Do you have a dream car(s)?

But specifically the model that had the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 with the addition of a McCulloch supercharger. Earlier models had a Packard V8 that delivered 275 HP. About halfway through the 1957 model year, a luxury 400 model was introduced, featuring a leather interior, a fully upholstered trunk, and special trim. Only 41 of these special cars were produced, and very few of the 41 exist today. One of them, the first production model, is housed at the Studebaker Museum in South Bend.

A great video showing the car can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=zPjl6sx5vls

Perhaps I'm the only one but I appreciate your effort with the superscript 3 for cubing.

There was a modded "Study" (how do you abbreviate Studebacker?) that lived near me. It consisted of two "Studys" with rear end damage whose fronts were welded together.

As a young kid one year out of high school, in 1960 I bought a used 1957 Chevrolet BelAir convertible. I loved the car but within about a week, the automatic transmission started slipping. A fluid check discovered the transmission was out of fluid. Between paying monthly payments for the car and paying additional monthly payments for transmission repairs, I took on a second part-time job in addition to my day job working on the sales floor at Sears. This experience caused to rethink my life and priorities, so I decided to begin college as a way to improve my future earning power.

I would need work my way through college but the first order of business was to sell my '57 Chevy ragtop and pay off the bank for both the car loans and two transmission repairs one month ahead of the beginning school year. I took in trade from my convertible buyer a 1947 Plymouth Coupe and I had enough money to pay my bank loans in full.

After college graduation I bought a 1947 Cadillac hearse, black color of course, that had been owned by a small funeral home. The hearse was in great condition and had 47K miles. The reason the funeral home parted with the hearse was because of age, it was becoming a bad reflection on the business. I relocated from Virginia to Miami, FL for a job in pharmaceutical sales and I moved all of my belongings to Florida in the back of the hearse.

As I had to go in for six-months of military active duty for the Army National Guard after relocating to Miami, the hearse for sold to a band group.

I wish I still owned the hearse today if it was in the same condition as it was back in 1967 when I unloaded it. I also wish I had a '57 Chevy convertible, one that was in better mechanical condition that the one I sold back in the day.

On your comment about welding two front ends, Packard and Studebaker explored a merger beginning in 1953 and formally merged in October of 1954. It would have been funny if one end was Studebaker (pre-1954) and the other end made after the merger (post-1954). That would have been the mother of all mergers!

My dream car would be one that never breaks down, never needs service, never needs parts replaced, tires that last forever, any body damage fixes itself overnight (maybe I'd call it Christine), never runs out of whatever fuel it needs to propel itself.... an added bonus would be a divider between the driver and passenger that is sound proof, I'd pay extra for that. And if it came with no rear seating that would be great!

Do I Have A Dream Car(S)?

No.

I've had several 'dream cars' over the years, most from the 1960's & 1970's.

1966 Pontiac GTO
1977 Pontiac Trans Am
1970 Plymouth GTX
1970 Chevy Chevelle LS6

and a lot of others along that 'look'

As I grew older 'running' was my only dream.

I do have two of my dream vehicles, both bought brand new, still have and use both as they are my only vehicles. A 2003 Harley Road King, and a 2013 Jeep JKU.

When I was a kid my dream car was a Porsche 911 Turbo. Nowadays when I think of that car it gives me the impression of it being just a squashed down overpriced souped up Volkswagen Beetle.

These days I really don't have a dream car in mind. Just give me something reliable that'll get me from Point A to Point B in comfort. Boring, right? lol

Black with Citron Gold interior, 4 speed with posi-traction rear-end, 383 engine with 4 barrel carburetor. I had one of the first ones to roll off of the assembly line. My father sold it when I was in basic training. My second was a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340. Fast car. Totaled it one night when I fell asleep coming back from a date with my wife. (Then girlfriend.) And probably my favorite car of all which I still own is a 2017 Hyundai Azera. The car is quick and probably drives better than any other car that I have owned.

my dad's 55 Studebaker Commander but my dream car was the tricked out Granetelli Avanti.

I think I got my license in the summer of 1992. At that time I really wanted a Toyota Celica. What I got, was permission to sometimes drive my mom's "extra old", station wagon, with the wood panel looking siding, blankets over the seat because some of the springs were popping out of the upholstery. The power steering had gone out, so it was like driving a tank. The upside is I learned to parallel park with that thing and that came in extra handy in college.

~Angela

I'm not capable of enjoying driving any more. Friends say that is because I drive an F-350. Maybe.

