Cars that left a mark

2000 M Coupe (clown shoe) with 3.4L S54: Holy berkeleying E36 M3!

C6 Z-06: Holy berkeleying E36 M3!

Porsche 997 GT3: Holy berkeleying E36 M3!

Exige 260S: Holy berkeleying E36 M3!

TR7 and FB RX7 for the same reason. I think they have about the best driving position of any cars ever.

Spitfire. I really love these silly little cars.

My old TR-3 for sure. I had pretty much gotten over getting another after I passed ont eh one of could have gotten from ebay through the second cnace offer. Then a guy came to our sports car club meeting last Satuarday drivng a beautifully restored one. This was a car I had tried to buy from a former club member as pretty much a basket case years ago. He wouldn't sell it to me then, then sold it out from under me.

After years of driving my Nissan truck which hates to rev and a whole host of other mediocre cars, I was amazed when I got to drive my daughter's 97 Honda Civic EX. This was the SOHC VTEC. I was amazed how that thing would rev and how it sounded.

S2000 I grew up in and live in the antithesis of sports car world . Every road is flat and straight.

Growing up I thought if you wanted to have fun in a car I thought you either needed mega horsepower and questionable handling to do donuts in, or a huge jacked up 4x4 for offroading.

My dad raised us at the altar of the big block. He always talked about getting a fun car when he got us out of the house. For 3 years he would tell me about whatever muscle car he had test drove. Then one day ha calls and says he bought an s2000. Lead me to think he had lost his mind. Then I drove it and fell in love.

Growing up I always wanted a 4x4 with a big lift kit, sure fast cars were cool, but I wanted a truck. Got a chance to drive a Fiero when I turned 16. Being able to rip around corners at will was quickly deemed as a better choice than hitting a mud pit every once in a while. Never have owned anything with 4WD....

I have a Miata that leaves a mark on my garage floor.

I haven't driven many fun cars, but the S2000 I drove a few weeks ago was incredible. Those brakes are astounding! And that SOUND!

90-02 Honda Accord. Probably the best family sedan ever made. Owned all 3 generations from that time period, I really can't pick out a favorite.

94-01 Integra. Incredible cars, so much fun to drive.

Any Jeep. It's a Jeep thing.

Miata. Duh.

S2000, do want.

Drove a Boxster S and 993+996 911 at the dealership I worked for in highschool. Seared into my skull that I must have one. Of each. I'd settle for driving a Boxster Spyder for the rest of my days, though.

First time I rode in a MK1 MR2, around 1998. My dad (in a rare appearance in my life) had one & let me drive it to a flea market. I had a little fun, enjoyed the 5 speed and go-kart handling. When we left the place, he drove and said "let me show you how it should be driven".

Proceeded to floor it, wind it up to 7k the whole way, over the curb without slowing, sideways, and down the access road, rev matching all the way down the gears. I wanted one ever since. (He also did stage rally's so he kinda knew what he was doing.)

My '89 Fox body Mustang GT. Everything up to that point was anemic 4cyl's of the 80's, a Pinto, a Fairmont Futura, and an Escort wagon, except for the 96 Ranger that was my DD.

Buddy had a hacked and rusted up 300ZXTT. It was awesome for what a pile of E36 M3 it looked like.

996 GT3.... Oh my

NSX, haven't driven anything quite like it.

Dodge Stealth/Mitsu 3000gt, the reason I'll never own another Mitsubishi.

BMW E30 325is - The first RWD performance car I'd ever owned, and man what an eye opener in terms of driving dynamics

Mazda NA Miata - I thought Miatas were all show, no go until I drove a few as a valet in college. Thirty seconds in the car were enough to cement the fact that this was a platform engineered by people who really loved driving.

BMW E46 M3 - The first M3 I ever drove belonged to my sister in law. I could not believe how fast and capable it was - truly a sleeper supercar.

Ferrari 360 Modena - By this point I had driven numerous sports and supercars, but autocrossing this Ferrari was still an amazing experience. Not only was the engine a screamer but the suspension's neutral, flat and planted feeling at the limit was like nothing I had ever driven.

Mitsubishi Evo - I've never driven one, but I've had my ass handed to me by several at autocrosses. The way they just grip and go defies physics.

PS - its ironic to see how many cars in this thread also show up in the 'overhyped/disappointed' thread.

My MG Midget with stock worn out motor. Not so much for it's speed/scary ratio, but because it represented freedom. Pop bought it for $300 when I was 12 and I had to wait four years before it was mine. Awesome and still own it today, but it is much much faster. And more scary.

