Daft crushes that you can't explain

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

This is autoshite, it's not like we have to explain ourselves for liking Austin Ambassadors. This threads needs people to come out with their beastly desires for a BINI Cuntryman.

[eddyramrod]

I don't think there's anyone here with as little sense as that! Now a nice green 1979 Clubman Estate....

[scaryoldcortina]

I got outbid on an ambassador just this morning.. I have also owned landcrabs, land-rovers, maxis, an FX4 cab (which was super rotten..), ADO16s, a citroen BX, some talbot horizons and all manner of other crap. After being out bid on the ambassador, I started an unfortunatly fruitlless search for a montego estate.

 

The car I have inexplicable love for is this.

The VAZ-2101, or Lada 1200 to us. My parents had one (after a string of morris minors and ADO16s) and it was great. OK, not quick, or nice looking, or economical, or comfortable to sit in (vinyl+summer+shorts=3rd degree burns) but it never broke down and proved utterly indestructable. It is a great shame (to me) that my folks traded it for a brand new FSO 125p thinking that would be better. I'd roll one now, winter is coming....

[morris_ital_lover]

Id do bad things for an ambassador, but my biggest random crush is... the Morris Ital, dont ask me why it just is!

 

m0rris

[scaryoldcortina]

The enquiry is complete

The vehicle details for XDC 533S are:

 

Date of Liability 01 08 1987

Date of First Registration 07 07 1978

Year of Manufacture 1978

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1198CC

CO2 Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type Petrol

Export Marker Not Applicable

Vehicle Status Unlicensed

Vehicle Colour RED

Vehicle Type Approval

 

ffs.. it lasted longer than the FSO! that was brand new in '84 and scrapped for terminal rust in '86 (they bought a volvo 240 estate (7 seat converted) to replace it partly due to being catholics..

 

Same guy selling the abassador I got outbid on also had an Ital estate (brown) but even I couldn't sink that low. I can admire it for being shite (and they were) but I don't want one..

[Guest]

We're all friends here, yes?

 

OK, don't laugh too hard...

 

 

I really liked the Vauxhall Tigra when it came out. I liked it as a concept car in 1994. I never understood why someone didn't do a hot XE'd version, as they were more or less a shortened Corsa with retuned suspension and a massive glass deck.

I was a big fan of the Ford Puma as well, and came disgustingly close to buying a one-seven that had been sprayed the same Highland Green as Steve McQueen's GT 390 Mustang. I drove one down my favourite local backroad (ask MM5 how quick I can go on that) and loved every second of it. Somehow, Pumas are slightly more acceptable than Tigras. I don't know why.

 

I'd still have a Calibra as well, on slabs.

 

Wait! You said you wouldn't take the piss!

[Station]

I hate to admit it but i have a mild HORN for the first type of Vauxhall Tigra! Especially in the minging bronze-orange they came in.

 

This

In bronze..

 

 

I seriously had a crush on these, the very day I saw them for the first time (on Blue Peter in 1993 while demonstrating an eco 'stop engine at traffic lights' electronic system), it was in bronze, and I thought it was lush. I even took it further and nearly bought an S-reg in 2000 for 8k (on finance!). I've co-owned one, (albeit with a bigger engine) and they're alright cars! I don't care if they're hairdresser's, I love them. I can't say the same for the new ones. They are disgusting.

 

 

Also, these gave me the serious horn about 10 years ago (when they became affordable):

 

 

I liked these well before my preference for Vauxhall came about, I still think they're very nice looking. I want an 8v auto (like the one on retro rides recently) in metallic blue with cream leather (like the one in the pic).

 

I think my ultimate driveway would be a Tigra and a Calibra.

[Negative Creep]

I quite like the Mazda Demio but have no idea why

[Mr Lobster]

This is autoshite, it's not like we have to explain ourselves for liking Austin Ambassadors. This threads needs people to come out with their beastly desires for a BINI Cuntryman.

 

 

Exactly.

 

So on that basis, I would really, really like one of these

 

 

Even if it meant finance and paying £250 a month for the next however many years. I really would like one.

[steve austin]

My lost love. Owned her for only a year due to financial strife but loved the looks and power, didnt like the crashy ride but would have another SE9 V6 in a flash

Also, a bit off the beaten track but my bad taste in cars also goes into the biking world!