In 2018 we had a horrible hailstorm which destroyed our roof and my F-250. I didn't understand it's scale and didn't hurry to have my insurance get me a rental. All the "normal" rental fleet in the front range of CO were taken. Bless their little hearts, my insurance got me a Series 7 BMW for 3 weeks. Has anyone ever said bless their little hearts about an insurance company before?

The BMW was a delightful car. One example of what I liked was it's close ratio gearbox which enabled the cruise control to work effectively no matter how steep the downhill. When I had a '91 Audi 80 I did appreciate how well it handled. Likely the BMW handled better, but all I have to say is now is ho-hum.

Used to dream of driving a Lamborghini on a winding mountain road. Now I'd like an autonomous vehicle to cruise at a constant speed on a nice flat highway while I nap.

landrover type 2
so I can put it in the crusher, I hated that car

Glad you have two of your dream vehicles.

I have only had 3 new cars in my life, and the last one I got in 2016 was the first one purchased used over $2k.

2 of the new cars were in fact on the Car and Driver 10 best list, so there was thought behind the purchases. I tend to want something special about any car, it's not random. So even though the Tahoe RST performance is unidentifiable (I think red brakes would be an indicator), everything else can't be seen without lifting the hood, or the vehicle itself, which is fine by me (stealth).

I had a 1970 Pontiac LeMans Sport given to me free, when it was 20. I pretended it was a GTO. It was smooth as silk. 250 I6 with a 2-speed auto and drums all around...

My older brother had this car, and it was fantastic.

.

Hated that car. You had to put both feet on the brake pedal and then throw out an anchor to stop the thing. I didn’t keep it very long before I got rid of it!

Never thought of one of those invisible cars, cool.

I think I would like an electric car. Just plug in at night and not have to get out and pump the gas.

We changed from having a 2002 Audi A4 plus a 2006 Prius last year to a Tesla Y plus a Tesla 3. So far the experience has been very good. We both think that our time, effort, and planning requirement for recharging is a very good trade vs. refueling our previous cars. There are many other advantages as well.

And your choices are expanding almost monthly. While the enormous superiority of the Tesla Supercharger network has been a pretty strong reason to prefer Tesla if long-distance trips matter to you at all, within a couple of years it appears that network will be usefully open to nearly all electric cars. So you can shop across a wide variety of offerings from many companies, not all of which are outrageously expensive.

Good luck.

was given to me free. I would drive it from Albany to Boston, NYC, Long Island. Had an oil leak which was not solved when we did the valve cover gasket.

Since it was a free car, it wasn't a total surprise that it didn't pass a NYS inspection. That was the first time I realized it had 4 wheel drums, because the inspector pulled all 4 wheels and showed it to me on a lift.

Maroon with black vinyl top, and the ladies liked it, as it was already 20 years old and retro.

One day I opened the radiator cap and said to the buddy who gave it to me, I think it's 100% antifreeze? Buddy said yeah, I tried to tell him but my dad thinks 100% is > 50/50.

We all knew 100% freezes at 14F, and it does go below that in smAlbany...

Not a dream car but a cool one. Got a 1957 Chevy 2 door when I was in college in 1967. Cost = $150. Different time back then.
Currently drive a Tesla Model Y. Still not a dream car, but extremely fun. Have not run the numbers on gas vs charging with elec. The amount of torque the electric cars have is amazing. I'm not a fast driver, but when you need the instant acceleration, electric cars shine with their amazing torque.

I wouldn't want one today but I enjoyed my '67 Karmann Ghia which I bought new for <$2,200. For my first vacation as a working stiff it was great for the drive from Manhattan to Guanajuato Mexico. (I had to look up the spelling!)

What a dumb car to own living in Manhattan.

...was a used '71 Mercury Montego. I guess you could say at the time it was my dream car. Bought it for $500 from my sister's friend's grandfather. He had been a mechanic, but as he got older his eyesight started failing and couldn't drive any more. So the car was in great shape.

Big V-8 engine that ran smooth as silk. It served me well for a couple of years before I moved on to a newer vehicle. I sold it to a friend, and a month later his wife totaled it.

Mine was a '75 Volvo that I paid $700 for. It was rusty as all heck, B20 engine, 4 speed manual, manual steering, ice cold air, and my favorite feature, 4 wheel disc brakes and rear shoulder belts. I drove a hard bargain as it came from a salvage yard, and the seller installed a less rusty door and same color--at first the seller said he'd throw in the door and I could DIY.

