There are cars I owned and cars I used to drive for some period of time, mostly borrowed from friends, parents/family or rentals, when one of my cars used to be broken again :lol:
So first here are the cars I owned so far (in chronological order):
1. Opel Ascona B 1.3
2. VW Scirocco Mk.I 1.5 GL
3. Opel Rekord E 2.0 S
4. Audi 100 C2 5S
5. Audi 200 C3 Turbo Quattro
6. VW Vento TD
7. VW Golf Mk.IV 1.9 TDI
8. VW Golf Mk.IV 1.6
And here is what I have driven otherwise in my 25 years of owning a driving license (in no particular order):
1. Audi A4 2.0 (B6)
2. Audi A6 Avant 3.0 TDI (C6)
3. Audi 80 1.8 (B3)
4. Audi 100 2.3 E (C3)
5. Audi 200 2.3 E (C2)
6. BMW 540i (E39)
7. BMW 520i (E60)
8. BMW 520i (E28)
9. BMW 732i (E23)
10. BMW X5 xDrive30d (E70)
11. Mercedes-Benz 200 D (W115)
12. Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (W126)
13. Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (W140)
14. Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI (W221)
15. Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI (W211)
16. Mercedes-Benz E350 (W211)
17. Mercedes-Benz B180 CDI
18. Mercedes-Benz CLK 240 (W209)
19. Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI (W164)
20. Mercedes-Benz T1
19. Ford Taunus 1.6 (TC '80)
20. Ford Scorpio 2.9i Ghia (1992 model)
21. Ford Mondeo 1.6 (BA7)
22. Opel Kadett E GSI
23. Opel Kadett D 1.2
24. VW Polo I (IF)
25. VW Polo II Coup? 1.3
26. VW Polo 2F CL Coup?
27. VW Golf Mk.I Diesel
28. VW Jetta Mk.I Diesel
29. VW Bora V5
30. VW Beetle 1202
31. VW Lupo 1.6
32. VW Passat B2 Estate
33. VW Passat B3 1.6
34. VW Passat B3 Estate TD
35. VW Passat B4 Estate TD
36. VW Passat B5 Estate 1.9 TDI (2004 model)
37. VW Passat CC 1.8 TSI
38. VW T3
39. VW T4
40. VW LT
41. Peugeot 206
42. Pontiac Sunbird LE
43. Lincoln Town Car
So what were best experiences and which were the biggest disappointments?
The most fun I had in my old Scirocco Mk.I and in the Opel Kadett E GSI of a co-worker of mine. The latter had the 2.0 liter 130 HP engine and the car was brilliant to drive.
Also my Audi 200 Turbo Quattro (with the 182 HP engine before the catalysator times) was really great - as long as it worked properly, though, which wasn't for too long.
I still hold my personal speed record with that thing, doing an average of 162 km/h over a stretch of 520 km of Autobahn (including 1 stop for refueling)
It was a Sunday morning and downhill I once had 265 km/h on the speedo, before the rev limiter kicked in. The highest fuel consumption I ever had, is also with that car: 19,2 liter/100 km (12.25 MPG)
Those were my fun times back in the 1990's. Shortly after I decided that such a fast car is too expensive to maintain and since I now only have 6 km to drive to work and can do almost all shopping by foot or on bicycle, I really don't need such a car anymore. I go for rentals, whenever I feel the need for something more special, for the rest of the time my Golf is more than enough car.
The best car for travelling long distances was clearly the Mercedes-Benz 500 SE W140 model, which made you feel like being inside a castle. I believe it still offers the best seat comfort ever. And even the current S-Class generation doesn't give you that feeling of being detached from the rest of the world and that feeling of superiority. The W140 also went like a rocket with that 326 HP 5 liter V8. I remember a Golf VR6 trying to get by, using all dirty tricks (like accelerating before the end of the speed limit) but it never got passed me and my 2.3 ton battleship
Must have driven him crazy :lol:
Yeah, the 1990's maybe were the best times for having fun on the streets - or maybe I'm just being nostalgic now
The most relaxing car I ever drove, was a 1970's Mercedes-Benz 200 D, the famous /8 model. It was about the slowest car on the roads in those days, needing 45 seconds or so from 0-100 km/h with its enormous 55 HP :lol: I suppose only the East German Trabant was slower.
But it was a Merc and therefore was extremely solid and comfortable and felt like a tank. So you had no other choice, than adapting your way of driving, which changed your whole perspective. Being unable to go fast makes you relaxed and cool, you feel like sitting on a rolling sofa, while others pass you buy in their hectic. No kidding: The rolling resistance of that car was so low, that some of the time you did not have to keep your foot on the accelerator at all - it would maintain the same speed, dropping only very slowly over time. I actually made it a sport to see how long I could do without pushing the pedal again
By the way: I achieved 5 liter/100 km (47 mpg) in it - not bad for a car from 1975.
Anyway, now to the bad experiences:
Ford Taunus and Ford Scorpio: Horrid cars, couldn't keep a straight line, lame engines that refused to rev.
Opel Kadett D: A car with the charms of a tin can - and doors that actually produced a metallic echo within the car, when you shut them.
Pontiac Sunbird LE: 90 HP and a 3-speed automatic with air condition at full power thanks to the Texan sun. Do I have to say more than "slow motion"? Ok, here's more: The interior tried to look like the 1990's but couldn't hide the fact, that it was badly put together with cheapest materials. Any early 1980's Audi 80 was way better built. Little site note: Our employer gave us about 10 of those (3 persons shared one) for the time being, while we were in the USA. Two of them broke down during a period of 5 weeks. Granted, some of us used the time to drive to Arizona, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, when the cars were only supposed to be used for getting us around in the area where we stayed. Thus the year after, when we returned to Texas, we suddenly had mileage limitations. None of the cars broke after that :lol:
The worst car I ever drove was the Lincoln Town Car. It was a 1992 model but the interior looked like 1972. It had the steering precision of a cask on a river, achieving the miracle of making everyone on board seasick while at the same time ruining their backs, when driving over a pothole or a joint in the concrete of the road. It's the car that made me understand the U.S. speed limit of 55 mp/h on country roads: More would be unsafe with such cars.
One of my more recent disappointments was a Mercedes B180 CDI, which is not a bad car but has a horrid diesel engine, which is so loud and rough, that it reminded me of my former 1993 VW Vento turbodiesel (which had 315.000 km on the odometer, though). No kidding: The steering wheel rattles in idle. Also the suspension of the B-Class is unable to handle roads who have wavy bumps in quick succession: It felt like riding a bull then.
Anyway, that's it so far. Could write a lot more, but don't wanna bore anyone
