What were you driving at the start of the '10s.....

[gangzoom]

Since we are about exit the '10s it would be a good time to recap on how much money people have wasted (or not) on cars over the last decade and how you have ended been here in a Tesla.

Am normally very careful with money, but cars is my down fall, I cannot help but waste £££ on them.

I started the decade wasting about £500 on an aftermarket body kit for the 350Z, and was contemplating adding a SC kit....

....and I finish the decade with the only car I have genuinely not felt the need to change/modify/sell up

I dare not add up just how much £££££ I have wasted on cars in between over the last decade, am almost certain it would have been enough to have paid off the mortgage on a reasonable sized house......But what's money for if not wasting it on cars, and for me these cars are worth every penny!!

I do wonder what the next decade will bring, I have a suspicion our X might still with us in the family.

Happy Holidays to everyone

 

[pgkevet]

My 200sx.(I can't fit in a 350z anyway - clown car size). I did manage to blow the engine mid decade and while it was rebuilt I bought a GT86 which is what got traded in the the S

 

[Beady3647]

I was running two cars, an old Escort RS Turbo that had been chipped to do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds which I'd had since about 1990 and a BMW M3 convertible. The RS was incredibly fast for the era and the envy of many a boy racer of the time. Having said that, I remember my father having a Rover 3500S - M suffix reg - and that was amongst the faster cars of it's time doing 0-60 in about 8 seconds if I remember correctly

 

[Epico]

I was driving a Honda accord estate loving referred to as the hearse. Good car, good mpg bit still a stinky diesel. 2 Mazda 6s and the model 3 since...no comparison to the tesla

 

[pdk42]

BMW 330Cd plus a Renault Scenic for the family. I hated that Scenic!!!

 

[gangzoom]

I was running two cars, an old Escort RS Turbo that had been chipped to do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds which I'd had since about 1990

Do you still have it? One of the teachers at school had one when I was doing my A-levels, in classic Ford blue, lovely looking thing, I see they are going for £50K these days!

Will be interesting how the next decade changes cars, the focus on things like MCU/AP versions on Teslas' really is a world apart from the old days, when cars were appreciated for the joy of driving rather than been an extension of your smart phone!

 

[MacJester]

I didn’t have a car at the start of the 10s - lived in London and just used tune/cabs/bus.

Moved the the countryside in 2012 and had a Merc CLC for a couple of years until my neighbour ran into the back of it and wrote it off. I used most of the insurance towards a tax bill and ended up with a 1.6L Focus auto until the 3 arrived in October. Got to say this one has a lot more poke than the Focus!

 

[Generator]

Mazda 6 MPS. a little known variant of the 6 saloon with much stiffening, an innovative 4 wheel drive system using the rear diff of an RX8, and to maintain its stealthy ‘Q-car” credentials it was clothed in unique front panels to subtly move the bonnet line 40mm higher so it would cover a huge inter cooler and a stonking 2.3 turbo motor that went on to be the basis of the most recent focus RS lump. Only 1000 were imported, and there’s not many left on the roads now.... mine was sadly despatched by a Bulgarian lorry driver who changed lanes, clipped my rear quarter, and then pinned me to his front bumper and pushed me sideways for about half a mile.

Extraordinarily chuckable, fast as hell, and fitted with the most comfy seats I’ve ever had, it was Mazda at their slightly deranged best. It despatched a non stop run from Provence to deepest Essex with ease, 4 up, with a shedload of luggage on board. Not a whimper from car or passengers. Superb car.

 

[MrBadger]

All this talk of Escort Turbos...

End of 80's
MGB GT owned since 86 that I (as in, personally did all the work except lower engine rebuild and some structural welding) had well and truly sorted, except respray. It was insured on a special policy as per the V8 version - blessing in disguise as it meant I had pretty much had carte blanche to do as I wanted. Performance wise, it could keep up with an Escort RS Turbo on fast windy Devon A roads - although brakes would be smoking at the end. Whilst well sorted, it was totally docile on city traffic - mostly thanks to an Oselli 2L fast road spec bottom end. It might not sound much, but was dyno'd at 100bhp at the wheels, and that was before it was upgraded to Webber carb.
Also, Mini 1000 manual as a basic run around, for when MGB was off the road and cheaper on petrol for commutes.

End of 90's
Still had MGB GT, but oil pressure relief valve was causing problems. Other commitments and alternative mules of MGF VVC and Mini 1000 auto gave no reason to fix. I swear that Mini could drive itself.

End of 00's
Literally just scrapped the MGB after 23 years ownership as moved house and it was showing the effects of being stored for so long. A decision regretted on many occasions. MCC Smart car (which I eventually kept for nearly 14 years, ) had replaced the Mini. Family car was a Passat Estate (prior a Passat 406 then BMW 218i Estate) that was traded in for the Tesla.

Best car I ever owned was the MGB GT. I had put my heart, sole and sweat into every square inch of that. It had personality and every trait it had, I put into it. Second best was the Mini 1000 - it was just so much fun.

 

[Noel83]

I started 2010 with a BMW 330ci M sport in imola red, loved that car! Then had an almost identical cabriolet version before jumping into a race red Ford Mustang (uk spec) 5.0 V8, it was whilst I had the mustang I test drove a model s and knew I needed to join the Tesla club! Few more months and I can’t wait

 

[gangzoom]

Mazda 6 MPS

I happen to still drive a Mazda 6 on occasions, infact just a few weekends ago. Not the MPS version sadly, but the base 1.8L petrol manual, its a world apart a Tesla, but I still enjoy the experience of a manual box on occasions, and going WOT for 10 seconds and still not getting any where near the national speed limt!!

