Cars, then and now.

No picture, but we had a 1975 Opel Manta(FI and stick) that ran until 2010. We couldn't get parts.

zuben el genub said:

No picture, but we had a 1975 Opel Manta(FI and stick) that ran until 2010. We couldn't get parts.

Click to expand...

Because this post is useless without pics

NOT my photos (but tried to pick ones that were relatively close). The first and last are accurate (though there are few missing photos along the way...)

picture some of my cars....black Nova my first car 42 years ago, dark red Z and Jag what I have now

Never would have imagined a "car forum" within the context of Android Forums, but thanks to Maniac 59 for pointing me to it!

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV

Not my first, but by orders of magnitude, the one I miss the most, am fondest of. Not my exact car (sadly, no pictures exist, even though it was my daily driver for many years), but mine was this color scheme, with those Campagnolo "Turbina" wheels, no front license plate, and genuine aircraft landing lights replacing the fog lights in the grill


Enjoyed everything about this car; Used to just sit in it and admire the view of the cockpit, the instrument cluster, the door panels and grab straps, the ashtray and map light were small works of art, little jewels. I would come out of a store, walk towards it in the parking lot, and could hardly believe it was mine. Year after year, it was a feast for the eyes, I would walk around and admire it from every gorgeous angle; A true privilege to own, but frankly, viewed by many as the less desirable example of the series; '74 was the final year of production, fattest and least nimble or charming of the breed. By modern standards, they look so tiny and delicate when one pulls alongside you on the freeway. Could talk and daydream about this car for hours.

I have only owned relatively few cars, but have been in the fortunate position to work extensively on, and drive an astonishing number and variety of machines over the years, many from as far back as the turn of the previous century. While not universally true, it is fair to say that cars absolutely do have a national character, a personality defined by the country which produced them, and they often live up (or down) to those expectations.

The (often well deserved) reputation of Italian cars: Unreliable. Overpriced. Impractical. Poor build quality. Emphasis on style over functionality. (The exterior door handles were terrible to actually try to use, and broke easily, but they were soooooooo pretty. ) Infuriating. All of this is often to some degree correct, but they truly have a soul, and they speak to yours. Often stunningly beautiful but temperamental, they are the $ 1,200 Loafers that hurt your feet, but you simply can't resist. I had to fix mine by the side of the road on more than one occasion and limp it home; Broken throttle linkage, wiring problems, fuel injection problems, blown head gaskets, etc.

The Alfa was replaced by a Toyota MR-2, the one pictured also not mine (I did a very poor job of documenting things then. Again, not a single picture to be found, in spite of the fact it was daily driver for 10 years.) Mine was very dark metallic blue, with slightly different factory alloy wheels, appropriate to its build year; The yellow shows off the body lines better, and is the color of the first one I saw at a car show, years earlier, before they were generally available to the public....I was hooked. They look similarly diminutive when seen in real life, almost like a 3/4 scale car; A dolphin in a sea of whales.


Obviously it was Japanese, so everything one might expect, I found to be true. Very, very reliable. Very, very well built, great fit and finish. Ergonomically wonderful. Technically interesting. Economical......Both in terms of cost to operate, and tremendous "bang for the buck"; Frighteningly fast at times, unshakable handling. Surprisingly practical, in spite of it's inherently selfish 2-seat nature. In truth, the Alfa was a "selfish" bachelor's car as well, its rear seats were little more than an upholstered parcel shelf, and I have heard rumors that they were officially designated as being "not intended for passenger occupancy".

A bit of "apples and oranges" comparison, as the two cars were built 18 years apart, but the Toyota was a truly superior car in nearly every way. In the rain, the Toyota would keep the water out, where the Alfa couldn't. In the winter, the Toyota would keep me warm, where the Alfa wouldn't. I absolutely loved that Toyota, but I never felt it had a soul, where the Alfa certainly did.

I look forward to future posts in this forum, from others, and fully intend to look more closely at those above. Thanks all.

Shameless bump........
What happened, did you all stop driving entirely?
C'mon back!