|
1. '99 Acura 1.6EL (made just for the Canadian market, I insisted on telling my buddies it was not a dressed up Civic Si). It was my first car with heated leather seats, a sunroof, and a smooth 5-speed manual which never got old. It also caused me to develop a heavy right foot, and a penchant for despising people who hog lanes.
2. '04 Acura TL. A total impulse buy, but it felt like twice the car the EL was, and hands down, had one of the best audio systems of its time (and I'd argue, still superior sound compared to the HK system in the F30, but I guess that's subjective).
3. '06 MX-5. Another impulse buy. I was craving a manual transmission in the TL, and always told myself that I was a sports sedan kinda guy. But the test drive in this car had me giggling all the way through. The Mazdaspeed exhaust had a wonderful snarl; the car was so nimble; I did several subtle mods enough to make it truly "just mine"... then sold it because I thought it was being underused. Still miss it.. :sad:
4. 2000 Mazda Protégé. Yes, it wasn't glamourous. Yes, the a/c broke when I needed it in summer on a road trip. Yes, the fuel pump was installed improperly by the previous owner, giving everyone in the car a slight gasoline high. But dammit, this car was an awesome winter beater, which was always reliable even though the mileage was up there, ready to go despite the temperature. And if you've not driven around in the middle of winter with a working manual tranny, drifting and doing donuts, you should!
5. '14 F30: current car. The mix of tech and sport.. very nice (yes, it's old at this point, but I'm still enjoying what I have). That it can simultaneously make you smile because of the rush (speeding), and nervous because you're concerned what you're doing could be the end of... what you're doing (speeding to the point of having your car impounded) is still something I'm trying to balance. Yes, an F80 or an F10 would be faster. But as I was saying to one of the guys at our meetup earlier this week, we don't have roads here to use all the power the car has. So I'm adding "trip to Germany" to next year's travel plans.
|