Is it a '69 Barracuda with flames on the side? Snicker.

I don't have a dream car, but the best car experience I ever had was riding in my boss's Lexus. The interior of that car was like a soft, soothing voice telling you, "It's all right. Everything is okay now. Just relax and tell me where you'd like to go."

No matter how bad the outside world might get, nothing bad can happen inside a Lexus.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Answers

Right now, my dream car is a yellow Ford Mustang. Beyond that, I wouldn't mind a white Camry I could have painted yellow. However, my husband gave me such a hard time when we were looking for a new (used) vehicle for me two months ago that I ended up with a white '97 Jeep. According to him, there are so many SUVs in this city that anything smaller is a deathtrap.

I've pretty much accepted that I'll be a 90 year-old widow before I get the car I really want.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

One of those Dodge Ram Club Super Wagon things, the big 15-seat shuttle vans, with the back 2 seats taken out so we have room for all our camping gear, and each kid gets a seat all his or her own, so when we drive 6 hours to get to an SCA event, there will be no arguments about who's shoving and get your stuff off my side of the seat.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Miata.... I bought the family sedan (and all I have is a cat who rides in it once a year to go to the vet.) I want a wild, chic, seductress car with zing.

Pop the top down - pull my hair back - go find a mountain to traverse (in Houston?!)

Miata - the car of young, sexy, zinging women.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Oh Beth yes, Lexus's do have that soothing feel - my boss has one too. Mmmm cozy for a long commute.

My dream car is a BMW 850 but they've stopped manufacturing them. *sigh* But I do have a client that has a tasty black one that if he won't sell it to me when [if] I ever get the cash for it I will just die. Oh, it's perfect - he only drives her on the weekends, no scratches or dents - *drool*.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

I want our Sky Blue, 1973 VW Bug back. I loved that car when I was a kid and no car has ever really matched up to it.

The new bugs are a sorry substitute. Their engines don't even go "put-put-put".

I do like my parents' VW Jetta tho -- it's forest green and has a diesel engine that can drive for miles and miles without a refill.

I had a brief love affair with a Dodge Shadow that my Mom rented when our car was in the shop when I was a teen.

But the point is entirely moot since I don't have a driver's license.

My actual dream car, is any car in which I can sense the edges of the car/see out the back window well. My parents' Saab did not answer to those requirements and neither does the Sabs' Ford Contour.

So, while I hate the way they look a big square boat car is probably what's best for me as an incumbent driver.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Totally weird. Dave and I have been having the same discussions about getting a new car and a new truck. He's getting the truck, I'm getting the car, though.

He want's one of those Ford 150 SuperCrew super huge truck things. He's driving a '95 Pathfinder right now, but it's got 120,000 miles on it. I want him to wait to buy something new, but he's got money and wants a new truck.

Right now I'm driving a '95 Acura Integra GSR. It's a great car and I'd keep it forever except for one thing. I've totally outgrown the need for a speedy sporty car and I really need a 4 door sedan. Uck, I know -- I feel so old saying it, but I really need 4 doors. The four door Acuras look stupid, though. We may end up keeping this car for Dave to use as a commuting car, cause that super ford 150 doesn't get great gas milage and we're both driving at least 35 miles one way to work each day.

If you're looking for something like the Honda but with more guts, try the Integra. I think they're about the same price wise as the Civic EX.

My dream car is a BMW, maybe an M3 or a 5 series. And it has to be blue, dark blue. I don't know if I'll get it, but a girl can dream.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

An MG convertible. In racing blue. With the steering wheel on the left, and automatic transmission.

There is no such car, of course.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Right now, my dream car is something I can afford, that gets good gas mileage, that won't give me horrendous insurance rates, and that I don't actually have to deal with car salespeople to purchase. Can you tell I'm in car-search mode now?

If I ever lose my mind, though, and decide to become an SUV person, I'm going all out. I'm getting a Hummer. Gas-wasting, impossible to park, hard to make turns in (because they're so wide), totally ridiculous for a suburbanite. In my dream world, it would come with the rocket-launcher option. Wouldn't NO ONE be cuttin' this lady off! BWA-HA-HA-HA! (Sorry. Bad commute day.)

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

If I was a single guy again, I'd want the car James Bond's wife died in -- d'you know the one I mean? I can't even remember the title of the movie, or the name of the actor who played Bond (the guy just did that one movie, between the reigns of Connery and Moore). But I remember the car, and I wanted it.

Because I'm a married guy, I'd have to pick an SUV -- I like the look of the Lincoln Navigator, but high-end Expeditions are pretty sleek for buildings with wheels.

Whichever one I get, I want it mounted with twin Vickers machine guns.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

I'm going to fight the temptation to jump into the "enquiring minds" thread and post here instead.

I really like the looks of those big BMWs, but the only BMWs I've driven are 325s in Germany, so I have no idea if I'd like them or not.

My new Ford Explorer is a great practical car, but not what I'd calla dream car.

I think my real dream car is the one that I can get into and just take off on a one year drive around the United States. I used to travel all over the world, but since 1995 I've stayed in Austin about 99.9% of the time. I feel like my world is starting to collaspe inward into a black hole.

