We love old cars and trucks here, but sometimes the mind does wander to something brand new. Lately, mine has been wandering towards a new wandering vehicle; the old ’77 Dodge Chinook is just getting to be too old, noisy and uncomfortable. But for a number of years, it took us all over the West and Baja California. And the itch to hit the road again is growing.
For quite a number of years, I’ve been mostly thinking about a Class B van conversion; first the Sprinter and then the ProMaster. But then one day I stopped in and took a look at this rig, the Winnebago Trend/Itasca Viva. It’s technically a Class C, but it’s only 24′ long, and is based on European-style configuration and technology. The FWD chassis allows a lower rear floor, and the interior configuration is surprisingly roomy for its size. There’s just that little issue of its MSRP: $90,755. But used 2014s are already on the market, and we’re not really ready yet as I have a few projects that need finishing up. But even the used ones fetch a pretty penny. Realistically, an older heavily depreciated rig makes more sense. But a guy can wish.
So what new car/truck/vehicle is on your wish list?
I would love a Tesla model S, love the looks, performance and interior.
And make mine a P85s please….
Yeah. It’s phenomenal. The only thing I am not cool with is the massive touch screen. Otherwise it’s perfect.
I’d really go for a Tesla as well. Only thing I really don’t like is that its a hatchback, but at least they did a good job of hiding that in the design.
Tough question, as my interest in new cars has been overtaken by an appreciation of older ones, partly through looking at sites like CC.
But a carefully specified Jaguar XF estate could be a good place to start. Or maybe an MX-5 Mk4.
Normally i don’t think about new cars, but some grab my attention in a big way. I’d have to say I’m greatly impressed by the Tesla Model S, the Volvo S90 and the tiny little Toyota sports car – I think it’s called FSR or something. I’d own any of those today.
I’m thinking about a 2015 Mustang convertible for my midlife crisis vehicle…
+1
I highly recommend this plan of yours, having done the same thing a few years ago (with a 2012, of course).
You have the same wheels as my Dad’s 2014….
Yes, and the wheels were made within 10 or 15 miles of here, so I have the satisfaction of supporting my local economy (something that’s more difficult to do these days).
I like the Tesla Model S suggestion above, but if this were an impulse purchase after say, winning the Power Ball this weekend (I think it’s up to a BILLION dollars at this point), I’d have to treat myself to a 2016 Shelby GT350… make mine in the original colors from 1965 or 1966… Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue stripes…. oh yeah…
If funds weren’t an issue, I think I’d pick up a Mercedes AMG E63 S Estate – the “hot rod wagon” of the moment. I do like the new Volvo XC90 as well. Audi mostly removed their lineup from my attention when they discontinued the Avant verson of the A6/S6, but I could be persuaded to live with an S7, as those things are drop-dead gorgeous.
Of things that could conceivably end up in my driveway in the next year or two should we decide that two doors is no longer enough for my wife’s car, I’d have my eye on the Subaru Crosstrek, Mazda CX-3, or perhaps Ford Fusion (AWD, which is only available on the high-end Titanium trim). None are really my cup of tea but if we replace her Forte Koup, the replacement is going to need 4 doors, a decent amount of room, and probably AWD.
I’m in a weird place: there isn’t a lust-worthy (for me) new vehicle within an order of magnitude of my price range right now. I’m a pretty pragmatic person; it would need to be a car that I could actually use for the purposes I need a car for. So I’ll stick with what I have, itself a compromise. But it’s a paid-for compromise.
On the same page, Mr Grey.
RAM1500 Laramie Long Horn, crew cab, 6.5′ box, RWD, Hemi, 8-speed. 2-tone metallic red over gold, with a colour-matched cap over the box. OWL tires. Swap grilles with one from a Big Horn model because I like the chromed horizontal bars better.
I’ve been lusting after a Ram 1500 R/T, rambox, hitch, and all the other goodies. Colors are all fine, but probably True Blue. I would do a 2/4 lowering, and eventually swap in full leather seats.
I’ve got a hankering for a late 70’s Triumph Spitfire, just because I find myself missing the simplicity of manual everything, simple repairs and a connection with the road and my surroundings.
Realizing that answer is not really acceptable for the question, I’d kinda like a new base Camaro. V6, standard transmission, a total stripper will do. I’m almost shocking myself with this answer because I’ve never been a “Camaro Kinda Guy”, but I miss 2-door cars. I have no desire for some crazy mid-life crisis tricked out muscle car, but a nice looking reasonably comfortable coupe would feel about right at this point.
Now….if I should win the aforementioned Powerball jackpot this answer is subject to dramatic change.
If I was in the market for an RV, I would go for a 25ft range self contained trailer. But I already have a modern pickup that is rated to tow 7600 lbs.
But to go that route Paul would need to upgrade to a more modern truck, And I doubt he wants to give up on the old Ford.
I have been thinking about what I would buy new, but I really just can’t get all that excited about anything that’s available today.
