Whether we’re talking cars you’ve owned in series or multiple vehicles in your stable right now, I gotta believe they represent a pretty varied range of styles and use cases and capabilities, even if you’ve stuck to just a few brands. I suppose there’s a non-zero chance some of you have owned nothing but lightweight roadsters and currently have a pair of Miatas in the garage, but I’ll be very surprised if you pop up in the comments.
As for the rest of us, there’s probably a pretty good swing from first car to current car, if only because you can likely afford a lot more car now than you could when you were shopping for your first set of wheels. And tastes change, too; you don’t see too many car folks who are still 100% committed to the same machines that excited them back when they had a subscription to Import Tuner. But whatever the reason, I’m confident your car history includes vehicles at some distance from each other on the norm-core to extra-spicy spectrum.
… which brings us to today’s Ask. Speaking for myself, my normalest car is about as regular and basic as it gets, the humble Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. The example below is positively exotic compared to the “America” version I owned, which was the cheapest of the cheap. It did have a digital clock and a radio (as I recall, the clock was in the radio, but I may be wrong), however, so not totally Spartan. Mine certainly did not have those wonderful wheel covers, or two-tone paint, or a pinstripe. I could only dream.
As for my “craziest” car, well, a Mustang GT isn’t that crazy. Mine wasn’t even a Premium; for the same X-Plan price, give or take a few hundo, I could get a loaded V6 (this was 2012, pre-boostang) or a base GT. This was the first year for the Coyote engine, so the V6 was never a consideration. Lots of fun, lots of tickets, lots of rear tires.
Your turn:
What’s The Most Normal Car You’ve Ever Owned And What’s The Craziest?
Top graphic images: Chrysler; Toyota
I’m 71 and I’ve owned 4 cars due to living in Manhattan for 35 years.
Before my move in 1979 I had a 1963 Valiant convertible, red on red with a black top, replaced several years later by a Fiat 128SL coupe (wildest?). Loved them both, but unsurprisingly the Fiat treated me badly even though it’s still the most fun I had driving a car.
My Dad handed me down his Hornet Sportabout (most normal). Upon retirement 35 years later, 2015 Honda Fit EX in red that I’ve had 12 years and I pray every day will be going nowhere.
Most normal was a 1987 Buick Somerset.
Craziest would be my Avantime.
My first car was a Seville STS, and it was by far the most normal. Every subsequent car has been more out there than the last
Seville was replaced with an ATS Coupe, which was replaced with a 911, which was replaced with an Elise.
My second car was a C4 Corvette, which I held onto basically throughout the entire above saga or replacements, but then replaced it with an XK-R convertible about a year and a half ago which I think is more of a lateral move than anything.
Most normal – 1990 Toyota Camry LE. Reliable, and blended in so well that my wife would routinely try to get in the wrong car in parking lots.
Craziest – 1948 Willys CJ2a jeep. ATV, Low Speed Vehicle, yet completely street legal in all 50 states. No doors, no top, loose steering, brakes?, non-standard lap belts, drives like a buckboard wagon with only one horse – terrifying in traffic.
Right now! 1983 Ferrari Mondial QV Cabriolet and base model funtodrive2020HondaCRV. Guess which is which?
I had a crappy Altima in college.
This probably satisfies the answer for both questions.
2004 Toyota Camry was the most boring. It was generic in every single way, yet somehow not terrible at all to drive.
I don’t know about wild, but the most impractical was my lifted XJ. I have owned many motos that were solidly in the crazy category though!
Most normal – Toss up between a ’91 Protege, ’93 Corsica, and ’95 Neon. Model years are approximate. Each of those would usually have a mountain bike worth 4-5x what I paid for the car strapped to it as well.
Craziest in terms of uniqueness – ’88 Fiero w/ a Quad 4 HO swap. Super fun little car, I miss it. Wish I had the space to find another and do a 3.4 TDC swap.
Craziest in terms of performance – 2018 Camaro SS 1LE. Such a beast. Loved it, but didn’t love having it just take up garage space all winter.
Normal: 2004 Honda Civic VP (with a stick shift)
Crazy: 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4
Fun fact about the Civic, I had to replace the driver’s door lock cylinder, but never got it rekeyed to the rest of the car so I had an extra key that only opened the driver’s door. The look on the face of the salesmen when I explained that to him after the paperwork was all done to trade it in was priceless.
Normal, probably our 06 Civic we recently got from a friend that I absolutely hate. The
Craziest? The SRT-4 swapped LeBaron station wagon.
Normal: Either the 1989 Mercury Tracer or the 1997 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab
Crazy: 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK350 Convertible
Normal: I was going to go with an ’80 Fox body mustang, then I remembered that I had a ’13 Nissan Murano. Most ‘meh’ vehicle I have ever driven.
Crazy: I daily drove a 1964 Murcury Comet Caliente. No mirrors, no seatbelts.