I second the MGA: My first MG rides were in my dad's- up on two wheels while I'm in the "way back" while my sister and brother in the passenger seat going around our gravel circular driveway still make me smile. Dad was soooo irresponsible. Screaming the whole way.

FD RX-7: Never been in one, never driven one, but I saw one in '93, red, gorgeous, and it pulled out of a drive, got on a four lane road, and I swear just disappeared. I'm afraid of driving one because it may not be as good as I want it to be.

Elise: See above, but early ought's. I want them to be as awesome as they look, but I'm afraid they aren't.

WRX '02: I lusted after the wagons- told a buddy at work they were bringing them to the states, and a week later he buys one. Dick. Two weeks after that, I buy an identical one. Still have it. Love it, but the love is wearing down after 12 years- 227 hp isn't what it used to be, but it is a very good all-rounder.

Last:
E36 M3. For an 18 year old car, it is so fun to drive. I can't bear the thought of selling it. Good power, good mileage, comfortable (squeak free, unlike the Subaru). Just a fantastic car and a bargain at today's prices. I go for the M because it's better, and because most I've seen have been taken care of compared to the lesser models.

Rode in an ex-Pikes Peak class-winning Eagle Talon once. Full cage, race belts, ungodly horsepower and grip. Nothing should go around a gravel corner that fast.

1981 Honda Civic DX 1500 hatch. After a lifetime spent in RWD American barges, Dad bought the little Civic new when we moved far away from work/school. First car I'd ever driven with a double-digit cubic inch displacement, but since it was light as a popcorn fart, that didn't matter. It was rev-happy and eager to play. That little car taught me what hooning was, and even after I rolled it, we got it fixed and drove it another 200,000 miles.

1995 Plymouth Neon ACR sedan. My spiritual successor to the little Civic above. Cheap, cheerful, and eager to rip it up. I miss my Neons.

Real Lotus Super 7 when I was in HS - It belonged to a friend of my dad. He came over one Saturday morning and let me take it for a drive and that was when I fell in love with light low sportscars.

64 Spitfire - My first car and a direct result of driving the 7. It was beat to crap, spent the first 2 weeks of my ownership in my future FILs garage while we got all the lights and things working but what a car. I spent many an hour tail out on the dirt roads around our house and I still have it 24 years later.

81 GTV-6 - When I was 13 we were living in Germany and my Dad took me and my best friend to the Frankfurt Auto Show. At the show I sat in a GTV-6 and thought it was one of the coolest cars ever. 25 years later I finally got to own one and I had a permanent smile on my face. I will have another one some day.

99 SAAB 9-3 - Got me hooked on forced induction.

pinchvalve wrote: Rode in an ex-Pikes Peak class-winning Eagle Talon once. Full cage, race belts, ungodly horsepower and grip. Nothing should go around a gravel corner that fast.

Well-prepped AWD cars make me pee myself.

After i black out from the g forces.

Two cars that I owned/built come to mind, as I miss both of them.

First up, my FC RX7 5.0. So unique back in '93 when I built it. Very fast and a great autocross car.

Took the alignment off a national championship winning RX7 and it made the car grip like crazy, pulling well over 1 G on the A032R DOT tires, even back in '93. Had it for 5 years and really helped push the popularity of V8 RX7s worldwide using it's repsense on the web fom '95 onward.

Second was going back another decade to '85 when I built this Daytona Spyder replica from a lightly wrecked '75 Corvette.

The car weighed about 400 lbs less than the stock Corvette (IIRC, scale weight was around 2900 lbs), and with a well built 350, flat out scooted. I remember a V12 Ferrari challenging me on Highway 16 between Tacoma and Bremerton, WA, and after I realized what he was doing, all he saw was rapidly diminishing taillights... It also got me ALL sorts of dates, with girls coming up to me on the highway and asking me out, or simply hopping in the car out at the beach. Never saw anything like that with my "regular" custom cars, that's for sure. lol!

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: 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.

I came to say exactly this. The one I drove was literally a rental car. I got to put a few hundred miles on it over the course of 24 hours in Vegas and the desert and Valley of Fire state park. It was comfortable, easy to drive around town, and so stable that 110mph did not make my wife, usually nervous about driving shenanigans, scared at all. A brake test from those speeds was amazing. Just blam! and it stopped. It got great gas mileage. It was comfortable on the freeway. After that I realized that everyone disparaging Corvettes is an idiot or hasn't drive one or - more likely - both.

Also, Miata. Around '03, My wife and I went out to "test drive" convertibles on a sunny fall day with absolutely no intention of buying one and ended up bringing home a low mileage '99 for under KBB trade-in value. That's definitely been the favorite car I've owned so far.

