Link to article in car and driver mag.
Guess what car is first?
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10-cars-to-drive-before-you-die-feature
What, no beetle?
Steve, I agree.
I only want to drive nine cars on that list.
Im only interested in driving one of the cars on this list, and I do every chance I get. Guess which one.
Back in the days when I was writing aviation articles, I got to speak with a lot of warbird and antique airplane pilots. -One of my favorite interview questions was: "Every pilot has two favorite airplanes; one they've already flown and one they haven't flown but wish to fly someday—which are your two?"
Translated into automobiles, my two favorites would be my own 1915 Model T (which, four years ago, knocked my '89 Ford Probe GT out of first-place position), and the car I'd someday like to drive would be a 1970 Chevy Corvette (only because I can't decide between wanting to drive any 1910 or '11, Pierce Arrow, Packard, White, Locomobile or Thomas-Flyer).
Oh, by the way, my two favorite airplanes would be the North American Navion (with its stablemate, the AT-6 following as a close second), and my "wish-to-fly-someday" favorite would be the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (and nothing else even comes close).
I think they were a little low on their estimate on how many "T's" are in decent running shape 25000 seems low to me. as far as the model "T" not being a thrill ride take it on any public road at say 5:00 P.M.
I agree with G.R. -Driving a Model T on public roads is always a thrill and, occasionally, something more than thrilling.
The 11th vehicle has to be a joke played by the Honda guys.
A bucket list such as that changes with the age and interests of people. What would excite my son is different from what excites me.
After eliminating the vehicles I have driven, the top of my list would include a few laps in an ISMA Supermodified, and the former Richie Evans Modified that sometimes shows up when the antique racers come to Lee speedway.
Already did the beetle, Model T, Model A, 289 Cobra (maybe add the 427 Cobra to the list), 327 and 427 Corvette, Brabham formula one, various Alfa Romeo's, Pontiac GTO, Buick Grand National, Ferrari Testarorssa, Audi Quattro, and a Lotus Europa.
I always get a laugh when someone writes something like this. Kinda like some self-appointed authority telling me I haven't lived till I've tried a gay romance .... yeah.
Over half these cars I'd happily crush for scrap just to get their ugly profiles out of my sight. Car's styled to look like bars of soap, pretentious Pompousmobiles. Funny that the writer's mind can even span the mental stretch from Model T to Porsche. I'd rather eat my own stool than be caught dead in the latter.
Burger,
Please don't hold back. Tell us what you really think!
Burger, If you can't say something nice about somebody's car come sit by me.
The only car on the list that I have driven is the T. My list would be very different. The only real exotics that I have driven are a MB 300 SL Gull-wing coupe, A 500 hp. Viper Coupe, and a Ferrari (which model I cannot remember) . The fastest that I have ever driven is a tweak over 142 mph in a '62 Chrysler 300H. On my bucket list is a 150.0001 plus lap of Daytona with the Richard Petty driving experience.
Henry, ... let me break it down for ya ..... !
Honestly, ... cars are an extension and statement of the owner's personality, whether it is a statement of frugality ... Studebaker Scotsman or Ford Mainline, or pompous douchebagmobile, a la Hummer, Lexus, etc.
We all get to make choices and I choose my vehicles as much for what they represent as what they do, representation often being what kinds of people are most associated with that kind of car. Hey, I love Shelbys and GTO's and Hemi Roadrunners. But the crew that follows that scene, .... um, ... not so much. Ever been to a Porsche Club show or meeting ? OMG ... shoot me NOW !
I like T's because they are iconic, BASIC, and very honest cars of their times. It seems most of the T followers share an understanding of this. Hard to be a chest pounding horsepower freak with a T. Some T guys seem to be a bit anal over correctness, but nothing to the level of Corvette guys. Talk about Rainman types !
I could go on forever. We all know the gig. We all know "those guys". Some cars are just plain ugly. Others are great as cars, but the followers make having anything to do with the crowd nauseating.
Well, I've driven a T so the only other thing on that list that would interest me would be the hemi cuda. The rest I don't care about. I've driven plenty of cars in the last 65 years that thrilled me more.
Burger, why such antipathy toward people here who make it a point to try to keep their car as original as possible? Nothing anal about wanting to preserve history to the best of their ability and having fun while doing it.
Besides Model T Towncars My favorite would be the 1964 Cheetah but I will probably never get to drive one
-Don
Originality? A starter on a brass era T is in keeping with Henry's goal of continual improvement, and continued value. He made the latest mechanical parts fit all prior years instead of making earlier cars obsolete. Therefore, a T with later Model T parts is as authentic as one that was put in the barn before anything wore out.
