Cars that made me smile, and those that didn't

Having been driving for 30 years, I'd become a bit bored, what with the volume of traffic and congestion and suchlike and so I was thinking which of all the cars I've had over the years, some better than others:
in 1981 , a mini 850 - my first car, aged 18 and it was soooo cool I even bagged a French girlfriend.
then a Cortina and a Fiesta, both rather dull until
in 1986, a Renault 18 Turbo - when all the clones had an XR3i or 2.8 Capri, I was a modern day Maigret and the car was a joy (and quicker than the Fords).
then I had 2 Vivas, another Fiesta, a Metro (utterly shite), a Golf and a pair of Rovers, leading to
in 1996, an old Metro, one of the first on a W plate. This looked shocking, the doors needed a run up to shut and the windows only opened if they felt like it but in 2 years of owning it it never failed me, it went like a cat with a banger up it's arse and cost me £1 (for a bulb) to get through the Mot.
After that came a Sierra and a Jetta before I got
in 1998 a V6 Mondeo - It looked like a bog standard 1.8 but went rather nicely.
After that came a Almera (dull but reliable), a Polo and a Cinquecento (probably the best small car I've had).
For my 40th Birthday I bought myself a Saab 9000 - 2.3 Turbo, 225 BHP, 0-60 in under 7 seconds. I did some grinning in that, until I broke it.
For an interim driver I picked up a Saab 900 auto (load of shit, not worthy of the badge) until, Christmas 2006, I got myself a 9000 Aero, the best 9000, another 225 BHP flying machine, I still regret selling it.
We then picked up a Saab 9-3 Aero and that was shared by me and the Mrs until, in Jan this year I bought a 1982 SJ off ebay - ran it a few months but came to the conclusion that I needed something a bit less "agricultural" for an occasional (ie once or twice a week) driver.
So I got a Jimy, so that I could do a bit of green laning and it's brought the smile back, for a load of different reasons.

So, what have you had ?

started with a half timbered moggy traveller - had to revarnish the wood every year to stop it going black
Wolseley 18-85 - handled like a big mini and the front seats met in the middle - very useful
MG midget - a right laugh
Fiesta 1.1L - zzzzzz
escort mk3 ghia - sold it to my brother who rolled it
escort mk3.5 gl in a fetching shade of dog poo
then a sucession of company cars
1.6 L mk3 cavalier zzzzzzz
2.0 mk3 SRI cavalier
2.0 modeo ghia x
2.0 honda accord auto - it liked to select first going round roundabouts and screamed its conkers off before it decided that maybe second was better
2.0 mondeo ghia x estate auto in black - looked and accelerated like a hearse
Audi A6 avant 2.8 used to be the md's until he was sacked and I got it until the lease expired

back to buying my own:
1.8 focus zetec collection - with a full rs bodykit
Audi A4 Avant se1.9tdi - put out a smoke screen if you booted it - great if a convertable was up your arse
Mazda MX5 mk2.5- midlife crisis
volvo XC90 SE tdi - a mobile armchair good for intimidating BMWs
Audi A3 2.0 tdi s-line sportback in black (looked like a drugs dealer car) - good at towing the jimny (if not quite legally)
and currently a Mecedes CLS cdi (and the wifes got a cherokee diesel I steal for towing the jimny

I started out with a VW Golf 1.4 E Mk4
It was slow, but looked good, and I was 17 and could drive so it was amazing! Freedom!
Then I got a 1.6 Mazda 3 Sport, it handled well, but was suprisingly uneconomical and high on insurance so I sold it.
Along came a 2.2 Diesel Honda Civic which was quick but handled like a pig!
Then a Mini Cooper 1.6 shortly sold and followed by a Mini Cooper S 1.6 Supercharged.
The Cooper S has 220 bhp and does 0-60 in 6 seconds. It's so fun and glides through the corners, but the tax is £260 a year, the insurance is HUGE and it gets 24mpg and is slowly munching through my bank account.
So I'm selling it and buying a Jimny for some green lane fun

Mine follow a bit of a theme!

