10 cars that changed the way I think about….. cars

This is a bit cheap, isn’t it, Turning a Facebook challenge series into a blog post? I know. I’m sorry. But it’s been soooo long since I’ve written something here and this challenge was actually quite Swadeology-ish, so why not?

The idea is in the title – list 10 cars that changed the way you think about cars.  They’re not necessarily cars I’ve owned, though many are.  Cars have played a central role in my life so it’s fair to say that many of these are cars that have shaped my life, for better or worse (overwhelmingly for the better).

Without further ado, then…..

Jaguar XJ6

My Dad gave me a book about Jaguars when I was a young teen and it’s really the car that started this whole adventure. I used to sit and draw them in class. Even as a 13 year old kid, I loved the sweeping lines, the pure elegance of this car.  I still do.

The car that sucked me in was the 1985 Series III version with the pepperpot wheels. The Series III is shown above (sans wheels). I’d be happy with any of the XJ6 versions and I’m very keen on bastardising it with a modern V8 engine transplant.

I’ve owned a later version – a 1995 XJR – but mine didn’t have the same beautiful proportions as this one, nor the same elegant interior. The original XJ6, whether it be Series I, II or III, was a car that was designed right from the first drawing.

EH Holden

The EH Holden. It’s the only Australian car on the list and – to be honest – it doesn’t really look like the one in this picture. The car in the picture is quite heavily modified. It’s an EH the way I’d like it to look if I owned one.

I didn’t discover European cars until my late teens / early 20s. They were always for wealthier families back in the 80s. Middle class Aussies bought Australian or Japanese. For a teenage Aussie boy, it was either Ford or Holden. No Jap Crap back in those days, thanks.

The EH was my favourite classic Holden. I’ve shown the sedan here, but it looked quite nice in wagon form, too.

Sadly, I never got to own one (and likely never will). It’s quite pretty for an Australian car, though, and when modded the right way, it moved pretty quickly, too.

That’s probably the way this car most influenced my thinking, actually – the idea of mods. Most of my friends had this type of car back in the early 90’s and it was at this time that I first starting learning about ways you could modify your car to make it go quicker. I wouldn’t apply that knowledge until later in life, but the learning process was a big part of the passion-curve for me.

Citroen DS

I saw my first Citroen DS (in person) in the late 1980s, thanks to a friend’s uncle. I was still a Holden-loving, long-haired, louty Australian kid at the time and I thought the DS was the strangest looking thing I’d ever seen – and not necessarily in a complimentary sense. I wouldn’t have been seen dead in it.

But how times change.

Today, like everyone else, I think it’s one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. It’s quintessentially French with its dedication to gorgeous form and its nutty suspension.

The world is a much better place for its existence. To paraphrase Richard Hammond – I want one more than I want my next breath. In fact, I have a not-so-secret goal to tour France in one of these. One day.

Alfa Romeo GTV6

I was still in that long-haired lout stage when I first encountered the Alfa GTV6. A mate bought one when they were still quite new – he did quite well for himself designing the original HSV logo for Holden in the late 1980’s.

The GTV6 was EPIC compared to the cars the rest of us teenage dirtbags were driving at the time. The looks, the sound, the whole package. It kickstarted my Alfa dreams, which continue to this day.

It’s also one of the cars that set the bar for how passionate cars should make the enthusiast buyer feel, which has been a guiding principle for my whole automotive life.

The photo shows my own GTV6, which I was lucky enough to own for a year or so. I sold it because the only way I could wear a helmet during a track day was to have the sunroof open!

I miss it. Driving this car with it’s V6 Busso engine screaming was a proper event!

Saab 9000 Turbo

This car was the beginning of my Saab obsession. A friend owned one back in the early 1990s.

Again, context is important. We were all young 20-somethings who’d only ever driven Holdens, Fords and Toyotas. To see something this fast, with a turbocharger, leather interior, full digital climate control, glass electric sunroof, amazing stereo, and all the rest – it was like a damn space ship.

Throw in the interesting Saab background and I was rather hooked.

It took around 10 years after my first exposure to the 9000 before I got a Saab of my own and it wasn’t nearly as sophisticated (an early 70’s Saab 99E with the old Triumph engine) but I felt like the king of the world.

Later on I’d own a bunch of Saabs, build a rather successful website about them, and fulfill a dream of working in the motoring industry – with Saab. It all started here, with the Saab 9000 Turbo – a car that quite literally changed my life.

