journeys the car takes you on! A lot of these cars were special because of those journeys from cross country drives to weekend joy rides to a couple hour dash on a curvy road in beautiful country. All of it combined is what has made these cars so special! What cars and journeys are on your list?