Whether we’re talking cars you’ve owned in series or multiple vehicles in your stable right now, I gotta believe they represent a pretty varied range of styles and use cases and capabilities, even if you’ve stuck to just a few brands. I suppose there’s a non-zero chance some of you have owned nothing but lightweight roadsters and currently have a pair of Miatas in the garage, but I’ll be very surprised if you pop up in the comments.
As for the rest of us, there’s probably a pretty good swing from first car to current car, if only because you can likely afford a lot more car now than you could when you were shopping for your first set of wheels. And tastes change, too; you don’t see too many car folks who are still 100% committed to the same machines that excited them back when they had a subscription to Import Tuner. But whatever the reason, I’m confident your car history includes vehicles at some distance from each other on the norm-core to extra-spicy spectrum.
… which brings us to today’s Ask. Speaking for myself, my normalest car is about as regular and basic as it gets, the humble Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. The example below is positively exotic compared to the “America” version I owned, which was the cheapest of the cheap. It did have a digital clock and a radio (as I recall, the clock was in the radio, but I may be wrong), however, so not totally Spartan. Mine certainly did not have those wonderful wheel covers, or two-tone paint, or a pinstripe. I could only dream.
As for my “craziest” car, well, a Mustang GT isn’t that crazy. Mine wasn’t even a Premium; for the same X-Plan price, give or take a few hundo, I could get a loaded V6 (this was 2012, pre-boostang) or a base GT. This was the first year for the Coyote engine, so the V6 was never a consideration. Lots of fun, lots of tickets, lots of rear tires.
Your turn:
What’s The Most Normal Car You’ve Ever Owned And What’s The Craziest?
Top graphic images: Chrysler; Toyota
Normal: 1982 Toyota Corolla (2 door, because sporty)
Crazy: 2015 F-type, 1987 El Camino, 1985 Mercedes 300CD, or possibly the pretty built Volvo C30 I had. It was like driving a car with an on-off switch in place of the throttle.
Normal: Either 1998 Honda Civic LX or 2015 Toyota Rav-4
Craziest: 2020 Subaru WRX STI
Not the craziest compared to most of the people here.
Normal: 1993 (or maybe it was a 94) Toyota Corolla DX (or maybe it was an LE?) that I drove for a year and a half and barely remember the car.
Craziest: 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV-6 that I tried to use as an everyday car with a 60 mile round trip commute. It was a beautiful chestnut brown with tan leather interior and lots of fun to drive on a nice sunny day on an open two lane road but was absolutely miserable in slow bumper to bumper traffic. Its also the car I wish I could have back the most.
Normal: 1989 Tempo – a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law. It was definitely a car.
Craziest: 1976 Bronco – bought it in 1988 for $4k after previous owner performed a fairly comprehensive refresh. Had both tops, and garnered a ton of a attention, even in those days. Sold it two years later when I had to start commuting 60 miles round trip every day. Sad to see it go, but those miles would have killed it and me (financially) at a time that I really couldn’t afford it.
Normal: Camry
Craziest: DeLorean
The most normal car I’ve owned is a 1989 Volvo 740 Wagon. It took ages to get to 60, the paint was faded, but it had a rear-facing back seat.
The craziest was either my 2017 Mustang GT/CS convertible in black or my hilariously fast APR-tuned 2018 Audi S6.
Most normal car was a Soul Red 2018 Mazda3 Hatch with a manual. Difficult to find combo but fantastic daily driver econobox.
Most crazy would be my current daily that replaced the Mazda, a 2018 Civic Type R. The styling is crazy but tbh the car drives and rides like a regular car. With the stock exhaust its quiet too. My new daily driver that is on the way also fits this spot, a 2026 GR Corolla. The GR feels more special to drive, but doesn’t look as crazy as the FK8
Most ‘normal’ – probably my current Australian Ford BA Fairlane Ghia – a ‘luxury’ long wheelbase version of a straightforward family sedan, kept completely stock as I eventually decided I needed a ‘sensible’ daily driver.
