What type of car do you have and.......

[chillicamper]

What does it say about you?

Are you a 'Don't care what it is so oong as it gets me to the destination' type of person, or do you have an ideal car that you dream of?

My current car shows that I am quite clearly mad

For many years I drove around in a VW Beetle and loved it to bits. My wife also had a Beetle for 12 years. Eventually family life got in the way and we had to have normal cars. I went through a number of soulless boxes that never really did anything but get me from A to B.

a Subaru 1.8 estate
a Subaru Legacy 2.2GX estate
A Ford Mondeo
Audi A4
Skoda Octavia estate

The Subaru was the most fun new car I have had. The Mondeo by far the worst

But 3 1/2 years ago I suddenly had the urge to give up a modern car and go back to basics. I bought my beloved 1975 VW camper called José

He has a 1600 engine and does not really go over 60mph.
He is twitchy in side winds
He needs servicing every 3000 miles
The fuel consumpsion is scary
The heating is not good - you need 5 miles of driving to even defrost the ice on the inside of the screen!
He's 37 years old so there's always something that needs fixing, de-rusting, adjusting, replacing.
and

I love José more that all the other cars put together. Why should a piece of metal make me feel happy when I drive it

Well
If it breaks, I can usually fix it by the road
I can go camping
The kids love it and their smiles when they are in the camper are a joy

It's not logical, but there you go.

So - am I the only one to be stupid/mad enough to actually enjoy driving their car rather than just use it to get from A to B?













Told you - MAD^^^^^^^ But I don't care!

[Dotsie]

I don't have a car, neither am I bothered by this, which tells you I'm a woman.

Cool pics

[chillicamper]

I don't have a car, neither am I bothered by this, which tells you I'm a woman.

Cool pics

That's partly why I was asking. I know some guys who have no interest in cars at all - it's just something to get them about that's easier than the train. They couldn't find the engine with both hands and a guidebook!

I also know some women who are really snobby over their cars and treat them as a fashion accessory.

But I also know some ladies who could whip out an engine faster that I could.

It just interests me the varying attitudes people have towards their to cars.

[The Mad Collector]

Cars are just a means of getting around, before I bought the shop long distance reliability was what I needed most as I worked on site all over the country. To that end I put well over 150,000 miles on a Saab convertible and effectively ran it into the ground. When it was getting too expensive to keep going five years ago I traded it in for a Nissan Qashqai as by then I also needed something I could carry bears to fairs in. I am now on my second Qashqai as I went for the lease option so replace every 3 years, very reliable, loads of space and good fuel economy, just what I need especially when I have to collect stock.

[wicked woman]

Love the hat chilli.

[ChristianBecker]

First of all: Great pics and great car, chili. I somehow understand you, even though not totally (I'm mad on a different level, being very fond of computers and using one of the most non-mainstream Linux distributions out there).

However, I'm more of the "I don't care as long as it gets me from A to B and needs a minimum of fuel" persuasion. So, when choosing the new car we just got, gf and I first decided what size of car we needed, then looked up the fuel consumption on different models and ended up with a Kia Picanto, which is a very nice car.
OK, they didn't have it in pink , but that's life for you.

[Selkie]

A to B person here too. We have 2 vehicles, neither very exciting. A Vauxhall Corsa for general driving around and a gas guzzling Toyota Hi-Lux (aka the Tank) which really comes into it's own in winter when we need the 4x4 to get around.

However, tucked away in my mothers garage, sleeping (and probably rusting) is the Bike. Pre second child this was our only means of transport. It has a double adult Watsonian sidecar which used to carry me, dog, No. 1 child, pushchair and all our shopping! I love that old bike.

[chris.ph]

ive had
renault 11
ford escort estate
vectra estate
subaru foresster
saab 9-5
vectra

my mrs has had a

ford ka
pug 107


and im probably going to change my current vecta for an insignia when it self destructs if i hadnt had to take this enforced break from work i was going to buy a jaguar xk8 to drive at the weekends but i am at the moment working my way thru my car money

[Tonyblack]

I've had:

Renault 12
Ford Cortina
Ford Sierra
Ford Escort
Ford Fiesta

I haven't had a car since 2001, but when I'm in Tucson I drive Sharlene's Mercury Sable (which is basically a Ford).

[Bickaxe]

Austin Metro
Ford Escort
Ford Fiesta
Vauxhall Vectra

Vectra was the best, got me up and back to Scotland many times, always started and never had any problems.

Apart from the driver. I'm useless with cars (mechanically anyway) and I forgot to check the oil and the engine seized. Not owned a car for 2 years now.

Dream car is an Aston Martin but no clue as to which version, I like the Toyota Avensis too as its the right size, quiet inside and comfortable. Most likely to be a clapped out rust bucket.

[Catch-up]

Chilli, great pictures!! I love the flowers on the ceiling. Did you put those on?

BC (before children) we drove used Volvos and Derek had a Ford Ranger that was his dad's originally. Shortly after Thing 1 was born we picked up my Ford Focus and I've been really happy with it. It's the version with the hatchback. I admire pretty cars, but never felt the need to own one. I would sometimes get a fancy car fix through my b.i.l. though who worked for Car & Driver. Not good with remembering car types, but he's brought over everything imaginable. One car was beautiful!! I posted a picture of it here somewhere but can't remember what it was. I chickened out on driving it because it was worth about half a mil. He would also sometimes get us long term cars for vacations. We drove a Porsche Cayenne to Florida once. Some neat features, but overall not a lot of room and not all that comfortable to drive.

[RSoak]

Definitely used to be a 'car is a car' guy. Then we moved to Texas...

[Bouncy Castle]

I don't drive. God invented taxis.

[pip]

Got me a mighty Kia Picanto Cheap , economical and never a problem

[Sister Jennifer]

First car was a Datsun 1200 I named Heart of Gold . I loved that car. Like this but a different colour.


Then a Subaru and now a Camry. When I was 20 I thought differently about cars. A car means freedom when you're young doesn't it. Now, I look after them because they are expensive, but that's as far as I think about it.

Great pics Chilli.