A red FIAT 500 Pop with manual transmission.
Not big, definitely not fast, and not fancy. But it would be fun as hell to drive and address my midlife crisis.
Get the Abarth… My stepson has one of those and it’s an absolute blast to drive!
great choice! Have FCA seen sense yet and given you state-siders the glorious little Twinair? It’s no Abarth but it’s a hell of a lot of fun
FCA is holding out on us. I have done a little internet “research” and find the Twinair quite appealing.
Possibly equally fun/odd is the Ford 1.0 3-cylinder Ecoboost. I have a 2014 Fiesta with this engine and it is great fun. It has a feisty growl like a cross between a BMW inline 6 and a Subaru flat four, and makes for a pleasingly quick subcompact.
They’re fantastic. We used to have a bunch in the local City Car Club fleet but they got replaced when CCC were buying all Toyota all the time… I’m still hopeful we’ll get some again though.
It genuinely baffles me that FCA didn’t launch the 500 there with the Twinair, it’s the engine it should always have had.
I have my doubts about the long term reliability of tiny turbocharged engines with superbike hp levels. The thrumming would wear you down on long journeys too. But I can see the attraction if it’s used as a weekend canyon (or mountain) charger.
FWIW my parents (both in their 70s) are now running their second twinair powered Panda (the main reason for switching from the first seeming to be that Dad was fed up with cleaning Mum’s allotment muck off its cream upholstery, they spec’d a more sensible colour second time round).
As well as the usual daily driving their car regularly shuttles them and their belongings (often including a Cello…) the 600+ miles between their Yorkshire and Vendean houses and neither twinair’s been anything other than reliable at the task.
As for the motorway thrum, the first was a bit rowdy but I borrowed the second for a fortnight this autumn and was surprised how good the sound deadening is at motorway speeds.
I can’t think of a single new car I really want.
Nothing at all. Only way into an affordable V8 rear driver with a stickshift and two doors is with a puffy caricature pony car, all of which are pushing into the 40s with any options and like most millennials I aint got that much cash to throw around. Plus I’m only 5’9 with shoes on and weigh maybe 150 – 160lbs, all new cars seem to be designed for giants with too much luggage.
A R/T challenger would be my forced pick though, but with it’s bloat and compromised ‘tall’ styling I don’t exactly wish for one like I would for a 1970 model I truly wished for since childhood.
You can still get a Dodge Ram 2500 diesel with rear drive, two doors and a stick.
They’re not affordable at all, though.
> Plus I’m only 5’9 with shoes on and weigh maybe 150 – 160lbs, all new cars seem to be designed for giants with too much luggage.
My experience is the opposite. I’m 6’3″ barefoot and 250lb in my gym shorts (though I need to lose about 15lb). I think most new cars are designed for shorter, narrower people with smaller feet. One of the reasons I tend to like trucks. I fit reasonably well in my wife’s CR-V but the seats are uncomfortably narrow. The side bolsters dig into my shoulder blades.
+1 (I’m just slightly smaller than you, BOC)
Or the seat cushions are too short, and the front edge of the seat digs into the back of your thighs (the Subaru Outback is one of the worst). And the current trend of swoopy rooflines means that I sometimes have to duck my head to see out of the windows.
I’d like a Hyundai Equus. Yes, I *do* love big V8 luxury couches on wheels. Or a 300C Platinum I guess.
Aside from the Tesla, this sort of thing is what I’d be shooting for and which is probably my more likely next purchase.
The car I want is a sedan or coupe no smaller than a Bentley at the price of a bigger Chrysler with light colored interior and still has reasonable fuel economy, and it has straight forward mechanics so I can still get service in remote countryside. But the problem is it doesn’t exist now.
Cost no object? Wow. New Miata? New Mustang convertible? Or maybe a new Navigator? Or a Hyundai Equus? (Hey, if someone else is buying, anything’s worth a try, right?) Or maybe the hottest, most luxurious version of the Chrysler 300C?
I simply have no idea. I guess I have CarADD.
CarADD? Me too. Thinking of changing my choice, but not to a Range Rover Evoque Convertible.
ADOS = Attention Deficit, Ooooh!!! Shiny!!!
Love it!
As the owner of a 1980 Fiesta, a Fiesta ST or even “just” a Fiesta SE would top the list. Alternates would be a V6 Mustang with a manual transmission or perhaps a Camaro with the 6 and a manual transmission.
If I was going to be practical in my choice, it would be a “basic” Chevy Colorado or “old man-type” of stripper, regular cab Silverado complete with a V6.
Nothing new actually interests me, I’d get an updated Pug 406 with HDI engine in manual but those went out of production in 03 and are now dirt cheap but new yeah nar. That camper looks like one of the Ducato Fiats that are popular here,
That’s because it is a Fiat Ducato.
Actually, something like this is also fully based on a Fiat Ducato camper-chassis.
First off, I wanna say the new ProMasters actually look handsome when the grille is painted instead of bare black.