Restoring to original is folly until somebody duplicates the original paint and the way it's applied.
John,
It's more a statement that *some* here are purists, whereas the muscle car crowd (and other groups) are downright nauseating in the way it is all about "numbers matching". The T crowd seems happy just to go out and drive their cars rather than argue over part numbers. It is a compliment.
Burger: the numbers matching is starting to creep into the 26/27 CL ads I looked at one the ad called numbers matching 26 touring when I got there he had a couple of rusted out roadrunners and a rusted out GTA when I looked at the engine and the small pedals on the transmission I then looked at the casting date (JULY 23) I told him that the boss above the water outlet had been milled and restamped to match the frame he then tried to tell me about Ford having blocks "laying" around and this was a leftover..... I walked away when I found the motor frozen!
A starter on a brass era T original? I don't think so. Lets see, you need an iron transmission cover with a starter hole,, a starter ring gear, a battery bracket, a battery, a starter switch, different wiring and cut a starter button in the floor. Sounds like a 1919 car with brass trim to me. Would it not be better to tune the car so it starts easily by hand or simply buy a 1919 or later model?
LOL Here we go again!
I'll bet Eric didn't plan on having his post turn into a discussion like this.
At least the Model T was on the list and most of us check that box on a regular basis
It's MY Model T! I'll do it the way I want it...
Regards,
Jon
There's nothing like the satisfaction one gets from opening the hood of a numbers-matching car with magnifying glass & flashlight in hand, reading off the numbers on the engine, then reading the numbers stamped into the data-plate and then crawling under the car and reading the numbers on the transmission—and getting that incomparable feeling you get when the numbers all match. -It never gets old. -Heck, I go out to my 2004 Saturn with a flashlight & magnifying glass at least once a month—twice, if the weather is nice—and read the numbers real slow. -Sometimes, I have my wife read the numbers to me and I just listen with my eyes closed.
Y'know, it's funny; I have this buddy in the neighborhood with a '15 Touring that's virtually the twin of mine and when we happen to be at the same car-show or cruise-in, we like to park side-by-side. -I feel sorry for him, though, for all the times a group of spectators will approach, each with notepad in hand, wanting to take down the numbers, and I beam like a proud daddy when I see the looks on their faces as they pull their heads out from under my hood and that magic moment happens when one says to the other, "Hey, Morty, did you see that? -The numbers match!" -And my poor buddy with the other '15 Touring whose numbers are a few digits apart just wants to hang his head and crawl up his exhaust pipe. -It's really sad. -But hey, it's his own silly fault for buying a non numbers-matching car. -Sometimes I wonder how he enjoys the thing at all.
Well, today is looking like a good-weather day and me and the wife will probably pour a couple glasses of merlot and head out to the driveway with "lights & lenses" and do the Saturn, Toyota and Kia all in one session. -Yeah, there's just no satisfaction like the satisfaction you feel when all the numbers match—especially if you're with someone you love.
" ... a T with later Model T parts is as authentic as one that was put in the barn before anything wore out."
Bob, don't know your posting style well enough to tell if you are serious, or being sarcastic, but I know all too well that the other car groups I am walking away from are overloaded with those Rainman types that would rather pull their trailer queen car to a show and argue about numbers with the other Rainman guys than just drive the old dog and enjoy it. They clearly get a real charge out of that approach and without all that politic/drama, old cars would not be fun for them.
The same crew thinks nothing of buying a new 2014 Mustang and entering it in a car show too !
I don't understand it, but all too many people out there think this way. I finally gave up on finding any pleasure at car shows after having to put a boot up the asses of guys like this for opening my hood or getting in my car without asking first. They seem to think it is a God given right to check the numbers, no matter where they go !
Good one, Bob!
Mr. Burger,
Some of the pipe-smoking, tweed-wearing, numbers-matching enthusiasts in this hobby deserve to have a little fun poked a them now and then. -Now, most of 'em are real nice folks—don't get me wrong—but sometimes I just find the intensity of their zeal to be a little humorous. -Guess I was a little too subtle this time. -Allow me to make a second attempt:
Up in Connecticut, Reginald Maxmilian Keefe clicked off the phone, having just concluded a fifteen-million dollar deal with a verbal handshake. -He loosened his ascot, put one foot up on the low sill of his panoramic office window, gazed down at the sprawling city of Hartford and pulled the silver spoon out of his mouth to light up a Havana cigar. -After a few puffs, he turned back to his gargantuan desk, pressed the intercom button and said to his secretary, "Mrs. Sullivan, would you please phone the house and ask Jeeves to find me a nice antique automobile project with which to compete in this year's Pebble Beach affair? He knows the kind I like."
