Favorite car you've owned (besides Opel)

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by GoinManta 1993 Acura Integra - Great build and snappy handling.. great 5 speed as well. Still one of my favorite looking cars (In my eye it looks similar to the Calibra

I remember thinking the same thing when that style Integra came out. Then, years later, I remember reading an article that mentioned that one of the Opel Calibra designers DID move to Honda and helped to design that generation of Integra. Good eye, Charles!

[Jeff Pozorski]

1977 Chrysler Cordoba The most comfortable car I have ever driven to see my family in Alabama from Milwaukee, WI. I could drive straight through, 15 hours, and not have a single body ache when I got there. Also, it was the only car I have owned that when it was freshly waxed people would stop and ask me if it was a small Rolls Royce! In my mind, yes! Ah, to be in my early 20's again when life was really good!

[GoinManta]

Originally Posted by RallyBob I remember thinking the same thing when that style Integra came out. Then years later I remember reading an article that mentioned that one of the Opel Calibra designers DID move to Honda and helped to design that generation of Integra. Good eye Charles!

Wow.. didn't know that. Wonder if he was at GM/Holden and had any influence on the Monaro/GTO.. because it looks like a big brother of the Calibra too.. Especially when you put the two 1/18 scale models side by side..

[GoinManta]

Originally Posted by Jeff Pozorski 1977 Chrysler Cordoba The most comfortable car I have ever drive

Had to have been the Corinthian Leather that made it so comfortable..

[opelbits]

Originally Posted by GoinManta Had to have been the Corinthian Leather that made it so comfortable..

Hey Charles, it's a shame Chrysler had left the Cordoba and Ricardo by the wayside before they introduced the 'talking car' nonsense...imagine his smooth latin voice extolling the virtues of your door being 'eh-jar'!

[Opelkurt]

2003 VW TDI (turbo-diesel) Jetta Variant (Wagon)..

Spiritual successor to my departed '68 Kadett wagon and '74 Ascona wagon. Plenty of space for hauling drums to gigs, comfortable for an all-day run, 700+ miles between fill-ups at 50+ mpg. Plus, driving a non-Opel with a 1.9 liter engine seems like good mojo.

I'd love to find another Kadett wagon like my old 1968 some day.

-Kurt

[80mojo]

Would have to be my MkII Escort. Bristling with 1100cc of pure crossflow power, stopped by all round drums and was my first car.

Sold it after 18 months of ownership to be used as a re-shell for an Escort Harrier so would imagine it's still out there somewhere.

Haven't owned that many non-opels if you count Vauxhalls in that too. If you don't then my Carlton Diamond has to be up near the top. Has everything you could possibly want in a car, comfort, power, space, sleeper factor. Highly recommended for upsetting owners of very expensive cars!

[Gary]

Originally Posted by GoinManta Had to have been the Corinthian Leather that made it so comfortable..

It was the Rich Corinthian Leather that made it so comfortable...

[neuropel]

My favorite non-Opel vehicle I've owned would have to be my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. It seems to do everything well, and I enjoy its utilitarian ruggedness. Lock the differentials and it is capable of amazing things. My second favorite would have to be a 1983 Mazda RX7 GSL. It was a blast to drive, and always took the beating I gave it without reservation.

I saw Charles mentioned a Shadow. I had a 94 Dodge Shadow ES with the 3L V6 and 5spd, and would have to agree it really was a good car. It gave me several years of trouble-free service. It was quite snappy, and surprised more than a few 5.0 Mustangs in its day. Easily the best sleeper car I ever owned. Unfortunately, the fun ended quickly on curvy roads, but red light-to-red light it was a blast in its day.

My first car was a 75 Datsun B210 Hatchback - I tried to kill it for years, but it just kept on going - amazing reliability. One of the most un-inspiring cars ever.

[N61WP]

1961 Porsche 356B. I bought it for $1000 in 1977 when I was 16. Rode it hard, put it up wet...learned about the "Pendulum Effect" the hard way. I left it in my Dad's barn when I left home. In the mid 80's I thought I would get it back and try to rebuild it/restore it. Couldn't begin to afford to. I sold it in boxes for $1800.

I did learn that certain cars have souls....

James

[dcm013]

I think my 2009 Charger RT is just great! It reminds me of the cars I grew up with in the 60's - big, comfortable, and plenty of power.

MUCH better than the Cordoba I bought in '76, although that one had velour instead of "fine Corinthian leather". I have to admit it sure had "the look" with the half vinyl top and opera lights .

Of course, I had some of my best times in my Opel GT and Manta back in the
70's. but I was much younger then .

And I'm still having plenty of fun with the GT and Manta I have now

Don

[david the opel king]

1947 Buick roadmaster, 1965 buick wildcat,1962 Chevy nova 4 door, 1963 Chevy nova ragtop 1965 comet 2door hardtop and more opels than I can count

[Paul]

My 1998 Neon R/T. In stock form: 0-60MPH 7.5 sec & 1/4 mile in 15.9 sec; with an electronicly goverened top speed of 130 MPH and would get 37 MPG with the cruise set at 78 MPH AND loaded with a weekends worth of race gear. In Autocross trim it was clocked on the skid pad at 1.08 Gs left and 1.05 Gs right. All this for the amazingly low price of $12,028!!!! New right off the show room floor

[2 Fast 4 U]

A German Ford Taunus from 1979 [2 doors], very nice ride, 1.6 OHC engine.
restored the car bit by bit [because I was still driving it], new paint job, looked very nice after it was finished. Here a photo of the model.



It's a little bigger than the Ascona.

[jlthunder]

Originally Posted by Gary It was the Rich Corinthian Leather that made it so comfortable...

I thought that was the quote too but it is "Soft Corinthian Leather". It was also considered a small car.

