The Truth Shall Set You Free

[dwasson]

From:

The Truth Shall Set You Free
By Frank Williams
July 14th, 2006 3,317 Views
Everyone has deeply buried secrets they hope no one ever exhumes. You know exactly what I'm talking about– the gang banger who listens to REM when his posse's out of earshot, the televangelist who retains the services of hookers after darkness falls, or the occasional FBI director who enjoys nylons and high heels. Gearheads have their clandestine thoughts too. Your friends consider you an expert on all things automotive so you'd never want them to know your true desires. Your dark side is there just begging to see the light of day. Now is your chance to come clean and cleanse your karma. We want to know: What cars are you embarrassed to admit you like and secretly covet?

[dwasson]

I still think that the old ALFA GTA's are cool.

[Jolly Roger]

1994 Mercedes Benz E-500:)

[dwasson]

1994 Mercedes Benz E-500:)

That's not that bad. I'm hoping that someone will say that they want a 1965 Rambler.

[jawz101]

http://static.flickr.com/32/48802193_1bab76e8f8_m.jpg

[whoskal]

http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2003/wagners/amc6501a.jpg

The Marlin Fastback

[Mad4Macs]

My parents OWNED a Rambler. The only memory I have of it was when something "died" and we were stranded in Romeo. That and there were a pair of vise-grips attached near the steering wheel. I think they served as the shift lever, but I was pretty young and don't remember why they were there.
What I'd really like to get my hands on, though, would be the special "Levi Edition" Gremlin.
Yup. Mom and pop owned one too. Pretty neat, as they were both full time employees of General Motors!
(I think that's why I became a "Ford Man")

[Mike Poore]

:laugh:
Why ....an '06 Impala SS, of course, what else!

[dwasson]

My parents OWNED a Rambler. The only memory I have of it was when something "died" and we were stranded in Romeo. That and there were a pair of vise-grips attached near the steering wheel. I think they served as the shift lever, but I was pretty young and don't remember why they were there.
What I'd really like to get my hands on, though, would be the special "Levi Edition" Gremlin.
Yup. Mom and pop owned one too. Pretty neat, as they were both full time employees of General Motors!
(I think that's why I became a "Ford Man")

Y'all see this one? This is the kind of embarrassing stuff I'm talking about.:lol:

[Mad4Macs]

Yeah, everyone else get with the program!
:lol:

[Leadfoot281]

I owned four Fairmonts in a row once.( '80 4dr, '78 Futura Coupe, '81 Wagon, '80 2dr Sedan). And I want a fifth. Probably a wagon with white paint, brown wood trim, curb feelers, road race style tube chassis, and a 500hp Cleveland under the hood. Not sure if that's "embarrasing" or not. I am pretty messed up.:D

I seldom admit to it, but I owned an import once too. An '88 Suzuki Samuri. Most fun I've ever had with $800 (off-road). You can drive through water up to the brake pedal! On the road it was a different story though. It just wouldn't go over 54mph. That's embarrasing!

Another car I seldom admit to having owned is a '95 Ford Probe GT. Only wrong wheel drive car I've ever owned. Also the last. I'd rather walk. Torque steer, intermitant under-steer, silly looking burn-outs, sky-high insurance rates, anonymous styling, high maintenace costs, stupid name, half Import/half Ford/all lame! What was I thinking?:o

I'd post a pic of the Probe here, but the pixels wouldn't stick to the camera.

[jimlam56]

Two GMs from a died in the wool Ford Guy:
Cadillac Allante and Buick Reatta...

[Bluerauder]

What cars are you embarrassed to admit you like and secretly covet?
I would really love to have an M151A1 or A2 Jeep. It was just a fun vehicle to drive. Was small enough to go anywhere and did the off-road thing very well. I imagine that only a few escaped the cutting torch when the HMMWV was introduced. The Army didn't want them getting out to the public because they were judged a roll-over hazard.

