Do your dream cars ever change...?

[Alex66]

The cars I have always wanted to own;

1 DS

2 CX

3 MK 1 Escort (poverty spec)

Ones I went off; too many to mention but Mk3 Cortina, Jag XJS and Mini's spring to mind.

Ones I have recently fancied

1 Nissan Cube

2 Suzuki Wagon R

3 Pluriel

4 The mighty BL Marina. 

 

[Roverageous]

As a teenager my dream car was a Rover 75. I've realised that several times over with varying success. Although my current Connoisseur SE V6 has seen me through 3 years and is currently away being fettled for its 4th year with me. I can't see me getting rid of that car until I *really* have to.

There's a list of cars I'd like, but the 75 is the one for me.

• Rover 75
• Volvo XC70 P2 (preferably brown with a brown leather interior)
• Volvo V70 P2 
• Rover 800 series (Fastback only - I think this ship has sailed now)
• BMW E39 5 Series (again, this has probably sailed now)

[dozeydustman]

On 2/4/2020 at 11:28 PM, Faker said:

I have it all

Much want

[dozeydustman]

If you’re viewing on the full-fat version of the forum my dream garage is my signature. The mini, chevette, viva, avenger and routemaster have been on there since before I was a teenager.

The want to try list changes regularly. Current want to try list is Peugeot 504 coupé/cabriolet, AEC Regent III RT type, Volvo Ailsa and Saab 99 Turbo. Oh, and a blower Bentley.

I have met a few heroes and been thoroughly unimpressed with them for one reason or another: most Mercs, XJ6 4.2, 740 estate and Citroen XM to name but a few. 

[Saabnut]

On 2/4/2020 at 9:02 AM, JimH said:

Back when I was about 12 it was this exact car in this exact photograph in, I suspect, this exact book.

However, then you grow up and learn and realise that they were some of the worst cars ever built. Your tastes become more refined and you understand how things should be done. This is why about the only car I really want to own is one of these...

I too lusted after a Cobra, could not afford the real thing so when I sold my business went looking for a decent replica. A fortunate set of circumstances saw the stars align and I ended up with a unique continuation Cobra, Shelby Chassis number (and a photo of Carroll driving my car) ally bodied but a RAM chassis, meaning it is what the Cobra would have become had it continued. I have not been disappointed. Once the weather improves and I have run-in the new clutch (yes, really) we will have to get together. I can lust at your steamers and you can get to see if it rekindles a childhood ambition . Not an offer I make to many people!

[JimH]

Sounds fun. Some years back I had a short go in one of the AC continuation cars. It kinda confirmed what I had suspected that they weren’t the most sophisticated devices. 

They still look the mutt’s, however.

[Zelandeth]

Yes and no.  I've done a lot better at ticking stuff off than I ever expected.

Ever since I met the scruffy Riva 1200 saloon that my Nan had when I was about three, I wanted a Riva.  Though once I was old enough to realise they existed I wanted an estate.

Took me a while, but tick.

Good car.  Very much enjoyed it.

Ever since I was about five and we hired one to move house I was similarly captivated by the lifesize Tonka toy character of the Mercedes T1 van.  Never really thought I'd have a shot of owning one though.

However against all odds, this is now on the drive.

Slow, noisy, heavy, bouncy, wallowy, rusty, leaky and too tall to fit in most car parks, but I absolutely love it.  Never fails to make me smile every time I drive it.  Think it shows that I spent a lot of my youth messing around about with buses and farm machinery in that I still find this easier to park than most normal sized cars.

One car which came to my radar a bit later was the Xantia Activa.  I actually saw a big presentation on that at a motor show we attended (in Glasgow I believe) near to the launch of the model and remember being blown away by how brilliant a technical achievement it seemed.  About ten years later I was lucky enough to get a shot of one - at which point it went straight onto the wish list.  Though at that point they were still several grand out of my reach.  Fast forward to the end of 2016 however...

