Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Cars that you wanted as a kid – do you still want one as an adult?
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September 22, 2014 at 7:36 pm #612758
skeeterParticipantWhen I was a kid, I really enjoyed collecting hot wheels cars. I dreamt of the day I could buy and own the real thing as an adult. I don’t think I understood money all that well :-) The car that I especially loved was the Lamborghini Countach. It was made from 1974 to 1990. There was a poster on my wall and every magazine with pictures was stored in my collection (because you couldn’t just look at the internet in the 80s.) There was something about this car that got 10-year-old Skeeter really, really excited.
The other day I was thinking about the Countach and I wondered if I still wanted one if I could afford it and had a place to store it. I’m married with a kiddo now, so I’m not sure what I would even do with a two seat car. And a five year-old Corvette would be far, far less expensive and substantially faster anyway. But still, there’s something about the Lamborghini. I would love to own one. A piece of my childhood fantasy would be fulfilled and I think I’d have a big grin on my face rolling down Alki on a nice day.
What about other folks? Any “dream cars” in your childhood? Do you still dream about them?
September 22, 2014 at 7:50 pm #813972
wakefloodParticipantSkeets, we shared our love of the exotics – and the Countach as well. Here’s what’s interesting. I look back at the design now and find it overly contrived – especially in its later iterations. (The Muira? Now THAT’S timeless beauty. OK, it handled like the bucking bull that is the logo but still…) And apparently I’m not in the minority as auction prices for Countach’s have been quite soft compared to other super cars of the era.
But even more to your point, I’m pretty sure I can’t go there even if I wanted to drop some coin on one. I’ve thought about a mid 60’s Austin Healey 3000, or a Ferrari 308 or even a ’69 Mach 1 and I can’t pull the trigger. First, the utility of any of them is so low and reliability/cost of repair is so high that I can’t envision one as something I’d use more than a few days/year.
And we’ve likely seen the peaks of most of these as investments also. So that’s something to keep in mind too.
What I’d REALLY love? Someone who specializes in conversions to electrics for classic car body styles. If someone figures out how to drop a Tesla drivetrain underneath a pony car, watch out, I’ll be standing at your door with my checkbook!
September 22, 2014 at 7:55 pm #813973
wakefloodParticipantOh, and I forgot to add…I HAVE NO MORE GARAGE SPACE FOR TOYS!! The boat and the motorcycle like their home too much. ;-)
September 22, 2014 at 8:46 pm #813974
squareeyesParticipantIn high school I had two dream cars – a butterscotch colored 1977 Corvette and a ~1977 powder blue Camaro. Neither one appeals to me now. The first car I actually purchased (in 1980) was a 1973 AMC Javelin. Now that’s a car I’d love to have in my driveway again. I saw one a few years ago at the gas station and got so distracted by it I filled my car w/ premium instead of regular.
September 22, 2014 at 8:52 pm #813975
wakefloodParticipantJavelin! I had a good friend who’s first car was an AMX he bought from a High School teacher. It was beat to hell (no interior, the seats weren’t fully bolted down!) but the thing went like stink and with a blow exhaust it sounded like a herd of banshees coming down the street. Pure evil.
September 22, 2014 at 9:08 pm #813976
squareeyesParticipantMy mom called it “that muscle car”. In 1983 my dad called me and said “you’re buying a Ford Escort, your grandma is lending you the money, and you’re paying her back”. It was a sad but sensible decision to acquiesce. But damn, that was a fun car!
September 22, 2014 at 9:17 pm #813977
velo_nutParticipantI actually own the car I wanted a a kid… Land Rover Discovery.
.
Now I want to go back in time and punch my younger self in the face.
September 22, 2014 at 9:28 pm #813978
GinaParticipantI wanted a red TR7.
September 22, 2014 at 9:33 pm #813979
skeeterParticipantI’m gonna throw another dream car out there. I was an older “kid” at this point, but it captured my interest just the same. Do you guys remember the Ford GT that was built from 2005-06? It was an amazing car.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_GT
When the car came out I was living in Kirkland just behind the Ford dealer in Totem Lake. The dealer was one of the few in the country that got a new GT. They sat it on the showroom floor for a month or two. Living just a stone’s throw away, I would walk by the dealer just about every day and drool over that car. Seeing it every day made me want it even more! I have no idea what these cars are worth now but I’d love to have one.