As for me, a 2015+ F-150 SuperCab 8′ bed, HD Payload Package. I like that the 97-14 HDs had unique 7-lug wheels, but the heavy 6-lugs on the ’15s-onward are still unique to the HD Payload Package. I normally go for XLTs, but since we’re dreaming, why not a Lariat? Lariat also means I can get “real” two-tone paint on the fenders and not just on the lower panel. So Blue Jeans or Green Gem with Caribou two-tone, Medium Light Camel interior. But I’d still have the flip-down middle seat up front.
I’d use it to haul my nonexistent pickup camper in the bed.
DItto on the F-150.
However, I’d want either a SuperCrew or SuperCab as I’m indecisive on that part. It would have to be four-wheel drive (there are many reasons why), XLT trim, and with a 5.0.
I love my ’07 SuperCrew with its 4.6, but it does dog down a little pulling anything over 5,000 pounds.
Of course; 4WD is a given in my neck of the woods. The majority of pickups since 1990 and 97+% have been 4WD, to the point where a 2WD pickup is an oddity.
XLT is what I would actually choose if I were looking at any pickup, but since this is theoretical I might as well go for a loaded Lariat (because I think the standard Lariat grille looks nicer than both the standard and optional XLT grilles right now). Nicest pickup you can still get a “bench” seat in. One of my absolute hard-and-fast rules is that if I ever get a full-size SUV or pickup, it must have three-across front seating (and middle if at all possible) or I must be able to swap in a flip-down console seat. Anything less is wasted space, since there’s no difference in driver’s and passenger’s seats between the “bucket” option and the “bench” option.
SuperCab/8′ bed has always been my favorite configuration. You get six-passenger seating and a full 8′ bed. And since the SuperCabs got longer in 2004, comfort is no longer an issue of legroom but rather that your back is straight against the back wall. Sure, it’s longer than any other half-ton, but this is ‘Murrica. Build yourself a longer garage. Plus it’s the rarest of all configurations, so you’ll probably never see one quite like it anywhere else.
A SuperCrew/6.5’ bed is just as good if you prefer more passenger space vs. cargo space, plus it’s 6″ shorter overall and looks more appealing since the cab and bed are “square.”
I agree with you on liking the super cab 8 ft box. A regular cab with a 6.5ft box would be cool too because it’s would be short and not too many people have that combination.
It’d be cool to look at and fun to bomb around in, but it’s the least useful config IMO. I won’t shed more than a single tear when CAFE squeezes the RCSB full-size pickup out of existence.
New vehicles? Not much. Subaru XV Crosstrek, maybe, for something conceivably in my price range. M-B E550 Coupe for something that is hopelessly outside it (at least until tomorrow, when I score big on Powerball).
When *I* win the Powerball tomorrow, I will give you my nearly-new Crosstrek (got it in September). 😉
New and not so reasonable? Probably the Tesla. You can spend more but nothing else is such a groundbreaking vehicle right now.
An Audi A8 LWB would bring a smile to my face.
A 1962 Ford Fairlane with a dented hood.
I caught this: Julian G Schmidt, Motor Trend’s “In Cars and Out Cars” in the Used car edition, late sixties. Too funny.
A 1960 Comet would do it for me
As my daily driver, the upcoming W213 E-Class with the inline-6 diesel, which will be available in 2017, according to a German website. The inline-6 gasoline engine will also make a comeback.
That is beautiful!
Agreed, this one ticks all the right boxes.
Agreed. Let there be no misunderstanding about who’s the Global Emperor of the E- and F-segment sedans. Interior below, other color combinations are of course also possible.
More pictures here:
http://www.motor-talk.de/news/so-sieht-die-neue-mercedes-e-klasse-aus-t5545980.html
I’m glad they appear to be abandoning the “iPad glued to the instrument panel” look of the C-class, the GLC and just about everything below.
I continue to monitor eBay and CL for Cosworth Vegas, but any actual purchase will have to wait until my Boomer 8N tractor is paid off, hopefully this year or early next. But to my knowledge, there are no new CVs on the market today.
There’s really nothing new out there that grabs my socks right now, and I’m pretty happy with my ’15 Fit/Jazz (which I’m past due on writing up my first year’s experience with same).
That said, I’ve been half-thinking of selling my ’99 F-250 4WD Powerstroke and getting a newer (or new) 3/4 ton 4WD gasoline pickup (standard cab, longbed). GM products don’t do anything for me, and I’m a little burned out on Ford, too. I just did a B&P on a RAM 2500 4WD Tradesman with a few options, and it came to around $35K.
Actually, a second-gen Chevrolet C-20 4WD would be pretty cool. I’ve always loved the styling on this gen truck, particularly the “half-circle” wheel openings.
I’d like a new Ford Focus SE, with a trunk, and a 5-Speed.
Our current Focus is now 15 years old, and retirement is looming. I’m writing up a COAL on it so you should see something within the month.
