Which of your Dad's (or Mom's) cars influenced your love for cars the most?

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

You drive an M2. You take awesome photographs of amazing cars. You got the bug somewhere along the way.

Thanks, but in all honesty, it's genetic. I have it for sure, I'm a car guy through and through, but not like my dad and his brothers were, not even like my brother is. They were all American muscle, and I'm European handling all the way. Never owned a V8 and never will, just not my thing.

[kyriian]

My dad's had some pretty interesting cars to say the least, all did kinda contribute i guess
Not in exact chronological order
Saab 900 turbo
Saab 9000 turbo
Mercedes W124 E420
BMW 740Li
Porsche 996 C2
BMW E53 X5 4.4
BMW E70 X5 4.8
Porsche 997 Turbo - he still has it

We always joke how both times he took delivery of his brand new Porsche, he happens to get stuck on the same crosswalk, one of the busiest ones in Hong Kong, those who know its at Percivial and Russel in Causeway bay

[WayneM3]

I forgot to mention that after my dad bought the Jensen-Healey, he used to go to track days with the Jensen Club at Lime Rock and Bridgehampton. They used to let me out on the track as a passenger with just an old helmet. These were back in the days when the paddock of Lime Rock was mostly dirt and rocks and the bathroom "urinals" were just a wall that you peed on with a gutter running down to a drain. I did get to drive Bridgehampton in the NSX on the 2nd to last weekend before it did finally close after over 10 years of it almost closing.

[Josh-PA]

it's an interesting question, when I look back my parents had a few pretty cool cars. Of course when I was young I thought they all sucked. My Dad did get me a R&T subscription when I was about 13 and that really kicked in my love of cars.

When I was really young my Mom had a couple of Opel GTs but I don't actually remember them.


When my parents first got together (I was about 6) my Dad had a Fiat Spyder that I thought was pretty cool.


We then went to Dubai in the early 80s for a couple of years and they had an awful Diahatsu 4*4 - which was a serious POS and a first gen Honda Civic (in hindsight that was an awesome little car).




When we came back to the U.S. they went through a spate of Subarus from first gen manual Loyale Wagons, to multiple gens of hatchbacks and an XT-6.


The problem with all of them was they'd tell me they were getting a Porsche, take me to the Porsche dealership to negotiate a 944... I'd tell all my buddies we were getting a Porsche and then the next day they'd show up with another Subaru.... WTF.

Right before I left for college they had a Mazda MX-3 with the tiny v6. That was a lot of fun, except I was now 16ish yrs old and had to sit in the tiny back seat and was never allowed to drive it 'because it was too fast for me' lol.


I think in rebellion to all the subarus they had vs the Porsche teases I thought we were getting, as soon as I graduated I bought a 1994 BMW 325is. That car really kickstarted my love affair with Euros. Of course as soon as I bought a BMW they started buying German cars too. After I moved out they had a manual A4 2.8, an e91 wagon, an e90 sedan, an f30 sedan, a GC, an x1. etc....

[wtwo3]

2000 Dodge Caravan. It taught me that I never want to drive a POS again.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by kyriian

My dad's had some pretty interesting cars to say the least, probably just one, but a few
Not in exact chronological order
Saab 900 turbo
Saab 9000 turbo
BMW 740Li
Porsche 996 C2
BMW E53 X5 4.4
BMW E70 X5 4.8
Porsche 997 Turbo - he still has it

We always joke how both times he took delivery of his brand new Porsche, he happens to get stuck on the same crosswalk, one of the busiest ones in Hong Kong, those who know its at Percivial and Russel in Causeway bay

Your dad has good taste.

I have fond memories of visiting Hong Kong, including watching some very fancy cars drive by. I'd be a bit nervous driving there.

