I've owned a '93 BMW 525i, a '93 Nissan 300ZX, an '86 Jaguar XJ6, a 92 Pontiac Grand Prix, a '96 Dodge Caravan, '98 Volkswagen Jetta (Wolfsburg) and too many late model VWs to list.
I currently own 2 '71 Chevy Blazers, 1 '74 Chevy pickup, 1 '92 Audi 100CS (A6) Wagon and 1 '01 Acura Integra.
By far and away, the car with the most class and style combined with fit and handling was the Jag. Its not even close. The Jag, however, is a mechanical nightmare. Unless you can get one and replace the stock engine/tranny/driveline with a Chevy 350/TH400 combo, they will never be reliable. It looks like Ford may have helped them improve considerably, but that still needs to stand the test of time.
The BMW 525i was a decent mesh of style and sportiness. The fit was good, but much of the interior was too cold. I never really warmed up to this car and got rid of it after only 1 year.
The 300ZX was one of my favorites. If it was a Twin Turbo, it would have been my all-time favorite. It had the most neutral handling of any car I'd ever driven. But it suffered from being too heavy (think it was the heaviest of all the cars listed). And 225 HP just wasn't quite enough HP for it.
The Grand Prix was a "Richard Petty Limited Edition" that had a 3.4 L engine in it with a 5 speed transmission. It was rated at 210 HP and felt like it. The downside was it was front wheel drive and suffered from torque stear. It would actually pull you 3 feet to the right on a hard start.
The 98 Jetta was a pretty nice car, but things started falling off after a year. I got rid of it before anything noticable hit the ground. It was tight, handled well but only had 115 HP. It was peppy to 30, but was useless between 30-60. It handled extremely well and had one of the roomiest trunks of all the cars (BMW was perhaps the roomiest).
The Audi and Minivan were bought for my wife. She makes me drive them if there is a chance of single women seeing me. It makes her feel more comfortable.
I just purchased an Acura Integra GT-R (2001) last month. Its a small car with a decent 170 HP engine. The thing is a monster beteen 4000-7000RPM. Unfortunately, it doesn't handle all that well for a small size frontwheel drive. I mean, its decent... but the VW beat it. Of course, the VW didn't have the HP to even touch it in any kind of straight.
I think most of the cars I've owned have been pretty decent... each with a very distinct set of pros and cons.
The only cars I know I'll stick with forever are my Chevy Blazers and "The Truck". These are my babies... everything else is just transportation.
AKDejaVu
PS.. if you can't get a girl's attention by driving an '83-'86 Jaguar, you might as well go gay. This car would even be a babe magnet for SOB.