Also, Cavalier. Around '04 we went to Hawaii and rented one. While it was awesome to have a car after two weeks of walking everywhere, that was the most horrible, slow, noisy, uncomfortable thing I have ever had the displeasure of driving. Well, considering how new and low mileage it was. At 400 miles no car should buzz and rattle like an old worn out Neon. It didn't even have the pep and driving dynamics that make a worn out Neon halfway worth driving. I hated that car.

+3 on the MGA. My dad has a '59, and after I drive it, my MSM feels like I'm sitting in an SUV. Speaking of SUVs, it's scary as hell driving the MG around with all of the idiots in their SUVs and "mini" vans tailgating and acting like total shiny happy people.

1st Gen RX-7. A friend's dad bought one of the first ones to hit town and made the mistake of letting us take it for a spin. Made my MGB feel and look soooo old and slow!

Miata, of course.

Porsche 930. Back when I was a senior in high school, my dentist had one and let me drive it (he went along). Made my MGB feel and look soooo old and slow! (times eleventy billion)

RX-7 GSL-SE Miata R Porsche 911

Early 80's Renault Alliance sedan- First car I ever drove when I was learning to drive in the early 90s. My Dad wouldn't let me drive the autotragic minivan until I had mastered driving the Alliance's manual- and that car had the WORST clutch that I've yet to encounter in over 20 years of driving since. HATED that car with a passion, and was thrilled when it was traded in on a vanilla (but much better) Mazda 323

DeLorean DMC-12- My parents ordered the aforementioned Alliance shortly before we left Germany after my Dad's first tour there ended- they could get a really good deal by ordering it from the factory there and having it shipped back to the US and taking delivery there. When they went to the dealership to pick it up, I was left to keep myself entertained looking around the showroom floor while they signed the paperwork on it. Renault was one of the distributors for the DeLorean- and there was one sitting on the showroom floor. I was like 8 years old at the time- and to an 8-year-old boy, a shiny DeLorean with its doors up is a BONAFIDE SPACE SHIP. I spent the rest of the time there sitting in it pretending I was flying through space in the wondrous car I'd discovered- but had NO idea what it was after the fact.

Fast-forward to a few years later, when Back To The Future comes out- and I finally have a name to put to the car that I had fallen in love with before I was even really old enough to be thinking about cars remotely seriously. I'd wanted one since first seeing it on the showroom floor, and continued to want one as I grew up, went to college, and started working- and a bit over 25 years after first encountering it, finally succeeded in getting one. Sure, it's underpowered and heavy, and my GF struggles to get in and out of it in a skirt without flashing me (OK, so this isn't entirely a minus... ), but there's pretty much nothing I'd trade it for at the moment- it's a childhood dream come true.

1988 Chevy Beretta- 'My' first car, the first that I owned myself at least. Relatively boring styling, wimpy 4-cylinder with an automatic transmission. But it was all mine. And it was also the car that taught me (admittedly as its last lesson to me...) the value of being able to do my own work on cars. When its heater core died in early 2000 (I'd still love to bitch-slap whoever at GM decided plastic feed pipes on those things was a good idea...), the dealership quoted me $500 to replace it- which was roughly what the car was estimated as being worth. So, I decided with graduating soon, it was as good a time as any for a new car, and bought my Saturn SL2 (which I still have and love). Through a twist of fate and my Dad's temper, the Beretta wasn't traded in as planned- and I eventually needed to replace the heater core to try and sell the thing on my own. I was DUMBFOUNDED when I went to the parts store and found out that the replacement heater core was only $30 (and better than the original, since it was all metal...). The total cost to me was about $80 (new part, repair manual, hoses, and some generousity on the part of a nearby shop who put it up on the lift to connect the hoses after replacement) and half a day's time. Had I known THAT, I likely would have just fixed it, and might STILL have that car...

The first modern BMW I drove was a lightly modded E36 M3 that I was checking out for an online friend about 10 years ago. At that point, I "got it" about BMWs and haven't looked back.

Also, my cousin's first-gen Boxster which I drove just last year. I guess I was expecting a Miata with a bit more power, but between the razor-sharp steering, the general tossability, and the noise, I was in love.

The first genuinely fast car I drove was a then-new 1987 Mustang GT. Before then it had been all Mom and Dad's boring-mobiles. It opened my eyes to the joys of acceleration.

1980 VW Rabbit: This was my second car. My first was a 1975 Nova. The handling of the Rabbit, the overall responsiveness was a revelation.

1984 GTI: Like the Rabbit, but better in every way.

1971 BMW 2002: Just felt absolutely wonderful. I started with it pretty much stock and continued on into somewhat underprepared FSP (a 2002 without camber plates?). But every change I made was a noticeable step forward, and the car continued to feel terrific.