This may be the crosswalk that bit your dad's Porsche twice. It looks like it likes to eat cars with low clearance.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by WayneM3

I forgot to mention that after my dad bought the Jensen-Healey, he used to go to track days with the Jensen Club at Lime Rock and Bridgehampton. They used to let me out on the track as a passenger with just an old helmet. These were back in the days when the paddock of Lime Rock was mostly dirt and rocks and the bathroom "urinals" were just a wall that you peed on with a gutter running down to a drain. I did get to drive Bridgehampton in the NSX on the 2nd to last weekend before it did finally close after over 10 years of it almost closing.

I loved the Jensen-Healey and also the Jensen Interceptor.

Thank for sharing your car experiences growing up. It looks like you got the bug with that bad ass M5 of yours.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Josh-PA

....

The problem with all of them was they'd tell me they were getting a Porsche, take me to the Porsche dealership to negotiate a 944... I'd tell all my buddies we were getting a Porsche and then the next day they'd show up with another Subaru.... WTF....

I hope you are still in contact with some of your old buddies who probably teased you unmercifully. Maybe you can drive by their houses in your 991 and wave!

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

2000 Dodge Caravan. It taught me that I never want to drive a POS again.

Looking at your garage, it seems like you learned well.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Josh-PA

When my parents first got together (I was about 6) my Dad had a Fiat Spyder that I thought was pretty cool.

My Dad had the Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. Not as sexy as the Spyder but the same underpinnings. I loved that car. Here's a pic from the Internet (not my Dad's).

[BMWCCA1]

My Dad drove leased Ford wagons for his business back in the late '60s. He didn't like foreign cars but my Mom wanted an XK-E really bad . . . so he bought her a new '68 MG-B GT and told her that was as close as she was going to get to a Jag. The first day of ownership we had our entire family of six in that car! At the first stop-light my Dad knocked a Pall Mall out of the package and pushed the cigarette lighter in the MG. The entire car died. By the time the tow truck arrived, my Dad was firmly convinced his first foray into foreign cars was a lesson he never wanted to have to learn again.



But my Mom kept driving it and on my 16th birthday she drove me in it to the license office to take my written test for my learner's permit. When I came out, she was sitting in the passenger seat of the MG. I asked what she was doing and she simply said "Just drive". I protested that they'd never even let me sit behind the wheel before, and I had no driving instruction, never driven any car—or any vehicle beyond a Schwinn—nor had any experience with a clutch. "Drive" she said. So I did.

So my love of fun cars came from my Mom. But my distaste for anything British came from my Dad. And I've still never owned a Ford.

52-years of BMW ownership!

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

...But my Mom kept driving it and on my 16th birthday she drove me in it to the license office to take my written test for my learner's permit. When I came out, she was sitting in the passenger seat of the MG. I asked what she was doing and she simply said "Just drive". I protested that they'd never even let me sit behind the wheel before, and I had no driving instruction, never driven any car—or any vehicle beyond a Schwinn—nor had any experience with a clutch. "Drive" she said. So I did.

So my love of fun cars came from my Mom. But my distaste for anything British came from my Dad. And I've still never owned a Ford.

52-years of BMW ownership!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I love your Mom. What a great story.

Also, congrats on being a long-time BMW owner. 52 years. Wow.

[OkieSnuffBox]

'67 Fairlady Roadster racecar. He raced in the 80s when I was just a wee lad.

He raced probably from the time I was 4 until 9. So getting to go to the road course (Hallett), be around his car, see all the other cars going around the track. Obviously left an imprint.

One time when I was S52 swapping my E30 he said, "I should have never got you into cars, it's too damn expensive." And yes it, I hate to think about what my bank account and retirement accounts would like if I was happy just driving a boring appliance 10 years at a time.

[Humdizzle]

my parents weren't into cars at all

i got it from my cousins who were a bit older. one of them had a WRX when they first came to the US in the early 2000s, his brother had a sentra spec v. F&F came out when i was like 14 too. Then started getting into all the getaway in stockholm , ghostrider, teckademics, streetfire.net, gumball videos around then.