I know this wouldn’t be a popular answer around here, but I don’t care…yes, I’ll be that guy:
Porsche 911S coupe, They’ve changed quite a bit over the years, but IMO, they’re as close to my ideal as you can get.
That’s a perfectly fine answer by me! Nice choice 🙂
I’m down with that too. Dark Green, black interior, rear wiper. Don’t need anything else…
That would be my color combo too!
I’d suggest the Targa version, from personal experience of seeing some close up.
Another car that requires careful spec of the colours and options, which is part of the fun!
Targa, dark green exterior, light brown leather interior. For fun I run through the options on the website.
Money no option? Easy. Cadillac CT6 with the 3.0 twin turbo. I didn’t even have to think.
Maybe a CTS VSport, but it’s more cramped, has no AWD and I don’t like its interior as much. And of course a CTS-V would be wild but I feel like a TTV6 is MORE than enough power for me.
Something more conceivable within my current means? Maybe a V6 Charger AWD or a 2016 Malibu turbo. I like my mid/large-sized sedans, and I like them to have a bit of power. As pretty as some coupes are, they’re just not practical enough and as practical as many crossovers are, they’re often a bit too “much” for me. I’d love for station wagons to come back in vogue…
Ugh. We went through buying a new car for my spouse a year ago, at this point I couldn’t care less about a new car. I got her 13 year old car and I still love it, more than the new car; just give me the funds to keep it going no matter what. I can see out of it, if I’m cold I turn up the heat, if I’m warm I turn on the A/C, and the “cheap” cloth seats fit me perfectly. It’s nimble, rarely breaks, and gives me at least 31mpg. Plus, it’s paid for!
Well don’t make us guess. What car did you buy ?
My wish is for a VW Jetta S with the 1.4TSI engine. I’m quite pragmatic, and I’ve always gravitated towards the base-spec Euro cars with steel wheels we sometimes see on Curbside Classics. The Jetta is good on gas, has cloth seats, has good outward visibility, has the requisite USB outlet, has good trunk space, the parking brake is still mechanical and it still uses a key and not a push button for the ignition.
Hmmm. Not hugely enthusiastic about new cars – I would definitely get a Morgan 4/4 if I came into money, but that’s cheating. It’s also possible to get a shell and enough new parts to build your own Mini, MGB etc, but not exactly in the spirit of this.
As a boring choice, I find myself strangely drawn to the latest Renault Clio -it’s roughly the same size as the car I have, but I suspect the boot wouldn’t take my son’s stroller.
If I had the money I might be tempted to import something like a taxi spec Aussie Falcon and just put a nice but subtle set of alloys on it.
I suppose the modern vehicles I most desire are campervans. I actually found myself on a campsite beside a nicely camper-converted Citroen Relay (same as a ProMaster) and really liked it. I can see the logic of that Winnebago, but for some weird reason I just prefer to have the factory body.
Oh, oh, oh! Last of the line Land Rover Defender. Wilderness camper?
Challenger Hellcat. Just so out there and retro, not likely to be for sale much longer. Would love to own one from new. Plus I love the idea of burning rubber as I head down my street and freaking out my import loving neighbors…
Yep that car is the perfect example of going out with a bang. Ugh need money!!!
Why not likely to be on sale much longer?
Because the market for such cars is likely to be saturated in a hurry, and the Hellcat surely isn’t doing their CAFE scores any favors either.
In a longterm test, one driver hit 26.5 mpg on a highway stretch in a TF-8 Hellcat Challenger. Pretty impressive.
Agreed on the Hellcat, I would also consider a Scat Pack car as well. I also agree the modern musclecar’s days are numbered so get em while we can
A 2015-2016 Toyota Camry.
Seems simple enough. And the SE I had as a rental last summer was great. Fun to drive handled well and good gas mileage
I was surprised by a rental I drove last summer as well. A fine car, especially for the money.
The upcoming Cruze hatchback looks tempting as a daily driver/work vehicle, especially as my job increasingly takes me within a +/- 3hr radius of St. Louis. A coworker who has been making these road trips for years is on her second Cruze and the only significant downtime for either one has been to repair collision damage. Can’t say that for our ’05 Forester!
For a new “fun” car, no question – BRZ, 6-speed, World Rally Blue. I wouldn’t turn down a Forester XT as a good compromise between fun and practical, though I like the styling of the ’09-’13 generation better and the “WRX in an ugly box” image (and the parts interchangeability that implies) of the ’04-’08 FXT.
Realistically, a Challenger R/T 6spd isnt unthinkable. Trouble is, I cant get Deep Water Blue or Hemi Orange like I really want…so B5 Blue or Kowalski white would have to do.
Id love a Ram Rebel 4×4 345 Hemi would be nice too…but same color palet deficiency. A singlecab Tradesman, Express, or R/T would do.
Id love a new Wrangler but a pickup variant and optional diesel are rumored for the next gen. No Hemi tho, and that REALLY sucks. So i cant justify a brand new rig that doesn’t give me the choices I want.
