Journal: Which Classic Car Gets On Your Nerves?

Which Classic Car Gets On Your Nerves?

By Andrew Golseth
June 10, 2016

When I hear, “My dream car is an E30 M3,” my eyes glaze over. Complete silence. Distant white noise slowly builds until all I hear is an ear-piercing ring. I mentally drown out the speaker’s ramblings on how the flamboyant Motorsport-fiddled entry level BMW won the World Touring Car Championship (once, in 1987, by a single point). It also won two European Touring Car Championship titles and…zzz…

Yes, I get it. It’s “God’s Chariot” and you believe there’s yet to be a greater automotive achievement. Here’s the thing: you can’t argue with E30 M3 fanatics. They’ve made up their mind: it’s a flawless piece of German engineering. Though, one man thinks he can improve it, but I think BMW already did: it’s called the E36 M3.

To me, the E30 M3 is the German equivalent to the R32, 3, 4 Skyline GT-R. So universally loved and praised I’ve become not only numb to its existence but also genuinely irked when it comes up in conversation. Yes, I’ve heard it a few thousand times now, care to chat about any other car? I’d honestly rather listen to someone eulogize the Studebaker Avanti or Zagato Zele.

I know: the first M3 is special. Folks who have far more right to praise it than I do condemn it have declared the E30 M3 as one of the greatest driving cars of all time. Here’s the catch: I’ve tried to appreciate the E30 M3 and from a mechanical significance perspective, it certainly gets my horsepower-per-liter nod of approval—but that’s about all the love I’ve got for the box-flared legend. I tried to jump aboard, but there’s just no room left on that bandwagon.

Funny enough, BMW is one of my favorite automobile manufacturers, making my disdain for the early M3 an unusual disliking. What classic car irrationally annoys you? Is there a commonly coveted classic that gets on your nerves?

Photography by Stephen Heraldo, Joshua Rizo, and Sudhir Vijaykumar

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Harvey Duncan
Harvey Duncan
6 years ago

I think most have been spouted in comments before that come to my mind. Cars like the AE86, the article had choice examples of Skyline and the M3 itself, NA Miata, and I think (to the chagrin of Petrolicious founders) the Alfa Romeo Spider was one that was kept alive too long because of “The Graduate.”

Something car culture tends to do is have a lot of bandwagoners. There are plenty of cars I can admire, but not want, while others are just there. I’m sick of seeing 1957 Bel Air’s. Fine, it’s a piece of Americana, but it’s beaten to death.

My taste of cars tends to get some of my millenial counterparts confused. While they’re busy with Acura’s and 350Z’s, I like martyr cars like my modified Toyota Echo coupe and nobody-knows-it’s-rare 2006 Mazda6 Wagon (manual for the ultra unicorn). I’d love a 1976 AMC Hornet Sportabout. A 2013 Lexus GS350 would be fine by me over the BMW’s and Mercedes. A manual four-pot 2003 Toyota Tacoma is a laugh of fun for me. Hell, I don’t even mind most aspects of the Porsche 996, aside from the interior plastics and the ticking timebomb of IMS.

I just want to enjoy what I’m in, and the expectations and lauding tends to be over-rated half the time.

Javier Berrocal
Javier Berrocal
6 years ago

I was on the market for an old BMWans while most people won’t get it my heart was set on an E21. Luckily for me a pointed me on the right direction and bought myself a 323i E21. Not nearly as loved or praised as the E30 but it just does it for me.

François Leblanc
François Leblanc
6 years ago

To me.. any “muscle car” that had V8s with 4cyl performances (L30s and so on),. I can appreciate restaurations for the work it represents but whever I hear “muscle” linked to these cars, it drives me nuts. Once outfitted with appropriate mechanical organs they do get interesting.

Karl Hanson
Karl Hanson
6 years ago

Toyota supra.

Jim Levitt
Jim Levitt
6 years ago

I agree. I never cared for these and still don’t. Great little race car but not such a great daily driver. No bottom end whatsoever, lack of usable torque.

