What do you drive and why?

Acura TL, 2004, 6spd, Brembo Brakes, 50,000 miles, paid off many years ago. 
Purchased new, not ONE single problem since new, EVER !!!

Rolls Royce Black Badge

Audi A8, 4,2 V8, because it is Great car
BMW 3,325i V6 Convertible because it is nice car

Daily: 2004 Ford Exploder. It was free, and enabled me to ditch my Dodge Intrepid which didn’t have 4WD. I live in the Northern Pocono area of PA and it gets "interesting" here at certain times of the year.

Fun: 2013 BMW M6. I used to be a client advisor at one of New Jersey’s largest BMW centers in the CPO department, and had the opportunity to test drive everything in the stable, against trade-ins from just about every manufacturer you can imagine. I find the balance of performance, comfort, build quality, and of course styling, to be the right balance for me.  And it doesn't hurt that the car has the B&O sound system.  ;-)

2018 Toyota Camry LE Hybrid. My favorite car ever. Drives really nice and averages 45 MPG City/Hwy. Book says it should do 51/53 but the heck with it, I love it!

Daily driver: 2015 VW GTI Autobahn w/ MT, for all the reasons previously stated.  IMHO it has one of the nicest interiors at any price.  I used to have an original MK1 back in the day.  Traded it at the beginning of my Porsche addiction back in 1986.  For fun (well actually both cars are fun): 2014 Porsche Cayman S w/ MT.  We love our MT cars.  The other half has a unicorn, 2008 Lexus IS250 w/ MT!  When we bought the car she told the dealer "Well this is nice, but do you have any other color?".  His reply, "Ma'am, if you want an automatic I have fifty cars you can choose from.  If you want a stick, this is it."  I don't believe I have ever seen another one.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt Premier
because it gives me 240 miles for $4 and it is faster than any gas car

I have owned 72 cars in my life (so far, I am 63). I bought my first car when I was 14. Before 2006 I never owned a car newer than 1972. I have NEVER bought a car from a dealer. I have owned 1956-66 Thunderbirds. I have owned Galaxies, Falcons, Mustangs, Fairlanes. Mercury Monterey. Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants. I have owned Pontiac Le Mans Catalina, Chevy Malibus, Buick Skylarks, Rivieras, Electras, Wildcats and Gran Sports, and a couple of GMC pickups. After 2006 I stopped buying classic cars. I have mostly owned 1990s and early 2000s GM cars, such as Cadillac DeVille, Eldorado and Fleetwood. Oldsmobile Aurora and Buick Riviera since 2006.

All that to get to this: I currently own two 1994 Buick Roadmaster Limiteds and one 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. Why? along with the 3 previously and recently owned 1994-1996 Cadillac Fleetwoods, they are the BEST cars I have ever owned or driven. With only minor improvements to the suspension, (stiffer shocks and larger anti-sway bars) they handle very well, they are very comfortable, they have plenty of power, they are quiet (especially the Fleetwoods) you can carry 5 dead people in the trunk (ha ha), and they get 22-25 mpg on the highway 15-20 around town. I buy cars to cover 1000 miles a day on a vacation. I do buy cars for reasons such as "easy to park" "get great fuel economy" "have cup holders" "go off-road" "have blue tooth and other silly gadgets" "have lane drift warnings" "will brake for me if I am not paying attention" (Heck I have even driven my 1956 and 57 T-Birds on 5000 mile round trips, as I have done with most of my cars). Well you get the drift.

I have driven plenty, but have never owned a foreign car. (Having driven them is the reason I have never owned, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Toyota, Subaru, Kia, Nissan, Audi, and Honda). NOTHING rides like a GM rear wheel drive, V8). 

Oh, I forgot to mention, I restored many of the 1972 and earlier cars myself, some total body off frame restorations. And what I mean by "myself" is I did not pay for anyone else to do it except for seats, chrome and machining.   And I ALWAYS have a tool box in the trunk, especially on long trips.  The cars from the 90s and early 00s, do not need restoring, but I have done some upgrades to most of them to suit my tastes. I do maintain them myself of course. 

