Best and Worst Vehicles

[island guy]

Best....Bought a 1989 toyota camry in 1996 with 192000 on it. It is still in the family with 312000 and going strong. Original running gear and no problems other than routine stuff.

Worst...........Have had two Ford 150's 1997 and a 2001. Nothing but trouble on either one. In the shop more than my garage. Should of learned after the fist one.

[federline]

Worst car (driveline eliability & performance combined): 1985 Ford EXP. Basically a bathtubbed 2-seater Escort. Great gas milage, but only if you could keep it running. That little 1.6L was so gutless, too. It smoked like a banshee at 110,000 miles.

Best car (reliability): TIE!!! 1996 VW Passat Turbo Diesel and 1986.5 Nissan pickup (before the hardbody). The TDI went 215,000 miles before I traded it in on my current chevy pickup. The VW also saved my life, those cars are engineered for crashes like no other! The Nissan... just change the oil and put gas in it, and watch the body rust off while it kept chuggin down the road... when I donated the Nissan, it has 175,000 miles on it, and needed a throw-out bearing. That's it, except I couldn't hold anything in the bed, it was all rusted away.

My 1999 Silverado Z71 is quickly becoming my favorite. I'm shooting for 200,000 miles (at 115,000 now). It piles up the highway miles like a champ while getting me where I need to go. Minimal repairs, good gas mileage from the 4.8L small v8.

Car I wish I would have kept: 1970 Chev Impala, 350/350. Champagne metal flake. Had 32,000 original miles, I literally bought it from a little old lady who drove it to church, grocery store and hairdresser. The body was mint, as was the interior, and it had the original bias ply tires on it. Being a teenager, I didn't inspect the thing very well - the frame broke in half going down the highway, it was rusted clean through for many feet on both sides. Only way to save it was to do a frame swap or frame off restoration. Being I had a free car coming to replace it (a rusty, margarita green 1975 Ford LTD...), I parted it out - sold the engine and tranny to a guy who put it into his '68 chev pickup, sold the interior to a restorer, and junked the rest...

[MnIceman]

I had a "68" Dodge Charger, 383 magnum, 4 speed, Red with a black vinyl top and black leather interior. Wish I had that one back.

Also had a "70" Plymouth Road Runner, 383 magnum, auto, Plum crazy with the air grabber hood scoop that operated with a vacuum switch.Was on my way to work one morning with it on the interstate when a loud Chev. pickup pulled along side and revved up the motor and made some noise while the driver looked at me. I looked back at him, flipped the switch for the air grabber and gunned the motor a little. The tires eeked a little from the gunning while the hood scoop came up from the hood. When I looked back at the Chev. he was slowing down and snuck in behind me giving alot of room. He got off the freeway a couple of exits later.That was a good morning laugh.

Had a "68" Camaro ,327, auto and green. Some drunk women rear ended it and totaled it out.

Of those 3 The Charger handled the best. The Charger and Road runner were about as fast. The Camaro I did not care for . Handling was terrible and it just was not as fast .

Best: Tie between a "79" Dodge D-150 pickup and a "86" Dodge Ramcharger. Both very dependable. I have a "98" Dodge 1500 pickup now and it still has some earning to do. Gas mileage is terrible in the "98".They all have/had 318's.

Worst: tie between a "86" Chrysler Fifth Avenue and a "91" Pontiac Grand Am. I don't know which was in the garage more.

[renny]

Looks like I'am just as old as everyone here, LOL. all these cars a flooding my mind with memories. i never owned any of the super charged cars personally but i had many friends that did, and saturday night in our little town of comfrey, about 4 blks long, they would cruise all night long with an occasional peel out when the cops were on the other side of town. any one remember the super bee? I guess this is my own personal american graffiti. All i ever owned are beaters,

my first car- 72 gremlin, orange, black stripe, ran good.

2nd-77 ford gran torino, was good car also

3rd- buick lesabre, to big for me at time, 2 mile hood

4th-numerous old pick-ups, never had 4 wheel drive to this day!!!

5th-1986 plmouth reliant, got married,had kids, needed 4 doors, car is still running, pulled everything, went to idaho with tailer and went elk hunting, 4 cyl. LOL

5th- dodge caravan, kids got bigger, been real good car and also have 1983 chevy scottsdale, again 2 wheel drive, but only 40K on it when i got it last yr and half. no power though. great thread, thanks for the memories.

