Park it Like it's Hot: the Car Thread

[Fixer808]

So, some of you may recall the car I WAS driving until lately, an awesome 1987 Audi 5000S, custom exhaust and rims, lowered, tinted windows, lovely burgundy paint job. It was called Dangerhawk, and Dangerhawk fucked my ass every chance it got. Well, finally it went too far. My transmission blew, so now it only goes backwards- which is not an asset in a vehicle, unless it's an Italian tank in WWII. So now I'm driving the polar opposite of a cool car: It's a 2001 Dodge Caravan. The sound system is decent, and it goes forwards, so that's really all I care about. Oh, and it can hold a lot of my work gear in the back. I named it Thunderhorse.
WHAT'S EVERYONE ELSE ROLLIN' IN THESE DAYS?

[sublimaze]

Hey, nothing wrong with a Caravan! It's a comfy ride, spacious, and you'll always be in demand for friends who need to move from apartments!

I just got a Lincoln MKZ hybrid. I love it. Not terribly sexay, but it's comfortable, has a great sound system, and gets fantastic gas milage (about 38 MPG so far).

Gotta post a picture. Best car I've ever had.

[Tea]

If a car was so hot that I had to park it and get out of it, I think I would rather jump out before even having the chance to take the keys out.
To keep more on subject, I ride the bus with fellow citizens. If you have your own car, you don't have the chance of getting hit on daily by minority races; take that into consideration while you ride in comfort.

[Amaro]

Just recently got my first car, a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI... Kind of a steal, but work is needing put in still (some cosmetic and some functional). Since it's not a junker, I've already mapped out all I want to do to it down the road, inside and out. I'm pretty excited.

I'm actually trying to make it appear less sporty.

We'll see how well I pull that off in the end.

[Malechite]

I'm rockin' a 1992 Silver 5 speed Mitsubishi 3000GT SL... One of these day's I'll upgrade to a later model VR4, but I do love the one I have, even if it needs some work from time to time.

From the side
At an angle
At night

[sublimaze]

I'm rockin' a 1992 Silver 5 speed Mitsubishi 3000GT SL... One of these day's I'll upgrade to a later model VR4, but I do love the one I have, even if it needs some work from time to time.

From the side
At an angle
At night

That's a sweet​ car.

[somewhatdamaged]

2002 Trans Am WS6. Great car, I love the looks, it's a beast.

I also drive my work horse, the reliable 1993 Honda Accord 2dr. (the greatest engineered car). I need to get a nice photo of it.

[pequena]

That's a sweet​ car.

I know, right?

It's a super sweet car I thoroughly enjoy riding around in that bad boy.

[Big Fat Matt]

2000 Dodge Grand Caravan. 3.8L V6, 180k+ Miles. Shes a beast. Ive put 10K on her since i got her in june. my buddy's band loads up in there and i drive them across the state. she has been dubbed The Grandest Caravan.

[millionmilesaway]

my auto I have had for almost a year now after the untimely demise of my little Saturn. Besides a continuing water leak issue and the fact that I need to replace the brakes on all 4 tires I love it. Very fun to drive and I feel safer knowing that its bode isnt made out of plastic like most cars these days.

[Leviathant]

I've got a 2007 Dodge Magnum SXT w/ a 3.5l V6, the first time I've ever owned a car that other people randomly tell me is cool. I also own a 2001 Hyundai Elantra, which is by definition the opposite of cool, but I bought it new and have put over 150,000 miles on it, and it's been very good to me. I'll probably post pics later. In fact it was membership on car forums related to both of these vehicles that influenced me towards picking vBulletin for the new ETS. (Of note: Charlie Clouser's on the Magnum-related forum I'm on, cuz he's got a Magnum SRT, among a couple other badass cars)

[Big Fat Matt]

Dodge is getting all the love in the world in this thread

[sublimaze]

Chrysler/Dodge made some awesome cars. Some are still good. IMO Ford still rawks GM and Chrysler.

[Leviathant]

Traded the Hyundai Elantra in for a 2006 Mini Cooper S this weekend. Between that and the Magnum, my wife and I are now officially urban yuppie scum.

[halloween]

I'm not joking when I say that this will forever be my dream car.

[sublimaze]

Mini>>>Hyundai. Congrats!

(Still think Ford > Dodge, though!)

Traded the Hyundai Elantra in for a 2006 Mini Cooper S this weekend. Between that and the Magnum, my wife and I are now officially urban yuppie scum.

[NotoriousTIMP]

Traded the Hyundai Elantra in for a 2006 Mini Cooper S this weekend. Between that and the Magnum, my wife and I are now officially urban yuppie scum.

Turbo or Supercharger?