1990 JAWA 350 two stroke twin, horrible to ride but I loved her!!!!!!!!

[face]

 

 

 

New Smart Brabus, 0-60 in 8.9 seconds

[Richard]

Also, a bit off the beaten track but my bad taste in cars also goes into the biking world!

1990 JAWA 350 two stroke twin, horrible to ride but I loved her!!!!!!!!

 

I tried to ride a Jawa 350 once but it had a sidecar and the clutch was on the wrong side because the owner had lost an arm. I could pull away but as soon as I tried to change gear the bit of my brain that dealt with the clutch being on the wrong side must have been the same bit that dealt with keeping it in a straight line with the sidecar. I'd buy one now if you could still get not-quite-runners for £80. Maybe you can.

 

As far as moderns go I'm with Father Ted on the Berlingo. It just looks like an ideal family car- a modern Rancho. You can fit a large house in the boot too.

 

[Cavcraft]

My lost love. Owned her for only a year due to financial strife but loved the looks and power, didnt like the crashy ride but would have another SE9 V6 in a flash

Also, a bit off the beaten track but my bad taste in cars also goes into the biking world!

1990 JAWA 350 two stroke twin, horrible to ride but I loved her!!!!!!!!

 

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Lexarse lights

 

+1 on Calibras, probably still have mine if it didn't get written off by some dizzy bint. Economy was magic due to aerodynamics and even though they are a Cavalier in a shell suit they are nice enough to drive. I don't imagine the 8V was a race car but probably not desperately slow either. Mine was the XE but for some reason seemed considerably slower than a GSi Cavalier I'd had with the same engine.

[messerschmitt owner]

I'd like a Citroen Visa 17RD

 

A Pug 205 GTi

 

Another Bedford CA

 

and, on Friday, I reacquainted myself with the delights of a Fiat Punto cabriolet.

 

I also get an urge to have a Citroen H Van and a Ligier JS2

 

Oh, I'd like this too

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VvwAW6tSqJM/SQyIMId3ZeI/AAAAAAAAAdo/K2agUltmaI4/s1600-h/tank.jpg

[cms206]

Daft crushes... quite a few which've already been done, actually. Morris Ital, Moskvitch Aleko, FSO Polonez and the like. The Mk3 Transit pre-smiley... I think as someone has already said, if theres a van which almost welcomes you home it's that; simple, rugged, good looking and if you dip em in waxoyl about a third less likely to dissolve than if you don't. The clattery old 2.5Di engine is still music to my ears. Shame there are so few good ones still about. As an aside, I've never really rated the Sherpa largely because I'm the wrong shape to fit in one, and I can't drive whilst sitting on the floor.

 

The one I take the most stick about though, the one major daft crush which I've been unable to shift since my dad got rid of his many, many moons ago...

 

 

Doesn't even have to be a Lynx, or even a 1.5, or even a GLS, just as long as it's a proper Proton saloon (not an aeroback - ugly things) I'd have it. Still looking for a decentish one...

[Pete-M]

Barkas B1000. That's about as far as it goes.

[barrett]

Hey! +1 on the Tigra and Calibra, I honestly thought I was alone in liking Tigras and i've been far too embarrassed to admit it before. My cousin had a Calibra for a while and it felt very very fast when he took me for a spin in it.

In terms of shite, I know it's almost a cliche but I really really really like these

I know they seem to get labelled as the 'ugliest car of all time' but I think the styling is amazing, just so utterly bonkers for what was a basic family car, and the French bought bloody shedloads of them too. Anything that the British public were too disgusted to even consider driving has to be ok though!

[MK5 Escort]

I’ve also always liked the original Daewoo Matiz. A very pretty car. I particularly liked those yellowy gold ones. What I liked most about it was it's velour interior, patterned very much like an old sofa. Wonderful! Unfortunately, every single time the Matiz was revised, it was increasingly ruined.

 

I also liked the original 93-00 three door Corsa, both with and without the 'V' grille '97 revision. I recall seeing a very early one, a 1.2LS in red, in our local ASDA when they'd just gone on sale. I think they were giving it away as a prize or something. I remember looking at it and instantly liking it's shape and I loved the basic two spoke steering wheel. I never did like the rear end of the five door model. We had an S plate 1.6 Sport and that was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We done 1300 miles in a week on a tour of Scotland in it. A fabulous little thing. This Corsa felt a much more substantial motor than the Corsa C, particularly interior-wise.