In 1988 the bank offered me a 'Graduate Loan' - 24 hours later I had my first Land Rover - a 1958 Series 2 and it was brilliant. I sold it 6 years later when the chassis snapped in two - and I had not yet learned to weld!
Next came a Series3 Lightweight into which I grafted a Daihatsu 2.8 TD engine - and learned to weld somewhere along the lines. It was unreliable as hell - big mistake on many levels.
Then a 1986 110 Hard Top which I loved - and modified the hell out of. The mods to this form the basis of virtually all X-Eng products to date:cheer:
I was working as a consultant and convinced myself I needed a tidy car. I went to the local Land Rover main dealer to buy a new Defender or Discovery (this was about 1997). The dealer looked me up & down and suggested I would be better off looking in the Friday ad for an old banger! I admit I wasn't the most tidy I've ever been - but a 35k sale walked out the door feeling very angry! More out spite than anything I bought a Jeep Cherokee, one of the first Turbo Diesels in the UK. Sadly in the three years I owned it, it spent over a year being fixed at the dealer - then died totally as soon as the warranty ran out. Never Again!
I bought a Land Rover SV90 - which is one of the rarest Land Rovers ever made. It was a European, diesel version of the North American Spec Defenders, complete with cage & soft top. I kept it for 8 years and apart from a new head gasket 150,000 miles in, it never missed a day. I sold it a couple of years ago (for £200 less than I'd bought it for as they have become very sought after) and was very very sad to see it go Unfortunately, it was too special to modify and I really needed a test vehicle for products.
I replaced it with my current Td5 110 Doublecab which is certainly the most practical car I've had - but it's not 'special'.

To make up for the lack of 'specialness' I bought a Vitara! Then spent three years hacking it about into a 4 wheel independent suspension, 4 wheel steer, 4 wheel height adjustable, twist in the middle buggy. I learned so much about automotive engineering and suspension design along the way - even though the end result was not that practical to compete in as it did not comply with the MSA regs and was certainly not road legal.

I reckon, if I'd bought an SJ in place of my first Land Rover - my history would be quite different. They are a really fun vehicle to work on and to off road. Different capabilities to a Land Rover but overall just as capable.

I decided to stick with the Suzuki theme for my next build - and bought a Jimny. It is going to be a simpler, faster build which at the end will be more practical and useful - and that I can compete in.
A few months into ownership, I'm convinced I made the right choice. It's a good compromise between something like a Discovery and an SJ. It's the first car I've owned which came with drinks holders as standard!

Si

Darth-morris traveller - you're showing your age!

Mine i've always been a Ford guy:
Mk3 Escort 1.3 L - in poverty spec ceramic blue, served a purpose and was given to me by my parents.
Orion 1.4 L, always hankered after an orion........just not as boring as this one. Totalled it at 5mph.
Orion 1.6i Ghia H Plate "90spec" Radiant red - exactly what i wanted, loved it, replaced it with the next car and sold the onion to a mate who done all the stuff i never had the money for, bigger wheels rs turbo seats etc...
Rover 620sli in obligatory British Racing Green(and tan interior ) i actually quite like this car, i could drive anywhere in it and get out fresh as a daisy. It was so comfortable but that came at a cost - it would eat tyres and brakes if driven hard.
Orion 1.8ghia si 130 Black, i had been looking about for something a bit more fun and cheaper to run and maintain. Found this one nearby it needed a bit of tlc but it was a near straight swap. I destroyed what was left of the tyres on it and put a full set of sticky avons on so it sharpened things up, i had a "moment" in it shortly after when a brake line split. I had the brake line done, new bottom arms and fast road pads. I hadn't even run the pads in and i had topped the oil with the wrong stuff without realising, on the way to my dads to investigate the knocking she let go on me and seized
I only had it 6 weeks and loved every minute.
Sierra estate 2.0 Ghia. I needed a car in a hurry and ended up with this, it spent a lot of its time sideways! I paid £250 and p/x'd it against the next car for the same 3 days later.
Mk2 Mondeo 2.0 GLX Panther black. A nice car but i had become "Mr Average" i put some cougar alloys on it and had a full ICE install in it. I loved tooling around in it but i worked in a city centre bar late at night and worried about it getting broken in to. So i got....
SJ410 softop. As a plaything and to drive to work without worrying about it too much, loved every second of driving it, especially in the summer with the roof off.Eventually it cost me a fortune, the headgasket went and i didn't feel confident doing it myself so once it was all done it cost me as much as i paid for the car, not long after i had a few other problems and i took it off the road. I moved it with us when we moved house but a few months later i sold out the front for £100.
Focus St170, technically the Wifes car but i drove it first. Her first car. Love the car for the 5% you can enjoy it but i'm itching to get rid for a GV but can't afford to until next year.
.Peugeot 205 Rallye Loved this one too, one owner from new great condition but needing some tlc in parts, i bought it cheap as a runaround for £100. It got hammer everywhere, it loved screaming round the back roads. I had loads planned but we had a spell where we needed some cash and it sat doing nothing in the drive. Sold it to a guy from Wales for £550.
Jimny Special. The rallye had failed its MOT and i still needed a car, in a moment of madness after always saying i wanted to get another zuk i found the Jimny local, i knew i was having it before i'd even seen it! I hope that i never have to sell this, i would love to be able to keep it as a toy in the future and take it off daily duties.

