Auto Discussion: Cool cars from the past
 

Like many of you I browse through craigslist when I'm bored and try to find older vehicles and see what's cool.

I then stumbled across 90s - 00s Taurus

(pics are from Stanceiseverything.com)
https://www.stanceiseverything.com/w...2/radwood1.jpg

Like that's truly awesome!

https://www.stanceiseverything.com/w...-2-696x463.jpg

Of course who can forget the infamous SHO

http://www.roadkill.com/wp-content/u...urus-SHO-2.jpg
Has a 3L v6 bulit by Yamaha making 220hp and a redline of 7300rpm. There're reports that say the engine can rev higher but Ford didn't want other parts on the vehicle to be damaged./

Or the 2nd gen SHO
http://www.roadkill.com/wp-content/u..._SHO_front.jpg

now a 3.4L V8 making 235hp with Yamaha heads and Cosworth block.

Looking back now these cars are extremely cool, and of course impossible to find these days.

Curious what other cool cars can you think of? LS4 Powered Monte Carlo? 850R?

Any 90s mercedes (yes, including the ML)

In no particular order, my favourite blasts from the past:

BMW E30
Pre-GM Saabs
Porsche 930 Turbo
Mercedes Benz W202
Toyota MR2 Turbo (SW20)

And of course, my affinity for all things Italian - Alfa Romeo Giula and Spider :D

Jaguar STR, $100g m5 rival that no one remembers. Now can be had for like 7g while e39 m5's are million dollars
https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...4-940x627.jpeg

Pontiac Grandprix coupe. You dont even see these around anymore, but our nextdoor neighbor had a supercharged one back in 2002 and i thought it was cool af

https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/ima...upe-2489_1.jpg

I have an affinity towards any kind of econobox or cars otherwise not initially built with sporting intentions in mind, with engines inside of them that are not supposed to be.

CL1 Accord Euro R is one of my favourites. As tofu put it, a DC2R dressed in business casual. The styling is completely timeless, and those flares, everything about the simple lines are just not a thing in today's world of weird hunchback four door coupes and whatever garbage everyone is producing these days. Definitely one of my favourite Hondas ever, especially in red (dammit Ronald should've bought yours way back).

https://live.staticflickr.com/4083/5...830aae3e_k.jpg2000 Honda Accord Euro R (JDM) by steven li, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/4108/5...7908d663_k.jpg2000 Honda Accord Euro R (JDM) by steven li, on Flickr

Maybe not that old to a lot of you, but in 2008 I was just entering high school :lawl: so it's old for me. Legacy STI S402 sedan/wagon, still till this day it's a dream car of mine. Again, timeless styling, especially with the wagon with the floating roof that was cool before floating roofs were a thing (black out B and C-pillars, frameless doors). These things just ooze elegance. I've never been a WRX STI fan, so this would be my grown-up version of one of those. Also, I love rear wipers on sedans in Japan. They're fucking awesome.

https://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/jp...acy-sti-s4.jpg
https://drivetribe.imgix.net/fZX9Dwp...rop&crop=faces
https://live.staticflickr.com/5817/2...fa2612f9_b.jpg
https://i168.photobucket.com/albums/...=1586987997155

Moral of the story: I was born in the wrong country for cars.

No one mentioned anything about old exotics so here we go. 512TR and the F355. Don't need any explanation, pictures are worth a thousand words. Modern Ferraris all pale in comparison to me.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/the-drive-s...1-1280x850.jpg
https://s3.amazonaws.com/the-drive-s...8-1280x851.jpg
https://s3.amazonaws.com/the-drive-s...9-1280x851.jpg

Here's a blue one.

https://cdn1.mecum.com/auctions/fl01...?1358589042000

F355, specifically with the Challenge wheels (it's a goal of mine to own one in the future, being fully aware of the exorbitant cost of maintenance associated with these).

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod...1563396998.jpg
https://fun2drive-japan.com/assets/i...in_F355_02.jpg

hmmm the supercharged v6 isn't bad but what about this

https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/p..._oem_1_500.jpg

LS V8 all to the front wheels

F355 is my favourite Ferrari as far as style goes.

The Testarossa is cool as fuck plus I believe it was the last production car to feature a flat-12 engine (Which is super cool as fuck). Most of Ferrari’s designs in the 80s and 90s were great, IMO.

Porsche 959, while not the most attractive Porsche, is certainly the most significant in terms of technology and pedigree. Originally designed as a rally car for the infamous FIA Group B WRC, it also ended up winning its class at the 24 hours of Le Mans and won the Paris-Dakar rally.

