What makes a car interesting to you?

[Buffalowed Bill]

I can find something to like from every era and from every continent. I also am drawn to a seldom seen original, especially if there is a verifiable story to go along with the car. I could talk about styling and orphan status, but the fact is I never know what car(s) I will fall for until I see it. When I was younger styling and performance was everything-today those qualities have to share my interest with original cars that have survived and the story behind it's survival.

 

For instance several years ago I saw a car that just blew me away. It was a 1960 Edsel, Ranger, four, door, htp. Not only had I never seen one but I could not have conceptualize the car. But it got better it was all original-paint, interior, drive train, and low mileage too. If I remember correctly it may have had the 223 cu" l6. It certainly was not it's good styling that drew me to the car, but it was the styling that drew me to it. When the car was new and I was a 16yo I wouldn't have given the car a second look, but today it was like I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail! As most spectators just walked by I lingered to talk to the owner and try to take in all the nuances of that car, the likes of which I will never see again. 

[SC38dls]

Why is it I really like cars that are so far out of my price range I couldn’t even afford the windshield wipers on them. 
dave s 

[39BuickEight]

I like odd, but “correct,” colors and graphics.  I like some sort of unique mechanical tidbit.  And, I am struck by vehicles with long hoods and no trunk.
 

A couple of examples:

 

I painted my 1939 Buick sequoia cream with red wheels.  No way was it going to be black.  It was the first vehicle produced by a US auto maker with factory installed turn signals.

I have a 2009 Solstice Coupe, which has the long hood design and the highest HP per liter of any GM engine made to date.  It’s not red, white, or black, like most are.  It’s was the last Pontiac designed and made.  1 of 1266.

 

Other cars I really like/desire:

 

A C4 ZR-1 Corvette in blue or turquoise.  Plus that power train was quite the big deal at the time.

 

I like the bright colors of the Mopar muscle cars-especially in the style of the big wing Super Birds.

 

The Bentley blue train is, in my opinion, the most beautiful car ever made.  Long hood and nothing in the back.

 

All that said, the older the car the better.  Brass cars are glorious.  Old Packards and Dusenbergs are works of art.

 

[tcslr]

1929-1932 hard to find any marque that just didn’t look so nice.

almost all vehicles from 1895 through about 1910 - especially European Marques.

second five years of the 1930s if they are European Marques.

Mid 1950s to mid 1960 German and Italian Marques. 
then specific cars 122s Volvo, 1975 Gremlin, 1970 Superbird to think of a few. 
 

why those? It’s like an attractive member of the opposite sex - there is something about it that is just ‘hubba hubba.’   And that makes me realize that ultimately, they are ALL great - just not for me - and that’s ok.

Tom

[keithb7]

Later 30's styling. Split hoods. Suicide doors. Split rear windows. Flathead engines. Ever better if it's a straight 8.

[Larry Schramm]

As you can see from the list below, I love brass & early nickel era cars.  Almost everything WW1 & older. 

 

There are exceptions though.  Our hippie mobile, aka Volkswagen Westfalia Camper that we have had over 35 years,  and the Corvette that we bought as a wedding present to ourselves over 44 years ago.  If it is not run of the mill, I am probably interested in at least seeing it.

[Str8-8-Dave]

What makes a car interesting to you?

The smell...  Leaded gas when burned had a smell that was unmistakable, not missed for what it did to the air but missed for it's perfume...  Drive around behind a 1965 Pontiac GTO back in the day and you would get the idea.

 

The sound...  A solid lifter 427FE under the hood of a Fairlane Sports Coupe, one with quiet mufflers so you could hear the SHH  SHH SHH SHH SHH...  The sound of a Chevy Impala SS 409's 220 Muncie...

 

It applies to motorcycles too, the unmistakable staccato of a Harley Sportster's idle, the lope of the big twin Harley- same make, so unique you could tell a Sportster from a big twin bike without seeing and the old Harleys had an aroma of their own not shared with other makes...

 

When I was 31 I moved to a small bungalow in Harper Woods, MI about 15 miles from the Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit.  In mid July when the Gold Cup boat races came to Detroit I could hear Miss Bud's Rolls Merlin (actually Rolla Griffon by 1981)  from the front bedroom window.  You could almost see Chip Hanauer fighting the wheel of the 36ft unlimited boat as it growled and grumbled around the course.  Other boats ran Allisons or just then gas turbines from Bell helicopters were whistling around the course...