I currently drive a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 I've had her for about a year and she's a blast. I was missing the hatchback and had to pick her up when I saw her at my local Mazda dealer. This photo was taken right after I installed a set of coil overs and rattle canned a set of mazdaspeed6 wheels



and before the MS3 I had a MS6



and before the MS6 I had a 2002 Protege5 (I've been on a Mazda kick for the past 8 years or so) Poor thing finally died once I moved up to Washington

[liquidcalm]

I currently bomb around South Wales in one of these :


however this is my dream car

[Leviathant]

Mini>>>Hyundai. Congrats!

(Still think Ford > Dodge, though!)

Ford really put together some good cars over these past few years, but generally speaking I avoid domestic vehicles because they are dumb. The ergonomics are dumb, the warranties all sucked, the styling was terrible. I don't really understand why anyone would buy Chevrolet or Cadillac or Buick. I do like the outside styling of the sportier Dodge vehicles, but the interior of my Magnum is pretty dull, as interiors go. The new Charger has a nicer cockpit, but I was admittedly disappointed that the inside of my car wasn't nearly as cool as the outside - although the seats are friggin' great.

As to whether MINI >> Hyundai, we'll see. You know what I liked about my Elantra? I bought it in 2001 for $13,000 and only let it go in 2011 with 155,000 miles because we weren't really using it. The warranty was great, and even better perhaps was that I didn't need to use it. Replacement parts were cheap (I swapped out 80% of my suspension at 100,000 miles for $200 in parts from someone who had upgraded their car, and upgraded a few suspension bits to Tiburon GT parts on the cheap), the entire shop manual is posted online for free, maintenance was easy. But it was showing it's age (No robo-car functions like traction control), and Mel wanted an automatic for driving in the city. If I had the choice between buying a brand new MINI and a brand new Hyundai Veloster, truth be told I'd probably put money down for the Veloster, given the reliability and low maintenance costs.

The MINI we got has the supercharger and a 6-speed auto transmission (again, for driving in Philly)

I don't know that I have a dream car really. I thought the Magnum looked cool when it came out in 2005, and now I own one. The MINI was a curiosity, but Mel wanted on when she moved to the US ("All the cars here are huge!"), and now we own one of those. Both can go fast if we need them to. One can haul a bunch of stuff, the other can fit in tight spots and sips gas. If the MINI lasts another 100,000 miles without too many serious repair bills, I'll be happy with it.

Funny thing about both of these cars -- in Philadelphia, they're everywhere. On my street alone, there are four Magnums. The MINIs tend to be in more hipstery neighborhoods, but they're still everywhere. But when we drive west to my parent's place, it's not even 100 miles away, and we're deep in SUV territory. The Magnum becomes a very unusual vehicle to see on the road. I feel like it's a very good car, but I can see why it was canceled after 2008. Chrysler was basically betting on the Magnum as an alternative to the SUV crowd, but suburbanites never took to it.

[darktemplar007]

I drive this thing:


It's a 2001 New Beetle. It has numerous issues, breaks often, has faulty wiring that kill my lights frequently, and I hate baseball; but I got it for free, and it is hilarious to drive around and see reactions. It's also great on gas, which is nice. I love the stupid thing.

[NotoriousTIMP]

@Levi - what trim level did you get on the magnum? Most muscle car mags list that as a future collector's car

@Darktemp - how did you get it for free? Promo giveaway or something?

Tapatapa?

[Leviathant]

@Levi - what trim level did you get on the magnum? Most muscle car mags list that as a future collector's car

We got an SXT with the "comfort package" IIRC. Power adjustable leather heated seats, power adjustable pedals (which is great for my half-Chinese Mormolyke), sunroof. For sure, SRT8s with the 6.1l Hemi will be eye catching rare beasts in the future, but not so much that people should buy them as an investment. Ours is a nice touring vehicle that has ample power for us (they came with the base option of a 2.7l v6 which apparently sucks balls) and gets surprisingly decent mileage for being a huge vehicle with 250hp. The only mods I've done to it are to add a catch can, and I'll be throwing on the police-trim rear sway bar when things warm back up.

That Beetle is amazing, haha. More backstory please

[Mech]

If I had the choice between buying a brand new MINI and a brand new Hyundai Veloster, truth be told I'd probably put money down for the Veloster, given the reliability and low maintenance costs.

.

Really like the looks of the Veloster. I currently have a 2006 Honda Civic. It's still in great shape with 60k+ miles and have only really had oil changes performed and changed the brake pads finally not too long ago. If I wasn't still paying off a small personal loan (car is paid off) and wasn't toying with the idea of finishing my basement, I think I may check out the Veloster. Still may see if I can test drive one at some point.

