Favourite cars

[BluebottleFlyer]

Anybody got any cars they particularly like, even if they've never driven in that car before, or if they've just driven it in a game? Mine is the Nissan Skyline, great car to drive in Gran Turismo 2/3.

[pitbulllady]

Originally Posted by BluebottleFlyer

Anybody got any cars they particularly like, even if they've never driven in that car before, or if they've just driven it in a game? Mine is the Nissan Skyline, great car to drive in Gran Turismo 2/3.

Man, I was wondering when somebody would start a thread like this!
I'm a HUGE fan of Classic automobiles, but my favorites, by far, are Studebakers. I'm a member of both the International and Palmetto(South Carolina)chapters of the Studebaker Drivers Club, who are dedicated to keeping as many of these cars and trucks on the road as possible. I've currently got two Studes, a 1951 Champion(the famed "bullet-nosed" cars)sedan, and a 1961 Lark VIII Cruiser, which has become my other daily driving car. I'm getting the '51 repainted soon, since I don't like the color, and will probably go with a Studebaker "official" color called "Black Cherry", which is a really, really dark maroon, so dark that it looks black in low light. Here's some pics of my rides"
First, the '51 Champion:




Next, the '61 Lark Cruiser:




This Cruiser is one of only two like it known to still be on the road; Studebaker made a very small number of Lark VIII Cruisers with the 289 V-8 engines in them, and less than half of those had automatic transmission, like mine. Of those, only two are known to have survived from 1961 to the current day. The color of this car is not original, but is a color used only on the "Golden Hawk" like of Studebaker cars, which were a very FAST luxury car of the day. The seats have been re-covered, and there is an after-market under-dash AC unit, as well as a modern AM-FM/CD four-speaker stereo system, but other than that, the car is completely original. I'm currently putting polyurethane shells in the wheel wells to prevent rust, and having some minor paint chips repaired.

If I could have ANY Studebakers I wanted, though, it would be a 1958 Hawk, a 1960 GT Hawk(the ones with the big tailfins, like the "Batmobile"), a 1955 President Speedster(with a speedometer that goes up to 160-how often do you see THAT in cars nowadays?), or a 1949 R10 Pickup.

pitbulllady

[Partymember]

OMG PBL, those are great!

I personally am fond on AMC Eagle Station Wagons, but they're not too reliable. Apparently they're a hodge podge of different brands of parts put into one body. You still see a few on the road, though. El Caminos are nice, but i really like Jeeps. I want an old Willy's to paint OD green with a white star on the hood. Callit my "America-mobile". A Jeep wagon would be great, too.

oh, and Unimogs

[AerostarMonk]

This may be disappointing to you Partymember, but they are tearing down the old Willys plant. As you may already know Willys Overland was headquarted in Toledo, Ohio, my hometown. They've been tearing down the plant for months now. I'm kinda sad, I remember the smokestacks from my childhood.

We still make Jeeps at the plant on the north end, but it's just not the same.

[pitbulllady]

Originally Posted by Partymember

OMG PBL, those are great!

I personally am fond on AMC Eagle Station Wagons, but they're not too reliable. Apparently they're a hodge podge of different brands of parts put into one body. You still see a few on the road, though. El Caminos are nice, but i really like Jeeps. I want an old Willy's to paint OD green with a white star on the hood. Callit my "America-mobile". A Jeep wagon would be great, too.

oh, and Unimogs

Willys was one of the cars I looked into before getting the Studebakers. My great-grandfather was really into Willys cars and trucks, and I can still remember a '53 Willys car he had. I've also looked into Henry J. cars, since my father drove one of those to college. Those were some really good, reliable, and fuel-efficient cars, too, along with the Studes, and people could order them from the Sears & Roebuck catalog! They also looked good-very modern and sleek in comparison with most of the cars from the early '50's. Willys cars and Henry J.'s and Kaisers are pretty hard to find, though, except those that have been completey turned into "rat rods" and hot rods, with modern high-performance engines and interiors, etc., so that the body style is really all that's left of the original car. One of the great things about Studes is that there are still a lot of 'em around, with the orignal engines, etc., and parts are still readily available for these, so it's not that different from a modern car in terms of finding stuff for one. The Studes were known for their fuel-efficiency, even way back in the day when gasoline retailed for nineteen cents per gallon, and nobody ever thought about things like "greenhouse" emissions and the effect on the environment. The old "flathead six" engines that the Studebaker was famous for actually produced FEWER greenhouse gas emissions than a modern car with all that anti-pollution stuff on the engine, because they burned fuel much more efficiently in the first place. And of course, they got almost 40 miles per gallon, too!

pitbulllady

[Jabberwocky]

Punch buggies are cuuuuute!


I've always wanted to drive one of those vans with hippie insignias all over them.

[AerostarMonk]

I would love to get ahold of a Tucker Torpedo myself, when it comes to fuel efficiency. Also, I would love to have that cyclops eye. Like PBL's Stude it's also known for its flat 6. These cars are beautiful. And the Tuckermatic transmission is a must!

Another must have of mine, which is a lot more attainable, is the DMC-12. Probably one of the most famous cars in the world. When this baby hits 88, the greatest things happen. If you have the right equipment that that is. The stainless steel skin, the gull-wing doors, the DMC-12 by De Lorean is a real beaut.

[frankie_fan]

If I could have any car, it would be between the Mini Cooper S (from The Italian Job remake) and the Shelby Cobra GT-500 (from Gunsmith Cats)!

[Tonya]

I like them 1950's Cadillacs. Sooo pretty!

[pitbulllady]

Originally Posted by Tonya

I like them 1950's Cadillacs. Sooo pretty!

Yeay, a '59 Caddy IS pretty tough to beat in the Good Looks Dept.! I actually know where there is one for sale nearby; the interior is already restored, but it is in need of some paint. I can't find any rust-throughs on it, though, and that is very unusual for a car of this age. What worries me, though, is that the engine block may be cracked, since there is an awful lot of oil underneath it, indicating a MAJOR oil leak from the engine, and that is not a good thing! It could just be that all the gaskets and seals are shot, especially if they haven't been replaced, but the engine could surely use a re-build, in any case. Those things got lousy gas mileage, though-eight miles per gallon was typical, so I'll keep my Studebakers and pass on by the gas pump a bit more often! Even my Lark V-8 does a lot better than that on gas!

pitbulllady