The ones in bold are the ones i enjoy(ed) the most. I would say that the ones i miss are the red Orion and the Rallye.

My jimny is probably my favourite though, all the character of the sj but with the coils and modern touches.

Hillman Avenger Brought to replace a motorcycle for the winter, half way through the winter it was sold and another bike brought

Ford Escort Mk1 it was red

Ford Cortina Mk4 with a full length sun roof, roll on the summer

Ford Fiesta Mk1 The Cortina was rear ended had to get a car quick

Morris Minor Traveller Seemed a good idea at the time, still got a soft spot for them

Ford Fiesta Mk? it was a 1991 jobbie The Morris was un-repairable after an accident had to get a replacment quick

Ford Escort Mk4

Mazda MX5 Mk1 Reached 40 (as we all do eventually)

Suzuki Jimny

Seems a lot of Fords, some of the above were shared with Mrs Motty, it depended on whether I was a being a big roughty toughty biker at the time

Here goes mine.....

A 1998 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 breeze; which I shared with my mother. Thought it was great at the time, but looking back at it would never get another. A proper family car we had from new that ended up with my sister until it was near death.

A 1993 Renault Clio 1.4rti; wasn't the best car in the world but it was my first car of my own, and all my friends were driving Nova SR's so it was a bit different and just as quick

A 1997 Peugeot 306 Dturbo; the longest I've owned a car I think, did 60,000 miles in 2 years doing "nob head laps" around the local towns! The first car that I modified. Spent a fortune on it both inside and out!

A 2000 Peugeot 306 GTI-6; wanted one the whole time I owned the previous peugeot but the insurance would have been crippling. It was an absolute hoot, had it lowered and thrashed it everywhere! Then commuting to building sites over long distances meant I couldnt afford the running costs

A 2002 Peugeot 307 HDI; Hated every minute of owning it, selling it on 6 months later

A 2005 Seat Ibiza FR 130; the only new car I ever bought. Great car, regretted selling it a year or so after.

A 2003 Fiat Punto 1.2 active sport; bought for my ex to learn to drive in, made me fell like a teenager again thrashing it around!

A 2005 Golf GTTDI 140; Chipped it to 185hp, lowered it and put 18" alloys on with greater neg offset. Good car but found the following at a bargain price....

A 2007 Golf GTTSI 170; Turbo charged and supercharged 1.4. Bought it with 6000 miles on it less than a year old for £11k! (ex repo I found when looking for cars with my mate)

A 2006 Mitsubishi L200 Trojan; Bought it to transport motor bike/mountain bikes/do up house. First 4x4 I had/drove and gave me the bug. 2" body lift, 3" sus lift and 33" tyres! My company ran of out work in the nearby area about a year ago and i've been commuting 200miles to London so quickly got tired of the big truck and got....

A 2006 BMW 320d; A bit of a rep mobile but completely solved all my needs and still have it

A 1998 Suzuki Vitara soft top; missed have the 4x4 so bought for the missus to learn in (and my toy!), but needed a lot of work to sort out, way too much for me to try and do.

A 2002 Suzuki Jimny; To replace the Vitara, its great and we love it! Lots of mods planned.

Followed the same format and bolded the one's I loved!

well when i passed in 2001, mine started with a (f plate 89) peugoet 205 junior, which we thought was a 1.0, cheaper 'er insurance at 17, £650 on my dads policy but as it was a 5 door 1.1 special an extra £200 grr

was a good car lasted around a year before i got into my second year as an apprentice, and was now on "£650 a month!!" so bought an citroen AXGT, bought of my mate, and thought it was great went well, and very nippy but it was crap, rattles bangs knocks etc cost me loads in the long run, new shocks new rear axle, the list went on!!