September 22, 2014 at 9:35 pm #813980
annaeileenParticipantMy dream car was a Volvo P1800S and yes, if I had the room to store it and the money to maintain it I would still want it. I developed an appreciation for 60’s American muscle cars after having worked at a Corvette & High Performance auto shop selling parts. I love the sound of big block engines revving and love the look of a ’64 Impala. I really grew to appreciate the ’68-’69 Corvettes over the ’63-‘67s – they look great and sound awesome. Currently I have a 4 cylinder Subaru which keeps me out of speeding ticket trouble and I can haul a lot of stuff but definitely not stylin’.
September 22, 2014 at 10:21 pm #813981
skeeterParticipantI had to look that Volvo up. Pretty cool!
September 22, 2014 at 10:26 pm #813982
sam-cParticipantas a kid, I used to always want one of the boxy looking Mercedes, like the one on the right in this photo. (same color)
Supposedly my child would like it too, he tells me. We’ve seen them while driving around. my spouse and kid would also LOVE A P1800.
In high school I used to want a Miata. Then found out my chemistry teacher drove one. She was a cool teacher (not just cause of the car)
September 22, 2014 at 10:28 pm #813983
wakefloodParticipantSkeets, the GT 40 you loved? Love it too. Just nasty and beautiful at the same time. They usually went for thousands over sticker due to the limited production run. That meant $140-160k.
Several nice examples have gone for almost double that and then some at collector auctions lately. Maybe we should pool our bucks and get one as an…um…investment?!? :-)
A great value in this bracket is the Mercedes Benz SL 500 from 2003-2006. Nice examples can be had for $30k for cars that look sweet and have tons of power.
September 22, 2014 at 10:31 pm #813984
waynsterParticipantGee where to start so meany so few sadly I wanted the hot babe also to go with it….now I can’t afford either lmao……
September 22, 2014 at 11:00 pm #813985
wsn00bParticipantI badly wanted a Ferrari F355.
I was seriously pursuing one when I was about 28 (and stupid). Finally, the reality check of maintenance and insurance costs forced to me get something more modern and more not-Ferrari.
However, new dream cars or re-imagined versions of older classics are all so well engineered now. If I could, I’d get a 458 instead of a 355.
September 22, 2014 at 11:16 pm #813986
skeeterParticipantOkay now we are rolling! Wake – I like your idea of pooling money for a Ford GT. Put me down for $100. Will that get me one weekend a year?
I love the SL Mercedes. There is an exec at my office with one. He knows I love cars. I wonder if he’ll give me a holler when he’s ready for something new? I’d certainly consider it.
Wsn00b- love your Ferrari dream. A few years back I went to Canon Beach when the NW Ferrari club was there. I made a donation to a charity and got a ride (passenger) in a F360 convertible. As we pulled out of town the driver/owner explained he was obligated to follow the driving laws. I responded “but this is for charity” which was my way of saying I wanted something a little more memorable. So we got out on highway 101 and he let those ponies run. We hit 110 in just a few seconds. The screaming V8 at 9,000RPM just a couple inches behind my head was transcendent. I’ll never forget that.
September 22, 2014 at 11:18 pm #813987
miwsParticipantI had a decent Matchbox Car collection as a kid.
If I were to use that as a base for a Dream Car, that as a kid I wanted for real, I don’t know that I had any. Nor do I remember a particular Dream Car in general.
I always like the air-cooled VW’s.
Our next door neighbor lady (the “mean old lady” on our block), always had Beetles. Don’t recall how often she replaced them; if it was on a regular basis such as 3-5 years, or just randomly as they needed replacing, but seem to remember her having several over the years.
Her husband had even more unique cars it seemed; I recall him having a Rover, and also a Mercedes Diesel, which were very unusual around here in the ’60’s.
Anyway, so if the Beetle was my “Dream Car”, that dream was fulfilled 30 years ago this past couple of weeks ago, when I bought a ’67 Beetle, with the Factory Sliding Metal Sunroof. The one and only car I’ve ever owned.
“V-WEEEE” served me well for just over 11 years, until she required a repair I couldn’t afford, even with the relative low-cost, and the fact that a Buddy of mine who had helped with other major repairs, likely would have helped with this too.
My true Dream Car phase started in 1983, or so, as I was approaching age 25 and started working as a Parking Attendant, which afforded me the pleasure of parking different cars.
