Cars that left a mark

While we're making lists of cars, here's another one: What cars have you driven that left a permanent impression?

I'll start with five quickies:

Acura Integra Type R. I called Honda and tried to buy our press car, but they said it was targeted for termination due to its importation status.

Mazda RX-8. I fell in love within 100 feet of releasing the clutch for the first time. I know, I know, they drink a ton of fuel. One day, perhaps.

Subaru Impreza WRX: It felt just like the one I had in Gran Turismo.

MGA: It's like a Miata but totally different. In fact, the cut-down doors even make an MGB feel confining.

Porsche GT3: Found myself discussing 996 GT3 with a friend/owner this weekend. If I sold everything and kicked in a few bucks....

+1 to the RX8. I test drove an 04 and was left feeling cold. Recently test drove an 09 Sport and the way it felt alive, razor sharp, yet still roomy and comfortable was awesome. Couple that with a perfect interior and i'm sold. SWMBO lighting up like a Christmas tree when she drove it was icing on the cake.

The Toyota MR2 Spyder is another one of those for all the same reasons.

90-93 Celica AllTrac. Perfect interior for me, timeless and flawless exterior syling, unbreakable drivetrain, and an extremely strong motor. What's not to like?

560SEL, I didn't need to drive it, 30 minutes of riding shotgun in the most beat up ex drug dealer example with barely working air ride was enough. The power, the delivery, the compliant yet assertive ride, the engineering, if I ever own a MB, it will be a W126 560SEL.

My old 88 626 turbo; so much passenger & trunk space in a small external package. Awesome seats. Good on gas and still felt very quick. I still benchmark other cars against it and they all somehow lose.

Merc 350 SLC. Sedate, never felt like it was trying, but it would hit the ton without trying. Great highway car, too bad it rusted out :(

The Chevrolet Citation that I took driver's ed in... that has to be the worst car I have ever driven. If you have ever seen one and said "that has to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen", well I can assure you it's classic early-80s boxugly styling is actually its most redeeming quality.

Ford Taurus. Working as a grease monkey in high school, I had shuffled many boring cars around a parking lot and not cared. However, when I first started dating my wife, she had a mid 90s Taurus. We drove it across the country and in a couple of months I had to fix a few things on it. I absolutely, completely HATED driving that car, it embodies the blandness that I hate about "sensible" cheap sedans. Camry, Accord, Malibu, whatever...they're all soooooooooooo lifeless and boring, but that Taurus became a fixation in my mind.

Just to close out the story, I helped her sell it a few months after she moved in with me. I disguised it by talking her into a new Saabaru that she deserved, but really I wanted the Saabaru more than her and plain HATED working on the Taurus.

Bryce

AMC Matador coupe. If this were the first car I'd ever driven, I would never have wanted to drive anything ever again. A golf car had better performance. The six had no power. The brakes could barely stop it. Handling ability remained a mystery as at the slightest alteration of course my posterior would slide across the vinyl bench seat. And the styling...well...the less said, the better.

Best positive impression? The Miata. After driving one, I realized how silly tinkering with old British or Italian sports cars was. Instead of a hobby repairing cars with hopelessly rusted fasteners, I could just drive this one.

RX7. 1st and 2nd generations. Both cars just worked very well for me. The 1st generation took a little tweaking, but the 2nd generation, right from the start, was spot on and very easy for me to drive like a maniac.

Miata. 1st generation. Less than a quarter mile into driving my first one, I knew I was going to be buying one soon. The best British car to never come out of England.

Neon. The front wheel drive car that best emulates being rear wheel driven. Very easy for a rwd type driver to throw around in turns.

Volvo 240. At the time, I was into Hondas after my CRX and Civic, and I bought a friend's 240. It drove like a tractor, clattered like a diesel, and boy was it ever slow. But at the same time, it was a great car for commuting. Great turning radius, incredible seats, and a heater that had to be turned down by the time you reached the end of the block. I gained new respect for Scandinavian build quality.

It probably also helped that I bought it during a winter snowstorm and it had Hakkas.

VCH will likely agree if he sees this, but the Volvo Amazon. Even in street trim (most of my time is obviously behind the wheel of the Lemons machine) the thing is flat out amazing. It's somehow really modern at the same time as being very classic. It's more responsive and the power from that little mill is more useable than the numbers would suggest.

Rx8 R3. Left such a mark I bought it. It's kinda weird, I struggle to think of any car I've ever driven that handles like that...or one as uncomfortable for long drives. Totally worth it.

SA RX7. Loved it. Everything about it. I want one.

2010 Challenger SRT-8. Driving it showed me exactly how detrimental excess weight is to cars. How can something with that much power be so slow?