Saab 99 Turbo

This is still the Saab model I love the most. To me, the snub nose of the 99 suits the car’s proportions better than the longer 900 nose. It just looks tougher. And the 99T is full of wonderful 1970’s Swedish kitsch – centralised seatbelt buckles, those weird window winders, weird headrests, inca wheels(!), that ‘extra’ button and much more.

Pictured above (and looking rather sorry for itself) is my marble white 99T, built in December 1978 and rarely seen as a three-door in this colour. It had a funky green velour interior and even though it made just 145hp from its 8-valve turbo 2.0, it felt incredibly special. I can only imagine what driving one new must have been like back in the day.

I’ve rarely loved another Saab as much as I loved this one. The 1991 Saab 900 LPT I owned in Sweden in 2011 would run it a close second. But this was my first turbo Saab and it was special. I’d also gladly take it in two-door form.

Range Rover Evoque

OK. Hear me out.

It’s November 2010 and I’m at the LA Auto Show as a guest of Saab Automobile, which is about to launch the Saab 9-4x. I’m also there to interview with Victor Muller, Knut Simonsson and Jan-Ake Jonsson for the job I’d take with Saab in 2011. For the first time, I’m compelled to start thinking like someone in the automotive industry rather than just as an enthusiast blogger.

The Evoque was also making its debut and the waves it made amongst the Saab guys were obvious. They were all very keen to see it and when they did, every last one of them pronounced this car to be a winner. They pointed out not just the styling, but also the very high standard of equipment and fit/finish.

I was pretty tribal back then and wasn’t too keen on looking at anything but Saabs, but I tagged along for the sake of getting myself an education. And I did. The Evoque experience had me looking at other brands objectively to see what they did and why they were successful. It was a massive learning experience so while I’d never be interested in an Evoque myself, it definitely changed the way I critically assess the various aspects of an automobile.

The Saab guys were right, too. The Evoque’s been a massive hit for JLR. (And if I can put my tribal hat back on, just imagine what a decently funded Saab could have done with the original 9X idea based on the success of this. Bloody GM!)

Porsche 968 ClubSport

Pictured above is the Porsche 968 Clubsport I owned back in 2014.

It was modestly equipped, looked sporty, is said to very reliable (I didn’t own mine long enough) and is an extremely capable, well-balanced car. This car’s ceiling was well above mine as a driver, so beautifully engineered it is.

It was also as boring as a Hoover Dam full of beige paint.

I don’t have anything specifically bad to say about this car. It had oodles of capability but absolutely zero personality. I guess you could say that it DID shape my thinking about cars because it made me love Italian and French cars sooooo much more.

(For what it’s worth, I still love the Porsche 928 and 911. I’m not sure about any other P cars, though).

Subaru Brumby

The little car that could….. the Subaru Brumby

This car taught me the joy inherent in simplicity.

I usually don’t keep for cars very long but I had the Brumby for three or four years and it was a joy to own. It was as slow as a wet week but incredibly practical.  It got things done, punched above its weight and has absolutely no frills.

It’s car I’d own again in a heartbeat (as long as it had power steering fitted).

Koenigsegg One:1

The One:1 is automotive insanity writ large. It is the king, the queen, the jack and the joker in the deck. It’s the main course and there’s no room left for dessert. The dog’s bollocks. It’s everything your six-year-old self wanted in a car and much, much more.

Koenigsegg was/is a very human-oriented car company. The mission is every bit as important as the bottom line – a car that’s the embodiment of the Koenigsegg team’s ingenuity, determination, persistence, and engineering innovation.  The One:1 is the most extreme expression of that mission.

I’ve been a passenger in nearly every Koenigsegg model and I’ve driven the CCR, CCX, Agera RS and Regera.

Nothing comes close to the One:1 for raw power and sheer visceral vibrance. This car has some sort of insane voodoo going on. It’s hard to explain – but instantly felt. I’ve been in an Agera RS at over 300km/h. I’ve driven the Regera at around 300km/h. Both of these cars are technically quicker than the One:1 but neither of them are as savage.

What the One:1 taught me about cars/life – go to the extremes to achieve your vision. Go the extra mile. Do the extra thing. Stay awake another hour. Do that extra set. Most of the things we can imagine ARE possible.