Hmmmm...
10 years ago, or even more, I'd imagine... my dream car was thus:
Lancia Delta Integrale
I had a thing for the Lotus Esprit, mind you, but watching the Integrale flying around rally stages in my youth were a fond memory of Saturday afternoons in front of the TV. I couldn't imagine a cooler car, and the relatively pedestrian roots and looks made it even more special, in an odd way. This car is probably responsible for my love of rep-mobiles and compact cars... it was the original ****ty car that went fast.
5 years ago:
I was driving a cheap Sentra every day, and, I must confess, fanboyism took a great hold of me. My dream car of the time was a simple little thing:
Nissan Sentra SE-R - the "classic" B13
It was light, and that light body and torquey power plant made it a surprisingly competent match for the Honda Integra at the time. It was the low-man on any car enthusiast's totem pole, but memories of threading a regular B13 through the mountains just a month after I'd learned how to drive had been etched into my mind by this time.
I'd tried transplanting an SR20 into my B14, but the driving experience was never the same... I could get the speed equation right, but never the handling. Damn on Nissan for not keeping IRS on the Sentra...
Dream Car now?
Hell, we all have lots of dreams, but in my mind, my dream-cars are simple, liveable and realistically attainable...
Ford Lynx RS 03-05 - based on the
Mazda Protege MP3 01-03
Not much more powerful than the SE-R, and the engine isn't nearly as good as the SR20. It's slower in a straight line, too.
As dream cars go, it's a bust. It's wrong-wheel drive, for one. It's too heavy, and a four-door, to boot. Hell, it's an old Mazda 323 platform stretched and reinforced to within an inch of its life, and it isn't even turbocharged or four-wheel drive... the gearshift is notchy, sound insulation could be better, considering the weight, and the engine gets sluggish in traffic...
But I love it to death. I've always liked cars that handle well, and the first turn of the wheel on this car convinced me I had to have it... especially considering how expensive a new Bimmer would be...

...so I got it... and every time I turn down the street coming out of the garage, it still puts a smile on my face.