 

I liked all Ford Orion variants. The 86-90 model was once so popular. Where have they all gone? I’d love to own quite an early one, an ‘L’ model preferably and in a solid colour, of course.

 

Probably the most embarrassing one I’d admit to would be the Talbot Solara - preferably in blue.

[dollywobbler]

The Ami 6 is gorgeous, so cannot be a daft crush IMHO. But then, I s'pose after years of Citroen ownership, I've almost become 'normalised' to just how ridiculous the Ami 6 looks. I want a saloon - very much.

[Guest]

Seeing stuff on here I did not expect eg Tigra's

Heres another I cant explain

 

Alfa Romeo 145. Hmm Ebay tonight then

[Mr Lobster]

Alfa Romeo 145. Hmm Ebay tonight then

 

You don't need to explain a lust for a 145. They're great. If somewhat prone to breakage followed by extensive open wallet surgery.

[eddyramrod]

+1 for the Proton saloon, we had one for nearly 4 years. Mrs Ramrod loved it and even I enjoyed it. Carried 5 of us and luggage on the motorway with power to spare, cruising at oh-really-can-i-possibly-have-been-going-that-fast!

 

Here's one nobody's going to expect me to admit. I think it's pretty well-known now that I have an experience-led aversion to German cars, not least from driving VW and Mercedes light commercials. So why do I still have a nugget of love for the VW Transporter diesel from the mid-80s?

[whitevanman]

/\ 'cause you're masochistic perv?

[eddyramrod]

/\ 'cause you're masochistic perv?

 

 

Of course, thank you doctor, why didn't I think of that!

[ashmicro]

I love these. A mate (David) had one years ago when I had the Samba, but he wouldn't sell me it. It got killed by a Mercedes "BusyBus"

 

 

 

The basicness and slight half-arsedry of the thing really appeals for some reason. David's 954cc skinny-tyred (135 IIRC) was ace in the snow. My Samba on the other hand was on banded steels and 195's with a Pug 1.6 and was hopeless. I sooooo wanted that single spoke steering wheel, but it didn't fit the Samba column.

[flat4alfa]

got a thing about Autobianchi Primula

 

Not the swoopy coupe, the three/five-door hatchback one that beat R12 and Maxi to market, that one.

 

Idea 1) find one: prolly in France for easiness, Italy for soldity

Idea 2) pull the 1950s OHV 1100D engine out and pop the 1300 OHC from 128 in

Idea 3) or just stop faffing and drive it.

 

Very nearly bought this one last time it was offered, but kept away

 

 

[Barry Cade]

I'm working through my list slowly.. been there with the Mopar stuff, the Alfa's,Vauxhalls,Volvo's,Labcia, Saabs, X1/9's, TR7, - now at Mercedes and Trabant. next will probably be a ZAz or a Syrena. Got to finish the Trabbie first though..

[michiel]

Sub-360cc Kei-class 'cars'. Can't imagine they drive like a car should, but I'd love one.

[scooters]

DW How dare you critisise the Leyland 200 - you're speaking about the van that I lurve - don't you know that the narrowness is a key ingredient of its overall shiteness and is responsible for its especially terrifying handling at speed -

 

Leyland commercial vehicles rock!

 

down with foreign muck!

 

say no to VAG

 

death to the bougeiose oppressors of the masses in their pseudo VW vans with stupid stickers!

 

Long live British shite, 60 year old mechanicals, rust, trusty pisspoor handling, full upper body workout when driving!

[scooters]

Hey! +1 on the Tigra and Calibra, I honestly thought I was alone in liking Tigras and i've been far too embarrassed to admit it before. My cousin had a Calibra for a while and it felt very very fast when he took me for a spin in it.

In terms of shite, I know it's almost a cliche but I really really really like these

I know they seem to get labelled as the 'ugliest car of all time' but I think the styling is amazing, just so utterly bonkers for what was a basic family car, and the French bought bloody shedloads of them too. Anything that the British public were too disgusted to even consider driving has to be ok though!

 

 

no - the Ami is uber cool

 

my old man had an 8 and in 2000 was still saying it was the best car he had ever owned