Motor vehicles I like.
69Which motor vehicle I like and why.
As in other areas of life that reflect how we feel about ourselves we all have very individual taste in motor vehicles. What brings us pleasure is not always based on looks either.
Personally I fall in love with Porsche crankshafts, ZF gearbox lay shafts or a well finished camshaft bucket may take my breath away as much as the car itself. For me it is engineering that is beautiful to behold.
Choices of cars to choose from has become unending. If you watch "Top Gear" you may have seen the number of options available on various wheelbase chassis of the Ford Transit runs into the millions!
Throughout time small and large vehicles have become icons in their age, the Austin 7 or "Chummy" leaps to mind, and no small wonder. The car was tiny, yet remarkable in what it could perform.
From motorised bicycles to the 720 horsepower Mercedes Benz sports car released recently we all have favourite vehicles, so here are some of mine.
I have chosen a selection of old and new vehicles that I like and why I like them, feel free to add yours in the comments.
The stunning 2011 Ford Fiesta
The Jensen Interceptor SP111.
Why?
- An enormous two door in the grand touring style. Simply oodles of horsepower from the 7 litre Chrysler V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers and fuel injection.
- The spacious and luxurious interior with huge electric leather seats.
- Beautiful to look at with it's fluted bonnet and sides, and huge glass area with wrap-around rear window.
The new Ford Fiesta.
Why?
- It's fuel economy, driveability, ease of use, innovation and build quality to start with.
- The practical layout of the interior.
- Seating and creature comforts.
- Looks. The new model looks sensational.
- Handling. The base model handles very well, the suspension options makes it glue itself to the road.
My Alfa
The 1968 1750 Alfa Romeo GTV Veloce.
Why?
- An almost perfectly balanced high speed sports car that was totally comfortable crawling around the inner city or being raced on the weekend.
- A beautiful body by Bertone that still looks wonderful today.
- A responsive motor with plenty of torque that revved willingly.
- One of the nicest gearboxes and drive-trains you will ever encounter.
- Wonderful brakes that are very accurate to apply at high speeds.
I used my Veloce as an inter-city road car. I chose to drive instead of flying when I bought this!
Audi R8 interior
Audi 8
Why?
There are a lot of very fine vehicles in this price range, so what sets the Audi apart from the others?
- Styling. The 8 is a design masterpiece. From it's headlight "eyebrows" to it's beautiful rear tailights it is a stunning piece of engineering excellence.
- Drive. On the road the joy of being an extension to such a great vehicle means if you can drive, the car is up to it even in the worst of driving conditions. Like having a body extension to drive!
- Handling With 4 wheel drive, and all sorts of over-riding suspension and brake control the Audi goes around corners like a slot car.
- Brakes. The standard brakes are sensational with the option of carbon fibre for racing conditions available.
- Hand finished. The Audi R8 is a hand finished product that is fully tested under race conditions before being released from the factory. They shake these cars down!
- Manufacture. The Audi R8 is made by Quattro the wholly owned subsidiary of Audi in only one location, the factory at Neckarsulm in Germany.
Austin 7.
The Austin 7 were made in England in 1922 and became a legend. Known affectionately as the "baby Austin" they are still raced today in many different parts of the world including Australia which has the wonderful Austin 7 owners club right here in Melbourne. The site is a source of great racing photos, information about Austin 7 body types, spare parts events and more. If you are a fan, take a look.
These economical little cars served the English family of four like a small tardis.
Simple to service, easy to repair and very reliable, it was then, what the Austin/Morris mini was to become so many years later before BMW bought the brand and produced the mini you see today which is a very much more expensive car than the early mini was of course. The soft top 4 seat version was known as the Chummy, and examples in pristine condition still survive all over the globe.
Do you have a car that you love? Tell me about it in the comments below.
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I do like that hub, been there a few times. The Audi is spectacular in my view. Thanks for stopping by.
I had a 1970 Trans Am years ago. It was white with blue stripes and could be spun under acceleration in a 360 on dry pavement. Or so they tell me!!!!
I know the model. It is true they would do a 360 on dry asphalt but unfortunately were prone to do so under brakes as well!
A very nice looking car nonetheless, and bags of fun if driven sensibly.
I could never drive a car names fiesta. I could however drive a can named Austin. Always love cars.
My two favorite cars have been a Jensen Interceptor FF (can you see the Porsche shape in that car) and a Sunbeam Talbot 90... both vintage now but unfortunately long gone!