They're bloody brilliant by the way, there's nothing that I've come across that this car isn't brilliant at (unless you consider fuel economy an important factor...she does like a drink).

This left a few long term wish list items.  Some more realistic than others.

[] Rolls Royce Silver Spirit.  Very late S1 car please, so we've got niceties like fuel injection and ABS, but before they screwed about with the interior.  Driven many miles in a mate's one and it absolutely suits my favourite driving style to a T. 

[] Jeep Cherokee.  First generation we got in the UK.  I remember seeing one virtually the day they were launched here and it seemed like a life size version of something I'd find in my toy box.  Plus to drive they are essentially a high velocity squidgy leather sofa, which I'm fine with.

[] Ferrari F-40.  I'm a child of the 80s okay?  I have driven one (and a Countach... they're bloody awful!), this is one case where "never drive your heroes" is poor advice... they're every bit as good as the hype.  Need a (large!) lottery win though.

[] Morgan 3-Wheeler (the new one).  It's utterly off-the-wall, mental, ridiculous and crazy.  I love it and want one so bad.

[] DeLorean.  The friend with the Rolls also has a scruffy as all hell DMC which I've also done many miles in.  I will own one on day. 

[] Jaguar XJ-S.  I mean, just look at them.  Well out of reach these days tho...Oh.

Never saw that coming!

So if there's anything I've learned it's that never say never...you never know what you might find round the corner. 

[Cooper1]

I managed to buy my attainable dream car at 17, it was a cheap as chips P38 ? 

My Dad almost bought a 1997 DSE when i was a lad, I begged him to buy it, but he bought a blue V70 instead!! 

I vowed from that day i'd own one!!

I can't explain the fizz i hd in meh stomach when i picked it up, i wasn't disappointed,

Next was a R50 Mini, which i loved since seeing one at a classic car rally in 2013 also managed to buy again for pittance!! 

Gave it my Nan in the end,

 

And my last, is a Moorlands Green Xj40 3.6, my dad had one.. 

Loved it, he sold it though  

 

One day... 

[Cavboy80]

My all time dream car hasn't changed since i saw one driving through Norwich in around 1988.

Lotus Carlton

Amazingly i love these NOT because it's blooming fast (well' perhaps a little bit) it's more the way that it looks, the engineering that went into it and the fact that it's a four door, five seater barge that the family can use but still be a real hooligan when provoked.

These have gone stratospheric price wise and i'd need a very rich relative or my numbers to come up on Saturday to even get a sniff of one but all the same i adore these cars and even now, 32 years after first sighting one i'm in awe.

Another vehicle i would love to own is the first gen Civic Type R Supercharged powered Ariel Atom, ever since watching Clarkson power sliding one around the TG test track i've really liked these. Again, i'm not into it because of the power, it's the engineering and.....well, ok the sheer hoonary that's acheivable from this light-as-air two seater is impressive

I was lucky enough to get a go in one 3 years ago, 5 high speed laps around Debden airfield.......oh wow!!! What an experience, the sheer pull and the noise of the supercharger wailing away just blew me away.

Back to reality/ earth my next long term desire is the Standard Atlas, it's such a beautiful looking vehicle. it's sooooo slow with it's Herald engine but just look at it, what a gorgeous thing. 

Yeah, i'd be more than happy with any variant (luck Dollywobbler got to see a few on his recent New Zealand adventure) van, camper, pick up, i'm not fussed.

[Minimad5]

I'm a bit weird and like big wafty things:

XJ (would love the 'R' supercharged versions) - But prices for all models are on the up.

L322 - Preferably petrol, but wouldn't say no to a Derv'

And never going to happen, but an original Lada VFTS.

Probably more obscure things too.

[JeeExEll]

One with 300+ bhp but still looking standard Vitesse.

Firenza Can Am V8 with the 302 from the 1969 Z28 Camaro.

List hasn't changed much in years.

[rmjbn1]

That's a most excellent question @egg. Oh, and hello everyone:)

In answer to your question, yes. And therefore logically no.