Most ‘crazy’ – probably my old Datsun 180B SSS coupe (Datsun 610) with a transplanted JDM Nissan FJ20ET engine (2 litre 16 valve twin cam EFI turbo), matching 5 speed, bigger diff, very modified suspension and brake upgrade, 15×7″ wheels, big rear wing and front splitter, bonnet scoop, race seats, harnesses and rollcage.
Current cars
– most normal: MK8 golf GTI
– crazy: 1992 Lancia Delta Evo Group-A rallycar
Across all time
– most normal: MK6 golf GTI
– crazy: 2007 987.1 cayman that got modified to within an inch of its life. At some point it was running close to 600hp to the wheels. It sadly disassembled itself during a track day to the point where it just wasn’t worth it to put it back together.
Raced in period?
Indeed
Saturn SL1 (5 speed SOHC) and many years later a Porsche Boxster. Wide variety of stuff in between, including a couple pickups and a TJ.
Normal – 2001 Chevrolet Prism Lsi. A perfectly sensible and economical daily…
Lunatic- 2021 Chevrolet Camaro Z1l. A perfect absurdly fun non daily…
Most normal car: 1982 VW Rabbit Diesel. 52 HP, 53 mpg highway @ 55mph. I once maxed it out at 81 mph.
Craziest car: 2024 Golf R with IE TrueFlex stage 1 tune. 458 HP when running E85, 397 HP on 93 octane, 385 HP on 91 octane. 38 mpg highway on 93 @ 65mph. I have not the nerve to attempt to max this one out.
Most normal was a 1986 Chevy Caprice. V6, powder blue. Drivers would slow down upon seeing me because it looked like a cop car. Craziest was a 2004 Chevy SSR. My wife had to have it. After a year she said that there wasn’t enough room inside for two women and their purses. I knew it wouldn’t take long.
64 Plymouth Valiant V200 for the most normal. It would require a heroic effort to get into any sort of trouble in that car. For the craziest, it depends on the category of crazy you want. My LT-1 swapped TR-6 was dangerously fast, needed way better brakes and rubber. On the other hand, my 440 six pack Dodge Challenger was great in a straight line. It handled like an overloaded wheelbarrow. My last crazy but good car was my C6 Z06 Corvette. Fast, handled and stopped well. The problem was it was too fast for an average early 40’s freshly single idiot with poor judgement and little self control.
nothing super crazy, but lots of sketchy. for crazy, a 1990 300zx nonturbo that was engine swapped with a jdm turbo motor with additional bolt ons and whatnot. I don’t think it cleared 400 hp to the wheels and had a stage 2 or 3 clutch, but it was a handful and really difficult to modulate the clutch for smooth driving.
Normalest car? ‘Invisaible’ silver Subaru Forester. I had to put stickers in the back window to keep me from loading my groceries into someone else’s car (people around here do not lock their cars, a behavior I cannot understand).
Craziest was probably an SR-swapped S13 240SX. I had the car for seven years and had every nut/bolt out of the car at some point. I even painted it with a roller (this was an internet thing at the time). I left the speed limiter in place and bounced off it daily.
For anyone thinking of SR-swapping an S13. Don’t. Just get an FR-S / GR86 / BRZ. The first time I jacked up my FR-S I was amazed at how much stiffer it was than my S13 (S13 had a 4 point rollbar).
Behold! The most normal car and the most insane car that I’ve ever owned is THE SAME CAR!
I currently have a 2004 Subaru Outback because I couldn’t afford the Toyota Tax and I needed something to get me from A-to-B while Dadding and building my credit BUT I refused to have something boring that would keep me off of the trails and forest roads that I loved to explore when I was a non-dad happily romping around in a Toyota T-100 pickup.
So I bought a beater Outback for $2800 bucks. Then I gave it 2.5″ of spacer lift, King overload springs, Toyo A/T tires, a roof rack and awning, trimmed the bumper, added lights and recovery gear and viola! I’m rocking the battlewagon. It’s equal parts practical and impractical, realistic and ridiculous, sensible and daft.
