I had a 1971 Toyota FJ40, and built a 1992 supercharged Camaro with a mini blower. Those were my coolest, but also a couple Fiero’s, a Z32, and an E30.
I came extremely close to owning a Toyota MR2 mk2, a car I’ve liked since childhood, only to discover that I am too tall to sit up straight in one. There is just straight up not enough headroom.
Mk2 is my favorite. My dad had one when I was growing up. My brother then had a mr-s until he totaled it. Now I’ve got a MR-S as well. I love the car. A little under powered at times, but I almost never have the top up. In the mk2, I’d probably have the t-tops off the whole time as well.
Honestly, worth it. The cars are so much fun.
No
I had two rare but not valuable cars, my first car was a 1974 Mazda rx2 sedan. Bright orange with a white interior.
The second I restored a 1956 Dodge Truck which had a 270 V8. This combo wasn’t common.
Was that Mazda the 4 cylinder or rotary option?
Rotary, 12A if my memory is correct. Mine had an automatic (it was my grandmother’s car before mine)
The wikipedia page looks just like it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mazda_Capella&diffonly=true#RX-2
Skip to the First generation photo, not the capella top photo
Edit: direct link to the photo that was my car: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mazda_Capella&diffonly=true#/media/File%3A1973_Mazda_616_front_left_Iceland.jpg
Not really “rare”, outside of it’s niche, but definitely unusual!
I owned a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle, with an electromagnetic clutch. Instead of a clutch pedal, you pressed down on the stick and shifted it up/down, releasing once in position.
Not many vehicles used that particular style of clutch, and that was one of the last years VW built a model with one, as far as I’m aware. Miss that little car.
They might not be the fastest or prettiest, but old Volkswagens were reliable and stupid simple. Still hope to one day get my hands on an old Microbus and a Karmann Ghia.
I’m hoping curtis finishes designing his new brubaker box before he dies. VW beetle kit cars are awesome.
God I love classic VW Beetles… Do you have any pictures of yours to share?
I wish I did! There’s a photo album, somewhere, that has some pictures from back then, but I have no clue which relative most likely has those.
I don’t even have a licence
Thank you for letting us know.
My friends with a lot of kids got a used airport limousine. I guess it was cheaper than an express van at the time. That was pretty cool and unique.
Not that unusual if it was in its native Australia or even in America but I have a Vauxhall Monaro VXR with the big V8. Basically a rebadged version of the “hot” Monaro - the Holden/HSV Coupe GTO. Also sold as a Pontiac GTO in America. I think only around 500 of that particular model was sold here and the idea of a muscle car isn’t really a very “British” thing, you rarely see much beyond 3L V6s outside of the most expensive cars.
As an Australian transplant in London recently…. I can just image your UZEL, congestion charge and petrol bill would be like now
Surprisingly good… I mean it is SORN atm waiting for time and money to fix it up a bit but it is ULEZ compliant! I only ever use it for fun now, I have a much more boring car for every day use. And although I’ve lived in London suburbs or commuter towns all my life I think I’ve paid the CC maybe once or twice? I refuse to drive in central london, public transport is much better for that.
ive cruised around in an electric couch before at burning man festival. not the safest, but friggin awesome.
My mum used to own an E30 320i convertible and it was just the coolest thing to me growing up. I dreamed of one day inheriting and restoring that car for years.
In the end, my father sold it to a friend of his (who probably bugged him for years about it)…
thanks, dad
I currently drive a BMW i3 (BEV). Best car I’ve ever owned.
I had. '68 Mustang back in the 90s and a Subaru Solterra today
I’m not sure that it was ever rare, or unique, but I still technically own an 87 Chevy Astro. I think its just more neat since its damn near 40 years old. Amazing condition too!
Early 2000’s I had a 1976 Plymouth Road Runner, with the original Orange/black/yellow paint. I loved it, but it didn’t love Midwest winters…
Traded it for a 4x4.
I’m really into JDM cars, which are always interesting to see in America. I had a Toyota AE111 Levin for a few years. Ran into the most unfortunate luck with a large hailstorm and losing my job in the same week. Sold it for a fraction of its value to someone who wanted to fix the hail damage.
That car was the perfect car for my level of skill in performance driving and the style of roads where I live. I’ll never be able to replace that thing.
I have a '97 Honda Prelude Type SH. For the 5th generation, only about 60,000 USDM Preludes were made. The Type SH was more expensive. There was also no automatic option for the Type SH, and since manuals were already dying in the 90s, I’d guess that they didn’t even sell more than a few thousand of them.
It’s a little rough. One of these days, I’m gonna dump a few thousand bucks into it and make it beautiful. But we’re working on our house and some other things first. Someone put a bunch of those bluish LEDs all over the thing. I deconverted it back to soft white halogens.
91 Honda Civic CRX Si w/black gold fleck paint and a moon roof. Not rare but definitely niche.
I LOVED this car. Super short wheel base and an absolute sleeper since it was so light. Only ICE that could get going like a EV that I’ve been in. And you were practically sitting on the road. With the door open I could easily put my palm on the ground. Even at 25mph it felt like you were speeding. So much fun to drive.