The perfect car doesn't exi.... (Subtitled: Automotive Fickleness)

Question for the group, are you a dedicated single platform kind of enthusiast? Or are you a "I want to sit behind the wheel of everything under the sun" kind of enthusiast? Or maybe somewhere in between?

I started the habit of owning every type of car I could from an early start in my driving timeline, and as I'm an adult with real income, it's gotten worse (better?). Back then (early 2000's), information wasn't easy to come by, so realistically the only way to determine if you liked a platform was to drive one or own one, so I did!

My needs are different now (kids, stuff, etc), but my enthusiast brain is still mostly the same, except now it's trying to blend utility with fun in an almost impossible combo.

My MS3 really is pretty close, gen1 so it looks less like a Transformer, backseat, latch, side airbags, decent fuel economy, good shape for it's age, fun to drive, under the radar, gets way the hell out of it's own way if need be.

But I'm still shopping cars because my lizard brain is taking over. I'm in the black if I wanted to sell it, but I have no reason to.

GRM hive, do you lean into your automotive curiosities if your other transportation needs are met? One of the things I get hung up on are that the cars I "always wanted" are both increasing in cost, and going away. There is a lot of FOMO happening in that if I don't get one under my roof sometime soon, I may never do so.

If you keep it in the black, do you all flip around cars like you change your clothes? Or do you dive into a platform, learn and optimize as much as you can, and try to shut the other options out?

I'm known for a single platform, but I have a bunch of cars that vary widely because they're interesting. I'm not good at selling them, so I have a lot of vehicles. They're purely for me, not investment vehicles although some of them have managed to appreciate during my ownership.

I'm known for a single country.... but I always try out everything. I just have my needs met for the forseeable future. 

In reply to Steve :

I've basically standardized on golden age Honda stuff. The hardware matches my values (well engineered, good bang-for-buck) and the community does too (nerdy, not much ego, grease under fingers).

I was fortunate. Early  in my career  I got paid to drive a lot of vehicles which directed me away from a lot of German vehicles that looked good on paper but the driving experience left me cold.

Ultimately ended up specializing in late  90s/early 2000's Japanese. There's enough variety, parts availability, reliability and community support that has kept me going.

That being said, I've been very impressed with my modern Volvo wagon. If I could  find/afford a Polestar version, it would probably satisfy the itch for quite  some time

I mostly started driving Toyotas (normal, practical, etc) but ever since I started doing more HPDE/racing, autocross and just getting older, I've started looking into trying out and testing other types of cars (both for motorsports purposes and daily driving purposes). The last ones on my bucket list would be P-car ownership and maybe an RHD JDM classic. Right now I'm at 2 cars and I'm about to get a third one so I'm not sure what to do as I like all of my vehicles.

I appreciate a lot of different makes (and eras), but my money has always gone to Volvo.  I have five of them:

• 80's, 90's, 2000's, 2010's
• 4, 5 and 8 cylinders
• turbo and NA and turbo+supercharged
• manual and automatic
• lifted, lowered and stock height

The common thread seems to be that these cars are dominated by a sense of practical engineering.  And I'm an engineer.

I am probably 90% German Marques and 95% of that is VAG. (Current: 2 Porsches, 1 Opel, 3 VWs, 1 Toyota, 1 Dodge).

The last 10% would be Japanese stuff with a sprinkling of everyone else.

For the most part I am 60s-90s.

I am a Honda fan boi. Been daily driving a Honda of some sort for... hm. 24 years. I've tried some other Japanese makes, some German stuff, some domestic stuff and keep gravitating towards Honda.

Keith Tanner said:

I'm known for a single platform, but I have a bunch of cars that vary widely because they're interesting. I'm not good at selling them, so I have a lot of vehicles. They're purely for me, not investment vehicles although some of them have managed to appreciate during my ownership.