If the Dodge Magnum were still available and a 6spd manual with the Hemis, Id have a tough choice between it and the Chally…
Is it cheating to say I want a Morgan three wheeler? Other than that if I’m not going to have a classic, I want a “proper” car with a good driving experience. BMW i8 maybe?
If I won the lottery I would like one of the new ’55 Chevrolet, the 66 Mustang and possibly a 1st gen Firebird if I could locate an OHC 6. Otherwise I am just dreaming.
My current desire has come out of nowhere as I’m a car guy, not a truck guy, and my neighborhood doesn’t allow pickups to park in spaces if you can believe it. Here it is:
2015 or 2016 Ford F-150 XL extended cab. Six seater. Six cylinder. Rear wheel drive. Crank Windows. Rubber floor mats. Steel wheels. All I need is a cover for the bed to make it a trunk and treat it like a 60’s or 70’s base full sized sedan!
I’ve got four candidates.
If I needed an under 50K 4-door sedan. New Chevy Imapala
If I wanted a 2 door that was somewhat practical and could be had with a V8. Dodge Challenger
If I decided to get a big SUV for whatever reason. Lincoln Navigator L
If I had infinite cash to spend and wanted a top of the line car. Rolls Royce Phantom or Ghost
That’s pretty much it.
Dialing in the optimum trade-off of fun vs. price/practicality, I come up with either the Focus ST or the Accord Sport (both with stick shift). Either can be had in the mid 20s.
If I could double my budget, I’d hurry to O’Rielly Chevrolet in Tucson which, according to Autotrader, has the only stick shift Chevrolet SS in the entire US.
(P.S. I meant this picture of the Old Look GM bus to be my avatar, don’t know how to remove it. Oh well, Paul N. I know you are a bus fan, so enjoy)
Looking at that picture of the old look GM bus, I just had a flashback to being behind them and how awful their exhaust smelled. It was worse than the aftermath of a church bean supper. Totally sulphur laced black smoke. Don’t miss that at all.
Great pic! Can you imagine all the hard miles that old bus has under its belt, working in NYC?
I won’t forget the first time I drove one. The Iowa City transit system owned a fleet of 12 35′ fishbowls and two 40 footers. but it was such a heavily-used system in the winter months that they would lease a half dozen or so of these old look 40 footers, and switch from a 30 minute to a 20 minute schedule.
The first time I got in behind the wheel, it was like climbing into a submarine. Compared the the fish bowls, the visibility was atrocious, especially if you were tall like me. I would have to crane my head to see the traffic lights.
And compared to the 35 foot fishbolws, these were so big, wide and heavy; it felt like a tank, and made the new 35 footers feel like a sports car in comparison. The (manual) steering was so heavy. The acceleration was glacial. But they did the job.
I was driving one when the first snow storm hit, and the traction in these was much better than the light 35s, plus I tended to drive aggressively. I actually caught up with the bus in front of me, who was supposed to be 20 minutes ahead, because he was driving so slow in the snow. And I passed him, and waved to him, crunching through 9″ of fresh snow.
Freddie: I check O’Rielly’s site all the time. They’re my SASP [Saturn Authorized Service Provider].
I can’t afford it, but a navy blue Tesla Model S.
My Christmas wish is their battery gigafactory is wildly successful and they are able to drive costs down to something more affordable. They won’t do it, but calling it the Model T would be apropos.
Sorry, no Tesla Model-T for you. Apparently Ford still holds a trademark on the “Model-T” name, to stop other companies like Tesla from cashing in on Ford heritage.
Tesla’s upcoming lower cost electric car will be the Model-3. It was going to be the Model-E, but Ford apparently trademarked that name as well, and threatened to sue! After the Model-3, it’s rumored that Tesla will do a smaller SUV or a sports car on the same chassis as the Model-3, to be named the Model-Y. Then their entire lineup will be “S3XY”.
Especially since they write “3” with just three horizontal lines, like an “E” without the vertical stroke.
After thinking about this more, what I *really* want is a full-size diesel RWD station wagon with a manual transmission, bench seats and roll-up windows.
In brown, please.
. . . and vinyl floors don’t forget!
Has the hypothetical “brown diesel manual station wagon” ever existed, or is it truly an automotive unicorn? The closest I can think of off the top of my head would be a brown VW Dasher wagon, though I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have a front bench seat. Is that a hard requirement?
If you can give up the manual, then the obvious answer is Olds Custom Cruiser, in brown, with the diesel 350. If you can find one that hasn’t self-destructed. Swap in a column-shifted manual and you can brew your own perfection.
I’m using the word perfecton *very* loosely.
Oh, they do exist. Plenty of them…although the one below is neither full-size, nor RWD.
It has existed. I owned one.
Assuming we’re limited to cars available in the US, the following choices were available:
Peugeot 504/505
Oldsmobile Cutlass (260 Diesel w/5-speed)
Datsun/Nissan Maxima
Volvo 245
Volvo 745
Mine was a 1984 Volvo 245. See it here:
Last one was the VW Jetta SportWagen. Resumption of TDi sales aside, the new Golf wagon is not available in brown.
