Dream cars

[Jeffrey]

1976.

I was merely bashing almost all American cars from '73-'95. IMO, the list of great '73-'95 American cars is very short.

[nmduke2001]

i'll have these three...as soon as my lottery number pops...

I have a client that owns the Mercedes SLS AMG. He took it out on the track a few days after delivery. About 30 minutes into the track day he had to stop. He ruined the tires. They cost almost $8k to replace.


Btw, I think the Jaguar F Type is a really great looking car. It has a huge price range. The low end is $60k and the high end is $150k+.

[nmduke2001]

I was merely bashing almost all American cars from '73-'95. IMO, the list of great '73-'95 American cars is very short.

That's fair, however the quality of domestic cars has increased substantially in the last 20 years. I used to work in product development at Ford in the early 2000s. The engineers would often tell me that it was only a matter of time before Toyota quality really fell. Their reasoning was that in the 80's and 90's Toyota had very few models. It's easy to have high quality when you make 5 models. Toyota grew significantly over the decades and added Lexus and Scion. They argued that it was exponentially harder to keep the quality as high. Those Ford engineers were right. Toyota quality has fallen quite a bit.

I saw an article recently about quality and if I remember correctly Hyundai and Kia were highest followed closely by Ford.

Powertrain quality has improved across the board this century. It's pretty easy to get 100,000 miles out of a car at almost any price point. Manufacturing and engineering are so good now. It's the technology in modern cars that really is difficult to keep going.

[PackMan97]

Toyota grew significantly over the decades and added Lexus and Scion. They argued that it was exponentially harder to keep the quality as high. Those Ford engineers were right. Toyota quality has fallen quite a bit.

I saw an article recently about quality and if I remember correctly Hyundai and Kia were highest followed closely by Ford.

I read an interesting article that directly linked quality to warranty length. Some argue that a company like Toyota doesn't need a long warranty because they've already got quality nailed down. Hyundai and Kia needed a long warranty because quite frankly, in the late 80s and early 90s their cars were *censored* and that's probably giving *censored* a bad name. Slap a 10 year warranty on the car and it's simple, get better fast or lose your shirt in warranty service. They got better fast.

Another article I saw detailed how people expected Japanese brands to last longer and so the owners took better care of them expecting them to last a decade. The result is the better maintained Japanese brands outlasted poorly maintained American brands that people didn't expect to drive that long past the loan payments. It's almost a self fulfilling prophecy.

[rsvman]

I was merely bashing almost all American cars from '73-'95. IMO, the list of great '73-'95 American cars is very short.

Yeah. Here's the list:

[rsvman]

That's fair, however the quality of domestic cars has increased substantially in the last 20 years. ...

Of course it has.

You may remember that Ford made an entire marketing campaign based upon the fact that their cars used to stink. Remember it? "Have you Driven a Ford.......Lately?"

I don't know that anybody ever taught anybody in a marketing class that they should highlight how bad their product is/was in order to sell product, but it's kind of ingenious, if you think about it. Why fight it? Just go ahead an acknowledge that the product was bad, and then tell people that you realized that and therefore you made it better.

[fuse]

I have a client that owns the Mercedes SLS AMG. He took it out on the track a few days after delivery. About 30 minutes into the track day he had to stop. He ruined the tires. They cost almost $8k to replace.


Btw, I think the Jaguar F Type is a really great looking car. It has a huge price range. The low end is $60k and the high end is $150k+.

Ouch.

I’ll second the F Type. If I could afford the R coupe, that would bring smiles all day long.

[devildeac]

my-other-car-is-a-jaguar-vinyl-sticker-decal-graphic-3572-p[ekm]197x200[ekm].jpg

[fuse]

http://media.lamborghini.com/English...0-06a4d4f65772

I’ll just leave this right here. Gorgeous.

[elvis14]

I've always loved cars. Most of the ones I've really liked I can't afford. I can still remember the first 911 I saw at a 7-11 in Va Beach in the early 80's. A few current ones off the top of my head:

- Basically every Porsche currently made: https://www.porsche.com/usa/models/
- BMW - i8, M2, M3, M4, M5, etc. 435
- Audi RS3, S4, S5, R8, SQ5
- Acura NSX
- Nissan GT-R
- Lexus GSF, RCF, LC 500h, LC Inspiration series, IS (love he modern front end, love that lots of people hate it)
- Tesla*
- Ferraris, Lambo's and other exotics
- Corvettes, Camaro SS's
- Hellcats and Demon (my neighbor has 2 Challenger Hellcats)

(I could just go on and on, those are just the 2018 cars...)

