I drive an old Volkswagen.

[diverdan]

Years, many years ago when I was a young blade in Los Angeles, I often went out dancing and met some nice young ladies. When the conversation turned to, "What kind of car do you drive?" I'd answer, "An old Volkswagen," or on other occasions, "Chevy."

When we'd depart, I'd walk them to the 911 or the Vette and they'd say, I thought you said you drove a ........ I'd reply, "Yes, its the same thing, Germans were very poor after the war and they could only afford small cars and even antifreeze was too expensive." Or I'd explain that the Vette was really just a Chevy.

Back in the day, 1969, when nobody knew what a Ferrari was, I bought a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT convertible sight unseen from Italy for $2900. I got tired of explaining the whole Ferrari thing and just told people that it was a Fiat. Then they would say that they hade never seen one like that. So I had to explain that it was low production and not imported to the U.S. unless one was a stupid car nut like me. My wrenching on cheap old Alfas was virtually the same as the Ferraris. The cost of a new Mustang of Pontiac GTO was slightly more than the Ferrari and would have been too boring as they never needed me to get my fingernails dirty.

Dang, nearly 50 years later I'm still the same, but the cars I can afford are no longer Ferraris, old or newish, and the Porsches are pretty much priced out of what I can afford as well. So are those C1 and C2 Chevy 2 seaters. Buying a new depreciating vehicle costs are outlandish, and I won't go that route. So, what's left?

[diverdan]

Red 1961 "Fiat" in 1970. White 1969 "Volkswagen" in 1973.

[unclebilly]

Cool.

I bought my Corvette in Grade 11, I also used to call it a Chevy...

[COLB]

Buying a new depreciating vehicle costs are outlandish, and I won't go that route. So, what's left?

An old Volkswagen?

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by COLB

An old Volkswagen?

Heh, heh. I drive an old Volkswagen--a 67 deluxe split-window bus. The current market price on that type of vehicle (restored)? Right around $30K

Yes, some old Volkswagens are on the collector path, much like 911s.

[88911coupe]

Have to say I really like the C5 and later Vettes....

[jlex]

Really depends on what you're willing to spend.... tell us you're price range & we'll figure something out for you.

[Josh D]

All that comes to mind is you shouldn't have sold either one of those cars!

[Steve@Rennsport]

Betcha wish you'd kept that "Fiat".

That one would have funded a nice retirement.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by Josh D

All that comes to mind is you shouldn't have sold either one of those cars!

Bingo.

[jlex]

Who says he sold them? The way I read his post, he may still have them

[cgarr]

You want a 2 seater? Get a rabbit pickup, we are restoring one now, damn cool little truck! Putting a 16v in it and lowering it a bit:

[GT3DE]

I actually had a real Volkswagen. My two first cars were Bugs. Dad had the Porsche - 1975 911S Gemini Blue at the time. I got rid of the Beetles, he gave away the rusty Porsche. I got the Porsche back in 2013 and restored it in 2013 and gave it to Dad for his BDay.

[Dantilla]

When I had a '69 Vette, I also just said "old Chevy" when asked what I drove. I bought that car for me to enjoy- Not to impress anybody else.

I also had a guy, when he saw the 911, tell me they were made in the same factory as the Beetle- He had been on the factory tour, and saw it for himself.

What can you do with a guy like that, but agree with him, and let him stew that he couldn't get me to bite? He kept saying it, waiting for me to get agitated. I just kept agreeing that the car was just an overpriced Beetle.

Have a nice day, dude......

[diverdan]

Porsche carried on the VW tradition of a rear air-cooled engine far longer than VW. Our roots were there and the evolution of the species was awesome. The rear engine remains and that is the real VW and the Porsche ICON. Neither mark is the still the real thing. However Porsche is closer to it than VW.