Later that afternoon, Mr. Keefe would make astonishingly large donations to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America (Just because he was filthy stinking rich didn't mean he wasn't a hell of a nice guy—and he was good for the antique car hobby).
Jeeves walked over to the master's climate-controlled main garage and threaded his way through row upon row of rare and wonderful, pristinely maintained automobiles on his way to the office of Mr. Keefe's chief mechanic, Konrad Von Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung (another guy who was very good for the antique car hobby). -Von Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung smiled knowingly. -He had anticipated this meeting and already had a particular car in mind. -It was a (Fill in the blank with your favorite dream-car) which had been partially restored, but then, after its owner had suddenly passed away, the restoration was canceled and the car, just this morning, made available through the estate auction. -Konrad Von Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung, experienced car guy that he was, had the knack of knowing how to be in the right place at the right time—and got hold of this impossibly rare find.
Problem was, Von Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung was a busy man and his staffers were not as skilled in the art of restoration as they were in maintenance. -He'd do the engine and drive-train work because that was his forte, but the body and chassis, the upholstery and top, the gauges and accessories and a thousand little fittings would go out to various foundries, machine shops, instrument restorers and aging, old-world artisans possessed of the kind of arcane skills needed to restore ancient automotive artifacts.
Well, the half-way restored car made significant progress as the ministrations of various specialists were bolted on (with exactly the right kind of bolts, of course). -Then, Mrs. Reginald Maxmilian Keefe decided she wanted a divorce and, as she had one heck of a sharp lawyer, the unfinished car, along with most of Mr. Keefe's collection, was consigned for liquidation at short-notice auction.
Joe Bloe, a close friend of Konrad Von Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung, answered the phone and became the recipient of insider information. -He hesitated not one split second; frantically sold off his 1905 Pierce Great Arrow and 1912 Packard Landaulet, borrowed from some friends and, with cash in hand, got on the inside track to make the winning bid. -He trailered the precious, one-of-a-kind automobile home, lavished about seventy-grand worth of uncompromising, absolutely gorgeous work on it over the course of a couple of years, realized how badly he'd gotten in over his fiscal head and sold it off before the car could wreck his marriage. -He took a beating on the price.
Jimmy McGoodfellow got a real good deal. -For a bargain basement price, this divorced father of two (both of whom had been smart enough to marry old-car enthusiasts), picked up the ultra-rare automobile which had already been 90% completed by people who really knew what they were doing. -He figured he, his son, daughter and their respective spouses could put all the finished sub-assemblies together, send the car out to be painted and maybe—if they all worked ridiculously hard—get the job accomplished in time for The Big Competition. -They put in 18-hour days and sleepless weekends through broiling summer heat, skinned their knuckles on sharp edges, and, as sweat dripped into their eyes, dropped wrenches which came to rest beneath the car at its precise dead-center. -And while they desperately toiled against an impossible deadline, the Discovery Channel video-taped their incessant bickering.
Predictably, they got in just under the wire. -As the McGoodfellow family was still tweezing little bits of grass and pebblettes out of the tire treads, a group of tweed-jacketed judges strolled over (amid the sound of herald trumpets and singing angels), raised their magnifying glasses and inspected the car. -Then they lit their pipes and harrumphed among themselves a while (because what’s a Discovery Channel reality-show without a little disingenuously contrived suspense immediately followed by a commercial break?)—and unanimously decided that, yes, this was, by the narrowest of margins, the finest automobile on the field.
Problem was; the judging officials also had to figure out who, out of all the people who worked on the car, deserved the trophy.
Ditto on no Volkswagen on the list.
When I was going to school in Milwaukee, WI, in 1969-1971 my roommate had a VW bug.
We had more fun with that thing......especially when gas was 23 cents a gallon during one gas war.......
Bob Corio Did anyone ever tell you that you were a sick dude?
Bob, I can't wait to buy a copy of your book. The one you need to write.
Geschwindigkeitsüberschreitung, is that Polish or Italian? Must be someone who is very fast.
The two cars I have had the most fun with are the two I have completely taken apart. VW Bug, and Model T Ford.