I guess like many young chaps of the 1980s I had an unhealthy yearning for the supercar exotica of the day, especially the bonkers rally stuff there was then (Stratos, 037, 959 and 288GTO).

Happily I learned to give up such shallow materialistic pursuits, and now I'm happy with what I've got.

Except...

After I learned to drive my parents had a DS21 and 2CV both of which I regularly drove, so of course Citroens were the greatest thing ever and I started saving for an SM. One day I'll have saved enough to buy one in 1998. The closer I get, the further they move away.

A similar story for the other 'ones that got away'. Or, used to be affordable and are now stupidly overpriced:

• Lancia Delta Integrale
• Lancia Fulvia
• Alfa Romeo 105 series GT
• Panhard 24 (I'm with you on that one, Egg!)

But running one old car demands too much of my time and money already. As much as I love crumbly French and Italian tin I'd rather drive a car than perpetually rebuild it. Boring I know.

Having run big Citroens (DS & CX), they're truly wonderful but I wouldn't want to own one again. Thousands of small rusty/hydraulic/electrical things that can go wrong x built by the French = frustrating time consuming expensive horror x p (where p= permanent fear)

What remains on my list of cars I really want to get my hands on at some point?

• Lotus/Caterham/Something 7
• Riley Lynx - Or any other 30's tourer, but what the world (me) really needs right now is a genuine 4-seater 4-door attractive lightweight sporting convertible. Where have they all gone?

So I've come realise my dream car is small and light. Preferably simple. Something that feels quicker than it is, usually by leaving you slightly more exposed than you want to be. Speed is a relative sensation, after all.

Speaking of which, don't give up on your dreams of a 2CV / Dyane, Egg!

 

[Semi-C]

My first memory of the “Must. Want. Have” is seeing a picture of the superseded, 2000 GXL Ford Cortina in my Dad’s Haynes manual when I was aged 8ish. Even after owning a 2000E for 10 years, that desire had not been quelled so, in a Victor Kiam style, I bought one. 

Satiation of my Cortina yearnings actually manifested itself in the unholiest of Estate variants, a 1971 1600 xl that had been so close to death it had arc eye. I gave up on that one when I was gifted a 1971 2000L (last seen Llangollen 2015...) which has become my life partner. Ignored and in desperate need of affection.

 

I used to feel like my other dream cars occupied the realm of achievable: FSO Polonez, 330 series Datsun Cedric, Toyota Century, Jensen Interceptor, Facel Vega HK500, Iso Grifo.

 

I’m now at peace with never owning any of the aforementioned and I owe it all to my LS400. It has brought enlightenment to my life through a magical blend of Street Fighter II glamour and the sense of mid 90’s financial security. 

I had admired LSs when they were new cars and was traumatised when instructed to strip one for a friend to race in 2007. It took several years of procrastination before, in 2016, I had a try of an LS on the road and within 15 minutes of stealing it, I was made up. 

It has become the car of dreams I never had and resides over the passing of all other dream cars.

 

Conclusion. 

In spite of attaining my childhood dream of GXL status, of the three cars I own it is the one I would part with first.

Yes, inconclusive I am sure you’ll agree.

[jmsguzzi]

I've been thinking about my top 3 recently, when I was younger my dream car was a Delta Integrale but that's been knocked off top spot now.

1. Mercedes 190E 2.5 16V Cosworth in that champagney colour they came in with manual box and chequer seats.

2. Rover P6 3500 V8 Mk2, I'm easy on the colour aslong as it ain't white but I wouldn't have that spare wheel on the boot.

3. Impossible to decide, maybe a Delta Integrale, one of the subtler early ones, the Evo's don't look as nice imo. Probably on par with a MK1 Rover 827 for want.

Realistically a 190E of any variant is mega appealing to me, hopefully I can still pick up a 2.0 for a decent price after the Croma.

[ProgRocker]

Not sure if I have fully understood the op but back in the 1980s when I was still in single figures my favourite car was the Porsche 928S when it a modern car. Obviously I wasn't allowed to drive then. 

