Originally Posted by BADRACR1
To be honest, I have owned 248 cars and a dozen bikes. Some for just a week or two, and others for several years. Picking a "best" is near impossible. I like different ones for different reasons, but I'll give it a shot.
Handling = the Corvettes, hands down. I really enjoy driving them. The current one is a '94 vert that turned 80k yesterday. I drive autos now (thanks to age, gout and arthritis) but I did have two Z51's with sticks. Just a lot of fun to drive.
Ride = the Eldorados. I had Coupe DeVilles, Sedan DeVilles and Eldorados. Ihave had three Eldos, a '75 and two '98's. I sold a '98 last year that I had for a year and only had 34k on it when it left. Fast, beautiful and smooth.
Speed Performance = Two. First was a '69 Galaxie XL equipped with a modded 429,C6 and a 2.80 geared nine inch. A sled, but from a rolling start it was unreal. I bet a guy a hundred bucks once I could get a hundred mph out of second. Got 113 before it redlined and collected my funds. No idea what top end was, but I did get ticketed once by the GSP at 137 mph. Kept it thirteen years.
Second was a '76 RoadRunner. Yes, it was a Volare, but there was nothing in the driveline that was still stock. Factory 318 2v, 2.76 gears and a whopping 140hp. Mine had a '72 340 with W2 heads, Comp Cams 292 cam, Holley intake and carb, Hooker headers, Direct Connection ignition system, B&M modded 904 auto and a 8.25 Gran Fury Police car rear axle with 3.55 Custom Driveline gears and a Spicer driveshaft. A freakin' ball to drive and a great sleeper. Only car I ever entered in a car show. Took Best in Class at the '97 Walter P Chrysler Southeast Regionals, and I put 52 miles a day on her. Had it six years.
Loved both of these cars.
Truck = Two. I had a '72 Dodge Adventurer with a modded 360 auto. When sold it only had 120k on it. A friend still has it. Pass everything but a gas station and looked bone stock down to the dog dish hubcaps.
The current '08 F150. Auto, 4.6 with a tow package. Not very quick but will pull anything hooked to it and is rock solid dependable. Currently a little over 150k and all I have done is a radiator and it needs a ps line.
Dependability = Two. 2001 Infinity I30. Had a half dozen Maximas and I30 series but it was my fave. I kept it five years, and my son has had it the last three. Rode good, decent mpg, reasonably quick, handled good. Great driver. Only let it go because at the time I had six cars and my son needed something I knew he could depend on.
1997 Thunderbird LX. I had over a dozen Tbirds and six Cougars of the '89/'97 style. Independent rear suspension so they rode good and handled quite well for a big car. The v8's (5.0 or 4.6) felt smooth and powerful while being dependable and decent performers with a few mods. The last I had was Moonlight Blue and one of the last two hundred produced. I drove it for six years. It's in Knoxville now. Sold it in 2017 with 75k miles.
Economy = No idea. Most I never even checked. I had a couple that did get great mpg. A couple of VW's ('66 and '68 real ones), '73 Opel Manta, '85 CRX, a few little Toyotas and Nissans.
Currently have the '08 F150, '94 Vette vert. Wife has a '10 Murano with 200k and a '13 Murano with 103k. The 2010 has had the alternator, front wheel hub assemblies and compressor replaced. Other than that just regular maintenence performed. Not bad for 200k.
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