Embarrassed --- secretly, I kinda like the Honda Ridgeline. Lots of neat feaztures and compartments. I know it is not really a truck -- but it is just enough of a truck for the needs that I have. Will I get one --- probably not -- with the new Freestyle and my eyes on a Challenger, there is no way to work one into the budget or the driveway. :rolleyes:

Most embarrassing "date" car was the family 1962 Chevy Bel Air Station wagon. The gas gauge went belly up and I had to use a "dip stick" (a real wooden one) to check the gas in the tank. Fortunately, it was a straight drop right into the tank. Of course, I do have some "fond" memories in that car. ;)

[Tallboy]

Any Ford Fairmont.

There. I said it.

[dwasson]

I have a theory that, like baby ducks on the first thing they see, we can become imprinted on odd cars at vulnerable times in our lives. It is the only explanation for the guy driving the impeccably restored 1965 Rambler American I saw at last year's Dream Cruise.

"Honey, I want to spend $30K restoring a Rambler."
"That's nice dear. What will it be worth when you are done?"
"Maybe $2500 ... if I can find the right person."

[Mad4Macs]

Any Ford Fairmont.

There. I said it.

Nah, we're disallowing the Fairmont, after all, it's a re-skinned Mustang, right?
:lol:
Man, I tell you Ford got a LOT of mileage out of Fox over the last 28 years, may they rust in piece(s);
1978-1983 Ford Fairmont
1978-1983 Mercury Zephyr
1979-1993 Ford Mustang
1979-1986 Mercury Capri
1980-1988 Ford Thunderbird
1980-1988 Mercury Cougar
1981-1982 Ford Granada
1982-1987 Lincoln Continental
1983-1986 Ford LTD
1983-1986 Mercury Marquis
1984-1992 Lincoln Mark VII

[dwasson]

Nah, we're disallowing the Fairmont, after all, it's a re-skinned Mustang, right?
:lol:
Man, I tell you Ford got a LOT of mileage out of Fox over the last 28 years, may they rust in piece(s)

Ford's answer to the K-Car.

[KillJoy]

I actually like the Ramblers.....

Now ........ I also like the Scion XB's and Old School Beetles.....

KillJoy

[Hotrauder]

49 Merc.
Dennis:2thumbs:

[usafsniper]

http://www.triumphspitfire.com/images/cars/rbeard.jpg

1970 Triumph Spitfire/GT6

[kj31067]

Ford's answer to the K-Car.



i had a 78 fairmont .. bought it off my uncle..factory 302
went through 3 sets of rear tires and two rear ends in about
a year and a half. nice long smoky burnouts!!!!!!!!!!!
i ve always wanted a 69 roadrunner..but i guess thats not embarrasing...as you were!!!

[Mike Poore]

I was jonesing for a Pacer when it first came out. Seemed a novel and interesting car, until I actually saw one, and the horror stories started to surface.
:banned:
Also thought the Gremlins were cool, and believe the AMX was a Gremlin. THOSE were way cool. :banana2:

[2003 MIB]

I want a new Smart car and an old Dodge Power Wagon.

[dwasson]

I want a new Smart car and an old Dodge Power Wagon.

Admitting that you have a problem is the first step toward getting well.

[bryanthomas]

:D This thread is great! :D


Hands down for me it has always been the Mazda Miata! They are such great handling cars that have recieved an aweful reputation! I constantly debate about buying one as a second car because they are so affordable to purchase/race. Also on the list would be any MG and the old school Triumphs. Basically I have a secret passion for underpowered roadsters, lol.

[mtnh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_Rapier

Series 1 or 2 was my first car...

:lol:

[marauder307]

I have allowed myself the occasional lustful thought about some other cars, once in the odd while.

I actually testdrove a '75 Mustang once, off the back of the budget lot at Capitol Chevrolet (Montgomery). 2.8L V-6, slow as a half-dead snail.

Entertained ideas about a '92-'93 Probe, brand-new, back in the day.

Same thing about a '93 Honda Civic (brand-new), a used Prelude, and a used RX-7 (especially after one of my buddies showed me how to drive it to the "buzzer" in every gear). Even looked seriously---once, only once---at a used Supra.