I call my 928s "German Camaros" but even the original 1977 928 is a very advanced design. What does one call the 924, 944, 968? It was a VW-Audi production, yet it was real sports car size and handling. The build and the fun are definitely Porsche. But, can I call it a "VW-Audi?" Engine in the wrong place and it is a water pumper. Surely not a real Porsche. Well time changes and I certainly can't call the new 991 a VW. But then I have trouble calling a Cayene or Panorama a real Porsche. No, they need more of a relation to the old real VW. Heritage. Tradition.

The big "Fiat" was sold in 1971 for about $3k. I broke even if I didn't include my labor. The white 69 911 S I traded for the gorgeous 1967 427 "Chevy Coupe" plus some money and quickly unloaded the big plastic thing. The 911S had experienced some theft of parts and I was paranoid as there were a lot of Porsches being stolen in L.A. at that time. I bought an "Italian tractor" ie. Miura and felt at ease because it was not a target for thieves. Oh yeah, I did have a real 1953 Fiat, an aluminum bodied 8V coupe that is today, worth much more than the red "Fiat" in the picture. I sold it for just over $2,000. I think I called it a baby "Ferrari."

[diverdan]

"Old Chevies," had disc brakes in 1965 and had IRS since 1963. Power was off the charts and with the "off road" package handled pretty well. Like a Porsche, one could drive them every day and get errands done. Put the top down, and this bachelor could shift all his furniture and belongings to a new apartment in just a few trips. In California in the early 70s, nice C1s and C2s could be bought for $1-2k. Yeah, sold my pristine 1965 "Chevy" roadster with the "425" horse off road package for $2,200. I had more fun in that rocket sled than any of the other cars that I mentioned. It was actually better in the twisties and the power was awesome. Well, the engine was 3 times the size of the 911 and over 2 times the size of the 250 GT.

[Hugh R]

Owned my 61 Aston Martin DB4 from 1972 until a few years ago. Bought it for $1,750, sold it for $250,000 to the Prime Minister of Kuwait. I miss it, but parts were getting no longer obtainable.

The last time I rebuilt it I had pistons, valves, main and rod bearings custom made because the Aston Martin supplied stuff was crap. Trannie Synchro rings, NLA. I was told to cut the driveshaft, weld in new trannie mounts and put in a German ZF. At that point it becomes a hot rod/jaloppy.

[Racerbvd]

Had a buddy say he was bringing an 86 951 to a DE..

He showed up with this.

[2cam]

Originally Posted by diverdan

Dang, nearly 50 years later I'm still the same, but the cars I can afford are no longer Ferraris, old or newish, and the Porsches are pretty much priced out of what I can afford as well. So are those C1 and C2 Chevy 2 seaters. Buying a new depreciating vehicle costs are outlandish, and I won't go that route. So, what's left?

IMO, the C4 Corvette fits the bill. It's not a 250GT, 911S, '67 427 car, or a 8V, but it is an 80s icon that has a significant competition history and can be bought quite inexpensively. The cars dominated Showroom Stock racing from 85-87 (they were forced out and into their own class in '88). A street-legal C4 broke 250 mph in 1988 (Callaway twin turbo car) and in 1990 a couple of C4s broke multiple AVG speed records (including 24 hrs at over 175 mph) that still stand today. If that doesn't speak to the competency of the platform, I'm not sure what would. A stock, early C4 (85-90) is the performance equivalent of a Carrera 3.2 from that era and can be had for a fraction of the cost of a comparable 911. These things are CHEAP! You can pick up a clean, solid, early driver for around $7K-$8K. The nicest, low-mileage examples rarely sell for more than $15K. Nice ZR-1s can be found in the low 20s.

I'm actively looking for one now!

2cam

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by diverdan

"Old Chevies," ...., one could drive them every day and get errands done. Put the top down, and this bachelor could shift all his furniture and belongings to a new apartment in just a few trips.

For a short time. I was framing houses out of the '69 Corvette.
Built a tool box that barely fit behind the seats, power tools piled up on the passenger side.