I was lucky enough to drive one when I was last in Japan. Great car but could have used a brake upgrade :lol

https://speedhunters-wp-production.s...4/IMG_1829.jpg

The first car that came to mind when I read the thread title is the W124 AMG known as the "The Hammer".

https://ag-spots-2019.o.auroraobject...19214727_1.jpg

I've always had a soft spot for these Corrados.

http://www.stanceiseverything.com/wp...8/corrado2.jpg

Audi 100 Coupe S GT. Love the old school fastback look. Old Audi's don't get enough appreciation compared to Mercs and Bimmers.

https://i.imgur.com/JiTWGK1.jpg


Ill do one more. The Ram Charger. The K5 Blazer and the Bronco were equally cool but If I could choose one it would be the Ram Charger.

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...49-940x628.jpg


I could go on and on lol As I get older I start to appreciate old cars way more. Cars were so cool back in the days. It's like engineers didn't give a fuck about anything.

I didn't know these were cool until I was about 17 and someone pointed them out to me.

Datsun 510:
https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/p...eadfef9b01.jpg

Also, a friend of mine in university had a 95 SHO. I had a 88 5.0 GT and he absolutely had as much fun in that as I did in mine. He even drove it up to Whitehorse for a summer and bombed around on the backroads until the paint wore off the sides of the back bumpers and the speakers fell out.

What about the CRX Si? -heard a few buddies call this ride the "thin wallet Ferrari" back in the day.

CRX Si was my favorite car in high school.

Here are my some of my favourites back in the day

https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-...21-970x646.jpg

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...73-940x627.jpg

http://speedhunters-wp-production.s3...atebil-041.jpg

thought this was pretty wild when Zender made a convertible

http://www.vwvortex.com/gallery/albu.../Zender/01.jpg

1st vehicle i drove in manual transmission

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20110405211027

This is the first I've heard of the Audi, and I have to say it looks awfully similar to one of my favourite cars.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Celica_01.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-12%29_ret.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rv28B2eaSoI/maxresdefault.jpg

That Audi looks amazing, did those ever come to N/A?

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...97-940x600.jpg

I really liked the SVX before HO6, 4-speed auto with crazy windows whats not to love?

kinda similar is the Mazda Cosmo

https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/imag...f662af27cc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zqWrAfH.jpg
Bagged SVX :fuckyea:

Always loved the EF chassis

Tofu's old one is for sale on BAT for the second time I believe.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...da-civic-si-8/

https://i.postimg.cc/J0SP6Nnq/1991-h...02-940x627.jpg

The Hammer is cool, but I really like the successor to it - the 500E. A Porsche-designed and tuned Mercedes, assembled in Zuffenhausen.

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...21-940x599.jpg

EDIT: Found one for sale in Ontario, not too bad pricing: https://www.autotrader.ca/a/mercedes...%200G7&sprx=-1

Diablo Roadster with pop up headlights. Fuck modern Lambos... The only ones that do it for me are the special editions like the Reventon and Elemento.

https://cdn1.mecum.com/auctions/ca08...?1535127707000

The 80s were an abomination for car designs, or design in general, but I will admit that I miss pop up headlights, like on the AW11, SW20, S13 etc.

For me, it's the older gen E55 AMG (I love the old M5, but those are too expensive now)

https://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/e-c...des-benz-e55-2

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...enz-e55-amg-2/

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...daIMG_0981.jpg

993 GT2 EVO
https://i.ibb.co/2SfdRTg/A8-A47536-2...-B7-B96069.jpg

https://media.karousell.com/media/ph...rogressive.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Coupe_3.2.jpg
https://a.d-cd.net/e73cf2es-960.jpg
https://d32c3oe4bky4k6.cloudfront.ne...20180508134921

Low(ish) production Euro vehicle, Never made it to the NA market. I think only about 30,000 made from 69 to 76. One of my all-time favourite classic Audi's.

SAAB 900 Cabrio from the movie Paid In Full
https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/imag...3edf899c7b.jpg

I have a copy of Road & Track magazine from March of 2000. What I find amusing is that when testing the E55 head to head with the legendary E39 M5, they actually preferred the handling, chassis balance, and steering of the E55 compared to the M5 in their testing. Ultimately, the M5 won the test overall because it had the better engine and a 6-speed manual.

A well sorted W210 E55 is a nice car to drive.