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

This may be the crosswalk that bit your dad's Porsche twice. It looks like it likes to eat cars with low clearance.

We get stuck on the crosswalk on Percival, that's the way home from the Porsche dealer back in the day, and its busy there because that's how most people walk to Times Square

HK driving isn't bad, traffic is horrid but flows reasonably well, the problem is you better know your way and be aware of any sudden roadworks, or doubling back can be a massive hassle.

[Tazzie-///M]

Once upon a time when I was a child my dad had a 728i I was about 7 years old lovely car until the rear tried to meet the front! Had an e30 325i & It was mainly s class mercs after that & 1 was even supercharged! Then came a Lexus 1st it was a gs300 a few years later an ls400 i remember dad had a 730i aswel on a 89 plate I must say my dad had some lovely cars in his day may he r i p
A few pics of the cars from bk in the day

[Bongoxxx]

My parents were not car people, but both worked for GM at points in their career. My mom being a nurse in the Oshawa plant and my father an executive at GM Canada. He would get a new company car every 5,000 kms which was basically every couple months with regular trips to Detroit.

He would get whatever he wanted which was usually an Olds ‘98, Caddy or if he wanted something fun for a bit he’d order an IROC-Z. The only car that was off limits was the Vette, but he could get his hands on one for a weekend if he wanted.

To him a car is an appliance, when he left GM to get into consulting, specializing in the auto industry, he did a lot of work with Ford, Honda and Toyota, but still would buy an ‘appliance’ and drive it into the ground.

They currently drive a 2021 Honda Pilot
The thing is huge, but works for them being in their 80s and 6’5” and 6’1”

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Bongoxxx

My parents were not car people, but both worked for GM at points in their career. My mom being a nurse in the Oshawa plant and my father an executive at GM Canada. He would get a new company car every 5,000 kms which was basically every couple months with regular trips to Detroit.

He would get whatever he wanted which was usually an Olds ‘98, Caddy or if he wanted something fun for a bit he’d order an IROC-Z. The only car that was off limits was the Vette, but he could get his hands on one for a weekend if he wanted.

To him a car is an appliance, when he left GM to get into consulting, specializing in the auto industry, he did a lot of work with Ford, Honda and Toyota, but still would buy an ‘appliance’ and drive it into the ground.

They currently drive a 2021 Honda Pilot
The thing is huge, but works for them being in their 80s and 6’5” and 6’1”

I always thought it would have been a good idea for auto executives from the Big 3 to have to drive 5 year to 10 year old models of their companies cars and their competitors' cars. That way they would have had first hand experience.

Most cars drive real nice when they are new.

[Sy1616]

Dad’s ‘84 911 and ‘92 SC400

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Sy1616

Dad’s ‘84 911 and ‘92 SC400

Apparently, those cars started you in the right direction, Mr. M5!

[jmg]

My dad brought home a Porsche 944 catalog one night. I obsessed over each page reading about all the features and options. Fantasizing about which color we would get, what it would be like to ride in it, never thinking we were getting one. I grew up poor, my parents were immigrants, we never had a nice car like that. I grew up in a Datsun Sentra. My dad was doubtful about getting one.

One night I remember hearing, what was to me at the time, deep growling sound come up the driveway. I couldn't believe it, but my dad drove home a new 944 Turbo. It was nothing like I had ever experienced at the time. Compared to our old rusty Buick Century, it was like a spaceship. Low to the ground, wide at the wheels, sounded like a sports car, and my ears popped when you closed the door. The fit and finish was phenomenal, the speed was mind-blowing. My dad might as well have brought home an X-Wing as far as I was concerned. I dreamt of taking over the car when I finally got my license. Unfortunately, I was years away from that, and it never came to be, but I made me a car lover at a very young age.

[Alfisti]

In Australia your dad had a Holden or a Ford, there was no in between and the rivalry was absolutely bitter. Oddly enough i went the euro route when i got older but still love a hot Holden.