I remember taping up the rust with duct tape and spray painting it white, and for whatever reason, I tinted the windows myself (today I hate when people do that plus not legal), and I put in a 3rd brake light. It was my car, and I loved it. This led to a Volvo hobby as 2 more followed, each of those were $2000 which was not nothing (it's $5800 today) and more than my college tuition which was like $900 per semester (with room and board closer to $6,000 a year).

I really think that I had many experiences, and made many for myself. My son who is 9, will never have any of these struggles, hardships, or taking on the world all by himself. He'll end up being sheltered and having most things given to him, as most kids do today. It has pros and cons but having a junk car? I can't think of a single kid across many friends who ever had that. All 0-5 y.o. hand me downs.

Yes indeed. It is not just the sheer power (though that can be considerable), but the remarkably quick onset of acceleration when you ask for it that I found downright shocking in the first few weeks with my model Y. My model 3 RWD is the slowest car Tesla sells in the USA today, and still that instant torque is striking.

And it is not Tesla alone by any means, someone who posts here had the same observation on his GM Volt (remember those?).

…is living in Manhattan today. I did it for about 2-1/2 years in the mid-1960’s and it was enjoyable. Today, not so sure!

That characteristic of EV’s is because electric motors in general deliver high torque at zero or near zero RPM. In contrast, IC engines deliver their maximum torque at relatively high engine RPM, which is only attainable at low speed through the use of a gearbox.

That EV torque can come at quite a cost in terms of significantly increased tire wear. The vehicle manufacturers often “spec” special tires that they recommend. Prices can be much higher. Have a flat along a highway, that “spec” tire might not be available!

Barn find in Birmingham Alabama. Multiple cars, some supposedly with “delivery” mileage!

See https://www.thedrive.com/news/alabama-barn-find-is-full-of-b...

Yes, you can choose to mash the throttle and burn up the tires. But you can choose not to.

That is not entirely new. Almost twenty years ago, when I was driving a 2002 Audi A4 with the turbo-charged 1.8 liter engine, I noticed that the tires of a co-worker who drove the same car looked nothing like mine as to state of wear. Now if HE got an EV, he might well get under 10,000 miles out of his tires. I measure mine every month, and like my chances of getting a lot more.

On a more negative note, though, because of the considerably higher vehicle weight driven by the battery, it is really true that at a given level of transport capability you need larger (and thus more expensive) tires which will last for fewer miles, just because of the weight. In my case, I think I am probably incurring future tire cost at about the same rate I am paying current electric charging cost.

With a black vinyl top.

Very nice! Because as I type, and of course it can change in 2 years, I'm thinking Chevy Tahoe RST perf. as our next car. I am a GM fanboy despite honestly getting beaten up as a owner of a 2011 GM vehicle purchased new (way too much broke early) lol

Always wanted a Jaguar XKE roadster (convertible)

Local Classic car dealer had one years ago. My family and I were browsing the cars. Jag XKE roadster British racing green.
Told my Step-son if it was red we would buy it! (70 K at this time way out of my league!)

His reply was "We could paint it!"

We sold our dream car. The 1955 Chevy that we restored. We loved the car but due to my husband's illness we were unable to ever take it to car shows. We look so forward to that. The car set in the garage for several years and now we are trying to get things easier for our kids to take care of when the time comes. A couple from Washington bought it. They seem a lot like us and love the car. We are so glad it went to them and not someone who wanted to make more money off it. It was such a difficult decision to sell it. We have 2 kids and only one classic car so it wouldn't be fair to give it to only one.
Hopefully we will see it on the internet at car shows in Washington State some day.
Mary

Don't have it, but I always dreamed about owning and driving the Batmobile.

Continental GT

https://www.hdcarwallpapers.com/walls/bentley_continental_gt...

That most cars with LED headlamps simply blind oncoming traffic. I've personally noticed Hondas and Subarus to be very, very, bad.

Our 3 old cars are all HID/Xenon.

2/3 swivel and level the beam.

The Chevy Tahoe that I like fits into the 81k car with 52k car headlamps category, and NO led tails, so right now it's out. Why compromise. Joe Raiti gave the tails a triple zonk.

Funny, the $149k Escalade also has $52k car headlamps. What's going on when my 2006 and 2007 have better headlamps?

C'mon consumers, get in the game! (on the Caddy for 2023, all apdaptive headlamps were not available--why should it be optional)

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/10/2023-cadillac-escalade-...