Even looked at an Austin-Healy Sprite once...my father had a 3000 when I was born and had to give it up. Never buy a British car...they collapse under the weight of a hard stare...

Went out to look at a Grabber Maverick once...I see Ford hasn't learned from THAT experience....My father bought a used Bobcat (Mercury version of the Pinto) for tooling around Leavenworth when we lived there---lived to regret it. Transmission disintegrated about 2 months after purchase.

Apologies to Mebot, but we owned a 1980 Chevy Citation and it was nothing but trouble. 14 recalls in the 5 years we had it. I actually had thoughts about the X-11 version...My first car was a 1980 Chevy Monza with the Spyder ground effects package. 88-thou on the odo when I got it, and I learned a whole buncha new words from listening to my grandfather try to change the $@$@ spark plugs on the 3.8L V-6...

Good thread!

[Hauser717]

I want my first car back. A 1974 Plymouth Satellite with Sebring option and a 225 cid slant six under the hood. She was painted metallic brown which was the stock color called "Spanish Gold".

With the slant six, she couldn't do much more than the speed limit. But everyone with something under their hood wanted to challenge me to a race because of the Road Runner body. She wasn't fast, but she was an excellent cruising machine.

[magindat]

Secret Desire:
88 Mitsubishi Starion
http://www.tyresmoke.net/attachments/463413-starion.jpg

Actually owned:
88 Mitsubishi cordia
Not too embarrasing... It would keep up with stock 5.0 foxes of it's day.
http://www.mn3s.org/new-cordia1.jpg

Confessions of a reformed ricer....
I miss that little car...

[LordVader]

:) At one time I actually wanted to buy a Fiat Brava! Really bad for a guy who has owned a 65 LeMans, 65 Impala SS and two Mustangs! At the time I was just starting a family and it would have made good solid transportation.

[O's Fan Rich]

A 70 Camaro ss/rs...... uggghhhhhh I hate myself.

[Cheeseheadbob]

While I was stationed in Germany, I entertained the thought of buying the Citroën 2CV (deux chevaux - French (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language), literally "two horses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse)", from the tax horsepower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_horsepower) rating) was a small automobile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile) produced by the French (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France) manufacturer Citroën (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn) from 1948 to 1990. It must have been all of the Dunkel Weitzen I was drinking....

[Big House]

Conquest TSi...I actually thought these cars were Fast because they had a 150 speedo.

[quota]

In Europe, the 2CV became a "classic". But believe me, looking at it is one thing, driving it is another. The good point is about its reliability, its mpg and its ability to keep the track on whatever surface. Plenty of drawbacks, though. Max speed should top around 70 mph (with a strong wind on the back), behaves like a boat in turns. The seats are an offence against Human Rights and would generate lawsuits from anybody who would be obliged to use them.

So far, I am still sometimes dreaming about a Cobra 427. With an age coming closer to 50, I start looking over these incredible convertible from the fifties-sixties, like Turnpike cruiser, etc.

JP

[Bluerauder]

While I was stationed in Germany, I entertained the thought of buying the Citroën 2CV (deux chevaux -
My wife and I used to call them the "Cit-trugly" when we were there the first time from 1975-1978. Around town, they were quite the popular car with the younger folks. Out on the Autobahn, they were a rolling roadblock constantly in the far right lane (barely able to maintain the "minimum" speed). I am sure that quite a few 2CV owners met their ultimate demise when they pulled an unintended blocking maneuver on a Porsche 911, Mercedes 300E, or a BMW 740 iL.

[Breadfan]

When I bought my 1990 Mustang GT, my criteria was to find a cheap fun car with a 5spd to play with and have as a second car.

Aside from the Mustang, I was also looking at similar era BMW 325's.

All in all I'm glad with what I ended up with. :)

I've also secretly liked older Japanese cars. First stuff like late 70's era Mazda RX-3's, and once I found an ancient Honda at a local car shop. i think it was some sort of Civic, probably from the early 70's timeframe, it was tiny yet I found it intriguing. Mainly in terms of these cars they have to be old and carbureted. :) (So yeah I'm not talking about like an '89 Accord or something...)