2016 BMW X3. Quiet, with Harmon Kardon audio system. Tows my little sailboat, and runs 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Happy grandpa.

14 Porsche Turbo S

2000 Buell, stage III motor, rear sets , Ohlins, clipons .   2000 HD Road King , stage I motor , apes , no fairing . 1997 Ford F-150 Lariat ( not a scratch ) was my fathers . 2012 Subaru Impreza . 2014 VW TDI . New GMC 2500 Duramax this fall ( courtesy of upcoming Social Security ) .

Red 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo, manual 5 speed.  Saw the red 944 in the movie 16 Candles, and was hooked.  Bought it in 1994, and it still looks and drives like new.
Black 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena, manual 6 speed.  Made the mistake of driving a 458 on a track at an exotic car experience.  Couldn’t afford one, but a used 360 was in my price range.  Beautiful and fun car to drive, especially with the gated manual shift.  Of course i’ve upgraded the stereos in both cars, because good sounding music is my drug of choice!
I am blessed and very fortunate.  You only live once, work smart, and play hard!

Red 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo, manual 5 speed.  Saw the red 944 in the movie 16 Candles, and was hooked.  Bought it in 1994, and it still looks and drives like new.
Black 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena, manual 6 speed.  Made the mistake of driving a 458 on a track at an exotic car experience.  Couldn’t afford one, but a used 360 was in my price range.  Beautiful and fun car to drive, especially with the gated manual shift.  Of course i’ve upgraded the stereos in both cars, because good sounding music is my drug of choice!
I am blessed and very fortunate.  You only live once, work smart, and play hard!

2017 Porsche Macan S
2003 Infiniti G35 coupe - 207,000 miles. I can't bear to part with it because it's still a lot of fun.

Triumph motorcycle or a bare bones Ford pick up. 

I like sports cars and have been driving them for decades. Recently sold examples - Jensen CV8 (sixpack big block Chrysler), Fiero GT with 300 bhp custom turbo engine, Lamborghini Islero S, MGC (straight 6 MGB lookalike).

Current fleet:

Pontiac Solstice coupe - tuned to 375 bhp out of a 2 litre engine

BMW Z4M coupe - because I love the naturally aspirated straight six when it gets up around the 7900 rpm red line

Jensen Interceptor - because you need a gentleman’s carriage that will cruise at triple digit speeds all day (even if there aren’t any roads available to do that any more), and the big block Chrysler offers effortless high speed capability

1962 MGA coupe - because they represent a styling period we’ll never see again

1956 MGA with Fiberfab Jamaican rebody and GM 3.4 V6 with 5 speed transplant

and although I no longer race it, my old race car, a 1958 MGA Twin Cam roadster

And if I need to haul stuff, I can always borrow my wife’s Mazda 3.

F350, crewcab, dually, diesel.  It's so big that it came with its own zip code...

Flapjack and falconquest,
Thanks for the heads up on the Subaru and specifically Forester problems. I will keep an eye on those issues and some other ones I have heard about. I have had two Hondas and one Toyota and really like those brands as well. I think it can be helpful to share stories and experiences about cars without bickering.... such sharing can be useful.

Always check the ground wires on the older subarus. Always change the batteries out due to a lightweight level of alternator assist.

What happens is that the revs drop, the car draws from the battery instead of the alternator, so every drop to idle is like a start cycle pressure on the battery. This causes premature wear on the battery.

the not perfect ground wiring, combined with the pressure on the now weak battery/flow system... causes a electrical potential differential to arise in the antifreeze and causes a shift in it’s ph.

It’s a wet sump motor type, so it is always sitting in it’s fluids. The altered pH of the anti-freeze will begin to dissolve the seals.

also, the slight bit of slippage of carbon (burnt fuel) around the rings will change the acidity of the oil, and the engine, unlike most others out there, sits in it’s oil, when not operating. So the oil goes acidic, like all oil does in time, and then you get the oil eating it’s seals. In this case, it eats the lower half of the head gaskets. (where the sitting oil contacts it)

So, check grounds, change batteries, make sure idle is good, and change oil as often as the maintenance schedule asks you to.

