What Cars Would You Collect if You Could?

[Top_Fuel]

Early 90's Chevy Camaro or an El Camino because ummmmm........ Mullet!

Lol...have to admit I always like IROCs and Trans Ams...even when I was driving my 5.0 Mustang...

[Carfreak09]

I have a love for performance hatchbacks, particularly from the 80s, and go crazy for flip up headlights. If I had money to burn, these cars would be in my driveway...

1984 VW Rabbit GTI (my first car and desperately want another)
1987 VW Scirocco 16V (love the design)
1993 VW Corrado VR6
1989 Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo
1988 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo
1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Nissan 280ZX
1992 Nissan 300ZX
1989 Nissan Pulsar NX SE (typical 80s style with quirky unique ability to change look from coupe to wagon)
1992 Nissan NX2000
1985 Mazda RX7 GSL (13b motor. I love the classic style. Used to own an 84 with 12a)
1989 Mazda 323GTX (rare)
1990 Mazda RX7 convertible (used to own this as well. Sweet car)
1992 Mazda Miata (used to own. Pure driving fun)
1993 Mazda MX3 GS V6 (novel tiny V6)
1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo (love the design and rarity)
1991 Isuzu Impulse RS (gotta love the "handling by Lotus" badge)
1989 Subaru XT6 (it's quirkiness attracts me)
1992 Subaru SVX (love, love, love the style)
1986 Acura Integra 2 door
1990 Acura Legend coupe (simple elegant style)
1991 Honda Prelude Si
1991 Honda CRX Si
1991 Honda Civic Si
1987 Honda Accord LXi hatchback
1995 Honda del Sol DOHC VTEC (was my dream car in 93 at the age of 13 when my love affair with cars started)
1992 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T
1990 Buick Reatta
1992 Toyota MR2 turbo
1988 Toyota Celica All Trac Turbo
1992 Toyota Celica
1989 Toyota Supra
1985 Audi Quattro

I feel I'm missing a few.....some of these were so rare that I have zero hope in ever finding one in good condition.

[Spadesheart]

I want a Ferrari 308/328, like the one Tom Selleck drove in Magnum, P.I. They are known to be fairly reliable, were built in large numbers (by Ferrari standards), and have a look I have loved since I was a kid. Not too expensive, either...a nice one can be had for about the same cost as a new Lexus SUV.

Attachment 8192

This definitely exceeds my maintenance price quota hahaha.


Super cool though. Definitely worth the car nerd cred

[Spadesheart]

I would look for power brakes, as I see the big heavy cars from that era didn't always have them, but sure could use them. Today, it's hard to find a car without some form of brake assist, whether it is power assist, antilock, etcetera.

Think hard about driving an old car. Take a look at this video for an example.



I wouldn't say it's cooler, but it's more fun to modify.

I'm also a big fan of straight six engines.

I have seen that video before! Bulletproof in one way doesn't quite mean bulletproof in every way huh hahaha.

A couple of the vehicles I listed are oddly well equipped for safety. The Citroen, for example, I believe was the first mass production car made with crash mitigation that would route the engine down in case of crash. I wonder how hard after market air bags would be to safely install... haha

[Spadesheart]

Seeing that Belair vs Malibu crash leaves me cold for an older car, but crash worthiness aside, I've always had a soft spot for Volvo 122s and Volvo 142E. I've had several and found them very nice drivers. They stop well, have comfortable seats, and like our Mirage, turn on a dime. I've also had an early and mid-60s Valiants, one slant six and another a V8. Perhaps they could be modernized with disk brakes, but in factory original configuration, I'd take a pass.

the 122s is quite handsome. Classic Volvo's are quite difficult to find in my neck of the woods unfortunately.

[Spadesheart]

Ah, such a fun topic!

My dream cars have almost never been exotics. For a daily driver, I've always wanted a 1st gen Honda Insight. About 6 months ago that dream finally came true and its now what I daily drive. Here is a picture next to my old daily driver, my 99 Metro.





The next car that I really enjoy is also a little econobox. Its actually my first car, a 1993 Toyota Tercel. I still own it, but its not currently running. It needs a bunch of work and it has a ton of miles at 217k. I'd love the chance to rebuild the oil burning engine, reupholster the interior and get rid of the rust on it. Who else can say they still have their first car?





The next vehicle on the list I also currently own! I know, lucky me. Its my second classic that I've ever owned (first was a 1973 Jaguar XJ12 that I let sit too long... RIP beautiful V12 engine). This is a 1951 Ford F1 pickup, and it is sitting tucked away in my garage. I love the body lines on the old pickups. There is nothing like it these days. I picked mine up a couple years ago for a great price. Of course it needs a ton of work and isn't running. Trying to get rid of other projects so I can find time for it. Here are some pics from the day I went to look at it at my buddie's house.









The last one that I'd really like to own is one I've kept an eye out for for a long time, but simply don't have the time or garage space for quite yet. Its a summer/fun car that I'd never take out in the salty roads here in Wisconsin (not that I would with the truck). I love the styling on the Nissan 280Z. The long front hood with the fast back... beautiful car. Not too pricey either really. Here is an example pic.

Attachment 8196



Seriously though guys, this thread needs more pictures.

My dads first car was a Datsun b210, or so I have been told. It's hard to think that he ever drove anything cool, or at least cool to me.

I have an anecdote about specifically the 1993 Toyota Tercel, oddly in that colour. So when I bought my Mirage, I bought it on the other side of the country with the intention of driving it back over, as my girlfriend was relocating over this way. Our plans were put on hold however, as she had a summer word contract that ran a few weeks longer than we were expecting, unfortunately I had bought a plane ticket by that time.