And I still like old British sports cars.

[djv5150]

1977 AMC Hornet AMX V8 and standard shift.
http://www.amx-perience.com/1977HornetAMX.htm

[ex00p71]

Oh boy. Well, after looking at the whole station wagon craze, I thought, why not the station wagon of this generation, the mini-van. See, I'm thinking tube chassis with a mid mounted V-8 and RWD (an aerostar is already RWD, but I'm thinking one of the latter mini-vans that all look the same would be more fun, it would just require more work) Imagine driving around in a Voyager or Windstar and smoking the rear tires for a block.

[dwasson]

1977 AMC Hornet AMX V8 and standard shift.
http://www.amx-perience.com/1977HornetAMX.htm

I think we have a winner!

[RoyLPita]

Mine would be an '87-88 Cougar XR7 or a Conquest TSI in wine red.

[Haggis]

Suburu Brat

[69marquis conv]

I'll have to confess that I've always leaned toward Ford's "pimp-mobiles". I just like the big rides, what can I say? Having owned a 63 Galaxie 500, a 66 Galaxie 500 conv, 79 Marquis Brougham 351 2DR (which is still in the family), currently have the '69 Marquis conv, the MM, and a CVPI.

I have always wanted a mid to late sixties Continental 4D convertible, or secondly a 79 Town Car (the last big beast) in navy blue with the factory alloys. No 22's for me on anything- I prefer the stock look!

[Jolly Roger]

When you say Rambler, does the 69 SC Rambler/Scrambler count.
390 cu. in. 4 on the floor w/ hurst shifter.
Always wanted one, when I was 16.
But since we're twisting ares here, in 82, F/LM did'nt have anything that appealed to me sooooo I bought a 82 Chrysler LeBaron (can you say K-car).
There I said.
I hope you're satisfied.:(

[bigjohn]

Mustang II's. Yeah, I know they're the red-headed bastage step children of the Mustang family but I've always had a soft spot for them.

Had a well-used silver & black '74 Mach 1 as my first car after graduating high school, V6 with a 4spd. It was either that or an equally used puke-green, 4 door Maverick with plaid seats. Dad preferred the Maverick for me, I wanted the pony car. The Mav did have a 302 but I figured I could proudly show up in front of my buddies in the Mustang, not so much with the Maverick. The Mach could barely get out of it's own way but I had some fun in it. Also learned a lot about car maintenance and repairs on it too. The repairs were usually on the side of the road. It's the car that taught me to always carry some basic tools in any vehicle I own. Of course you could still fix a car with just basic tools then, I still remember a few pages of the owner's manual being the perfect width to gap the ignition points to when they'd suddenly loosen up while running down the road.

As a kid I remember the ads for the II's being one of the first to really stick in my head. On a family outing we took a tour of the Dearborn assembly plant in '75 where they were building them. As a kid fascinated with anything mechanical I was amazed at the raw materials being turned into shiny new Mustangs as we watched.

And then there was that whole Charlie's Angels thing... :D

[Dragcity]

Maserti Bi-Turbo V8 with finished leather and raw suede combo interior. Red exterior with Brown/Saddle interior. Polished stainless upper mount twin turbo tubing.......

And then I got married....

Not the best looking car, not the most durable car, not even the best performing car for having a twin turbo V8. Silly me back then.

I ashemedly did own and actually drive a 1973 Pontiac Catalina 2 door. Hey, it was free. What a crappy old boat... I remember the car wouldn't start very often without a passenger in the front seat????? When I was alone I had to push on the passenger seat bottom. Glad that one is dead and gone.

I have confessed, but I don't feel any better. I am actually angry now that I even remember.

Thanks a lot "D"

Where's those gang bangers????

[Vortex]

I always wanted a 60-70's custom van with no windows, Zoomies, Torq Thrust mags, no graphics/murals and a good rake (similar to this one).

9497

[chrish]

2002 Blackwood, AMX , 0r X-100 MM