The motor is fundamentally air rated, so it’s not all bad. But air rated engines need to survive in the air and have severe maintenance schedules and testing, not sit around and be essentially ignored.... and do 300k miles over 10 years, like in a car.

2psyop, *G* Meant to amuse while informing... ;)

Yeah, that Lotus IS major over caffeinated.  But that IS kind of the point; I've always preferred 'uphill charges' to downhills since one can control speed & acceleration with throttle. Too easy to 'overcook' on a downhill...

geoffkait, yeah, well...  It was the price one paid in that era for something other that was nimble and quick.  I know a guy back in SF that owned a Norton that didn't leak oil.  'Course, he was German by extraction and one fastidious mechanic.  If it could get Permatex'd shut, he did.
I owned a Spitfire for awhile, it's worse habit was bending a pushrod from time to time.  But it was actually nice to work on; tip the hood assembly forward, sit on the front tire, and fiddle with the whatever.

One thing I wish every and anyone to do with a vehicle that's new to them is to go find an empty parking lot, without the wheel stops and a minimum of posts. Idle into a turn, crank the wheel full lock to L or R, and slowly accelerate until it breaks traction or you've lost your nerve.  Base limit of adhesion for the tires.

Another: Accelerate to 40 and stand on the brakes.  Find out where the anti-lock kicks in.  Now repeat, and learn where that limit is.

True story: Artesia freeway, westbound into LA, 5 lanes of 'go 'n slow' traffic all 5.  I'm in 34' motor home.  A SUV zips up on the left, hoping to get in front of me in a closing gap.

He isn't going to make it.
I put both feet on the brake and try to shove it through the floor.
His tires start 'chirping' as his A/L engages, and at the last moment, he dives for my lane.  I make contact, and push him sideways for a second or two.

We make our way to the side.
"My bad, I was trying to outbreak the anti-lock"...
His wife looks very grim.
The 2 young teens in the back seat are as white as a sheet of fresh copier paper.
We got within 6 feet of me 'pinching' his door into the car that was in his lane, the one he was trying to leave.
1/2 second out, and we may have maimed or killed them all.

As it was, he got an 8' groove across all the passenger side doors.
Any exit from the SUV was to the left.

I had a small scrape on the corner of my front bumper.
Oh, and a broken coffee pot and a siamese fighting fish that was onboard in his tank. His tank got broken; he managed to survive, but never was quite the same.  Died a month or so later....

I got a hint from an interview with a NASCAR driver.  Drive with your left foot over the brake pedal; esp. in traffic.  Your reaction time improves dramatically.  Works with manual shift, better with automatics.  The Focus has a dual-clutch auto which will downshift if you poke it hard in the 'S' mode.  I like that.

Anyway....back to the frivolity, y'all....;)

If I lived in the mountains Id have Subaru for sure….i have f150 09...

2018 BMW 230i coupe; love smaller sporty cars & love the BMW feel and handling.  Also have ‘08 Mustang GT Convertible as our weekend play car; raw American V8 Muscle with 5 speed manual (rare these days)

1998 Audi A4, my daily driver up until recently (312k miles, all mine)
2018 Audi A3, naturally
2015 Porsche 911, garage queen, black, bad for my OCD
2007 Porsche Boxster S, pure fun
2017 Honda Pilot, practicality- trips, dogs
(2) Harley Sportsters, his & hers

Wife, 2018 Murano 
Me, 2018 Silverado Lt 1 pulls my snowmobile trailer and jetski
1985 GT Mustang, modded  Weekend toy.

2015 Mercedes Benz E400
2005 Dodge Ram Daytona 4x4

The Ram is/was the work vehicle for many years and has never let me down, that hemi motor and Borla exhaust are a beautiful thing, big, strong and loud. The MB E series is just one of the best built, nicest cars to drive around town or take a trip in and my wife loves it. This summer I will be looking to add a Porsce 997.2 generation 911 gts to the stable if I can somehow find a manual somewhere and then I will be done.