> a full-size diesel RWD station wagon with a manual transmission, bench seats and roll-up windows….In brown, please.
If we’re allowed to answer with completely imaginary vehicles, then I want to change my answer. 🙂
I had a 98 7 seat Peugeot wagon in turbo diesel manual but red and power everything close but I guess no cigar.
I would take a Hyundai Genesis V8. Failing that,(I am thinking, new to me) a 1950 Nash Ambassador would fit the bill.
I can’t afford a new car, but if I could, I’d look long and hard at the new Lincoln Continental.
I want a new 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia with the normally aspirated 6. I even have a dreamer’s chance of getting one….depending.
First Alfa has to get their shit together and start importing them.
Second,they actually have to offer the 6 cylinder
Third they have to promise a good residual on a lease (What? You think I’m crazy enough to buy one?)
Finally I have to take delivery in early December of 2016.
It’s a beautiful car but I am pretty sure it’s less common than a unicorn
For everyday use, I think I’d take a 4×4 hilux crew cab, hoping for 15+ years of trouble free motoring
a buddy and I sat down one night and decided what we wanted for cars if we ever won big on the lottery. my list came to exactly 106 cars, not one of which was new!
if I had to go with one new one, I seem to be with most of the truck guys…
black regular cab ram 1500 longbox, full load, 4wd with a 3.0l diesel, going on the presumption the go-fund-me page would just raise funds for the truck, aftercare would be my problem.
meanwhile, back in reality, out to do the third fill up for the 97 jeep this week. sigh…
A RCLB 4×4 EcoDiesel Ram? That would be a real Curbside Classic in 25 years! Every EcoDiesel I’ve seen has been Quad or crew cab.
Here’s a regular cab (though not in black):
Yeah they offer the EcoDiesel in RCLB in one of the lower trim levels, Outdoorsman or ST or something like that, which might also be a problem if you also wanted it “fully loaded”. The other problem would probably be actually finding one. Few dealers would bother to stock one, so you’d have to order it and wait.
AFAIK, the EcoDiesel is offered in every trim level, but the RCLB is only on Tradesman (base), SLT, and Big Horn (SLT with extra chrome)–the equivalent of Ford’s XL and XLT.
An XLT (or Ram SLT) with all the options is fully loaded enough for me. And if I were buying a new pickup–well, any new vehicle, but especially a pickup–I’d gladly pay the delivery fee and wait the extra 3 weeks to special order my one-of-a-kind model from the factory exactly how I wanted it.
If I could have whatever I wanted? A Mercedes Sprinter custom limousine and someone at my beck and call to drive it for me whenever I needed to go somewhere, because driving around town just isn’t very much fun. What I actually need is a valet. “Oh, Rochester! Bring out the Maxwell!”
Back in reality, I always have to have a reasonably modern car to make sure the family and I get where we’re going. I’m sure I’ll end up with a 2016-ish something by about 2021 or so. I don’t know what’s out there that’s very appealing for the commute. Maybe an Impala.
I had a 2015 Altima as a rental over the holidays and it got 39 mpg (?!!) I was shocked because I didn’t want to like it, I don’t think they’re very attractive (inside or out). *But* that much space & 39 mpg *is* attractive, so it gets Honorable Mention. My other choice would be a Subaru Outback.
Still, I did just buy a new car –sort of. My 11 year old daily driver has started to show its age- Plus it’s a standard and after driving a clutch for the last 22 years, I’m tired of that in traffic.
So I started looking –and a used dealer turned me on to a car he was selling on the side – he said, “…the owner has babied this car (he’s an engineer), he did everything long before it was needed, has every record, and everything has been done at the Lexus dealer. The guy travels all the time, so it’s only had 4,500 miles a year.”
Like the Altima, I wasn’t expecting to be taken by this car at all, but it has been flawlessly maintained, has a bullet-proof engine, has been a Car and Driver ‘Best Buy’, it smells new, has a pristine interior/exterior has no creases in the leather –even after 20 years. Yah, I bought a *20* year old Lexus SC 300 and spent less than 1/4th of what a new car would have cost me. I’m good with that.
Dodge Charger SRT 392
I guess I have to turn in my enthusiast card as I don’t want a new car. I wouldn’t mind having a diesel in my 4Runner and I wish Nissan still sold new cubes. This one won’t last forever and the wife really likes it.
If I had to have a new car;
Holden HSV Clubsport R8 Tourer LSA in matt black
http://www.hsv.com.au/GEN-F2/see/clubsport-r8-tourer/
Has the GenIII 6.2 litre V8 in it, very fast but can still haul antiques for the boyfriend if I need to
Also if still available in this neck of the woods a Chrysler 300C wagon – they used to sell the 300 wagons in V8 form here, unsure if they still do
A Chev Silverado 1500 pickup if available with this V8 could also be nice
The latest Camaro really doesnt do it for me, I actually preferred the previous model.
