<Warning: long-winded meandering diatribe imminent.>
They've all been good to me, in one way or another. I don't switch cars anywhere near as often as you guys do...
h:
For the pre-VTEC late eighties, the Golf GTI was a great first car. It was easy to wrench on, it was easily tuned up and most importantly, it was a simple machine with all the basics done well. I did a lot of hard driving back then and it took the worst punishment in stride.
After that, I had custody of a friend's Suzuki Swift GTI 1.3 for a summer. It only had 100 hp, but in such a light car (1900 lbs±) it felt fantastic. I was all set to buy a V8 dreadnought, seeing that gas was still under $2 a gallon, but it was the Suzuki that reminded me what fun a slow car can be in the right context.
That lead me to the Integra. I came here with plans to build it out like I did the Golf, if not more so. Yet with college, the recession and all sorts of other bullshit (CA smog first and foremost), I never got further than suspension, final drive and bolt-ons. No regrets, however. It was still a spectacular car... direct steering, precise shifting and light weight. Acura would be in much better shape if they had built on the Integra's strengths. After 16 years (12 of them in my hands) and nearly 250,000 miles, that car still put a smile on my face... when not getting beaten by a Toyota Sienna.
h:
By 2011 though, the years had begun to show. The ABS accumulator died suddenly, causing the pump to fart at random and the clear coat was starting to haze. Later that year, I got an $5K cash offer for the Integra as-is; I couldn't pass it up. I bought an NB Miata thinking I'd be happy with 140 hp again. But with the all the pricks in M-series BMWs and Cayenne Turbos around here, I was fed up with losing the Grand Prix du Stoplight and getting skunked on every single goddamn merge. :a:
So I did the wisest thing possible in the era of Obama energy policies, looming inflation, peak oil and $4/gal gasoline... and bought that V8 dreadnought.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]84393[/ATTACH]
It hasn't been as practical as the Acura, or as simple as the VW. But it has been gloriously self-indulgent, which is precisely the point. Someday, we'll all be consigned to drive disgusting contraptions like the Leaf and other glorified golf carts. But they'll have to pry the keys to this Ford from my cold dead hands.