Nick Holbrook
Nick Holbrook
7 years ago

A rather amusing irony about the M3 is the (true) urban legend of how when new a lot of yuppies in the UK sold their E30 325i Sports to buy E30 M3’s, hated the M3’s and sold them pretty sharpish so they could buy E30 325i Sports again

bike farmer
bike farmer
7 years ago

The urquattro is a better car, and boxed flared as well before the m3.

Robbe-
Robbe-
7 years ago

I have a 1st gen MX5/Miata but you will never hear me say that it’s the best car in the world.
I just happen to like Japanese cars, and an MX5 is just the most affordable almost-classic that you can buy with a student’s budget.

The classics that get on my nerves way too much are Mercedes from ’70s – ’90s. They are mostly in horrible condition and not properly taken care of, and worst of all, diesels.

hookemdevils22
hookemdevils22
7 years ago

The answer is always Miata. Except perhaps in this case, where it’s AE86.

Brian Marranzini
Brian Marranzini
7 years ago

I owned a 1991 M3 and absolutely loved it but the car was only fun when you were flogging it pretty hard and keeping it high in the rev band while making the tires squirm around the pavement on corners. I sold it and got an E46 ZHP convertible 6MT, which was much easier to drive fast (deceptively easier as in, I had no idea I was doing 100MPH officer), though obviously heavier than the E30 it is 90% of the giggles at speed with 200% of the comfort and just a way better overall car. I loved the E30s appreciation though as I was able to own a car for over 3 years, put $5000+ in work on making it right, and then sell it for $8000 more than I paid for it essentially giving me 3 years of free driving after gas, insurance, tires, maintenance and more. I now own an 2002 M5 which is even heavier than the ZHP and I swear that v8 must be inside of Pandora’s box as it begs to be opened up in a way that will probably cost me a lot of money in legal defense of speeding tickets but it lacks the nimbleness of the ZHP which I aiken to Goldilocks. My cars are mirroring my body as I get older & fater but at least they are not getting slower 🙂

Carlos Ferreira
Carlos Ferreira
7 years ago

Anything obvious and overexposed, like E30 BMWs, 911s, first gen Camaros, etc, etc. Don’t be a sheep! Sure, those are fine cars, but other fine cars also exist. Dare to stray from the herd…

Doug P
Doug P
7 years ago

I consider myself a car enthusiast. The first car I bought with my own money was an e30 325i. I started learning more about the brand and the model line after the purchase, as well as more and more about cars in general. I bought an ’80s F Body, then an AWD e30, then my first new car, a ’97 GTP, as it one of the few supercharged vehicles available new at the time. And then an e30 M3 ‘fell into my lap’ when I was looking to replace the GTP. I had loved my two prior e30s and felt like it was the right thing to do. It was, I still have the car, but very quickly realized it wasn’t a great daily driver. WONDERFUL car, sure, but just a little too close to a race car for every day use (including factoring in possible moving violations that would be acquired as well). I know that it is not the best performing car out there, zero delusions about that. But it is something special that does most ‘driving things’ very well. I think I’m not one of the typical fan-boys though that only sees the car as that ‘dream’, although I’m still smitten with it. I’ve had other German sport sedans, muscle cars, and daily driver econo-boxes, but will be hard pressed to give up my e30 M3. When driven where it performs best (ie high rpms in turns), it is sheer driving pleasure. Can you get more pleasure out of other cars that cost less money now? Sure. And they are plenty nice too. And that is why I have several cars. But I guess I got lucky and bought in before prices climbed to where they are now. And I still see my car as a driving machine vs a classic car investment or something that needs to be just looked at as a show piece. It was a car that came out when I was getting my license, and much nicer all around package than the Fox Bodies (crap Ford interior from the ’80s) or Grand National (crap GM interior from the ’80s). I still want a GN at some point, have tossed around the idea too of a Fox (maybe a SVO? 🙂 ). But again, this makes it sound like I’m NOT the type of person that you take offense to Andrew as I do know there are other cars out there, plenty of them, and I like a LOT of them. I just also happen to like the e30 M3, own one, and enjoy revving it to 7800rpm any chance I get with the windows down and the exhaust singing to me.