YouTube - 1975 Chrysler Cordoba

YouTube - 1975 Chrysler Cordoba

[turboair]

I have owned quite a few cars in my short lifetime (34yrs old). Over 25 of them in the past 18 years!!!!

I would have to say that my favorite car (non-Opel) would have been my 1980 Camaro. It had a 305 4BBL and auto tranny. It was by no means fast but it was fun for a teenager.

My second favorite was my 1986 Chevrolet Nova (Toyota Corolla clone). That car got great gas mileage and was super dependable. I paid 50 bucks for it with 130k on the clock and DROVE it to the salvage yard when the sub-frame cracked. It had 220k on it then. Imagine my surprise when I go $50 bucks from the yard! LOL

[Gary Sullivan]

Owned and driven several favorites over a few years. (owned a slew of others not mentioned here, which I was not so fond of)
I'd have to say my blue 58 Mercedes 220S convertible was the most outstanding winner. Stick, straight 6. Lined convertible top. Wood dash. You could stand in front of it and not hear it running.

Next in place would be the GM EV1 electric car. I got to be one of their test drivers for a few weeks and the car was a scream. Something like 9 computers onboard. Very quick, otherworldly to drive with a wider track at the front than the rear, 1100 lbs in batteries. Fire departments didn't want to go near them.

Prior to that I've also been nuts about a 68 Dodge Charger, with a 318. Big, gorgeous to look at. Expensive to run.

And before that, I was smitten with a big hoody 49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan. Stock frenched headlights and taillights, big flathead V8, stick, overdrive, split muffler so it had a deep burbling roar. Tall road gears. Lot of fun. Many favorites I guess

[manta73wi]

Favorite non-Opel (of course the Mantas ARE my favorites!) would have to be my 1981 BMW 528i which I owned for a few years in the early '90s. It had the crisp style of the first 5 series body, before they got bigger and more complex. It had a torquey 2.8 inline six with a delightful burble to the exhaust, coupled to a slick stick shift that had an awesome feel. It looked sharp in black with black leather interior, BMW alloys, and a sunroof. We brought our son home from the hospital in it after he was born, and I have many good memories of driving it. It was so good on the twisties, with smooth power and balanced handling. Alas, Wisconsin salt induced rust started to appear and parts got to be pretty expensive, so off it went. It did inspire a brief fling with a silver '80 528i a few years later, but that one wasn't as nice, nor as memorable.
-Jeff W

[GoinManta]

Originally Posted by N61WP I did learn that certain cars have souls....

That is soo.. true. I think the cars you work on you literally put a little of your soul into them..

Especially my Opels..

[tagger]

Favorite to drive... my first car, 1987 Firebird Formula. Handled like a dream and not much could keep up in the turns. Kills me that I sold it so cheap. Favorite to look at... my 1972 Buick GS (Saturn Yellow/Gloss Black GSX paint). Everyone stares..and I love it

[gtden]

Favorite car non Opel. Thats easy a 1957 Triumph TR3 that I sold to cheap to afford more Opel parts.

[greenopelgt]

#1 - a front wheel drive 4 speed on the column German Goliath (my dad traded a torn down small bulldozer for it in 1960 - so it had to pre-date 1960). I painted the vinyl seats with red gutter paint and they never dried they were always tacky moist. I wrecked it one dark night when I drove into a stump in a cow pasture. The call to my Dad was not to be forgotten.
I have never seen another one or talked to anyone who remembers them. Does anybody here remember???

#2 - a 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 tri-power yellow convertible. That car got me in ALL kinds of trouble including getting married (41 years now). My wife sold it to Cline-on-Vine (old used car shyster) for $400 when I got drafted into the Army in 1969. I could have divorced her then but I was in Vietnam so I had time to cool down. Shortly thereafter, I bought my 1st Opel GT ( a 1971 silver GT with black interior ) from the PX and had it shipped to a Bethel, Ohio Buick dealership.

# 3 a 1956 Ford Thunderbird with the 312 engine Black with the contential kit on the rear and both tops, a white rag top and a black port lift on/off hard top. My Uncle Junior ( a paycheck used car wheeler dealer ) bought it at an auction in Columbus, Ohio with $800 of the $1100 that I gave him - man that extra $300 cost my my whole summer that years driving junkers back to Ashland, Kentucky from towns or big cities within 300 miles of his used car lot. I traded my 56 Bird for a 1955 T-Bird with a 427 4speed Red with rolled and pleated black with gold metal flake interior. It had power problems that tested my pocket book and desire to retain my drivers license so I sold the power machine (it blew away everything in the Flatwoods, KY area that wanted to drag race on a Route 23 straightaway - those were the real fun days.)

[Oldbugss]

Yeah, it sure was a beautiful car. 100% stock and looking the part too.
I wasn't morbid, I have always loved professional cars of industry.

The big mistake was selling it for little. Not realizing how rare it was or how much cash I could have sold it for if I only kept her 10 more years!

I did sell partially because more Opels and VW's could fit in the garage without a monster like this in there.

Now, to find an Opel Blitz firetruck lol. Please, not until after I move to another state.

Dennis C~

[Mach1Tom]

My '70 Mach 1 Mustang. This is the first car I ever bought. I've had it over 22 years now. I have the original window sticker for it. ($3,000 brand new) I put about 80 miles on it this year. A bit more than the 8 miles I drove it last year. I should drive it more but I put about 8000 miles on my 72 orange GT every year.

That doesn't give me much time to work on the 65 Kadett, 70 Kadett Rallye, 70 & 71 GTs or my 66 Mustang.

~ Tom

[larrys1970kadett]

I had a 49 crosely a few years ago. I had alot of fun driving it, because I got so many looks. Not to many people has ever seen one before.