2004 Jaguar XJ8... bought used 4 years ago with 26k miles. I paid 10k for it and I love the styling. 1st year for the all-aluminum body, so the big girl is quick on her feet and handles very well.

What, only 2 Corvettes so far? Mine is a 2016 Z06 convertible, manual 7 speed - wicked fast. I had a 2000 Corvette convertible 6 speed manual before that, great fun and very reliable after some initial teething problems that were fixed satisfactorily. My daily is a 2007 Saab 9-3 AeroCombi (wagon), turbo V6, 6 speed manual, another great little car with useful cargo capacity. Sedans don't cut it for me, as I cannot get my wife's wheelchair in the trunk of anything I'm interested in. Any suggestions for a replacement for the Saab? No SUVs please. BTW I'm still ticked off with GM for what they did to Saab at the end, but others have told me that without GM they would have gone bust earlier. Either way I consider it a great loss.
On the audio side of things, the Saab's sound system is not bad, and has an in-dash CD changer. The manual says nothing about who made it, but I think it may be Harman Kardon. The new Corvette has no CD player, so I'm now a ripper par excellence. It is a dreaded Bose system so dynamics are not great. It's OK when parked, so-so when driving. Anyway I have V8 music, so I don't really care.

2018 Suburu Forester Limited with Harman Kardon stereo. Replaced a Chevy Silverado pickup after we moved into a townhouse out of town as double the MPG, easier to maneuver into double car garage and parking spots, and no longer responsible for hauling yard waste. A lot more fun to drive.  

A 2015 Chev. Silverado 4X4. It's my daily driver and all around work, play and travel vehicle - much needed here in rural AZ. My wife's back and forth to work vehicle is a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, all AWD.

Currant bike is a 2014 H-D Street Glide Special - just for fun and week end trips.
Other bikes recently sold or traded:  2007 H-D CVO - Road King; 2009 H-D CVO - Fat Bob; 2008 Honda Gold Wing XLT and a 2008 H-D Anniversary Fat Boy.

Should add that I also traded in my 2002 Porsche 911 on a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee with low miles for my wife. 

Landrover Freelander TD4  the family work horse.
Smart car for work
Daimler 4.0 V8 my pride and joy.

Toyota's ..
So I can spend more money on Audio..

Range Rover Sport. Why? To spend money as foolishly as I spend it on audio equipment :-)

"Motorsports is not about the cars or winning..."

True, at times, it is about motorcycles. Cars, get out of the way.

dpl1,

"Any suggestions for a replacement for the Saab?"

Volvo V90 (NOT the "cross country" variant). The only real downside is no spare tire.

https://www.volvocars.com/us/cars/new-models/v90

2017 Maseratti GT MC sport - fun summer car 
2016 BMW X5 5.0 - quick everyday driver 

Never owned a car, everything is leased. 

Maserati has a trash Bose Stereo that is worse than any car stereo I've ever had. Maserati and Porsche should be embarrassed for fitting their cars with such garbage. Thank god Porsche has an option for burmester. You would not believe the center console on Maserati, straight out of 80's. 

BMW got equipped with Bang and Olufsen. Not great but light years better than Bose, of course. Best car audio in my experience was Mark Levison in my Lexus. 

Like many others here I am obsessed with Porsche. Never had one, they don't lease well. One day hope to own a GT4 Cayman or an older 911. Maserati looks awesome, has an excellent exhaust note, but not very engaging due to its paddle shifters. I prefer manual transmission, but those are becoming rare, and almost extinct in exotic/ sport cars. The most memorable car I had was 2006 Z4 5 speed manual. Not very powerful, but so engaging. I miss that. Next car will definitely be a stick. 

Lots of Porsche and Subaru love around here. Many owners or prospective owners.

Does anyone notice that this may be one of the friendlier threads on Audiogon? No fighting, no insults, really pleasant. Thank you 2psyop.

ei001h,

"Next car will definitely be a stick."