Igor Vukajlović
Igor Vukajlović
7 years ago

It’s not a classic yet…or maybe it is with first version, but whole thing about Miata is a bit too exaggerated these days. It’s claimed and praised as a true sports car but it is very discussable what is sporty here.

Michel dupuis
Michel dupuis
7 years ago

I owned 6 911 among 12 Porsches in total …(I know) the front engines or transaxles as well as mid eng. 914 were superior in most respect. Older 911 are nice but way overrated & dare I say priced !

Tommy M. Williams
Tommy M. Williams
7 years ago
Reply to  Michel dupuis

914 is my favorite. I have a limited edition 1974 914 LE Can Am “Creamsicle” named “Valentine” (my 3rd 914), a 1988 3.2 G50 911 Carrera and a 1994 968 coupe 6-speed manual.

Corran Helme
Corran Helme
8 years ago

911s. Good cars, no doubt, when one gets to know how to drive them, but definitely overhyped.

Maarten Coelingh
Maarten Coelingh
8 years ago

According to “proper” BMW fans the M3 can never be a proper BMW because common knowledge has it that no car can be a proper BMW without having a straight six.

(disclaimer) The above is sarcasm from someone who gets rather tired from fans of “proper” cars from certain brands, i.e. straight six Beemers, aircooled six pot boxer Porkers and V12 Italian penis enlargements

Per Eldh
Per Eldh
8 years ago

911. Oh dear not one more damn 911

Christian Bozeat
Christian Bozeat
8 years ago

911s definitely they are the road going equivalent to Rolex sub mariners and deck shoes. If you know nothing about cars buy a 911 . Don’t get me wrong Porsche make and have made some wonderful machines but please stop with the 911 worship. The engine is in totally the wrong place and it is basically derived from a squashed beetle. I also have a quite a bit of an issue with 308 Ferrari’s but that is another story!

Matthew James Jackson
Matthew James Jackson
8 years ago

Iv’e never even been in the same post code as an e30 m3 as far as i am aware. I did have a very basic e30 325i which i loved and eventually ran into the ground but my main dislike for the early m3’s is quite simple, no RHD and i wouldn’t drive a left hooker in the UK for love nor money.

Cameron S
Cameron S
8 years ago

Happily, I do not feel any kind of animosity towards any cars. What gets to me are so called car “enthusiasts” who think too highly of their opinions and who pompously criticize as if their words are infallible. Some of them are regulars here in the comments section.

One’s opinion matters as far as his or her own cars are concerned. To impose one’s preferences on something subjective however is certainly not tasteful.

I wonder what these people are doing in this channel. They seem to be better suited in the forums – the domain of people who never got through adolescence.

Ryan Wild
Ryan Wild
8 years ago

Also allthough the m3 has a weight distribution advantage over the 6 cyl it is a far less liveable car. One drive in my modified stroker 2.76L m20 powered 325is will yield a more visceral driv than any m3 I have driven. So when I get in a stockish m3 and the interior looks identical but I’m going slower at 4x the cost.

Ryan Wild
Ryan Wild
8 years ago

I own 3 very nice e30’s. Andrews point is it’s getting so mainstream in the collector car and auto publication world that it’s becoming the 80’s equivalent of a 69 Camaro. Yea they are cool and great but park a more obscure muscle car from the same era next to it with similar quality and I’ll find it cooler because it hasn’t been done to death. If you gave me e30 m3 money (40k) I would have a hard time choosing it over some less publicized more obscure 80’s icons that are relative bargains and far more exotic.

James Andrew
James Andrew
8 years ago

couldn’t agree more with everyone in regards to E30’s and early 911’s.
I cant wrap my head around the love of Mini Coopers.

David Katz
David Katz
8 years ago

I totally agree with you about the E30 M3 and its die-hard followers. I drove one when they first arrived at a local dealership and didn’t like it that much. To me, it was underpowered, only came alive when at high rpms, had a garsh ride and looked to me like a boy racer. Their enthusiasts are often myopic in their passion for a single car.