I still like the  928S very much. Would not turn down a test drive of one. However I suppose I'm more into family type cars and would rather rock a 1970s Citroen, Datsun or coke bottle styled Ford or Vauxhall. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

.Just been reading this thread again and realised how often the Citroen SM comes up, I've always liked them , ever since The Protectors when I was 8 or 9. 

Almost bought one off a guy that had 6 US spec tatty ones on a disused petrol station forecourt in 1989- I think £2000 would have seen me drive one away....

My brother,Stuart , on the other hand loves them.

This summer , as seems to be my habit I was tasked to take a couple of cars to Cap Antibe. As the weather was beautiful and there was no hurry , we opted to take The Route Napoloen, which is as spectacular as its reputation and why anyone would take the Autoroute just to save 5 or 6 hours, I'll never know. The old Corniche got a bit warm on some of the climbs and I had to cover the pedals with a towel when we stopped at a bar because I was burning my bare feet on them from the sun- don't let anyone tell you my jobs not tough.

Anyway we were just coming into the town of Sisteron after about 25 miles of a switchback descent crossing level crossing  almost every bend, when Stuart who was in front suddenly swerved into a disused garage, why?

Thats why!

[Tartan58]

For me too the Citroen SM has always been up there near the top of the list ever since my grandad gave me a brochure in the early 80s, being young (about 6) and foolish I butchered said brochure to stick the pictured on my wall - regret number one. Regret number 2 is I had the choice between and SM and a Mk2 Jag 4.2 for a long weekend hire after the E-type I had originally requested had gearbox issues, I picked the Mk2 as it was more likely to be able to do the miles we had planned (it is also on my dream car list and was fab to drive) but I'll probably never get a shot at an SM again.

 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

It was ab it rundown and we assumed a non runner , sunk in the weeds next a scrap S1 XJ,,, then 2 middle aged blokes came out of the workshop, both covered in oil , fag in one had Pastis in the other a- you couldn't make it up, they were so French. There English was worse than my French, but they were supr friendly especially when it came to the SM...

One of them jumped in and fired it up, it sounded lovely, not like an Alfa V6 or something, like I was expecting, just purposeful.. They opened the bonnet and everything was brand new, every pipe,union wire, I t was concours. The interior on the other hand was a tatty mix of cloth, plastic and leather seats in various colours. Stuart was so enthusiastic , the owner offered to take him out in it.

Theybwere gone for over half an hour, at one point I phoned  Stuart- his phone was in the Bentley.  The Frenchman apparentlly didn't own a mobile. His mate offered me wine or  pastis and just said " No probleme, Frank ces't pilote Dakar Raid.!"  Which I took as a good sign.

When they came back the SM was ticking and creaking, my brother was grinning from ear to ear and Frank still had a half smoked fag in his mouth.

Apparentlly it was amazing, not brutal accelleration( but he had just got out of a 625 bhp car) but faster than he expected but just so stable and grippy on those windy bumpy roads, Those level crossings that had the Corniche , a sort of contemporary , remember . Scraping its belly at 30 were taken at over a 100 kmh without a murmur and it was when the speedo was showing 180 kmh that Stuart realised one of the things missing from inside was seat belts, the cigarette lighter worked though as Frank was constantly lighting a fresh fag whilst blasting past Superbikes on blind brows.

We chatted for some time and it seems they both worked at Citroen and one of them remembers fixing the hydropneumatic S on old Rollers when they were new and the problem is that the pump is in the Vee of the engine- all this by sign language.

We could have stayed chatting fo hours especially when they told us about there othe SMs and Cxs at home. But we had to go.

So the moral is , do meet your dream cars and heroes.

[Tartan58]

8 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

 

So the moral is , do meet your dream cars and heroes.

 

No you're supposed to say it was a heap of shite so I don't feel even worse about missing my one time chance to drive one.