Thinking about it, I have the following:

4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines
gas, diesel and electric
cars from the 60s, the 80s, the 90s, the 00s and the 10s. 
cars from England, Japan, Germany and the US (MG, Rover, Land Rover, Cadillac, Tesla, VW, BMW, Honda, Jeep, Dodge and of course Mazda)
two, four (ish), five, six and seven seats
sedans, coupes, convertibles, hatchbacks, van, SUV and a Land Rover that is identified as a "Station Wagon" on the badge
turbocharged and naturally aspirated - no superchargers at the moment
4, 5 and 6 speed manuals. 3 and 4 speed autos plus the 1 gear EV
stock to so heavily modified you can really only identify it from the VIN
ICE sizes from 1293cc to 429 cubic inches, power levels from 91 hp to 525 hp

About all they have in common is that they're interesting. And all but one have lighting upgrades :)

Life is too short for one thing. Over the years my fun cars have been, and not nearly as many as some here:
'88 300ZX in high school
'04 R6 at the end of college and after
'88 325is we S52 swapped
'91 318is lots of fun stuff
'06 350Z
'10 Speed3
'90 MIata track rat
Two different 06 Miatas
'13 Mustang GT track pack
'15 BRZ limited
'13 135i
'23 BRZ limited

So I guess I tend toward Mazda, Subaru, and BMW. 

z31maniac said:

Life is too short for one thing. Over the years my fun cars have been, and not nearly as many as some here:
'88 300ZX in high school
'04 R6 at the end of college and after
'88 325is we S52 swapped
'91 318is lots of fun stuff
'06 350Z
'10 Speed3
'90 MIata track rat
Two different 06 Miatas
'13 Mustang GT track pack
'15 BRZ limited
'13 135i
'23 BRZ limited

So I guess I tend toward Mazda, Subaru, and BMW. 

Awesome list. You've had a lot more fun cars than I have.

I go both ways. I've gone "all in" on one chassis. There was a 15-year period where it was only E30s (I still have two E30 M3s today) and a 5-6 year period where it was nothing but Lancer Evolutions (no prize in guessing where my username came from). I remember honestly thinking I'd drive an E30 or Evo for the rest of my life.

For the last 10 years I've been racing a Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 which is something I've come to be known for in the BMW CCA world. I definitely have a tendency to get stuck on a platform!

Lately, I've started jumping around trying to sample every car I used to dream about. Alfa GT Veloce coupe, Lancia Fulvia, Alfa 75 Milano, Peugeot 405 Mi16, Aston-Martin Vanquish, etc etc. I've also bought some newer cars just to see how the other half lives (E90 335) or for practical reasons (Ram 1500).

But after all that, it's the E30 M3 that still feels like home to me. 

My wife owns a 4Runner.  I do almost everything by bicycle.   I still like cars, but I probably won't ever own one again.

I have my curiosity piqued and I go down the internet rabbit hole.  I then see how much it would cost to do the thing with the car, and then I remember that I'd like to have some money in retirement.

So, "I like to watch" 

From 1962 to 2022. From 60hp to 285hp. Diesel and gas. American and Euro. I like cars, trucks, SUVs, tractors. I'm just an enthusiast.

I love Subarus.  This is why I drive a Volvo that pretends to be an STI, since I like cars that don't rust more than I have some sort of brand identification.

Big turbo, 300hp, six speed trans, active AWD, fancy blue interior and gauges, literally the same brakes, and the wing fits too

(i did not mount the wing)

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Please mount the wing.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Please mount the wing x2

just because it fits doesn't mean you should put it there

Will probably end up here

Ok, you make a strong case. 