[Andrew]

Dodge/Chrysler is headed in an interesting direction with the Fiat takeover, you'll see some very interesting stuff start appearing here with a Dodge label -- for example, the new Dodge Dart is an Alfa Romeo under the skin. I considered a Magnum wagon years back when shopping for a vehicle for the wife but ended up with a new 06 Subaru Legacy which has been absolutely bullet-proof so far. She's got 56k on it and is not interested in trading it. I just put a Parrot bluetooth/ipod thing in that car - can't say I enjoyed that... works great though.

Agreed that Ford is the most solid US automaker at this point. Top Gear tells me that Ford is looked at with huge respect in the UK... probably moreso than in the US.

One maker that pisses me off badly is Honda/Acura. I don't like where they are or their bizarre design directions. I drove Hondas for a long time -- two Accords, a CRX, a Prelude and an Acura RSX -- and that last one was just an uncomfortable, disappointing car. I've cast a look in their direction occasionally but usually end up nauseous (Ridgeline, TL) or underwhelmed (TSX, CR-Z). I do kinda like the TSX wagon - aka the Euro Accord tourer -- might consider that if in that market.

At present I drive this - 08, 3.2 V6 Quattro, 6-spd manual. Traded the 350Z last January after four years of being unable to drive in snow. Or rain for that matter. This thing gnaws through snow like a rally car.

darktemplar: you should try to turn those graphics into a Human Centipede theme somehow

edit: yeah, that's 3.2 L. No idea where my "2.8" number came from. Also: yes, we haven't had any snow here this winter (until today!) but last winter it was awesome. Dry/wet handling is pretty spectacular also, especially compared to a RWD car favored by the drifting crowd.

[Vertigo]

Agreed that Ford is the most solid US automaker at this point. Top Gear tells me that Ford is looked at with huge respect in the UK... probably moreso than in the US.

It's essentially a different company. Ford Europe is run from Germany and until the new 'world' Focus, it fielded an entirely different lineup. Ford has a particularly strong reputation in England though, as they've produced a range of affordable but excellent sporty hatches for a very long time.

On topic, I really need to take some pictures of my shiny new X-Type, before the inevitable pranging begins.

[Ruined]

A few years ago, I promised myself that I would own a Lexus convertible. After a lot of hard work, here are photos of the 2010 Lexus IS 250C I purchased, last year:
Top Up:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/0000179.jpg/

Top Down:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/521/0000186.jpg/

[NotoriousTIMP]

Dodge/Chrysler is headed in an interesting direction with the Fiat takeover, you'll see some very interesting stuff start appearing here with a Dodge label -- for example, the new Dodge Dart is an Alfa Romeo under the skin. I considered a Magnum wagon years back when shopping for a vehicle for the wife but ended up with a new 06 Subaru Legacy which has been absolutely bullet-proof so far. She's got 56k on it and is not interested in trading it. I just put a Parrot bluetooth/ipod thing in that car - can't say I enjoyed that... works great though.

Agreed that Ford is the most solid US automaker at this point. Top Gear tells me that Ford is looked at with huge respect in the UK... probably moreso than in the US.

One maker that pisses me off badly is Honda/Acura. I don't like where they are or their bizarre design directions. I drove Hondas for a long time -- two Accords, a CRX, a Prelude and an Acura RSX -- and that last one was just an uncomfortable, disappointing car. I've cast a look in their direction occasionally but usually end up nauseous (Ridgeline, TL) or underwhelmed (TSX, CR-Z). I do kinda like the TSX wagon - aka the Euro Accord tourer -- might consider that if in that market.

At present I drive this - 08, 2.8V6 Quattro, 6-spd manual. Traded the 350Z last January after four years of being unable to drive in snow. Or rain for that matter. This thing gnaws through snow like a rally car.

darktemplar: you should try to turn those graphics into a Human Centipede theme somehow

You can thank Mazda engineering for this. During the Mazda/Ford years it was clear that Ford was getting all the help it needed (platform wise) to start making decent cars again.

A few years ago, I promised myself that I would own a Lexus convertible. After a lot of hard work, here are photos of the 2010 Lexus IS 250C I purchased, last year:
Top Up:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/0000179.jpg/

Top Down:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/521/0000186.jpg/

My sister just picked up a 2009 IS250 back in October. I was VERY surprised by how comfortable these cars are. We test drove a 2009 Audi A4, Mercedes something or another (never been a fan of that brand so I didnt pay attention to what model it was), a 2010 Nissan Altima (this thing was beautiful and fully loaded) before deciding on the 2009 IS250.

Trading in the 2007 Mazda 3


....for the IS250

[Timinator]

I'm currently driving a 2008 VW Eos. It's a great two-personal convertible, and is a diesel so has phenomenal mileage.

[jaimie]

After 15 years of driving diesel cars I'm now in a gas car and so beyond paranoid I am going to be on autopilot someday and put diesel in it.

[scotty79]

I currently bomb around South Wales in one of these :


however this is my dream car

i drive a black gti version of this