If you want a stick, you’d better be quick. Soon, you will have two brands left, or something like that.

For me, the best car stereo has been Meridian in Jaguar XJ. Burmester in S-class coupe comes second (which was a surprise to me).

I only drive others bonkers.

.....For me, the best car stereo has been Meridian in Jaguar XJ. Burmester in S-class coupe comes second (which was a surprise to me)......


I cant agree more. My next car is going to be an XJR, and of course it will have the  Meridian sound. My wife is getting a 2019 Subaru Outback limited this summer. Having built these cars on the assembly line in Lafayette, I can say they never leave the line with an assembly defect. If there is a recal or failure, it comes from parts vendors, but never from the guys on the line. I wish I could say t(e same form my Dodge Demon I waited an entire year for, only to find out the manufacturer crashed the car before they even shipped it to the dealer, but that would be another long discussion.

2006 F150 with 119K. Love my trusty hard working truck. Gets me to camp. Hauls all my gear. It's the one indispensable vehicle I have. 2002 Jeep Liberty with 62K. Great little vehicle with a four cylinder that gets good mileage, sits higher up and maneuvers easily. Great to run around town in and not afraid of getting some dings in it. 2007 Jaguar XK convertible with 41K. A work of art & a dream to drive. Mental floss when you put the top down and just want to clear your head. Mostly sits in garage on a trickle charger. Repairs are never fun, but it's a weekend car on nice days. Wife's car. 2018 Jaguar XK 35i Portfolio edition. 3 weeks old with less than 400 miles on it. A nightmare. One problem after another. Has been back to dealer twice already. Last night it had to be flat-bedded to dealer... again. Total battery failure. How does a brand new vehicle (left over 2018) end up with a completely dead battery? Numerous computer glitches. I am sitting here now with buyers remorse knowing this isn't the last time. Wished we had kept her trusty 2011 BMW 328i. Now Herbie's gone and I want him back. Atleast the Germans knew how to build a modern sport sedan that worked. The new Jag built by Tata Motors is proving to be a over-designed technological nightmare. Sorry people. I saw this discussion forum on here and you posted it at the perfect time for me to vent.     

Correction. 2018 Jaguar XE 35i Portfolio, not XK. To the gentleman who posted prior to mine thinking about a new Jaguar XJR. Take a peek at the positive battery post before buying it, even if it's brand new. If it looks like someone jumped it with a pair of gator clips (you will know if the white paint is scratched off the positive post where the clips dug in), think long and hard about your decision. Ours was brand new with 1.3 miles on it when we bought it. Last night before it was flat-bedded, I looked at the manual and popped the red protective cover off the positive terminal. It was scratched up pretty good. So, this vehicle was probably DOA when it was brought into port and offloaded onto the semi and had to be jumped. Something in these Jags is eating batteries or they are designed with inept alternator incapable of charging them. Just a warning. The car is beautiful. The Meridian sound system is nice. But the computer systems are typical Jaguar and ours has been nothing but trouble.

4 vehicles in our household

2008 Cadliac Escalade 114k miles
2010 VW Touraeg V6 80k miles
2008 Jeep Liberty 110k miles
2008 Jeep Commander 140k miles

We tend to keep our vehicles for a long time.    I prefer large a SUV because of comfort during long road trips.  It is like driving a large club chair that can also carry just about anything you need to carry.   I purchased it as my 3rd choice so to speak.  1st choice was a Mercedes GL550.  I test drove 2, at 2 separate times.  Each time I had a lower back ache after 20 min.  At least for me, it seemed that the pedals were offset to the right of the foot-well, requiring me to sit in a certain way that was uncomfortable.  2nd choice was a GMC Denali (previous SUV was a 2000 Denali purchased with 30k miles and sold with 275k miles...), but I could not find one in my price range; everyone wanted a premium and they sell very quickly as used.  I noticed that Escalades consistently sold for several K less than Denalis even when adjusted for condition and use.  So I purchased an Esclade.   I initially received some strange looks when people saw me driving it or getting out of it....I guess I don't fit the "profile" of the average Escalade driver....  But it is fast and very comfortable.