[xtriple]

There used to be an sm abandoned by Bovisand fort out Plymouth way, just sat outside a few cottages. I seem to recall it was fire damaged but I did so want it... guy would never sell it and was 'going to do it up one day' of course, he never did. Lovely one in the Haynes museum. In fact the entire Haynes museum is probably my 'Dream car'!

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Yes. When I was 12:

 

Now I'm 42:

 

[Angrydicky]

If I could only have one modern to last me forever, it would be a Rover 827 Sterling auto saloon in BRG with deep pile green carpets and beige leather. Or Oxford Blue with blue carpet. I would also require an unlimited supply of petrol and a tame ex-Rover tech to fix things as and when they inevitably break.

[Angrydicky]

Couldn’t care less about super cars...

[New POD]

On 2/20/2020 at 4:52 PM, BoggyMires said:

Yes. When I was 12:

 

Now I'm 42:

 

I've owned one if those. It was white.  Although autocorrect spelling turned that to shite. It was quick, handled well, but had a reliability they must be proud of in Italy.  

I'll let you guess which one. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Not surprising it was unreliable if it was white, must have been part of the Chris Evans collection, he's a twat I wouldn't buy a Fiat off him let alone an F40.

[quicksilver]

SM is one of my dream cars too, the ultimate being one of Chapron's Opera four-doors - I remember seeing one in an advert and have no idea what it was advertising but it just made me want the SM! I was a strange child who dreamed of a Vanden Plas Allegro and a Triumph TR7 and I still wouldn't say no to either but others have come and gone. I used to want a Range Rover Classic until I drove one and was so disappointed it's been crossed off the list. I had no idea what a Chevrolet Firenza Can Am was until a couple of years ago but now I want one, ditto the Isuzu 117.

There's a few constants though: the aforementioned SM, Fiat 130 or Peugeot 504 Coupe, NSU Ro80, Volvo P1800ES, Rover P6 or Triumph 2500 (or even better an SD1 estate). The Gordon-Keeble is still my all time favourite, with the Jensen FF a close second, but I currently have an irrational desire to own an Austin 3-litre for some reason I can't explain.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

6 hours ago, quicksilver said:

SM is one of my dream cars too, the ultimate being one of Chapron's Opera four-doors - I remember seeing one in an advert and have no idea what it was advertising but it just made me want the SM! I was a strange child who dreamed of a Vanden Plas Allegro and a Triumph TR7 and I still wouldn't say no to either but others have come and gone. I used to want a Range Rover Classic until I drove one and was so disappointed it's been crossed off the list. I had no idea what a Chevrolet Firenza Can Am was until a couple of years ago but now I want one, ditto the Isuzu 117.

There's a few constants though: the aforementioned SM, Fiat 130 or Peugeot 504 Coupe, NSU Ro80, Volvo P1800ES, Rover P6 or Triumph 2500 (or even better an SD1 estate). The Gordon-Keeble is still my all time favourite, with the Jensen FF a close second, but I currently have an irrational desire to own an Austin 3-litre for some reason I can't explain.

You have no need to explain your Austin 3 Litre desires, I've wanted one ever since I read a Motoring Which road test where they compare it with an 1800S and an 18/85 , it concludes that they can see no reason to buy a 3 Litre. . That test and someone describing the interior as " Sort of municipal luxury"  mean  a 3 Litre will be high on my Euromillions list.

Who cannot love a luxury car that had the same plastic upholstery as an 1100?

My personal Holy Grail ; a square light, no 1/4 light, slotted wheeled launch car. I don't know if any survive, I've seen pictures of 3 litres with no 1/4 lights but they might just have had 1800 doors fitted, I've even seen one with the slotted wheels but never a square headlight car.

[egg]

Love this advert. Radio is 'extra'!

[Amishtat]

I've never seen a square headlight example but remember hearing of one in the Gloucester area, fairly sure it was Neil Kidby who told me about it so it could well have been true. They're lovely things to drive if you get the chance. 

[Alex66]

Recently I have been fancying a Citroen C" and C1 so am looking at a C2 tomorrow.