The best car your Dad had....
Discussion
Mine fairly boring cars through the 70s and 80s, a variety of Renault, Audi and Vauxhall company cars. I do remember him having a Lancia Delta though - not the Integrale, just a regular average Delta. Although as a 5 year old I didn't know the difference.
The midlife crisis hit and he bought himself a Marcos Mantula (B11 RCS) in the late 90s. The sound of that thing was phenomenal. Next was a 2001 Impreza which he managed to write off when he aquaplaned after swerving to avoid a rabbit. The replacement Impreza was sold in 2007 when he got his current car, a Nissan Navara.
Of the lot, his Marcos was by far my favourite, the V8 noise and the looks of the thing were wonderful. He managed around 35,000 miles in 2 years in it and it never once let him down.
The midlife crisis hit and he bought himself a Marcos Mantula (B11 RCS) in the late 90s. The sound of that thing was phenomenal. Next was a 2001 Impreza which he managed to write off when he aquaplaned after swerving to avoid a rabbit. The replacement Impreza was sold in 2007 when he got his current car, a Nissan Navara.
Of the lot, his Marcos was by far my favourite, the V8 noise and the looks of the thing were wonderful. He managed around 35,000 miles in 2 years in it and it never once let him down.
Porsche 356B... back in the late 70s.
After that it was nice but kinda boring stuff. A Porsche 924, then a Diesel Cadillac Seville, then a Mercury Cougar, few Merc 300Es then a Pontiac Bonneville, Infiniti J30 and then finally a Jaguar XJ
He did have a Fiat Spyder when he passed away as a toy, that was nice.
After that it was nice but kinda boring stuff. A Porsche 924, then a Diesel Cadillac Seville, then a Mercury Cougar, few Merc 300Es then a Pontiac Bonneville, Infiniti J30 and then finally a Jaguar XJ
He did have a Fiat Spyder when he passed away as a toy, that was nice.
In the 70s, my Dad had a Triumph Vitesse, and a couple of MG Midgets.
When I was born in 1982,he had an Audi 80 estate in brown and then followed this with an identical looking VW Passat estate, again in brown! I think both had 1.6 petrol units.
I used to love the after-market tape player which was located on the passenger side, possibly in the glove box.
He then bought a 3 year old Vauxhall Carlton Mk 2 in 1990, which was bottom of the range - 1.8l carb manual. With just 90bhp, it really struggled to haul the family around; 0-60 was 14 seconds according to What Car at the time. Thing is, I loved the Carlton because of the memories of family holidays in the 90s and also because it was such a well built solid car. I learnt to drive in the Carlton and when I passed my test, used it often to drive to school (6th form). My friend, with his fathers ovlov 740 and I with the Carlton must have looked ridiculous among all the other Saxos, 106s, Corsas etc.
Around the early 90s, he was given a gold Capri 2 litre GL from my Grandma. I used to love that car...
He bought a MK3 Astra SRi in 1994. Even though it had just 115bhp, the 2 litre 8 valve engine was superb. Lots of grunt throughout the rev range and didn't need revving to perform.
Since the Astra, he has had a Primera 2 litre SE (not bad but needed revving a lot to deliver any performance), a Ford Ka (great small car ruined by a terrible dated 1.3 engine) and now a Hyundai i10 (the definition of white goods)....
My Dad was never a car lover really. I picked up my love for cars through reading car mags. Probably the best car memory was getting a lift from my uncle in his Alfa 164 3 litre in the mid 90s. I could not believe how quick it was and how good that Alfa V6 sounded....
Probably why I drive an Alfa with a V6 now
When I was born in 1982,he had an Audi 80 estate in brown and then followed this with an identical looking VW Passat estate, again in brown! I think both had 1.6 petrol units.
I used to love the after-market tape player which was located on the passenger side, possibly in the glove box.