I then went into my 3rd year as an apprentice and was on £850 a month!! so i bought the car that caused me the most problems, but was such good fun, i'd buy another one tomorrow if i had the time to drive it, an Renault 5 GT Turbo

i had it for 2.5 years, and went through many bits, 3 turbo's a head gasket, and many parts making it "go faster" but just feeling the power from the little 1.4, and went like a go cart, loved the car, but sold it due to buying a house, and becoming more unreliable

ended up buying a 1.2 p reg corsa merit, as a run about, and ended up finishing my apprenticeship and going straight onto 3 shifts, the corsa was so basic, but was good on fuel and never went wrong!!

then ended up saving up and bought an mitsubishi evo 6 tuned upto 376 bhp,

loved it, but the neighbours didn't, starting it up at 5.20am, (it was very loud) but was so fast, ended up taking it onto oulton park on a trackday, then worked out my mpg at 7.7 but it did average 20mpg

tyres didnt last long, only 5000 miles, but was good fun!

ended up selling the corsa and got my T reg gold jimny!!

this started my suzuki ownership, i didnt know much about offroading then, ended up with some 195's on and did some off roading!! and slight modifications!

then the ex wanted to get married, (we didnt) but i sold the evo!

then came a 99 Vitara 4U, i had for 6 months, great car so much more comfy than the jimny, but sold it as i came across my current blue jimny, fully spec'd up, 31''s full cage and steel bumpers, rear disc conversion with X handbrake on the transferbox, etc which only does 20 mpg at half the speed of the evo!

but the suspension needed swapping and transferbox rebuilding i ended up replacing most things on it!

so then i ended up selling the gold jimny and bought a 52 plate clio 172 (from the same mate the AXGT came from) it was cheap so i couldnt turn it down and ran that for 6 months until my current girlfriend had it off me, and still has it now!

buy this time i was running jimnybits along side my current job and ended up in a 04 plate L200 which i still have now, great tool for what i need, and can hold 700 kg of springs on the back

so i don't know what to have next, depends what i do with my life, and my work/home balance with a full time job and also running jimnybits im having no free time to even drive a fast car hmm ill see

Great thread!
As a bit of a dork though i didn't realise bluejimny was jimnybits!!

AX gt and 5 GT turbo are 2 cars my mates had, the AX had a full manifold and system on it and a load of other mods, it used to pop and bang like a good'un. GT turbo was a go cart of a car, but he never looked after it and it went bang. He towed it to a garage offering £500 minimum p/x and came away with a mk1 1.6 focus

Only just 28 and soo many cars!
about 5 before I was 17, mainly minis, filled with filler, bunged through MOT then flogged on for profit.

First Legal car - Mk1 Nissan Micra 1.0 - Got bored
Second - New ford KA with big alloys, lowered, ICE, Chaved up.
Third - Ford Focus estate 1.8td LX great car stolen from my mum, big alloys and ICE again.
Company - Ford Fiesta 1.8 van LOVED IT
Fourth - Mazda MX5 Isola with hard top ect, too small and hairdresser #
Company - Ford Fiesta 1.3 car HATED IT!
Fifth - Grand Vitara 2.0 Still got it, great reliable car!
Sixth - decide to be self employed and got a 51plate 350 tranny van, BIG MISTAKE.
Company - VW Transporter 1.9 T5 Lovely Van, I want another!
Seventh - Mitsubishi Pajero 3.0l V6 LPG 33'' tyres 2''lift, 2''bodylift, Snorkle, Loved it until I cooked it, fixed it and flogged it Wish id kept it but bought a house.
Company - Renault Master HATED IT
Eight - JIMNY loved it off road hated it on the road, sold it then regretted it
Still got the trusty Grand Vitara
Company - Citroen Relay, Nice and comfy:)
Nineth - Got the same old JIMNY back after spotting it on e'bay after searching for another, BIG mistake as the guy had badly bodged it.
Now use the G/F's Sear Ibiza in the weekends as its cheaper than my GV, Or steal my mothers Shogun to drag the JIMNY about.

There is a few other cars that have been wheeled and dealed or forgotten.

Vehicles kept for me in Cyprus, owned and/or part owned, in red font.