Kia Soul. Hear me out. 2 years ago I drove one for a week on my honeymoon on Jeju Island in South Korea. It was beige, had the cheapest vinyl seats I have ever seen, and had no power. There are some curvy mountain roads in the middle of the island that lead up to a hiking kindof place. When I tried pulling an initial D impression minus the drifting, it actually felt OK. I was expecting sloppiness, piggish understeer, and no power. It wasn't sloppy and it didn't have that much understeer. It was, however, so gutless I may have not exceeded 50mph the whole way up the mountain, but 1 out of 3 isn't bad. Then it came to driving it around the cities. It was small, had a tight turning radius, and the higher seating position meant I had good visibility. It made perfect sense driving it in Korea. It felt completely soul-less, but it made sense. Would I buy one in America? Not a chance, but I now no longer think Kias are a joke.

Triumph TR8.. absolutely phenomenal visceral driving experience. What a sports car should feel and sound like. 30 years and 12 TR8s later, and nothing puts a smile on my face faster than driving one of these bad boys on or off the track. The coupes are better... much better!
A big +1 on the Mazda 626 turbo. My wife had an 89 with a 5 speed which we kept for over 210,000 miles. Never before or since had a family car that could come close to matching that thing. Her current is a 2000 626 V6 with a 5 speed. She won't let me get rid of it because everything else seems heavy and out of touch with the road.

I busted a tooth on a Protege...oh, that's not what you meant?

I got to take a ride in a 1970 Plymouth Superbird when I was 17. At the time I was driving a k-car so my automotive expectations were pretty low. It looked great. It sounded great. I suppose it was even sort of fast-ish, but it was a cheap piece of crap. It was a nice totally stock example and quite a valuable car even then, but it just sucked. Everything about the interior was terrible, how it fit together, how it felt, how things sounded when we were driving. Closing the doors sounded like hitting a washing machine with a hammer. The car clearly felt more poorly made than my k-car which was a pretty terrible car. The experience permanently blunted my desire for a muscle car of any sort.

My first Jeep, an 89 wrangler. It set me up for 13 more Jeeps of various years and models.
92 miata. I'll own another one
200? Focus. Such a turd I don't know that I could own another Ford after 1968 again. I'm sure I will since the new Mustang just looks soo stinkin' good and the new 5.0 is amazing.
1986 GLH. I'll own another one.

Porsche 944. I had a fully track prepped CRX Si. One session on track in my brother's 944 and I came home and immediately sold my CRX and bought his 944. I still have it and it leaves an impression everytime I drive it. I haven't driven anything that handles as well, is so forgiving and has been dirt cheap to own. Great car.

Rufledt wrote: FA RX7. Loved it. Everything about it. I want one.

You mean the SA RX-7? If so, was it mine that you drove, and loved?

Something different for me... Several jobs ago I was able to "test drive" a brand new 911 turbo. Didn't have it out long, but what a ride. 100 MPH in second gear... Took it back before I got into trouble. Also drove a new 928 S4 that day. Talk about stable and effortless driving at high speed... I also took it back quickly before I did something more stupid than driving past the local high school at over 100 mph...

My F150 left a mark when I skirted out of the driveway.

I think few left a mark (visually) like Eleanor.

My FFR Cobra. It was the first high horsepower, light weight car I had experience with. Combine that with a short wheelbase and stiff suspension, it was a wild ride. I did several HPDE days with it, and my driving style changed forever.

All my cars leave a mark in the driveway.

A BMW 325, ironically, at the GM Auto Show In Motion. That was where they gave people a chance to test drive GM cars against their rivals, and I came out of it wanting a BMW 3 series.

C6 Corvette. I had read so many reviews on this car deeming in not worthy to compete with other cars in its class, rental car interior, and horrible seats.

Well I drove a 2008 example a couple years back. It was extraordinary. Even with the factory Goodyear Eagle that thing gripped the pavement like it was literally on rails. Once you get driving like its meant to be driven, the interior disappears. Those seats were comfortable too, maybe not on long road trips, but for the hour I was in it, no complaints.

There are definitely better super cars, but they are not as easy to get a hold of as a Corvette.

Let's see...

1977 Plymouth Gran Fury - The first car I remember "driving," and starting to learn maintenance on. Granted, I was ~6/7 years old, but you always remember your first.

1990 Eagle Talon TSi - My first 'hot rod' and the car that landed me into a heaping helping of trouble with the law. No longer have it, but still remember the lessons learned in that car.

2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew - Current DD, but it's a van with some attitude and a heaping helping of power. Plus, it'll haul all I want it to without the spine-breaking labor of removing the seats, and it's got the entertainment system to keep the kiddos calm. And, the wife wants to keep it forever, so I get the next 'new' car!