A friend of mine runs an informal "Jim Bingo" wherein he tracks by country of origin and make cars I buy.   So far he's got a pretty full card.  I dont discriminate, I want to try them all, even the bad ones.   The list in no particular order 

1975 Oldsmobile 98 Regency

1973 VW Beetle

1987 Volvo 240 wagon

1996 Nissan Sentra

1969 VW Squareback

1971 Honda 125

1974 VW Bus

1984 Pinanfarina Spider

1984 VW GTI

1967 Austin Healey Sprite

1986 Mitsubishi Starion

1977 Triumph TR7

1981 Lancia Beta Coupe:

1986 Toyota MR2:

1970 Alfa Romeo GTV:

1995 Corvette:

1999 Chevy Suburban:

1981 Subaru1

965 Chevy C10

1973 VW Thing #2:

1987 Dodge Charger

1971 BMW 2002

1990 Yugo GV+:

2003 S10:

1955 Willys Wagon

1999 Miata:

1982 Chevy Van:

1958 Dodge Street Rod:

1973 VW Super Beetle:

1970 King Formula Vee:

1992 Honda Civic:

1984 F150:

1986 Mustang GT:

1994 F350 Crew Cab

1969 Oldsmobile Delta 88:

1990 Toyota Celica

1990 Mazda Miata:

1993 GMC 1 Ton Dually

1990 Miata:

1953 Studebaker 2R16 Truck:

2000 Jetta VR6 (5 speed):

1990 Mustang 5.0 5 speed:

2012 Abarth 500:

1988 Southwind RV:

???? VW Sandrail

1983 Mercury Lynx

1990  Chevy Cavalier

1990 Pontiac Grand Prix

1973 VW Squareback

1960 AMC Rambler

1969 Honda Trail 50

1979 VW Camper

1978 Alfa Romeo Spider

1987 VW GTI:

1995 Dodge Neon ACR

1987 Chevy 1500

1987 Alfa Romeo Milano

Formula Vee:

1970 Fiat 850 Spider

1965 VW Bug

1994 Chevy Suburban

1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee

1965 Volvo 122

1967 Chevy C10

1974 VW Bug:

1994 Lincoln Continental

1987 Dodge Colt Wagon

1987 Yugo GV:

1975 Olds 98 #2:

1949 Chevy Truck:

1973 Porsche 914:

1990 Miata:

1987 Mitsubishi Starion #2:

1993 Chevy Caprice Wagon:

1992 Buick Roadmaster:

1980 VW Rabbit Diesel:

2005 Mustang Convertible

1987 Mustang GT

1963 Studebaker Lark:

1950 Studebaker Champion:

1958 Wartburg 311:

1963 VW Short Bus:

1969 VW Bug:

1973 VW Thing:

1999 BMW M3 Convertible:

1992 Mercury Capri XR2:

1980 MGB

1978 Mercury Colony Park:

2003 Mercury Maruader

2008 Smart

2010 Fiat 500 Abarth

1964 Ford F250

1973 VW Beetle

1983 Jeep CJ7

1975 Wilmac Trike

2015 Cadillac ELR

2001 Crown Vic P71

2012 Cadillac CTS-V

2002 Suburban

2015 Hummer H2

2017 Ford F150

1949 Ford F1

Honda Metropolitan

1977 Corvette

1991 Honda Beat

1992 Daihatsu Atrai

1963 Corvair Convertible

1962 Corvair Wagon

Dodge M37

2001 BMW 328T

1977 Corvette

1997 SAAB 900SE

In reply to JThw8 :

"...and that's when GRM made me their King"

Also amused that you had a Thing 1 and Thing 2

For me it's beat to E36 M3 cosmetics on a single cab pickup truck with good mechanical underneath. The bigger the better. 
 

It's just who I am. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to JThw8 :

"...and that's when GRM made me their King"

 

Also amused that you had a Thing 1 and Thing 2

There were actually 3 of them but at one time we had two and called them Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Having talked with other GRMers my list pales in comparison to some.  But I will admit I do have a bit of a problem :)

So initially I was a Datsun/Nissan guy; I had the 1200 to race and I towed with a 720 pickup. I had a B210 daily and briefly a 510 daily.

I don't like American cars much, yet after the Nissan 720 pick up every tow vehicle I've had since has been some kind of Ford; 68 F100, Ranger, Galaxie, F350, E350 Class C RV and E250.

I've tended to stick with Japanese cars but I've had a couple of Volvo 140s and a Plymouth Valiant.

As for race cars 3 of the 5 race cars I've owned over the years have been single seaters.