I’ve not only been a BMW enthusiast for more than 40 years, but have owned no other car as a daily driver over those four decades (have owned several 2002s, a 633, E36 M3 and, since 2006, an E46 330Ci). But I also love seeing, learning about and driving many other cars, especially vintage sports and race cars. About 20 years ago, I drove up from San Diego to Monterey for the annual big car weekend with a friend from my local BMWCCA chapter who owned and talked about little else but his pristine E30 M3 and never attended the Monterey extravaganza. When we arrived at the Concorso Italiano, an extraordinary cornucopia of beautifil Italian cars, we parked in the BMW corral and began to walk towards the CI entrance. Suddenly, this guy veered off to see another E30 M3 in the parking corral just like the one in his garage at home. Thinking he’d just be a few minutes, I waited. As it turned out, he had less interest in seeing a great many cars he’d probably never seen before than talking for hours about the car he already owned and talked about all the time. Eventually, he begged off actually going into the CI, saying he was just going to hang out in the BMW parking area all day. I was flabbergasted that anyone could have such an incredibly limited interest in one car when there were so many others out there to see.

Frank Anigbo
8 years ago

I always wanted an 80s 911 and a few months ago I had the opportunity to have one of the nicest out there, I passed. Perhaps it was a case of too much expectation from years of listening to cult-like hype about its virtues, but I found it terribly ordinary. Maybe I needed to really flog it. Some cars are like that.

Of the Nissan Skyline, now there’s a car I just don’t get.

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

Ever play Gran Turismo? if so you would get the Skyline

Darel Matthews
Darel Matthews
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

How on earth would playing a video game make you “get” the experience of driving a car? For real? Outside? Not staring at a screen? This is something my kid would say. God, I hate the fact you can’t buy a new car anymore that doesn’t have a screen dominating the dashboard, now a video game is the end-all be-all of the driving experience.

These are the people voting Skyline.

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

Matthews

I think you misunderstood.

It’s not that we are playing the game now, it’s that when we were kids in the 90’s there was only one really good racing game. And the cream of the crop car in that game was the Skyline. Also no one in the US had ever seen it since it was Japan only. It was a Unicorn. It’s like the poster you had on your wall as a kid, (depending on how old you are that car obviously changes), but this
“poster” we could drive in the video game world.

It’s not the experience, it’s the lust.

Darel Matthews
Darel Matthews
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

Gotcha, I guess. I still can’t see how it’s an even remotely attractive car especially since all you can do is look at it (I mean, park a late-80s Nissan Stanza next to it and tell them apart…), but I suppose that’s better than basing your whole opinion of the driving experience on a video game. Thanks!

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

I sort of agree in that it’s no Ferrari GTO or for that matter Pontiac GTO. But in the age I grew up in cars were awful. If you say name a cool car from the 60’s there are hundreds, say the same for 80’s or early 90’s there is almost a silence. I always get asked why I have a FoxBody in the garage (amongst a few other more oddball things) and the answer is when I grew up, it was the coolest car around. I wanted my dad to have one so bad. But we had K cars and EconoBuicks. So when I saw a pristine one for sale for less than a brake job on the 911 I wanted it.

So when the Skyline popped up, albeit in digital form. It was amazing. We played it for hours, then jumped in our Dodge Caravan with the fake wood trim.

Silly I know.

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

This is a fun conversation, and considering the topic remarkably civilized.

Frank Anigbo
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

Darel gets my point of view. It’s probably unfair to mention the Skyline because it doesn’t actually get on my nerves, but I struggle to find its appeal because for me, appeal begins with visual attraction. If I don’t find a car the least bit visually striking, there’s nothing else the car can do that I’m interested in.

Yes, the visual thing is pure opinion and in the eye of the beholder, but most beholders will readily agree that the Jaguar E-type coupe is a good looking car. At the same time, some of them – like myself – see a glaring imbalance of proportion that keeps them from actually wanting one. With the Skyline, I’ll wager that opinion is starkly for or against, with little grey area.

One thing that’s always fascinated me is what sparks that initial love for a car in people that love cars, looks or performance. Maybe Skyline people are stoked by performance first. It’ll be interesting to discuss that here.

Now, if I stick to the ‘what classic gets on my nerves’ question, I will have to say the early Porsche 911. Not because of the car itself but because of the over-the-top coverage they get.