A Dodge Challenger Hellcat also has appeal
Now its the weekend, I’ll go for a MacLaren P1, in volcano orange or metallic red.
Money no object? Something in a Volvo Polestar, the V60.
If it’s my own money, I would wait until the V40 comes to the US market, and probably a two-year-old example after that.
Ford Mustang
Dodge Challenger
Vauxhall VXR8
P.N., have you considered a refurbished GMC motorhome? A good number owners are the type who take of them quite well. It is possible to get a very nice one for $15k. There are still parts vendors and mechanics available. Clubs with forums. Good driving dynamics. Poor fuel economy, but you could affix the curbside classic logo..
A few weeks ago it wouldn’t even be on my radar, but after renting one over New Year to tour round the highlands (pic attached) I’m really hankering after an XC70 D5 tiptronic.
The big 220bhp Volvo was just so much fun on the twisties, I wouldn’t have credited it with having the handling but it did… then it was equally capable of calmly eating the miles when required by certain necessary evils (I’m looking at you A9). A really great all-rounder
One of the only new cars I seem to be enamored with is the ATS coupe…I’d take a V with a manual (I think they’re available) in this mediumish red color. 🙂
One, however, might be able to talk me into a GT350.
What I’d really like is a brand new car that is classically handsome. It could be exotic (1950s Bentley Continental) or more everyday (1st gen Buick Riviera). It could be solid and anchored, like a Rover P5B or a 55/56 Imperial. Or it could be a proper sports car – an Austin-Healey 3000, or a Lamborghini Miura.
But (I contend) no one builds handsome cars any more. A cocktail of crash regulations, SUV preferences, out-and-out vulgarity (any modern Mercedes-Benz, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Porsche, for instance), and a generation of designers who grew up with Transformers, seems to mean that handsomeness – let alone elegance – is a thing of the past.
So I’m just going to have to be practical and boring. I’ll have another Volvo V70 please, which I’ll take fully optioned at a discounted price as I understand the replacement is about to be launched. And a Miata for the weekends.
My current personal vehicles – a 2012 Mustang convertible and a 2000 Ranger – are each driven less than 5,000 miles per year, so I really shouldn’t need a new vehicle anytime soon. Like Paul, I’ve got a few projects that I’d rather spend my cash on, and since the stock market took a tumble this week, I’m probably going to use this as an opportunity to throw a little extra into my retirement plan (as I’ve done after every “Wall Street bloodbath”).
But if the Ranger were totaled or somehow experienced some catastrophic failure of every major component, I’ve always said that I’d probably buy a Subaru Forester and a small utility trailer. I occasionally miss having the ability to carry passengers in the back seat, and a trailer would handle my occasional runs to the home center and the junkyard. Or if I’m feeling unusually extravagant that day, a slightly used Mercedes GLK (higher towing capacity). Then again, I’ve seen pictures of the new Ranger that is coming to the US in the next couple of years – since I’ve had over 15 trouble-free years with mine, it’s tempting.
I guess I don’t have it in my DNA to fantasize about a money no object car. None of the new offerings move the needle, but I’ll try:
New Continental, Cadillac ATS 4 door.
Having thrift and practicality in my blood via Depression Era grandparents and parents, I have considered Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart [2.0/Hyundai 6 speed auto], Sonic, Cruze. I’ve done manuals so the Focus with that defective automated manual is out.
Were I to buy right now, it would be for long term 10-15 year use, have to be economical, roomy, quiet, easily serviced and have long term parts availability. And the least electronic junk on it I could find.
OMG: sorry, Paul. I just couldn’t do it.
I’d be torn between practicality and luxury.
Ford Transit Connect 7 passenger XLT or a Chrysler 300 V6 AWD.
Put me in the Morgan camp.+4 please. The more I drive new vehicles, the more I love my old non tech stuff. At least the Mog is still handbuilt.
Chrysler 300C Platinum in Jazz Blue Pearl with Indigo/linen interior. Hemi of course.
When I went to one car, I was leaning toward, the Mustang convertible. The lack of trunk space, was a deal breaker. This one is going to be my” keeper” so I had to make some compromises…. That and the 5 K {Canadian} .
The “hardtop” is not nearly as cool. However I can fit my Grandson, and his snowboard in.
While you’re right about the Mustang convertible’s trunk being smaller than the coupe’s, I’ve been surprised at its roominess…for a convertible, that is.
Compared to the trunk in the Camaro convertible I almost rented, it’s huge. I can at least fit luggage in my Mustang (a three-suited, a roll-aboard, and a briefcase, with room to spare), and once, I brought home a midsize microwave oven in its box. And another nice thing is that, unlike the Camaro, the trunk opening is larger, and you don’t have to mess with a damnable cargo divider that cuts into the trunk space when you want to lower the top.
