Your most ideal vehicle(s)

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For a primary daily driven vehicle I want good a/c, 1000 lb. + payload capacity, ability to tow a 2000-3000 lb. trailer, a comfortable interior for me and one passenger, decent sound system or ease of installing one, acceptable fuel economy, ease of doing maintenance/repairs and getting parts, nimble enough for parking to not be an issue, and definitely reliability. I'm not sure in what order I would prioritize those requirements, but if the vehicle can do all of those things pretty well I am happy with it.

For me Rangers are just about ideal. The downside is that the V6s are not particularly fuel efficient. I think a 5.0 V8 with 3.55 gears could actually get the same fuel economy since it wouldn't be working very hard in a Ranger. Luckily it's pretty much a bolt in swap.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Volvo V70R wagon.

6 speed, 300HP
gorgeous interior, handsome exterior
functional of course (love wagons)
AWD

Only problems, premium fuel and cost of repairs outside of warranty.


True on all those accounts. I have the sedan version and luckily when i destroyed the transfer case (too many hard launches on the unofficial SB dragstrip) it was covered under warranty.


Out of curiousity, what was your 1/4 time?
Good job on getting that covered
laugh.gif



I said unofficial because well there was no tree, or lines, or safety crew. But I did chase down a modded Fox Body after forgetting to turn off the TC.

Back on topic, the Pontiac G8 was as close to perfection for me as I can think. A friend has one with the flappy paddle gearbox and that thing is fun to drive. A real manual gearbox would be better, but as an overall package that thing is all that and a bag of chips.
 
This was ideal. 200D Diesel with stick, A/C, PS, PB, Webasto roof, big comfortable seats, a 2 body trunk and great fuel economy.
Quite possibly the best and most reliable car ever produced by anyone anywhere at any price.
This one had under 100K Km (60K Mi), they are not considered broken it for the first 100K.
Life expectancy as built 30 yrs and/or 1 million Km minimum according to and as advertised by MB when she was built.

This is the day i sold her and put a newer gas engine MB on the road, she was 25 yrs old in this pic. I regret it now.

dsc00157g.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
This was ideal. 200D Diesel with stick, A/C, PS, PB, Webasto roof, big comfortable seats, a 2 body trunk and great fuel economy.
Quite possibly the best and most reliable car ever produced by anyone anywhere at any price.
This one had under 100K Km (60K Mi), they are not considered broken it for the first 100K.
Life expectancy as built 30 yrs and/or 1 million Km minimum according to and as advertised by MB when she was built.

This is the day i sold her and put a newer gas engine MB on the road, she was 25 yrs old in this pic. I regret it now.

dsc00157g.jpg



I have a client with a tan 240D with a manual transmission. The only manual one I've seen in decades. I keep telling him to let me know when he's ready to sell.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Anything with "SRT-8" in the name. :-)

Seriously... I'm not sure I have an "ideal." I like so many different things- a brutally fast car like a Challenger SRT-8 would be a blast, and with my fairly short commute there would be absolutely no downside to using it daily.

On the other hand, I love trucks and SUVs. A manual 6-speed Pentastar-powered Wrangler has a lot of appeal right now, just because that's one of the few ways to get a 6-speed in a relatively inexpensive vehicle (yeah- I said "relatively). I know- the two I've mentioned are almost diametrically opposite. But that's my dilemma. I find good in almost every vehicle.



Glad someone else appreciates SRT8's. Available in Magnum, 300, Charger, Jeep, and Challenger flavors to suit almost anyone. Just a bit thirsty, but absolutely satisfying in a way few cars are these days. Also dead reliable and super cheap/easy to repair (not expected!). May turn out to be my most satisfying automobile purchase in over 40 years of motoring.

I'll let you know in a few more years!
 
'68 International Harvester Scout, red body, white top. "The Brick" What a funky vehicle. Love it for it's roughness. No pretentiousness in this vehicle.

'63 Chevrolet Corvair Spyder, red, rag top! Another unusual vehicle, early turbo, although it didn't boost it that much.

'83 Plymouth Scamp (pick-up truck variant of the Horizon), silver w/red pin striping. They only made about 3,000! I would have loved to have dropped a GLH turbo motor in that one. It would have made a great "sleeper".

First year ('59?) Plymouth Valiant, didn't own one, but would have liked to. Another vehicle with, shall we say, a rather unique look.

That's the list off the top of my head, nothing fancy, just unusual.
 
It would be neat to have a VR6 style engine that is a diesel and has multiple turbos. It would fit wherever an inline 4 would fit, but have incredible torque, HP, and fuel efficiency.