Frank Anigbo
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

@Brian: truth be told, I and every kid I knew once thought that the Peugeot 504 sedan was the coolest thing ever! They were the yardstick against which every other car was compared, every other car being Volvo sedans, Ladas, Opels, mini buses, etc. To this day my heart still skips a beat whenever I see a 504 for sale. That’s what growing up in Africa did to me.

Darel Matthews
Darel Matthews
8 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

I’m going to say that based on Brian’s description we’re about the same age. To this day, though, I don’t feel like I’ve “settled” (probably a poor choice of words) for cars that were available new when I was a kid. I was born in 1975 and I have virtually no interest in cars built in my lifetime. When I was a kid, I built car models, and while yes, I had the obligatory Countach, right next to it was a GT40, 356B, Stratos, Mercedes 500K, Lotus Seven and Dino. I used to make my dad drive 30 miles to the hobby store that carried all the European and Japanese model kits, because I wasn’t interested in all the Mustang and Camaro kits at KMart. In fact when I was getting my first car as a reward for getting a scholarship to college, I lusted after a 280ZX, and then (believe it or not) a 1981 Rover SD1 in teal green. My dad took me to look at a Fox Mustang and said, “Now that’s a car I can see you in”. OK, whatever. You’re paying the bills. I really had no interest in that car but I figured it would probably at least pick up more girls than a Rover SD1. It didn’t.

My fun cars have included an ’85 Jag XJ-S (the lone exception to the “not in my lifetime” rule), and currently my ’76 TR6 and a ’65 Volvo 1800S – which I actually bought from Frank A. I’ve also had numerous International Scouts and trucks, because you gotta have a truck, and a ’61 Thunderbird which is still one of my favorite cars, because it’s so stunning looking, inside and out. I agree 100\% it all starts with looks, and driving experience seals the deal. Sometimes just a small design detail will sustain me, like the flying buttresses on the XJ-S, the C-pillar of the Volvo, or the muscular wheel/tire/fender bulge combination on the TR6. I’m also a HUGE interior guy, and plastic just doesn’t fly with me. My TR6 looks like absolute garbage on the outside, but I completely redid the interior, building a veneer press in my basement and making my own dash out of pommelle sapele. It’s a gorgeous place to spend time, listening to Rush on the 8-track, Neil Peart battling the straight-six wail for world domination.

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago

@Derelict

I tried to give two honest reviews of the 911’s I owned on Jalopnik, the 997 died due to IMS and the 71 constantly had issues. I also think I could hear it rust at night if I were real quiet. Because they weren’t glowing reviews I had people threatening me, calling me a liar, telling me I am the scum of the earth. Months after the posts I still get people responding aggressively.

It’s really crazy what happens to people when you say Porsche

George Maffett
George Maffett
8 years ago

Any MOPAR

Paul Ipolito
Paul Ipolito
8 years ago

Any car made in Germany.

Derelict
Derelict
8 years ago

ALL Porsches. They are spoken about in loud shouts and to say that you do not like them is apparently tantamount to punching your grandmother in the mouth. I just do not get them. Not at all. I would take just about anything over any Porsche.

Abbed Idriss
Abbed Idriss
8 years ago

The Skyline, every american muscle car ever, especially the Mustang. Every time someone talks about an air cooled Porsche I want sic a rabid dog on their genitals.

Richard Price
Richard Price
8 years ago

Pre 89 911 carrera, terrible 90\% of the time all the time. Mine was a good example but still it was an awful car. Understeer, gearbox made from mushy peas and the interior smelled of disappointment. Looked and sounded beautiful though. Even a Morgan +8 drives better.

The 944 s2 I had was far superior car.