He then bought a 3 year old Vauxhall Carlton Mk 2 in 1990, which was bottom of the range - 1.8l carb manual. With just 90bhp, it really struggled to haul the family around; 0-60 was 14 seconds according to What Car at the time. Thing is, I loved the Carlton because of the memories of family holidays in the 90s and also because it was such a well built solid car. I learnt to drive in the Carlton and when I passed my test, used it often to drive to school (6th form). My friend, with his fathers ovlov 740 and I with the Carlton must have looked ridiculous among all the other Saxos, 106s, Corsas etc.
Around the early 90s, he was given a gold Capri 2 litre GL from my Grandma. I used to love that car...
He bought a MK3 Astra SRi in 1994. Even though it had just 115bhp, the 2 litre 8 valve engine was superb. Lots of grunt throughout the rev range and didn't need revving to perform.
Since the Astra, he has had a Primera 2 litre SE (not bad but needed revving a lot to deliver any performance), a Ford Ka (great small car ruined by a terrible dated 1.3 engine) and now a Hyundai i10 (the definition of white goods)....
My Dad was never a car lover really. I picked up my love for cars through reading car mags. Probably the best car memory was getting a lift from my uncle in his Alfa 164 3 litre in the mid 90s. I could not believe how quick it was and how good that Alfa V6 sounded....
Probably why I drive an Alfa with a V6 now
On a side note, though my father was a petrolhead in one sense, he bought cars on how they looked and never read a motoring magazine in his life, not even my subscription to Motor at the time which I always thought odd.
He simply knew what car he wanted by looking at it, sitting in it and driving it. Shame more people don't do that as I would guess that modern mags are part of the "snobbery" issue that put paid to most mainstream cars that may or may not have been superior to the "premium" marques.
He simply knew what car he wanted by looking at it, sitting in it and driving it. Shame more people don't do that as I would guess that modern mags are part of the "snobbery" issue that put paid to most mainstream cars that may or may not have been superior to the "premium" marques.
Mostly Land Rovers but when I was about 9 he bought a whiteVauxhall Viscount, which I thought was the greatest thing ever. It had electric windows,something me and most of my school friends had only ever seen before on telly! It was also the first car I ever drove rather than just steered sitting on the Old Mans lap,gave me a taste for barges that never went away.
MarJay said:
My dad had one of these in maroon:
Embedded in the two tone vinyl stripes was the word TURBO in huge bold letters. When I was 8 it was the fastest car in the world. Looks a little dated now though...
I need one of those in my life. However I do NOT need the stress of everything being rusted solid Embedded in the two tone vinyl stripes was the word TURBO in huge bold letters. When I was 8 it was the fastest car in the world. Looks a little dated now though...
2 Wycked said:
My Dad had some alright cars; an early Manta B GT/E, Calibra SE2 and turbo, BMW E32 735i, Jaguar Sovereign, a selection of *ahem* Rover, all pretty varied.
But the one that holds the dearest place in my heart, despite being followed by the V6 Turbo version, was his Phase 2 Renault 25 Monaco. I can't find a picture of a Monaco interior, but if you saw it (or remember them?) then you'd understand.
Lush, and the talking dash computers were epic stuff.But the one that holds the dearest place in my heart, despite being followed by the V6 Turbo version, was his Phase 2 Renault 25 Monaco. I can't find a picture of a Monaco interior, but if you saw it (or remember them?) then you'd understand.
Also
Looking back on time, through Various Montego Estates for towing the caravan, several peugeot diesel estates, the few cars that stand out to me are
MG RV8
Renault GTA
MG Maestro Turbo
Renault 5 Gordini
Renault 5 Turbo 2
Rover 200vi
and the latest
Can Am Ultima GTR - OMG its so good to drive!
MG RV8
Renault GTA
MG Maestro Turbo
Renault 5 Gordini
Renault 5 Turbo 2
Rover 200vi
and the latest
Can Am Ultima GTR - OMG its so good to drive!
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