My wife drove a succession of MB E wagons for a long time and wanted something a little bigger.  She initially test drove a MB ML SUV, but felt it was too similar to her wagon and she realized she also wanted something different.  Then she test drove a Volvo XC90 and a VW.  She thought the interior of the Volvo felt cheap vs the cost.  She liked the VW so a Touraeg it was.   I joke that the VW is a Porsche Cayenne without the spice, and an Audi Q7 without the zeros on the end of the check !   I have friends that drive Cayenne, Maccan, Q5 and Q7, and non believe me when I tell them that our lowly VW came from the same assembly line, and has the same basic engine and transmission.    So far it is good vehicle- reliable, but a few small issues that are more nuisance than debilitating.  My wife likes it, but admitted she will probably go back to an MB when it is time to purchase another vehicle.

Our children drive the Jeeps.   We love Jeeps (long time Cherokee owners previously).  The Liberty is really an updated version of the Cherokee.  The Commander is a Liberty stretched to its limit.  I think the Liberty is the better of the two trucks.  The market seems to agree as I see many more Libertys on the road now than I do Commanders, as both or now at least 5-8yr old for the last model  years.

thamilton1,

When does it qualify as a Lemon? Probably not yet, but the story is quite impressive for 400 miles.

I don't know, but I'm beginning to consider that possibility if this keeps up. I've never had to go through that process and I can't imagine attempting to return a new vehicle as a lemon as being a simple process. She bought it for peace of mind and the new warranty. Not for this stress and heartache. I mean, it's a brand new vehicle. How does this happen? Not only are you constantly worried every time some warning light pops up and you get a call from the wife every other day telling you about a new issue, but you feel like a darn fool for helping her make such a poor decision in the car buying process. You feel as if it is your fault for putting her in this position. If it does end up as a lemon law vehicle, I can almost guarantee you we will look elsewhere. Maybe BMW again. Maybe domestic. Just give me reliable again. That's all I ask for.    

After a few Volvos, BMWs and Mercedes in my lifetime.... I purchased a new Audi A6 3.0 Quatro when I moved to Houston back in 2012. Great car! First Audi by the way and I love it. Great ride with plenty of acceleration!!! Now after moving back to Florida and going through my 2nd bout with cancer, I recently purchased a Ferrari California. 2011 with 4800 miles. This one will not sit in my garage and not be driven!! What a pleasure to drive! And it makes driving to chemo a real treat. Now if I could just get that Audiophile stereo system in the Ferrari!!!! But I guess with the growl of the Ferrari, you really don't need the high end stereo system. I am blessed.

Wow. That does put our issues into perspective. All I can say is I wish you the best my man. Enjoy that car every second you can and get well soon.

thamilton1

Deja vu. When I bought my one-owner pre-emissions E-type coupe back in the day, I took it up to Santa Barbara for a day trip. Found myself in a parking lot with a dying battery, the ammeter reading -2A. Opened the hood, found something that looked like it could be a voltage regulator, and kicked it.

SPING! The ammeter read +2A. Well, couldn’t have that in my E-type. Not mine. Bought a factory new regulator from the dealer. Next week I was in the same damn parking lot with the same damn problem. Same damn solution too.

But that 2nd gear - 30 to 70 in what felt like negative time. Didn't experience that again until my SLK AMG.

Plus ca change ...

Supercharged S2000 with full autocross suspension and tires; Because it is fun and from 6500 tp 9000 rpm very quick.  It is not as well balanced as my MR2 Turbo, but if driven carefully can make up for its lack of forgiveness with superior suspension design, i.e. No flexy unibody like the MR2, but way too much oversteer under acceleration, even without the blower. 

butchwillis,

Once upon a time, Ferrari made an audiophile leap and had SACD and DVD-Audio player in their car., It was 612. The stereo was made by....Bose.

@ thamilton1

Not surprising that a battery in a car that has been sitting around on lots for over a year is bad.

Hopefully the computer glitches were related to the weak battery and things will clear up with a new one.