Darel Matthews
Darel Matthews
8 years ago

1. American muscle (try doing something really outrageous, like turning, or stopping)
2. 911 (how is a modified VW they made 800,000 of worth $150,000?)
3. Any other Porsche dragged up in value by the ludicrous 911 bubble (I’m looking at you, $40,000 914….)
4. Anything Japanese made after the 240Z (cough…Skyline…rivaling the Camry for Most Boring Looking Fanboy Car Ever)

Zoran Milosavljevic
Zoran Milosavljevic
8 years ago

I do not understand the passion and especially the prices of American muscle cars, sure I like Mustangs as much as the next guy but they are fairly comon cars and even the special ones are little more than option packages of more mundane cars. Why people were paying hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, for a Hemi cuda or a Copo Camero, justifying the expence saying that only a few were made with these options, even when tens or hundreds of thousands were made just not with those options. Those cars hardly compair with cars that’s total production barely broke three or four digits or cars that there are legitimately only maybe 20 or less left in the world.

Paul Ipolito
Paul Ipolito
8 years ago

So rarity equals greatness? I doubt that very much.

Davis Harris
Davis Harris
8 years ago

The E30 saturation is the reason I ended up with my 944. I’ve had a soft spot for E30s since I first knew what they were. but by the time I had the means to buy one, they all had a sort of M3-tax. I ended up with my 944.1 because it’s often overshadowed by the E30. It’s marginally faster, better balanced, and forgotten as a cheap classic compared to the BMW. Going to the local car meets, there are at least a dozen E30s, but I’m the only 944. People rave on about the E30 as a great drivers car, but nobody really remembers the early 944, at least in my part of the world.

Of course I couldn’t ultimately escape the pull of BMW so I also own an E24 M6, which in my opinion is a prettier, also forgotten, BMW.

Clayton Merchant
Clayton Merchant
8 years ago

I’m with you Andrew but for different reasons. As an E21 owner and enthusiast, it’s amazing to me how little credit and respect it gets as the forerunner to the E30 and therefore the M3.
They are fantastically fun little cars to toss around and can be bought these days dirt cheap. Sure, they’ll never have the power of the E30, but the looks are even better to my eyes, minus the DOT bumpers of course, and the conversations they start are crazy fun. It’s amazing how quickly this car has been forgotten or how many people never knew of it’s existence.
I’ll keep mine and it’s buttery smooth 5 speed and 32 mpg until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers and laugh all the way to wherever it is I’m headed.

Oh, and ’55-’57 Chevy’s, there are surely way more of them around now than ever left the factory, especially Bel Air convertibles.

paolooch
paolooch
8 years ago

I hear you Clayton. E21 was my first car. ’81 with a manual. what a way to break one’s cherry. Didn’t even know how to drive a manual then! but I learned. I would love to get one as a second/project car. I remember the day I learned to let the tail out. Loved the looks and still do. Did a lot of work on that car in the day, another thing the car taught me! Jeez I just realized, it taught me how to drive, shift, and fix. yours looks great!

Ryan Corneliusen
Ryan Corneliusen
8 years ago

Yeah, hear ya. I’m a Bimmerphile and my good friend here in NJ started SIGFEST[.com] 15 or so years ago when he bought his immaculate low mileage E30 M3 [for $9000]. So I’ve been there to a few shows with him and the 60+ other snobby e30 m3 owners. The things that make me cringe though, are the kids that forget the past, with their Subaru STi’s that never see dirt, but end up with a fart can and sitting on the ground loaded with stickers on the windows. My STI-owning coworker said to me today, “Fiat has a car that looks like the Mistake coming out”…..mum, you mean the 124 which was out back when your mom was not sure which man she wanted to give you that guido gene of yours? The original that was out decades before the Miata was a thing?

I don’t think there any classics that annoy me, just the ignorant kids and their stupid trends and glorification of the almighty turbo and 500-JB4/Cobb crap.

And I’m 28. I’ve always been a bit of an old man. Nothing new satisfies. Cable throttles, carburetors, naturally aspirated M30’s, hoods that open inconvenient ways and heat that smells like waffles. Mmm.

Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez
8 years ago

Any and all 911s. Yeah we get it. I had one for a while and could not take the pca.

First gen camaro. Seems like there are more on the road now than new.

Chris Ribbe
Chris Ribbe
8 years ago

‘modern’:

Chris Ribbe
Chris Ribbe
8 years ago

classic:

76ohtwo
76ohtwo
8 years ago

I’m a sucker for the E30 M3, but I would rather have one with a 24V. The S14 belongs in the E10/2002 chassis.