[MnIceman]

I had a friend who had a "70" Super Bee ,383 magnum,pistol grip 4-speed, 4.11 Posi. That was a quick car. It all ended in a telephone pole. He downshifted at 50 to pass and the tires lit up, went into spin and bang. Then he got a "67" Olds 442.That was a fun car also.I've had 24 different vehicles since I started driving in 1976.

[dougger222]

My first car was one of my most dependable. 1993 Ply. Sundance 2.2 auto bought in 97 for $3,500 with 84K miles sold for $500 in 02 with 168K miles. In all the miles the original owner did nothing and I put in a distributor at 100K miles. The car shortly after being sold needed a timing belt and a few months ago met it's untimely death at 174K miles, a car fire!

My daily driver work truck has 209K miles and runs and drive like new, 99 F250 Powerstroke. Same thing with my wifes daily driver the 154K mile 00 Excursion Powerstroke.

My fastest car is also perhaps the most unreliable. 86 Shelby GLHS (1 of 500 Dodge Omni's turned Carroll Shelby) from owning three years ago at 86K miles to now with 88K miles I've done a clutch and head gasket. The car is totally restored to stock and runs in the mid 14's decent for 30 mpg's. The other Shelby is a 89 Shelby CSX one of 500 Shadows which in 1,000 miles of owning has needed a head and head gasket and just had a clutch prior to buying. Both cars are a blast to drive though!

Lot's of Road Runner talk, my father owned two 68's over the years.

My wife is trading her 95 Bronco 5.8 V8 this week which has 103K miles and is on it's second 5.8 to a friend for his 65 Mustang with a 6,000 mile rebuilt 289 with a brand new Holly four barrel carb and no rust, mint interior and new tires and rims!!! I think she's getting the better end of the deal.

[CodyDawg]

Best: My current 02 Ford Powerstroke.

Worst: I gotta give the nod to a 1982 or so Datsun hatchback. Now technically it wasnt my car, but I got to drive it awhile when I was 16. I have never seen a more gutless vehicle. Those 3-cyl Geo Metro's would have run away from this thing laughing.

[luckey]

Reading this is really fun. Brings back fond memories of a number of cars I owned.

By far the worst – 1973 Ford Maverick.

Close second worst – 1978 Ford Fairmont station wagon with the simulated imitation wood grain vinyl paneling. On the bright side, owning these two cars forced me to learn a lot about car repair!

Best – Several F150’s. Sold the 1987 with 180,000 miles and still have the 1997 with 196,000 miles.

Fun car – Unlike most, I still have a 1968 Chevelle. It is tubbed and powered buy a blown 427. Although it is licensed and street legal, I don’t use it for a daily commuter. Lol.

[azzclwn]

My worst was my first, had early 70's, baby blue Dodge Dart, slant 6, 3 on the tree, absolute rust bucket. My friends and I used to call it the "birth control" car......it was hideous.

[Big D 1]

Best Car I ever owned???

I still have it. The car I drove for my drivers test in 1981. 1971 Mercury Cyclone GT....been in my family since 1974. Trying to sell it though, too many toys, she needs someone to drive her. Talk about fast??? Speedo goes to 140 I think, and I may have buried it once or twice in HS.

Had a 70 Mach 1...fast fast fast

Worst?

1979 Chevy 4x4..junque...JUNK

here is a pic of my cyclone (well, probably won't be mine for long)

[PEATMOSS]

I DUNNO IF ANYONE REMEMBERS BACK IN THE MID EIGHTIES, DODGE HAD A LINE OF LIGHT DUTY FULL SIZE TRUCKS CALLED THE RAM MIZER SERIES.IT WAS A 3 SPEED 6 CYL. HAD THE WORST SPRINGS OF ANY TRUCK EVER! YOU COULDN'T HAUL FEATHERS IN THIS PIECE OF dump. MECHANICALLY ALSO A NIGHTMARE. I DOUBT IF ANY OF THESE EVER MADE IT TO 100 K.

