I got to thinking yesterday what was the best or favorite car I had ever driven. In my 77 years, I have owned many cars. I have not stayed loyal to any one particular car maker, just what I felt was best for me at the time.
I didn't start driving until I was 24 and out of the service. My first ever car was a Ford Maverick that I bought while in Germany as they gave any returning GIs a great rate. I had that car for 2 years and it was a bomb.
I decided to go for something a single, mid-20-year-old would like. I bought a 1966 Pontiac LeMans which I loved.
I met my future wife with this car and for me especially it was a change from the old bench-style front seats to what was now common bucker seats. When we got married we traded that in for what was now the 'new' thing a foreign car with style, an Audi. We kept that car until we broke down on a trip and found it near impossible to get parts for when not in or near a metropolitan area.
Now the kids came along and we went thru all sorts of 'family' cars, wagons, mini-vans, etc. from the old Doge Dart, to Chrysler Town and Country to all sorts of assorted others. I also need a wagon or minivan for work so we were comfortable with those.
After that, when the Japanese started really to dominate the market, I went with Toyotas, Nissons, and a Mitsubitshi somewhere in there.
I now drive a Subaru Forrester and love it. But it brings me to what this thread was all about, the best car I ever drove. We were cruising in Hawaii and we overnighted in Maui. We decided to rent a car and do our own thing. I rented a Dodge something but when we went to secure the car there were out of them. They offered me, at the same rate either a Dodge Charger or a Ford Mustang Convertible. I had never had a convertible in my life and never driven anything like a Mustang, so we opted for that and to this day I never regretted it. THAT was my favorite ride ever. We had that car for 2 days, cruising all over Maui, top-down and since we brought some CDs along, we had the best of Roy Orbison blaring on the radio. You couldn't believe the looks we got as we drove that car all over Maui. When we got home I looked into buying one for myself but once I saw the price I got sticker shock.
In another port, we also had an overnight and we got a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. Since I couldn't afford the Mustang, we did go home and buy a PT Cruiser, but not a convertible