Real world, the next car will be a dark-colored Honda Accord, probably in LX trim, leased.
If I didn’t have kids in private high school and college, I’d grab the new Volvo S90 or V90 that I am seeing pics of…metallic black with amber leather…woo hoo!!!
A base model Jeep Wrangler would be nice and I would get the two door in some bright color. Maybe a Renegade too.
A base model F-150 Crew Cab with either the 6 foot or 8 foot bed would be unique among all the luxury trucks.
Sure Consumer Reports knocks the Ford Transit Connect for being a sparsly equipped poor excuse for a Minivan, but that just means it is the 21st Century equivalent to a 1995 Plymouth Voyager which makes a good adventure vehicle. I want a Ford Transit Connect and not a fancy pants Minivan.
An BMW I3 would make a nice city driver I bet and I would love to have one especially with its cool features.
A Fiat 124 Spyder would be another vehicle I would want.
2016 Mustang V6. No four cylinder mustang for me, thank you, but the V8 is too expensive to buy, insure, and fuel.
Funnily enough I had a lady call me on the home landline one day a couple of years back doing a marketing survey. She asked me if I was in the market for a new car, and if so, what brands I preferred. So I told her, and even helpfully put them in order;
Packard
Hudson
Nash
Studebaker…
Ha ha! So did that faze her at all or did she just dutifully write down what you said, not knowing they are all defunct?
Hey, if you’re going upmarket, why not get the names Ruxton and Hupmobile and Pierce-Arrow out there?
Good deadpan joke.
+1 😉
Bentley Flying Spur and a Kia Soul. Yes, I’m schizophrenic.
A spotless 81 Chrysler New Yorker R (monocoque frame and all) eBay find with a new Mopar drivetrain with modern electronics and overdrive (hummingbird starter a must with Cadillac 4 tone horns too!) — or ’78 Lincoln Town Car with latest 460, O/D etc, 78 New Yorker — same criteria, etc, etc. Oh ya, it’s mandatory that all the options listed above have the 4 tone horns unless already equipped.
But if I’m going to totally play by the rules…. A Mercedes-Maybach S600 sleeper Brabus equipped with regular wheels and Mercedes symbol driven by a chauffeur with a tiny tooter c note horn.
And when the 4 year bumper to bumper warranty is up on the Maybach driven by Jeeves and I still have some of my millions of dollars lottery winnings left: the Google Car; it should be ready by then…
I just realized something I missed. That clown-face looking steering wheel on the Merc would have to be replaced with some other corporate wheel.
There’s honestly not many new cars out there that interest me at any price range, but especially something I could reasonably expect to afford!
The only cheap car that I like is the 1.0-liter Ford Fiesta. Those are an absolute blast to drive, and would definitely consider one if I was determined to look like I was still in high school.
To look like a grown up though, everything in Jaguar’s lineup calls to me right now. I absolutely love all of them. I’d have a new XE over anything in that class. Maybe when I upgrade from a first officer to a captain I might get one..
Other than that, the Volvo S90/V90 looks really good. That’s about it really. I’ll now go back to fawning over old Jags and Mercs and Lancias haha.
I’ve taken a hankerin’ lately for what used to be the Infiniti FX35 (Q-whatever now)….the design has really grown on me. I wouldn’t mind an E350 convertible either.
Cheating here as it’s no longer in production since 2014, but theoretically there may be one languishing at a dealer still, fully optioned and with the V6 diesel. In fact, I considered getting one before sanity prevailed and I opted for a Mazda 3…
None, actually. I just can’t seem to get excited about modern cars.
New, I would really like something I can’t currently get in the US, a Ford Transit crew van, since I really want a box with 6 seats and 7 feet of cargo space and I would rather have a van than a crew cab truck.
More realistically, in the summer I expect to have enough cash for a used Mazda5 since that meets most of our rational needs to haul 4 adults and a tandem bicycle with some occasional extra seating.
I also really want a BMW R1200RT motorcycle, the new water cooled models are awesomely capable. I would keep my CC worthy 78 R100S but retire it from commuter duty.
paul, forget the winnebago.your next rv is an ultra van:
http://www.corvair.org/chapters/ultravan/used/used413.html
it’s in beavercreek, so you better get there before someone else snaps it up!
Has anybody pointed you at this yet?
http://bringatrailer.com/2016/01/11/factory-corvair-power-rare-1969-ultra-van-motorhome/
Yes, and I talked to the guy selling it. It’s a very nice and tempting example. But I don’t have time for a “project” like this, and it doesn’t have cab A/C, which alone is a deal breaker.
Winnebago also makes a Class B version of the Promaster RV, the Travato. Maybe others also do. So, regular van body, more aerodynamic, probably drives better and gets better fuel economy, and cheaper but not as much as you might expect. Also of course more compromised.
My first choice would be the current Dodge Charger sedan. Would be happy with the Pentastar 3.6L 6 cylinder SXT. Also, the upcoming Alfa Romeo Giuila. And even a Tesla.