What was your (reasonable) dream car as a teen?

1968 Oldsmobile 442 convertible. Red with white vinyl interior. I was 16 years old and this was my dream car. Would still love to own one.

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Slightly OT, but there’s also the “ones that got away,” like you were alive, working, could have gotten it, and now 20 years later you could try to find one but they are all ratted out.

1991 Legend

91-95 prelude

I’d take the legend over the prelude, but either would be worthy of a bay in the garage.
 
I dont think I had one, I was busy buying and fixing up what are now $75-100K mid sixties Muscle Cars. You could get them for under 1000 back in the 70's. I am taking Big Block block in a A body GM or an FE or 385 LIMA in a midsized Ford with either a Muncie or a toploder, respectively.

My farther's rich friend Stan had one of these, and I was always intrigued.
Now i find them appearing too much as a stretched Renault 15



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Loved many cars, but I always wanted a 80's Monte Carlo SS.
That was my desire as well, and I am a Mopar guy! A Buick GN would have sufficed as well.

Dad had a Cuda, which I also wanted, and I would have given a body part for a '57 Chevy. A good friend had an 86 Monte Carlo SS that we put a 383 in and beat the holy heck out of. Looking back, we could have been a lot nicer to that car. It was the first car I went over 120mph in. The Cuda was too scary to take that fast, as the front end had too much lift as you got towards 100 mph.
 
as a teen:

Porsche 911 Turbo 😇
Lotus Esprit
Ferrari 308 GTB
BMW 323i/325i
.
Except for the Lotus I had friends with those vehicles and the 1970s Porsche 911 turbos is my favorite cars . The ride, the engine noise and the power, AWESOME. The 911 turbo was as close to the feel of the 1971 Kawasaki Mach III I owned back in the day. !! My friend still has a 328 Ferrari , A BEAUTIFUL CAR BUT UNIMPRESSIVE IN EVERY WAY. The 325s were really nice to drive cars..
 
I was born in England, on my WEDDING day outside the bank, was a Brough Superior Motorcycle, on my journey to my Honeymoon, an Aston Martin DB5, the same price that I paid for my house
 
BMW E30 323i and 325i has been my daily dream car in the 1980s. Loved the sound and the overall feel of a 325i and the handling of the first M3. I still love driving E30 BMWs, they feel much more modern than almost every other car of the 1980s despite the classic looks.
The 308 GTB (and even more so the early ones sitting on 14" wheels) is still one of the most beautiful Ferraris to me (among the 250 GT Lusso). While its suspension still feels decent even today, its flat-plane V8 engine sounds boring. I much prefer the Dino 206/246 V6 sound (or Lancia Stratos with the same engine) over it, not to mention front-mounted V12 Ferraris including the 400/400i. Yes, "unimpressive" describes the 308/328.
My 930 (911 Turbo) doesn't do everything better, but it accelerates so much quicker, it sounds better and I'm sitting much better in it. Ferraris of that time where designed for Italians. Probably it's more reliable as well.
Only once drove an Esprit, but that's been a late model with all the spoilers (or even a rear wing?). Not sure, as it's some 25 years ago. The suspension did feel great, really great, probably the best of all I mentioned. Engine sound? Forget about it. I'd prefer the plain looks of the series I Esprit though, white colour just like "the spy who loved me" complements its Giugiaro architectual lines. They're still decently priced, not that much overpriced as old Turbos and Ferraris......
 
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Early 70s would have been a 240z hands down for about anyone my age if that was a “reasonable” dream car.

probably a Datsun or. Toyota sedan more realistically. Honda had some kind of tin can they sold which was reputed to have a motorcycle engine.

Insurance companies priced young people out hot cars in those days and reliability was already fairly bad. If you had access to something presentable and serviceable you were ahead of the game.
 
I loved 1960's muscle cars when /i was young, so one of them was my 'dream' car; but not practical.
My 'practical' dream car when I was learning to drive in 1991 was the new Dodge Duster V-6 5-speed. Thought those were awesome for a practical, but quick, car. Still like the look of them.
 
1968 GTO - There was a muscle car book in my Jr. High library and inside was a color photo of a Verdoro Green 1968 GTO. That was the car I wanted to get when I was old enough to drive. I didn't get the GTO at first, the first muscle car I ended up with was a 1968 Buick GS400, which to date of all the muscle cars I have now owned, was one of my favorites. 43,000 miles, all original, perfectly maintained, one owner. I paid $1000 for it. It was my daily driver at the end of school and for all my University years and on weekends it was my race car at NHRA Division 6 events. I drove it for many years later in the work force as well. I put an additional 70,000 miles on it over the years and drove it to all corners of America on vacations with my wife and High School best friend. I am still in touch with the current owner who has it now.

I finally did get my 1968 GTO though about 25 years later, although it was not Verdoro Green (it was Alpine Blue) like the picture I had seen as a kid. Another original unrestored clean car. 86,000 miles well maintained, a great car that I was fortunate to own. I liked my old GS better but the GTO was still nice. I didn't keep that car for very long, I bought it because it was a perfect unrestored example of what the car rolled off the showroom floor like in 1968, I couldn't pass it up but I had another car at the time that I gave all my attention to, so I sold the 68 GTO sadly.
 
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