Hillman Imp (a laugh)
Mini van with Starsky & Hutch stripe. (never any brakes!)
Chrysler 2 litre (Poo)
Opal Kadett (Chevette with square front)
Honda 50
Honda 90
Mini 1300 (again, no brakes)
Morris 1000 (ace!)
Vauxhall Velox (couldn't tell the front from the back except for colour of the lights)
Hillman Minx (nice, 20 year old example with 300 miles on clock. Some prat drove in to the side of it and killed it!)
Ford Escort van 1300Gt ( a laugh)
Vauxhall Viva (puke)
Vauxhall Chevette (Opal Kadet with a pointed front end)
Suzuki Gt185 (ok if revved)
Suzuki Gt200invader (MENTAL)
Suzuki Gt250L (production racer and road bike)
Yamaha 125xl (good fun)
Yamaha 250xl (ditto)
Honda 250 Super Dream (used to fall asleep when riding it)
Suzuki Gt550m (oil burner with no ground clearance, sparks a plenty!)
Suzuki Gs750db (Shortened an Escort with it at 122mph )
Ford Escort 1300l estate (like an hearse, in fact once owned by the Co-op Funeral Home!)
Kawasaki Zx10 (Turn the brain off, enter the M1 and flick the hyper space button)
Honda Cbr600 (nice little everyday runaround but could scratch when needed)
Austin Montego 1600 (my Taxi, say no more. Wheel bearings every 4 weeks)
Austin Montego 2.0turbo (ditto)
Ford Sierra 1'6l (gutless)
Ford Sierra 1.8l (bit better)
Ford Sierra 2.0l (again bit better)
Ford Orion 1.6d (killer on busy roundabouts if fuel guage was below quarter tank!)
Rover 1.6sli (with the honda engine. Chav blowerofferer!)
Ford Fiesta 1.6 (xr2 replacement) (CR AP in capitols. Bought brand new, part ex'd after 5 months)
Fiat Punto 1.1sx (BRIGHT yellow, say no more)
Westfield Se 1.7 xFlow (Made my eyes stick wide open)
Fiat Punto 1.2elx (posher version with all electrickery buttons to play with)
Mitsubishi Pajero (is kept in Cyprus)
Isuzu 3.0 pick up (and again, Cyprus)(and for sale)
Suzuki sj (is kept in Cyprus)
Renault RX4 Scenic Usual french rubbish, now scrapped in Cyprus.
Mercedes C180 Avantguarde with sports pack. Up for sale in, you guessed it, Cyprus.
BMW X3. In Cyp. Transfer box went 2 days before warranty ended, (4,000Euro to replace!) but would the German barstewards honour it, No!! Reason, Cyprus not in the EU. Was when I last looked! Since May 2004. Sower Krauts! Just 'cause we beat them three times!
Mcc Smart (sold just before becoming number 2 in the Gay Charts. Phew!!)(But BRILLIANT!)
Suzuki 650 (chopper style!) (Paper bag over helmet when out on that! Not for me I'm afraid. Soon sold it)( Given for free, washed and sold for £300! Isn't e bay wonderful )
Bedford Rascal (Brilliant. Loved it to bits. Could get it straight down the school corridor and out the far doors, easy. Had to make sure I was careful with
the clutch, didn't want to leave tyre marks on polished floors! )
Mazda mx5 (SOLD last year, ok when the sun's out, I want to sell it but wife loves it! Costs more to tax than the deli!!!!)
Delica Exceed (Sold, at least it can go on the 'Once Had' list. Dug the 'long jump' sand pit up trying to get out when trying the 4WD out for the first time! )
Suzuki Carry van. Brilliant little 1300cc drifter and opposite lock van with loads of doors. As good as my old Bedford Rascal.
Vauxhall Monaro 5.7 V8
Various Scoobs up 380bhp. (Still think they are not what they're bulled up to be)(Evo better)
Mercedes A200 turbo, chipped etc 234bhp. Own now. Eats tyres & Golf Gti's.
Suzuki Jimny with 2.5" lift, loads of extras my and a rock lobster box. Just fitted freewheel hubs instead of silly auto ones. Owned now.

Might have missed some out, had some right bangers and trash over the years, but one of my all time faves was/is the Smart car.
Mind you it had had it's speed restrictor removed, it was chipped, sports twin exhaust, dump valve and guage, body kit and loads of stuff in the interior done.
Used to embarrass Beemers on the A1 going up to Penrith at 110/115 true speed. (Clocked)

So in ending
British = crap
Foreign = ok

Fastest car, any hire car! LoL!!

It's all just fun and games at the end of the day.