For awhile there, early on, it wavered between a BMW 325i Convertible, or a Porsche (That’s “Por-shuh”, not “Porsh”.[/peeve]) 928. Just about ever since the Porsche Boxster came out, I have favored it. Any of those are still viable Dream Cars though, and there have been. and continue to be, many others added to the List. (Think probably a good 75% or so, of cars seen at the West Seattle Junction Car Show.)
Mike
September 22, 2014 at 11:44 pm #813988
wakefloodParticipantSkeets, that $100 will get you half the yearly tuneup! :-)
And wsn, I also really liked the 355 spider too. Nice proportions and clean lines. I even like them in yellow…BLASPHEMY! ;-)
September 22, 2014 at 11:49 pm #813989
miwsParticipantskeeter, for a long time now, whenever I think of a Countach, (which I’m not certain I ever saw in person), I comparatively think of an Aston-Martin Lagonda
Back in around 1985, while still working at the first Garage, (which though not full Valet, was Attendant Parking) this very cool and sleek looking white car rolls in. I thought it was a Maserati.
It was the start of the day, and just two of us on duty; a younger guy about 18 or 19, and me about 26.
One of us was at the gas pumps with a Customer, the other at the Cashier Booth with another Customer.
I think we were both thinking the exact same thing as we looked up at the car; “I gotta park that car!”
I was lucky enough to “win”, finishing with my Customer first, but if it had been a “tie”, probably would have pulled rank, in both being the Senior Employee, and acting Manager since it was his shift I was filling, and the “Kid” was covering mine.
Anyway, I go trotting up, and inform this then brand new Customer, that I would park the car for him, (which was our rule, with very few exceptions, especially that early in the morning when we parked cars in a certain manner, depending on how long they would be parked, etc).
The Customer (very nicely, and non-arrogantly, for owning and driving a then $100,000.00 car) ;-) said “I prefer to park it.”
Without skipping a beat, and not tripping over my words, which I would have normally expected in such a scenario, I sez; “Well, we usually park all of the cars, and I’ll park it up front here where we can keep an eye on it.”
He agreed to it, and every time he came in in the future (probably at least once a month), he would hop out of the car and hand me the keys, the only “admonition” being to remember to remove the key from the car, as the door self-locked after around 20 seconds. As I recall, I was the only one he trusted to park the car.
One time after I transferred to another location down the street, I stopped by the old place and saw the Lagonda around the corner from the Cashier Booth, rather than up front, next to the sidewalk. (It was still very near the booth, and in a very busy area, just out of direct line-of-sight).
I asked “S”, the Manager; “Why isn’t the Lagonda up front?” “S” replies, “I’m not parking that thing and being responsible for it.”
Geeze, there goes the head swelling almost as much as it did know the Customer only wanted me to park it, while I was still there, since even though I was decent at parking cars, “S” had a good ten years experience on me, going back to when the Land Yachts would have greatly outnumbered the Pocket Size cars, and was just so damn good at it in general.
Turns out, and I don’t recall finding this out until after I changed Locations, that the Customer was one the Vice Presidents of the then prominent, (and then still existing) banks based in Seattle; Rainier Bank.
Finding that out made his being such a genuinely nice guy, even better.
Mike
September 23, 2014 at 12:13 am #813990
skeeterParticipantThat’s a cool story Mike! I’ll let you park my Countach. Or the Ford GT that I’m buying with Wakeflood. You can even take it for a spin around the block.
September 23, 2014 at 1:57 am #813991
wakefloodParticipantHey Skeets, don’t count your GT’s before they’re gavelled.
I think we need a few more investors. :-)
September 23, 2014 at 2:13 am #813992
DaveBParticipantThis was my dream Hot Wheels car as a kid.
http://www.ratfink.org/tomdaniel/images/side.jpg
Thankfully I am more practical now.
September 23, 2014 at 2:17 am #813993
miwsParticipantSeptember 23, 2014 at 2:52 am #813994
JayDeeParticipantI was lucky in that I got to drive and briefly own Mom’s 450SL That car didn’t have the head-snapping power of other cars, but it was smooth. U-turn>? No prob. Accelerate? Ditto. Soak up road bumps? Wonderful. Not a teeth-chattering like one would get with a higher performance vehicle, and it was a convertible when it needed to be…alas those times are past…
September 23, 2014 at 3:26 am #813995
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