I would then like to install that engine in a variety of vehicles:
1. An AWD rally car
2. A FWD van that is converted into a great Class C RV
3. A compact 4WD pickup truck.
 
I ordered this one nearly 9 years ago now, and honestly, it's the only vehicle that I've ever owned this long. It's also the only one that I've never ever though that I'd like to sell it.

IMG_2581.jpg


Turbodiesel, 5 speed, solid tight LSD, air, power steer, and a canopy that's big enough for luggage and dogs (have none ATM), kid's bikes etc.

Seats 4 comfortably (not luxuriously, 5 blokes at a pinch, more room than the same year hilux). Rated to carry 1 tonne in the back, and tow 3 tonnes with trailer brakes.

I used to think I'd like the Euro 4WD ride height, but with 2WD, but this time last year had to cross the snow covered mounts to retrieve daughter from a school excursion, and the 4WD was invaluable...beside, manual hubs mean not too much parasitic drag.

Fine tuned it since I got it...snorkel as the air intake is in the passenger side wheel arch, and can suck water in 3" water (I know that from experience), swirl control mods, heavier front shocks.

It handles really pretty well, and I can outcarve most of the idjits on the hills around here. Great brakes.

Next tyre buy will be 265/70R16 just to take up a little more room inside my state regs. Will soon fit a pre-filter Delphi/CAV 296 to make the Nissan fuel filter last longer. Maybe fit a double DIN player/satnav, as I said before, I don't want to get rid of it.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal


Back on topic, the Pontiac G8 was as close to perfection for me as I can think. A friend has one with the flappy paddle gearbox and that thing is fun to drive. A real manual gearbox would be better, but as an overall package that thing is all that and a bag of chips.


I bleed pentastars, but yeah. The G8 was the shiznit. And of course GM managed to kill it. Sometimes I really wonder about the General- one great decision and one terrible one. Sometimes at the same time.
 
I have to admit that my two 4.0 powered Cherokees have a lot of "ideal" going for them as well. Yes, they move at the speed of smell (although they were considered very quick for SUVs in the 90s), but I've seldom owned such a simple truck that can make me smile so broadly at times. Its like having the simplicity (almost) of a 1970 F-100 pickup with the conveniences of OBD-II, airbags, a stereo, and powerful AC. They are just absolutely dead-nuts reliable, and very cheap to maintain. They handle and ride far and away better than anything with two solid axles has any right to handle and ride. And how in the **** did they give a 4x4 a tighter turning radius than 80% of compact cars out there? I mean really, it defies comprehension. And it doesn't seem to shorten the life of the front axle U-joints at all (NOT CV joints, cross-and-roller U-joints). About the only thing that consistently disappoints is gas mileage on the 2WD automatic. We took both of them on a trip recently and the 5-speed 4x4 got its usual 21 mpg. The auto 4x2 got its usual 17 :-(
 
Originally Posted By: DavidZ28
I'd really like to have a mid '80's El Camino. It's a car... it's a truck.


Its neither. :-p

I say this having had a 68 Ranchero handed down to me as my first vehicle. It made me love the Ford 302/C4 combination, but that's about it. Oh yeah, and the York AC that could make ice cubes in the small cab. Actually being based on the Torino, the 68 Rancho wasn't bad. Kind of a muscle car with no weight on the rear wheels unless you carried some ballast.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
I ordered this one nearly 9 years ago now, and honestly, it's the only vehicle that I've ever owned this long. It's also the only one that I've never ever though that I'd like to sell it.

IMG_2581.jpg


Turbodiesel, 5 speed, solid tight LSD, air, power steer, and a canopy that's big enough for luggage and dogs (have none ATM), kid's bikes etc.

Seats 4 comfortably (not luxuriously, 5 blokes at a pinch, more room than the same year hilux). Rated to carry 1 tonne in the back, and tow 3 tonnes with trailer brakes.

I used to think I'd like the Euro 4WD ride height, but with 2WD, but this time last year had to cross the snow covered mounts to retrieve daughter from a school excursion, and the 4WD was invaluable...beside, manual hubs mean not too much parasitic drag.

Fine tuned it since I got it...snorkel as the air intake is in the passenger side wheel arch, and can suck water in 3" water (I know that from experience), swirl control mods, heavier front shocks.

It handles really pretty well, and I can outcarve most of the idjits on the hills around here. Great brakes.

Next tyre buy will be 265/70R16 just to take up a little more room inside my state regs. Will soon fit a pre-filter Delphi/CAV 296 to make the Nissan fuel filter last longer. Maybe fit a double DIN player/satnav, as I said before, I don't want to get rid of it.


That is such an awesome truck. I wish we got TD's in the Frontiers over here. So frustrating.
 
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