Im 26 and have owned 42-45 cars since the first at age 14.
I dont think ive been below 4 cars since i was ~19 or so.
I currently own 13 and am actively looking to get rid of 2.
13 is the most i have had at one time IIRC (have been at that number twice so far).
I think it would be hard for me to go below 6. I think 4 would be an absolute minimum, and i dont see how i could make myself do it.
Give me one A/C Porsche 911. That'd keep me happy for a while, at least 
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I'm going to sound like a broken record for this forum, but the answer is what I have right now - a motorcycle and a Miata. And I don't technically need the bike, though its 50-60mpg is nice. It helps that if I do have to transport something bigger than will fit in a Miata, I have access to a community pickup truck. 
I have 5, and I still need to scratch the itch a few other ways. I need a truck, preferrably of the very large and dual tired in the back variety, a CTS-V wagon, either a Subaru or another DSM, something RWD..... the list goes on.
Ah... this thread again... oh well, it's still fun. 
My current stable could stand to be pared down (not including the 4 cars my g/f has):
Daily Driver - '03 TDI wagon that'll drive into the ground. 254K and counting.
Beast Truck: '95 Cummins 4x4. I'd replace this with another van in heartbeat if I could.
Classic: '72 GT6. Latest aquisition. Right now, it doesn't "need" anything and I don't have time or money to fiddle with it, so I'm just going to drive it, but I'll probably do some resto-mods to it over time.
Racecar: '73 Volvo 1800ES... at least, that's the long-term plan... prep for vintage racing/auto-x/hill climb. I'll probably leave the minimum requirements to keep it street legal, although with a cage, race seats and not much interior, it will probably be very uncomfortable in use.
Albatross: '88 325is. Right now, it's really in the way and should be sold... but if I end up keeping it, it'll serve as 'racecar' while the Volvo is built. Its long term destiny beyond that depends somewhat on what kind of shop the code officials will let me build in my back yard.
Travis_K wrote: 1. Citroen SM-Converted to EFI, coil pack ignition and whatever reliability mods possible (and probably some different wheels in a size that tires are easier to find)
btw, I really like this one.
I'm pretty happy with the 3 we've got.
Toy - 2001 supecharged Ford Focus with lots of SVT bits
DD - 2010 Ford Transit Connect - doubles as Hauler and part-time project.
Wife - 2000 Buick LeSabre - probably will replace this one with a 2012 ??
I have 15+. The number appears to be going up, not down.
I could live with a rust-proof diesel FJ60, and all the motorcycles the extra money could get me. Or a Cummins swapped F-250. Or maybe a diesel Quigley E-250... You get the point.
I would be tickled pink with just one.
I've narrowed my cars down from maybe 15 at an all time high, to only 10 now but going any lower presents problems.
Take it in categories.
I need a people mover and parts chaser that my wife is safe driving. A minivan suits that need. I don't care much which one, but own a GM currently as the price was right. If we ever replace it, I'll just get another anonymous minivan (the thought on this one was that if it ever died, the engine would fit two of the other sports cars).
I want to have a grand touring car or two. My Jensen Interceptor is ideal - reliable, smooth, relaxed tourer with reasonable power. But I wouldn't want to get rid of the stablemate, the much rarer and quirkier CV-8. Almost 700 lbs. lighter, with fibreglass body, and the same big block Chrysler (in this case with sixpack, while the Interceptor makes do on a single 4 bbl). Very fast, not nearly as refined, but when you boot it and the secondaries open at 100 mph, I'd miss that feeling if I sold it.
And I have heard that one needs to own an Italian grand tourer at least once in a life time. I'd have a really hard time parting with my Lambo Islero S, especially given the total production of only 100 cars, as I'd never be able to find another one if I relented. It offers a different grand touring experience than the torquey Jensens do.
So have to keep two Jensens and the Islero.
Classic sports cars. I have always owned MGs. I suppose I could possibly sell my MGA Twin Cam race car - I haven't foudn time to run it for the last few years, and I still have an MGA Deluxe (4 wheel disc) coupe for the street experience, and an even better touring car, the MGC, tuned to 175 bhp. So maybe I could sell the race car and keep the MGC and MGA. But then there is the Jamaican bodied 1956 MGA with modern (3.4 GM) engine that is a lot of fun to drive in the summer and doesn't bake your brains. Have to hang onto that a few years longer - it took me 3 years of effort to build it the way I wanted it and I sure didn't do that for anyone but me. So one Jamaican, an MGC and an MGA have to stay.