I was in the unfortunate position of needing a place to stay for a few weeks, so I looked into whatever was available in any drivable big city within Canada for a few weeks. I settled on this boarder house in Calgary that was owned by this very elderly, but kind Jehova's Witness couple that was surprisingly tech savvy enough to post their rooms on Airbnb for very low fees.

A few people came and went as I stayed there, and many of the boarders were people from Europe that came to Canada for the summer under something of a Work/Vacation visa. One such gentleman from France one night drove that exact Tercel in from 8 hours away. We became fast friends and hung out quite often. It turned out it was his first car and was intending to drive it across country. The first night he came, I told him he needed CAA (AAA) coverage if he was planning what he was planning. He ignored me.

He was planning on staying for a week and a half and take in some of the sights. He and the other boarders took a drive to Banff one morning in the Tercel. I wasn't quite feeling up to it that day so I stayed home. It did not go well. The car had catastrophic failure en-route, and he paid $600 (!!!!) for a tow back to town where the mechanic essentially told him that the failure was beyond repair. I don't fully remember what went wrong, but they sent me the pictures as I had a local number and it looked like everything down there was hit by oily shrapnel.

I felt so bad, he was a fresh university kid with very little money to begin with. He did alright though, took a flight straight to Montreal instead and had a lot of fun there.

A well maintained car is one thing, but I guess a cheap car is likely cheap for a reason sometimes hahaha

[Spadesheart]

Such a huge list. I would have close to 40-50 cars but I LOVE to drive and a car isn't a car unless it's driven.

One car I'd love to collect is the 1992-1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 1 RS. No power windows, no power seats, no ABS, no rear wiper. It was a super light car for what it was. Lots of aftermarket modifications. But it's a collectable. Wish I can find a clean one as they're legal in the United States coming October!
Attachment 8200

That's where I am on the Figaro. So many neat cars that no one has ever heard of.

I should add one more to my list. The Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The coolest looking SUV ever made. If you've seen one, you agree.

[Spadesheart]

I have a love for performance hatchbacks, particularly from the 80s, and go crazy for flip up headlights. If I had money to burn, these cars would be in my driveway...

1984 VW Rabbit GTI (my first car and desperately want another)
1987 VW Scirocco 16V (love the design)
1993 VW Corrado VR6
1989 Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo
1988 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo
1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Nissan 280ZX
1992 Nissan 300ZX
1989 Nissan Pulsar NX SE (typical 80s style with quirky unique ability to change look from coupe to wagon)
1992 Nissan NX2000
1985 Mazda RX7 GSL (13b motor. I love the classic style. Used to own an 84 with 12a)
1989 Mazda 323GTX (rare)
1990 Mazda RX7 convertible (used to own this as well. Sweet car)
1992 Mazda Miata (used to own. Pure driving fun)
1993 Mazda MX3 GS V6 (novel tiny V6)
1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo (love the design and rarity)
1991 Isuzu Impulse RS (gotta love the "handling by Lotus" badge)
1989 Subaru XT6 (it's quirkiness attracts me)
1992 Subaru SVX (love, love, love the style)
1986 Acura Integra 2 door
1990 Acura Legend coupe (simple elegant style)
1991 Honda Prelude Si
1991 Honda CRX Si
1991 Honda Civic Si
1987 Honda Accord LXi hatchback
1995 Honda del Sol DOHC VTEC (was my dream car in 93 at the age of 13 when my love affair with cars started)
1992 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T
1990 Buick Reatta
1992 Toyota MR2 turbo
1988 Toyota Celica All Trac Turbo
1992 Toyota Celica
1989 Toyota Supra
1985 Audi Quattro

I feel I'm missing a few.....some of these were so rare that I have zero hope in ever finding one in good condition.

The 90s are kind of a dead spot for me in regards to styling. That isn't to say interesting things didn't come out of the 90s, but if they did, they usually looked like they were from the 80s hahaha

How weird would it be to find NOS of cars. I was reading an article about how that happened a while back in Canada, but aparently the heavy salt we use for our roads essentially melted the bodies. They were not stored well. It was an article outlining the prolonged effect of our heavy salt deicing method.

[Carfreak09]

I've always had a cursory interest in cars, but when I compare what interests me as opposed to what interests most people, it always seems drastically different, as my priorities are different. When it comes to cars, even classics, they are meant to be driven and I do not want things that I am afraid to drive. It then occurred to me that the fine people here would probably have somewhat of a different opinion than most as well. So I'm interested in what people would collect if they could.

If I could, this is what I would want:

Nissan Figaro- A classic almost not classic. Just turning 25 this year, the fig is a modern car that looks like an old car, with a fascinating production story. It was designed to look like a classic Italian car but was built on, I believe, the Nissan Micra platform of the time. Thus parts are still very readily available, it has all the conveniences and features of a new car, and there likely isn't anything more unique on the road.

I would love to hear yours!

Neat find! I had never heard of this car but after seeing pictures of it, I would love to have one!

[Eggman]

I have a love for performance hatchbacks, particularly from the 80s, and go crazy for flip up headlights. If I had money to burn, these cars would be in my driveway...

1992 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T

I feel I'm missing a few.....some of these were so rare that I have zero hope in ever finding one in good condition.

Nice list. I'm curious to know if you considered other Chrysler models.

Dodge Omni & Plymouth Horizon (L body)
Dodge Charger & Plymouth Duster (L body)
Dodge Daytona & Chrysler Laser (G body)

All of which were eventually available with various versions of the Chrysler turbocharger setup, and some were worked over by Carroll Shelby.

Shelby GLHS

I owned a 1987 Plymouth Horizon and a 1988 Dodge Daytona Pacifica and put a lot of miles on both. The Horizon got fine fuel economy for it's day. The Pacifica was an upgrade in driveability and performance while maintaining fuel economy. From the experience of interstate travel with the Horizon, the Mirage is a luxury car.