The Talbot had a long bore engine (end of my mechanical knowledge) and took ages to get going, but beat the sh!t out of other boy racers once it hit the top, provided it was in a straight line!
The Jensen was a present to myself when I sold a business, but I should have bought two, one to drive and one in tuning and repair!
It once threw a wheel, thankfully on a minor country road, and stayed level, in fact I only noticed it when the wheel overtook us bouncing into a field! "O yeah" my friendly Jensen specialist said "They do that if the wheel nuts are too tight"!... I hope his children did well on the education I gave them!
Good hub Earnest, and revived old but sweet memories.
John
Thanks for the chortle about the name "Fiesta" SteveoMc.
The name makes it sound as bad as it used to be.
The early fiestas were ugly horrible things that did nothing well, and were as boring as anything I have ever see.
Mine would have to be de-badged!
John the FF was the first production car with 4 wheel drive. A friend who owns a tire business has one here in Australia. They are rare these days and very collectible.
The car is mechanically different in other ways too. MY SP111 had the 7 litre motor whereas the FF was a bit over 6 litres. A beautiful and rare car the FF despite a few design faults. I heard they were very hard to convert to LH drive for America.
Thank you for the interesting comment.
Give me an Alfa Romeo any day. I love the feel and drive, I dream! :D hugs :D
I'm with you on Alfas! They were designed for the drivers pleasure. Great brakes at high speed, stable and nimble, enough power and great seats.
I use to drive one a long time ago in the '60's, oh man if i only had that one now. hehe lobe ya! aloha :D
Fantastic that you had the experience. I would love to know what model it was.
As a no-knowledge of cars mechanically I love the Austin 7 hahaha. Thank you for a lovely hub to read and off it goes to my son by email
Hello, hello you have made my day! I love the Austin 7. They are so tiny it is hard to believe they were not a child's toy.
We had an Austin 7 racing car when I was a kid of 14
It had an all aluminum body with a boat tail rear and cycle guards on the front wheels.
Great Hub earnestshub and it brings back some great memories for me as well. I purchased an old standard 8 (next step up from the Austin 7) from the guy who took our wedding photos. It had been converted into a ute body and stood me in great stead for many years.
Rated up :-)
Thanks agvulpes, I too remember the standard 8. The English were very good at building small cars in those years and Australia had it's share of them.
earnestshub. Hi. This is a great hub with wonderful information on the different types of vehicles.
The one that I would like to test drive is the Audi 8, It does look like a fun car, and very handsome.
Thanks for sharing the vehicles you like with us. Voted up. :) :)
Thank you oliversmum. The R8 Audi is spectacular to drive with masses of horsepower yet tame to drive around town. I guess that is one of the very best, you have great taste in cars.
Nice picks. Appreciate your choice. Voted up!
Thanks couponalbum. A mixed lot but all nice cars in their own way I thought.
Can't afford to run some of those in ROB (Rip-Off-Britain). You didn't mention the "Eee haych!" (EH Holden). First car I bought when I came to Oz in '65... Yeah, mate, she'll be right!
Bob
I left the EH out for good reason.
It was diabolical, with lousy brakes, poor handling and a gutless little six to drag the bloated pile of junk around. Nice talking to you. :)
you have awesome choice, but for me; i never drive :/
Thanks James!
You are lucky living in a place where you do not have to drive.
In Australia there is a lot of places where a car is really important, as distances are huge and public transport simply does not go to a lot of places.
I always loved (but never owned) the Austin Healy 3000. How would it compare with the above cars?
Hugh, the 3000 is and always was a beautiful sports car in my view. and if I ever had the opportunity to own one I would have too.
A proper sports car in the old tradition, and certainly worthy of a place here.
The 1968 Alfa you like is sweet but I have always wanted to get behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DB5. Not that I will ever likely be able to afford an Aston Martin and then its upkeep. Mind you I could get a matchbox model of it no worries.
Ron, I have driven a DB5. The 4 litre motor has bags of poke, although the "Vantage" was even more powerful with over 300hp.
I considered buying the car I drove, but decided to purchase a Jensen "Interceptor " SP 111 instead. The body on the DB5 was a work of art, and it is a car I would love to own if I got the opportunity again.
Jaynie2000 Level 1 Commenter 18 months ago
Love the Audi. If you love cars, you might also like this hub.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Worlds-Sexiest-Sports-Cars