Yes, I have to throw axles at it on a yearly basis.
Yes, it eats alternators for breakfast.
Yes, it gets my daughters to school safely.
Yes, it still somehow gets decent gas mileage.
It’s the yin and yang of practicality and utter insanity.
Normal – 1994 Toyota Camry station wagon in white
Crazy – 1986 Toyota Hilux double cab ute/pick up, on a Nissan Patrol chassis (coils all round) with a supercharged 1UZ on 38in tyres. This was also my daily driver as it was my only car at the time.
Please tell me that you have a build thread of this wonderful Hilux Patrol crossbreed.
Unfortunately not, all photos and videos that I had were stored on a laptop and camera that were stolen out of a later car.
I only saw my old Hilux/Patrol once after I sold it, the fella had thrashed it. I later heard that it was rolled and parted out.
If I could ever magically have an old car back this would be it…..
1969 King Midget-crazy
2018 CRV-normal
My Corolla S was probably the normalest, and my SRT392 Challenger was probably the craziest
Most normal? Probably my 13 Volvos, most of which were pretty ordinary examples (I did have one 245 Turbo and two 745 Turbos, and a pair of 16Vs, which are a little less ordinary). My very first car was an ’82 Subaru, but those were still a little out there for the time and technically it was never registered in my own name. First car bought by and registered to me was a ’76 Volvo 242DL.
Craziest? ’86 Alfa Romeo GTV6, or either of the two ’69 Saab Sonett V4s I have owned. Though the fastest car I have owned was my ’16 BMW M235i.
My all-time favorite is also one of the slowest – my lovely ’79 Peugeot 504D sedan, Annette. Still miss that car dearly.
Boringest…78 Dodge Omni. But it was a stick
Had a choice of blue or green. The green one had AC. The wife chose blue one. No AC. 🙁
Wildest…65 Sunbeam Tiger. 289. 4 bbl. Headers.
Fast. Loud! Change rear spark plugs from inside
the car, under the dash. Take plugs out, insert
socket on extension…at 90 mph steering got light as the front end was lifting!!!
Clutch went out. Worst repair job ever! Everything had to come out. Only the rear differential was still in the car.
Did clutch job at my buddies shop.
Told him DO NOT leave car outside!!
Hardtop disappeared. But wait, there’s
more! Club member told me about a wrecked Tiger (with a hardtop) abandoned behind a
doctor’s office. It was gonna get towed!!
Tracked down owner with no phone in a run down trailer park
Told him sell it to me for what I have in my wallet or???
Bought it with crumpled RF fender..new engine
for $315!!! LMAO
Everyone loves Cobras but I much prefer the Tigers.
I owned a 2019 Accord (hated it, which I know will get me some flack here) but hopefully I’ll earn the cred back since my 2001 Holden Ute just arrived to join me in the US. Not a crazy car in Sydney but it sure as hell is here in Milwaukee
Tell us more about the Holden once you have it!
Been able to drive it for a week (DMV took ages to get even temp plates) but it’s been a blast! Took it to the Milwaukee Cars & Coffee last weekend and got lots of attention. Since it’s been unable to drive for the better part of a month I was doing a shitload of wrenching; I installed new (lower) suspension, finished installation of the hard lid I bought off of Marketplace before leaving Australia (it didn’t have the end caps or seals), also upgraded the stereo & installed a sub, and addressed a few leaks.
Literally haven’t driven it anywhere yet where someone didn’t shout something at me haha
All of the comments on that post deserve a thimbs up. It is so Autopianish.
Craziest? Ex-Road & Track Westfield Eleven. That was fun! When we had kids, I sold it to buy a classic Mini that I still have 35 years later. Neither were daily transport. 😉
Most normal? 2018 Tesla Model 3. (I live near Silicon Valley.) Oddly, that was our third electric car.