Lms
Lms
8 years ago

I’d divide it into modern and not-so-modern

Modern: JZA80 Supra’s: They’ve aged well stylistically, and their drivetrains are certainly envious. But they are heavy, and laborious to drive, and they don’t do those lefts and rights too well (slow turn in response).

Testarossa – I’ve driven several, and aside from the god awful styling, they just aren’t all that…other than the noise. Nothing about it made me wish I had one, aside from the appreciation of value they’ve enjoyed from, say, mid 90’s to now.

Classic: Jaguar E type (coupe): the convertible’s are absolutely stunning. The coupe’s just look so abnormal to me, the proportions being all wrong. I’ve never driven one, as the one a neighbor had wasn’t currently running, so I will reserve judgement on that aspect.

Sam Person
Sam Person
8 years ago

I know it isn’t a classic, but the Carrera GT. Everything about it is ugly and annoying and it’s so difficult and expensive it holds absolutely no appeal to me at all.

Bradley Elliott
Bradley Elliott
8 years ago

This is why I like my E30 with a 95 M3 motor. The reason you hear the “dream car” comment is mostly because of the look of the design. Pretty much the last BMW drawn by hand? The car will never go out of style.

Sam Moore
Sam Moore
8 years ago

Audi Quattro;
It just seems to me like the ‘I don’t know anything about rallying but I’ll pretend to’ crowd LOVE this car.

People claim that it DOMINATED the WRC for years on end. When in reality It won one WRC manufacturers championship and one WRC drivers championship, the same as the much overlooked, two wheel drive, Lancia 037. However, the 037 handed the Quattro it’s manu. championship due to a gearbox failure – Yes finishing a race is of course part of it, I know.

So, basically, the car irks me because of the people that endlessly drone on about them… It also wasn’t the first 4 wheel drive car either, another thing that I have to hear…

Sam

Richard Bell
Richard Bell
8 years ago

My list is way too long to post here but I wonder how much of my disinterest in a particular classic, say a first generation Camaro, has more to do with the owner than the car.

diegom6e30
diegom6e30
8 years ago

No doubt the e30 M3 has become an iconic model of BMW and I’m pround to have one in my garage (had 3 in total at some point), It has, like pretty much any 80’s and some 90’s sport cars, an analogue feel but the way ti drive the M3 is special.

I’m fortunate enough to have also a Skyline R33 GTR and two 993’s (Carrera and Turbo) although, these two last cars (R33/993) are cars developed in the 90’s which has better electronics, stiffer chasis which improve the handling overall and it wouldn’t be a fair comparison against the e30 M3, I must say the M3 that lacks of the rigidity of the chasis of these two cars of the 90’s, still has an amazing handling, very planted and timeless design…boxed is GOLD!

Lms
Lms
8 years ago
Reply to  diegom6e30

Quite a nice selection to choose from!

Dalil Harici
Dalil Harici
8 years ago

Peugeot 205 gti.
Just like your exemple with the e30m3.

Ed Sonzay
Ed Sonzay
8 years ago

Some older 911s. I love 911s but I owned an ’88 3.2 G50 gearbox blah blah and frankly it was agricultural, underpowered and heavy-handling. This recent fanboism for all things old 911 is a bit silly. I now own a basic spec 997 C2S and it is much better to own and drive. And driving is what cars are for imo.

Cuillin Spirit
Cuillin Spirit
8 years ago

Any 911, Subaru impreza or Audi! They all might be fine cars. But dull dull and a whole range of dull. Quite why people go on and on and on about them I have no idea. I had an old battered Alfa 155 that had more soul and character in one of its rusty doors than that lot could muster combined.

Carlos Ferreira
Carlos Ferreira
8 years ago
Reply to  Cuillin Spirit

Amen…Alfas, with a few exceptions are so undeservedly undervalued, misunderstood and overlooked by people that call themselves enthusiasts. Even a lowly 1.4 boxer 147 has verve, character and petrol-head charisma in spades.

Jontywilliams
Jontywilliams
8 years ago

Porsche 911. Yawn, yawn, yawn. There is nothing left to be said on these things.

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