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 :whistle:
MG midget - a right laugh
Fiesta 1.1L - zzzzzz
escort mk3 ghia - sold it to my brother who rolled it :pinch:
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 :blush:
volvo XC90 SE tdi - a mobile armchair good for intimidating BMWs :whistle:
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!:pinch:
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 :blush: ) 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 :woohoo:

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 :evil: at the time