Best car I ever owned was the MGB GT. I had put my heart, sole and sweat into every square inch of that. It had personality and every trait it had, I put into it. Second best was the Mini 1000 - it was just so much fun.

May be its just rose tinted glasses, but for all the speed/tech and our current Tesla's I do wonder if any of us are going to look back at them with the same fondness as the old combustion cars in December 2029?

I guess time will tell, but whilst we're reflecting on the past....piloting a RWD, LSD equipped V6 in fresh snow on summer tyres and with a plane to catch, that was quite a drive!

 

[Beady3647]

]Do you still have it?]

Alas, long gone, partex along with the M3 when I bought my M5 BMW. That in turn was sold to help finance my first Model S.

Never regretted swapping to EV, but boy could that RS shift in it's day.

 

[*Adam]

Grey 2008 350z, the single fastest depreciating car I’ve owned.

VW Corrado 16V in white - looking at the prices they’re going for now I wish I kept it

 

[Generator]

I had an RS turbo, a 90 spec G plater in red. Immaculate example, and I swear the only untouched original example in Essex during the height of the Max Power Years. lovely little car, but I think the the only way that car would do a sub 4 second dash to 60 was if I pushed it off a cliff.

 

[pgkevet]

All this talk of Escort Turbos...
Best car I ever owned was the MGB GT. I had put my heart, sole and sweat into every square inch of that. It had personality and every trait it had, I put into it. Second best was the Mini 1000 - it was just so much fun.

The MGB GT was my dream care when i qualified from uni and started working but at £2,500 new it was way more than my annual salary and I had use of a business mini. Secondhand ones weren't around then....

 

[JCremonini]

Porsche 997 c2s

 

[Latibes]

A Laguna Seca Blue e46 M3 convertible. 53 plate

 

[vitesse]

Mazda 6 MPS. a little known variant of the 6 saloon with much stiffening, an innovative 4 wheel drive system using the rear diff of an RX8, and to maintain its stealthy ‘Q-car” credentials it was clothed in unique front panels to subtly move the bonnet line 40mm higher so it would cover a huge inter cooler and a stonking 2.3 turbo motor that went on to be the basis of the most recent focus RS lump. Only 1000 were imported, and there’s not many left on the roads now.... mine was sadly despatched by a Bulgarian lorry driver who changed lanes, clipped my rear quarter, and then pinned me to his front bumper and pushed me sideways for about half a mile.

Extraordinarily chuckable, fast as hell, and fitted with the most comfy seats I’ve ever had, it was Mazda at their slightly deranged best. It despatched a non stop run from Provence to deepest Essex with ease, 4 up, with a shedload of luggage on board. Not a whimper from car or passengers. Superb car.
View attachment 492760

In 2010 I had the Mazda 6 Sport hatch (not the MPS - it 'only' had the 2.3 petrol). Mine was also black. I also still had my 1996 Honda Prelude 2.2i VTEC, complete with Star Trek dash and four-wheel steering. The engine was sensational.

We later got the facelift Mazda 6 2.5 Sport hatch - much better engine than the 2.3 and more space inside thanks to a longer wheelbase but the seats were a backward step - very uncomfortable for longer journeys. Did you know that Tesla's chief designer was poached from Mazda?

 

[Generator]

In 2010 I had the Mazda 6 Sport hatch (not the MPS - it 'only' had the 2.3 petrol). Mine was also black. I also still had my 1996 Honda Prelude 2.2i VTEC, complete with Star Trek dash and four-wheel steering. The engine was sensational.

We later got the facelift Mazda 6 2.5 Sport hatch - much better engine than the 2.3 and more space inside thanks to a longer wheelbase but the seats were a backward step - very uncomfortable for longer journeys. Did you know that Tesla's chief designer was poached from Mazda?

That generation of Prelude was very good. I very nearly had one myself, but I confess I only bought the MPS because it was a bargain, and in an era of be-spoilered EVO’ s and WRX’s, such a contrary choice.

Holzhausen? Wasn’t he mazda America? He’s certainly given Tesla a few decent styling cues, but I think the only road car of note to come out of Mazda NA was the 3rd gen rx7. Since then the American influences seem to have have waned to specifying the number of cup holders and their ability to accommodate a ‘Big Gulp’. His prior works before Tesla were the Mazda Furai, a sensational looking thing without a doubt, but a car you can only drive in video games, and before that he was with GM designing such steaming turds as the Pontiac Solstice. Much of Mazdas true design talent has been Japanese. Given the marques roots, thats probably appropriate.

He’s certainly a talented guy, although his CV is no match for Ian Callum, Peter Stevens, or even Chris Bangle. Just as well really, the world can only cope with the output of one Chris Bangle.

 

[interbear]

2010-12 Audi A4 Avant
2012-16 Audi A5
2016-18 Land Rover Discovery Sport
2018-19 Audi A4 Avant
2019-present Model 3

Not overly exciting but I do like Audi quality, my brief flirtation with the rattling Land Rover only lasted as long as it’s warranty period! All diesels before I went electric. I’m hoping to stick with the Model 3 for a bit longer as the above would suggest I like to change too often