CURRENTLY I HAVE A '97 CHEV 150 4X4. I'VE GOT 290 K PLUS. STILL RUNS FINE. NO WORK EVER ON ENGINE OR TRANNY.HAS DEVELOPED SOME "CHARACTOR MARKS" OVER THE YEARS THOUGH.

[Xplorer]

Ive been pretty lucky with vehicles....worst is easy for me, had an '84 renault encore gt that was terrible. Blew up the motor, headgasket, alternator etc,etc,etc..finally dumped it on the first of my 3 toyota pickups which have been fantastic. Have had a 4 banger, then the 6, and now the 8 in the Tundra. Also had a '75 Blazer with 33" meats on it that was awesome, I could take the entire fiberglass top of it off with about 12 bolts and go "topless" all summer long which made for fun At 8mpg highway and regular gas it was a real hog to keep fed, which is why i also had a '78 volkswagon rabbit. I made 33 trips between LaCrosse Wi and Denver in it, and every one was done nonstop with 3 total stops for gas only. I would drive to LaX after work on friday in Denver, get to LaX saturday morning, party with my friends til sunday, then sleep til 7pm and take off for Denver to be at the job site the next morning (oh to be that young again )

The rabbit didnt have a working gas guage, but i knew how far i could go on a tank of gas and only ran out once. Junked it with 168K on it when the floor rusted out completely and the gas tank had a hole in the top of it.

The Misses has had a honda civic and 4-runner that have been fantastic also. Sold the honda with 138K and still running great. Runner is at 100K and still strong, plan to run it to the end which looks like it will be awhile!

[smmurphy]

Best Car - 1974 Pontiac Venture - Had to sell it to keep out of trouble.

Best Truck - Tie

1968 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 - Go anywhere any time.

2001 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. - It was my first "New Vehicle" and my first truck since I drove the power wagon in the early 80's.

My wife had always had the "new" and I had the beater because she had the kids with her more often and I figured if I broke down on the side of the road it was better than her breaking dowm with 5 kids in the car. (That and with 5 kids I couldn't afford anything more than a beater.)

Most Fun - 1972 Chevy Impala - I was in HS at the time and the back seat was wide enough that I could lay down in it and not touch both doors at the same time. --- Need I say more?

And Now - Worst Car - 1982? Plymouth Relient K Car wagon. Not only was it ugly as a sedan - it was fugly as a wagon. No power, no brakes (didn't need em - see no power), no nothin. The only reason I bought it was because it was only $300 and my ex had just totaled my Datsun 310 GX (Yes Datsun not Nissan).

[caseymcq]

Best - 1990 Chev K1500 Z71. When I traded it in it had 169,000 on it and still ran like a top. I inherrited it from my dad. I kept up on the maintenance but drove it hard and it never flinched.

Worst - 2001 Ford Ranger(the truck I traded for) - Firestone tire let loose on me. Engine never ran right. The paint started flaking and chipping and the dealer told me it was from bugs. BUGS - how in the world are you going to sell a truck in Minnesota and have paint that doesn't hold up to bugs!?!

My '03 Ranger isn't to far behind. It has 52,000 on it and has already had to have ball joints on both sides replaced.

I am going back to GM products.

[walleyefanatic]

I've been very lucky (knock on wood) but I've had best vehicles 1 and 2. Best vehicle #1 was an 94 Z-28. For a completely stock car that thing was fast IMO. If you tromped on it from a stand still one would be hard pressed to get rubber but if you held her to the boards and had a little patience you could get a bit of rubber at 55 when it shifted into second. At that point hang on. That car was so much fun unfortunately didn't do well with the white stuff so it was traded in for a truck. Best vehicle #2 is our current little green monster. A 97 Cavalier; this car may not be the fastest on 4 wheels, actually I don't think anyone can use Cavalier and fast in the same sentence, but boy is that reliable. She has 230,000 miles and the only thing that have been done to it are replacing the water pump and replacing the clutch. The only thing that has been done to the car in the last 2 years is change the oil and put gas in the tank (and not very much of that). Can't think of anything better than owning a car free and clear that doesn't break the bank with repairs.

[delmuts]

best car! 72 , CUDA 340 , 4 spd. ! sky blue, black vynl top and black stripes, with cragar SS all around ! for a small block it would move !( proof! lost my license with it for a year for a speeding ticket!!)