I've looked around the forum and haven't seen any sort of thread for discussing cars. Not Cars the movie, cars the... cars.
I really like them! As a kid I spent a lot of time in the desert- riding motorcycles, dune buggies, rock crawlers, that kind of stuff. Spent a lot of time at off-road racing events. I broke my first car part when I was 4, and I learned to drive a manual transmission at 9 years old. Cars were a big part of my childhood.
Through high school, I drove a 1986 Toyota 4Runner that was falling apart at the seams. With the help of that car, my dad taught me the basics of troubleshooting and working on cars in general. I can simultaneously say that I owe to that car everything I know about mechanics, and that it was a pile of shit and I'm glad I'm not driving it any more.
At the same time I was looking for a car to replace the 4 Runner, I had also recently started playing DiRT, which is a rally game for the Xbox 360. That game is the reason that my next car was a Subaru Impreza, specifically a 1999 Outback Sport named Alfalfa, with 240,000 miles on the clock and 2 previous owners. It's also the reason I started racing! There's a local rallycross event I participate in using that car to this day. I intend to compete in stage rally using it one day, but stage rally is stupid expensive and so I'll have to wait a while for that.
(http://i.imgur.com/2byMN8O.jpg)
After that car stopped being reliable enough to drive to work and school (at least partially due to the aforementioned racing), I picked up a 2005 Impreza WRX, which is the car I daily today. It's a crapton of fun, and the community surrounding Subaru is really helpful and friendly. With each of these cars, I've learned a little more about driving and fixing them and it's been a really enjoyable learning process.
It's difficult for me, usually, to talk to people I don't know. I'm not very good at making conversation in general, and for someone that doesn't know me,
that usually translates into a lot of awkward silence. If the other person knows about cars, though, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Cars I can talk about,
for a long time, with anyone who wants to. There's not really another subject I can do that with. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging about any of this;
there are better mechanics than me on the forum and there are faster drivers here too, I'm sure. But the knowledge and skill I've gained in fixing and driving cars is one of the few aspects of my life I feel I can be proud of. So yeah, that's what cars mean to me.
As a warning, that was more long-winded and personal than I meant it to be when I started writing.
What do cars mean to all of you guys? Anyone here race or work on their own stuff? Do you guys think electric cars will ever fully replace the internal combustion engine? I do! Do you guys think self-driving cars will happen anytime soon? I don't! Let's talk about them!
Coulda been worse. Coulda replaced it with one of these: (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Chevrolet_SSR.jpg/800px-Chevrolet_SSR.jpg)
Tumbler? Does google search ... oh god.... :facepalm:
Okay, in semi-seriousness here are my realities and dreams.
Reality
First car I drove was my dad's Reliant K Wagon
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Plymouth_Reliant_station_wagon_%286637666061%29.jpg/800px-Plymouth_Reliant_station_wagon_%286637666061%29.jpg)
His was that pale metallic blue where the paint was blistering and peeling off the hood and roof near the end
The previous ones he owned
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/1966_Beaumont_Sedan.JPG/1920px-1966_Beaumont_Sedan.JPG?1504878978670)
Finding an image was darn hard but envision this in the dark red of the time with plastic seat covers.
The upholstery was impeccable when it was finally sold but the drivers side floor was rusted out since dad didn't believe in floor mats - Fred Flintstones emergency braking system
(no linkable photo found)
Before that was the Austin Morris camper van in two tone grey. The front seats were over the motor, so hot hot hot in summer.
The back interior included a fold out gas stove on the swing out back door and wooden sliding bench seats that were cabinets and doubled as a bed when slid out.
My first car was a 99 VW Golf Wolfsberg.
(http://images.canadianlisted.com/nlarge/1999-volkswagen-golf-wolfsburg-edition-under-100-000-ks-6000-nanaimo_8296445.jpg)
Mine had a HUGE whip antenna for 2m radio added. Made it look like an RC car :-D
I still miss it. Had to let it go earlier this year since repairs were more than it was worth. Went to an apprentice auto-mechanic who I know will keep her running for years to come
My new car is a 2017 VW DUNE
(https://vwmodels.ca/img/beetle/beetle-hero.jpg)
Yes, mine is just like the one in the center, including the painted alloy wheels :-D
I may post a real picture if I remember to take one and upload it
Fantasy
What I would love to own and drive for fun
(http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Mercedes-Benz/28-Mercedes-710SS_Trnwgn-DV-11-PBC-01.jpg)
What I would love to own and drive in traffic
(https://shawglobalnews.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lav-iii-memorial.jpg?quality=70&strip=all&w=720&h=480&crop=1)
Sans party favors of course but should make parking a breeze and those aggressive drivers pay the price :evil:
Pure Fantasy vehicle would have to be this one though
(http://images.car.bauercdn.com/pagefiles/20051/1040x0/0captainscarlet.jpg?scale=down)
Spectrum Saloon car, sans machine guns in the front wheel wells :lol:
And of course Australia is the land of the road-train (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train):
And more and more, I see the inspiration for some of the Mad Max movies.
But that's Australia.
One of CATs plants is just down the road from me and this is the smallest one they build/refurbish here.
(http://used.toromontcat.com/library/images/EquipmentImages/AA_02T400328_61343.jpg)
Only C$600K :-P
(https://ws.toromont.ca/DMS/api/File/0x01000000C57BE68A83A4ADCF0D60F7F7A7E90DB634FD5A95D50F858ACBAA318DF9852317)
These are running around off road in lots of places around Sudbury and further north
Have those road warriors from Mad Max run into one of these monsters going full speed and it goes from a game of el-Toro to squirrel :-D