I'm taking a four day week and driving to Del Rio and Fort Davis this weekend, but I think that's only a temporary fix.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

i'm looking for a car right now, but can only afford to get something that runs. definitely not getting my dream car, but in contention are mid-nineties models honda preludes, toyota celicas, or vw golfs.

currently, i ride around in my '85 toyota cressida with squeaking breaks, or the boy's 98 gsr. guess which one is more fun... !vroom-vroom!

cars i wish i could have (which would all depend on the circumstances, money, family situation, etc.): audi tt (silver), vw bug (silver), honda prelude (silver), lexus gs400 or sc400...and a porsche 911...or a subaru forrester. subarus are cool because they have 4wd but aren't big gas guzzlers and space monsters like suvs.

i'd trade my put-put in for a vroom-vroom if only i could afford it. i used to want an suv, but i can't gas that thing, insure it, or park it.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Jim, the Ford Explorer is my dream car. If it's a four-door, I mean.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

I've never owned a car but now I really want a Prius. Though right now I'd settle for a bus pass!

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Sorry, better link for the Prius.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

Has anybody seen or driven a PT Cruiser? I want to see what they're all about.

Jim -- you're going to Fort Davis this weekend? Now that is something to drool over.

(dreamy sigh)

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2000

My dream car is the one that I own: 2000 BMW. Silver in color, soft and smooth interior, and hugs the road like nothing you've ever seen. Is it possible to be in love with a car? Hmm.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

My dream car is a '98 Mustang. When my Shadow died last fall, I had to get something reliable for my 50 mile commute. Even though the gas mileage isn't that great, I would have had my Mustang, but it's not a practical car for these Pennsylvania winters. So I settled on a 2000 Cavalier. It's a great car, but now I'll have to wait until it's paid off to get my Mustang. At least then I'll have the Cavalier for the winters, and a 'Stang to go cruising in the summer.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I love the new Beetles ... I'm a sucker for curvy cars.

But I can't even drive, so my dream car would really be something big and shiny and complete with a driver to ferry me to and fro and help me avoid the London Underground.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

Then again, rather than a big van, one of these might be kind of nice.

http://www.moller.com/skycar/

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I'm buying my dream car. I've always been a sucker for the mitsubishi eclipse ever since they came out with the swoopy design. I saw the new 2000's and hated them at first..but now I love them. I shall have mine next week or so. *happy sigh*

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

BMW M Roadster in black, silver, or this gorgeous gray-blue they have. When I test drove one, my hubby practically had to pry me out of the car at the end. Totally impractical, but that's why it's a dream car right?

New car in the future is probably at new(er) and four door Toyota 4Runner. Our current one is a 2 door with a zillion miles on it from 87. We don't even want to trade it in, just use it as a ranch vehicle. Of course, we have to get the ranch first.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

An old VW Bug, softtop, bright red. Fully restored. That's all I want. It's not too much to ask, I think...*sigh*

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I'm very lucky in that I actually own my dream car, a 2000 Volvo V70 wagon with leather interior and a lovely dark green exterior. It corners like it's on rails and kicks ass on the highway, and it's a Volvo - they are the best!

I drove a Mazda Miata for about 5 years, THE most impractical car ever made, but I wish I could have another one. I'm a firm believer that cars should be fun and make your heart skip a beat when you walk into the garage in the morning.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I loved the '69 VW squareback my dad used to drive. That's still my idea of the perfect car: perfect size, nice boxy shape, automatic. I hate all these rounded pill shaped cars these days, but I suppose the pendulum will swing back the other way before too long.

Another dream car would be just something luxurious and very powerful that's an automatic.

My husband has his dream car: a '66 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors. Some old cars have become cool as time has gone by. That car was cool the day it came off the assembly line. We took it out on Sunday - what a great car.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I'm driving my dream car, a '99 Beetle. Even in my dreams, I guess I value funkiness over luxury...

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I vacillate between a '00 Subaru Forester and a '99 Passat-- the Forester for its all-wheel drive and its wagon-ey feel without feeling like a minivan (ack!) and the Passat for feeling zippy without feeling chintzy.

I'm not getting either of them for a couple of years yet. I drive a Toyota truck now, and it's paid for...so the idea of having a car payment is reeeaalllly unappealing. It's not the safest vehicle, tho. I'd never put a baby or a carseat in it, hence the "need" for the Passat or the Subaru (and a suitcase full of money!). Two years...and then it's Dream Time!

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

Wait, you actually like the '00 Forester? We think it's awful. We were thinking of buying a Forester until we saw the new one, which is just hideous. They managed to redesign it so that not only is the new one an eyesore, but the old ones look really dated by comparison. I hate it when they do that.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

Part of me still wishes I had my 1972 Ford Pinto Runabout.

I like an automobile with character.

Dream car? Probably an early 1970's Jeep Wagoneer. Burgundy with wood panelling. Or a souped up Charger.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2000

I'm driving something close to my dream car: a '99 VW Passat. Black w/tan interior. V6. I absolutely adore everything about it, and the driver's position is ideal; on even long drives, 4 or 5 hours, my back doesn't ache like it has in every other car I've owned.

It's always seemed funny to me that I longed for an iMac and a new Beetle, and I ended up with a G4 tower and a Passat. I really am a grownup, aren't I?

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

Deb,

My wife drives a '98 Passat, and she loves it. We're like a cheesy VW commercial.

She got the Passat, I got the Bug. I guess you can tell who the grown-up is in THIS relationship. God, I hope it's her, or we're in trouble...

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2000

My current dream car is a '69 barracuda. The one I own right now actually. It is not in dream condition yet but someday... Other top favorites are 69 Roadrunner, 80 Landcruiser, and most old american trucks.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2000