Modern sports cars - had a lot of fun with the 1988 Fiero, optimizing the chassis and refining a larger displacement turbo installation. A real sleeper I've owned for 20 years. Guess I can part with it after all those years as I have a replacement in hand, a Solstice GXP coupe with an engine tuned to about 350 bhp, which is even faster than the Fiero.
So my minimum seems to be one parts chaser, 3 vintage grand tourers, 3 vintage sprts cars, and one modern sports car, for a total of 8 cars. Too bad I only have a one car garage.....
I have of course sworn never to buy another car. As it was only about the 10th time I've done that, it might even be true this time!
42 
As some people said, its not so much cars as what they do. To be in a happy car situation, I would need:
None of these cars have to be inherently "nice" besides the DD, as long as the others are mechanically sound (and FAST), that's all that matters. So, it looks like 8 cars minimum for car nirvana. I'd like to think I'm at 2 out of 8 currently, so that's not bad at 22. As some people have said, I've owned a lot of cars (over 25 so far), with the most being 6 at a time. I think things will get "better" (sort of like an addict gets better) when the shop is built this fall 
Me: One car: Mazda6 hatch V6 Stick. One mod: '05 Mustang GT wheels (not the Bullitt style) with 245/45 tires.
Wife: One car: Honda Odyssey. One mod: Noise cancellation between the kids seats and the front seats.
Probably 2.
Have a new truck to use as a DD/tow vehicle. In the parts collecting phase for building a weekend/HPDE E30.
Would more be cool? Yeah, but I'll happy with these two.
I think I could get down to 2 vehicles, keeping in mind I have 6 months of snow and I need to haul stuff and pull a trailer at times:
HiTempguy wrote: As some people said, its not so much cars as what they do. To be in a happy car situation, I would need: - diesel 1 ton + 32foot enclosed trailer - road racing car - time attack car - some sort of crawler - some sort of prerunner/baja style rig - a DD (something like a M5/CTS-V wagon would do, or a S4 wagon) - 200whp firefly turbo for Targa - rally car (so, Subaru something or other) None of these cars have to be inherently "nice" besides the DD, as long as the others are mechanically sound (and FAST), that's all that matters. So, it looks like 8 cars minimum for car nirvana. I'd like to think I'm at 2 out of 8 currently, so that's not bad at 22. As some people have said, I've owned a lot of cars (over 25 so far), with the most being 6 at a time. I think things will get "better" (sort of like an addict gets better) when the shop is built this fall
you're definitely ahead of me right now and I'm 22 as well. lol
I think Ive owned only 7 or so cars. cant remember all the brief encounters lol
But I have the pretty nice dd car taken care of right now, so I'm at 1 our of I think my list was 6. lol But I get out of school soon and then it's catch up time!
naparsei wrote: I have 15+. The number appears to be going up, not down.
Beginner...
Exactly one more than whatever number I currently own.
White_and_Nerdy wrote: I'm going to sound like a broken record for this forum, but the answer is what I have right now - a motorcycle and a Miata. And I don't technically need the bike, though its 50-60mpg is nice. It helps that if I do have to transport something bigger than will fit in a Miata, I have access to a community pickup truck.
Strange. I just had somebody tell me that I didn't need the Honda Goldwing I just bought because I already had a Miata which is a four wheeled motorcycle.
I currently have three cars, three motorcycles and a motorhome. I have owned up to ten cars at one time but I find that when I have that many, some of them end up neglected. Right now, everything I have is licensed and insured except for the Goldwing I just bought.
Everything is running except for the Goldwing and the Porsche which is getting a lot of work, new parts, a new seat and a new Autopower roll bar.
The Miata is the daily driver. The Cherokee hauls the dogs, tows the trailer and sometimes goes off road. The Porsche is the autocrosser/track car, and the motorhome is the motorhome. I also have the Ruckus Scooter, a CRF 230 dirt bike and my new Goldwing as the road bike. Yeah, that's a lot but I feel like I am at a balance now. Everything I have now either gets used once a week or is getting wrenched on a regular basis. One more right now would be too much.
Currently I'm at 4, and I'm pretty happy:
'06 RAV4 V6 - winter DD, kid hauler, long trip car '06 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab - hauler, snowmobile '05 Honda Odyssey - kid hauler '97 BMW 328is - 3-season DD
We could eliminate the RAV4, but we've owned it since new, and it gets 23 MPG in mixed driving. With gas prices always threatening to increase, I'm hesitant to kick it out of the fleet.
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