 

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Str8-8-Dave
add text (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

1 minute ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

In mid July when the Gold Cup boat races came to Detroit I could hear Miss Bud's Rolls Merlin from the front bedroom window.  You could almost see Chip Hanauer fighting the wheel of the 36ft unlimited boat as it growled and grumbled around the course.  Other boats ran Allisons or just then gas turbines from Bell helicopters were whistling around the course...

 

Aahh,  the sights & sounds of the Detroit Hydroplane races. Brings back a lot of great memories.  I spent a number of summers in the 70's on the river watching the races and some since then.  Great times.

[1912Staver]

On 11/19/2021 at 1:57 PM, Buffalowed Bill said:

I can find something to like from every era and from every continent. I also am drawn to a seldom seen original, especially if there is a verifiable story to go along with the car. I could talk about styling and orphan status, but the fact is I never know what car(s) I will fall for until I see it. When I was younger styling and performance was everything-today those qualities have to share my interest with original cars that have survived and the story behind it's survival.

 

For instance several years ago I saw a car that just blew me away. It was a 1960 Edsel, Ranger, four, door, htp. Not only had I never seen one but I could not have conceptualize the car. But it got better it was all original-paint, interior, drive train, and low mileage too. If I remember correctly it may have had the 223 cu" l6. It certainly was not it's good styling that drew me to the car, but it was the styling that drew me to it. When the car was new and I was a 16yo I wouldn't have given the car a second look, but today it was like I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail! As most spectators just walked by I lingered to talk to the owner and try to take in all the nuances of that car, the likes of which I will never see again. 

A good friend recently bought an estate Edsel. A very long term storage 1958 Pacer convertible. It was probably last on the road in the late 1960's or early 1970's. Not perfect , but pretty darned good. A good clean up, mechanical go through and a new top and it should be ready to use. 

 A real time capsule that has to be a very rare thing in this part of the world.

 Not usually a real big fan of 1950's cars , but this one struck me as being something quite special. 

[JamesR]

I like most things that are mechanical. The more purely mechanical they are (i.e., non-digital) the more I like them. I remember my dad - a WW2 vet - telling me about one of the bomb sights that was developed during the war and it seemed amazing to me that such sights (not to mention the planes that carried them) could do such amazing things without the aid of computers. I'd love to collect wind up watches  - old AND new - but they're expensive and delicate and too intricate for me to be able to work on myself. Old cars are really too big to collect, at least for a person like me, but they are very practical in that I have them as backup transportation should my daily driver be incapacitated. With this in mind, I tend towards cars made after WW2 as they can mostly be driven in today's traffic (though maybe not on LA, Calif. highways.)

 

I also like old cars as cultural artifacts - a reflection of the world they were created in - especially as the world continues to change in some not so great ways. This has lead me to appreciate some cars I didn't care much for as a kid: Corvairs, Plymouth Valiants, Studebaker Larks and many other economy type cars. I think they're all very cool, now. Most everything from the late 40's to very early 70's are what I like the most, as the remind me of my younger days, but I also like cool European cars of all eras, though I had little experience with them growing up. I also recognize that American cars of the 1930's are among the most beautiful ever built, whether Duesenberg or Ford. I think that early Japanese motorcycles of the 60's and 70's are very cool, too. Some people might be insulted, but I'd much rather have a nice Honda Black Bomber or H1 Kawasaki than a rattly old vintage Harley (were I still into bikes, which I'm not.) British bikes are the pinnacle, aesthetically. 

 

I hate that old cars are too high priced, but I guess that means they are finding owners who are committed to keeping them in good working condition or preserving them. Remember when all the Pontiac GTO's and Mustang Mach I's and Super Sport Chevelles were up on blocks in trailer courts? 😄

 

 

[1912Staver]

Start with pocket watches. They can be quite a bit easier to work on. And ones that have a seperate bridge for each pinion shaft are the easiest of all to put back together. { they are all easy to take apart } Longines from around 1890 - 1930 are good watches but in my experence the easiest to work on. Don't mess with the balance or balance spring. Thats the part most likely to be damaged by an inexperenced  person. Just use some spray cleaner on the pivot points and let it be. Once your skill develops more complex and smaller watches can be tackled.

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[Big Beat]

Cars that were once common everyday cars, but have since mostly disappeared.

Cars that have honest wear, maintained and repaired but never completely restored.

Cars that are contrarian, against the grain, off of most mainstream collectors' radar.  

Cars that have an interesting story or some history behind that particular model that I have read about and can now see in the metal.