Last year I sold my Honda S2000 and bought a 2014 Lexus IS 350 F-Sport after shopping for a while. The BWW 435, Audi S4, Infinity Q50 Hybrid were all a little faster but the Lexus was the complete package including performance, style and cost and cost of ownership. I love my IS. Just finished waxing it about 15 minutes ago.

Hope you guys are wrong about Toyota Quality. My 2007 Tacoma has 160k on it and it's been fantastic (very high quality). Plan to keep it a long time. The Lexus needs to last me for a while (my kids are in high school and I'll be paying tuition soon). So far, build quality on the IS seems fantastic.

[Jeffrey]

Yeah. Here's the list:

I'd put the '87 Buick GNX on the list.

[Jeffrey]

That's fair, however the quality of domestic cars has increased substantially in the last 20 years.

I strongly agree and currently own some recent Vettes and CTS-Vs. They're much easier to maintain than vintage rides.

[elvis14]

I strongly agree and currently own some recent Vettes and CTS-Vs. They're much easier to maintain than vintage rides.

Doh, meant to put the CTS-Vs on my list.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I just put down a deposit on one of mine, a VW Bus. I've been looking at many options lately, from fully restored campers to total gut-job shells. I found one that is a nice mix, and a bit unique since it is an automatic. (It is a '79)

Comes complete with a leaky sunroof, and an incorrect paint job, both of which I look forward to fixing. The only original seat is the very back one, which is fine with me, since the replacements are way more comfy.

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[budwom]

That's fair, however the quality of domestic cars has increased substantially in the last 20 years. I used to work in product development at Ford in the early 2000s. The engineers would often tell me that it was only a matter of time before Toyota quality really fell. Their reasoning was that in the 80's and 90's Toyota had very few models. It's easy to have high quality when you make 5 models. Toyota grew significantly over the decades and added Lexus and Scion. They argued that it was exponentially harder to keep the quality as high. Those Ford engineers were right. Toyota quality has fallen quite a bit.

I saw an article recently about quality and if I remember correctly Hyundai and Kia were highest followed closely by Ford.

Powertrain quality has improved across the board this century. It's pretty easy to get 100,000 miles out of a car at almost any price point. Manufacturing and engineering are so good now. It's the technology in modern cars that really is difficult to keep going.

I would strongly dispute the assertion that "Toyota quality has fallen quite a bit." Despite the huge lineup of vehicles they have, numerous surveys indicate their quality is consistently way above average. I peruse the annual Consumer Reports data on used cars (which comes from hundreds of thousands of readers) and Toyota vehicles are consistently ultra reliable. And my experience with them (and the experience of numerous friends) mirrors that. Honda has had some ugly hiccups, but Toyota has maintained standards.

[Jeffrey]

I would strongly dispute the assertion that "Toyota quality has fallen quite a bit."

After delivery, the stealership hardly ever sees any of my cars again. My wife has been driving Lexus cars for the last 15 years, and they've been the easiest and least expensive cars I maintain.

[budwom]

After delivery, the stealership hardly ever sees any of my cars again. My wife has been driving Lexus cars for the last 15 years, and they've been the easiest and least expensive cars I maintain.

I can relate. After about four Volvos which we loved driving but did not love repairing, I did my Consumers Report homework and looked for the Toyota product that best served our wants, and it was a Lexus RX350. More than five years into it, absolutely no repairs other than routine (and relatively inexpensive) maintenance.

[Jeffrey]

I can relate. After about four Volvos which we loved driving but did not love repairing, I did my Consumers Report homework and looked for the Toyota product that best served our wants, and it was a Lexus RX350. More than five years into it, absolutely no repairs other than routine (and relatively inexpensive) maintenance.

Same Lexus my wife has been driving, and I've been maintaining, since 2003. I recently bought her another one.

[Reddevil]

I recommend Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He picks up a comedian in a car that he has selected to best represent that comedian. Some pretty cool vehicles are featured both foreign and domestic. Another season drops July 1. Warning: This can be a serious time waster. I recently watched an entire season during a rainy weekend when I was also under the weather so I don't feel too guilty, but it is easy to get hooked.

[fuse]

Hatchback edition...

1984 VW Rabbit GTI

1986 Dodge Omni GLH-S

1979 VW Scirocco

1994 VW Corrado VR6

1999 BMW 318ti

2002 BMW M coupe

If the Audi RS5 and RS7 count as hatchbacks, yes, indeed, dream cars.

Jaguar E-type coupe

Yes, I am a sucker for hatchbacks, and there are plenty of great ones out there.