Ever own a strange or unusual car?

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A Matra Bagheera, forget what year model. 3 seater.

similar to this:

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Closest candidate would be my 1982 cadillac cimarron, the first year for a dreadful joke in badge engineering.

I rather liked mine; it was like they took an oversprung 18-wheeler leather seat and bolted it in a chevy cavalier with more gauges and some fancy gold honeycomb 13" rims. Sadly, if I waited a year, I could have gotten the 2.0 with fuel injection vs my 1.8 with a Rube Goldberg carburetor.

My dad had a POS Ford fairmont station wagon he factory ordered with the 200-6 and a 4 speed stick shift. Even though the base MSRP was $4200 he spent $6k on this and still got no AC, no radio (he put in a k-mart sparkomatic), vinyl seats, crank windows, etc. The stick was a feature only he could love; it had a huge power curve gap between 2nd and 3rd and would invariably ping trying to make it up that hill in 3rd. He was also always frigging with the e-brake, frozen cables etc because the car just wanted an automatic trans that could have been in "park".

I got to drive it in its elderly years. He put a manual choke in it but then turned the auto choke back on. I pulled the knob and he chastised me for not knowing he had reset it to stock. Near the very end the clutch was fried so you had to turn the key off at intersections to put it in 1st gear then start it up when the light turned green. Discretion being the better part of valor, I refused to drive that thing, even though I just got my permit and wanted to drive everything everywhere.

He sold that car to a toothless guy in a trailer park and got a forgettable Escort, also with stick. He waltzed into the dealer demanding a stick shift taurus wagon (which I knew from Consumer Reports didn't exist) then when Ford couldn't make what he wanted he downgraded his demands to that escort, proving some point to someone.
 
An 80 Olds Omega 4cyl auto coupe that my dad ordered. Took about 9 months to come in since the first one caught on fire in the factory per the salesman. Salesman was a very nice older man but who knows if true. Talked my dad out of getting wire wheels since they might get stolen. AM radio, no ac, brougham upgraded interior, half vinyl roof, had it 12 years and ran very well. Looked a lot like this.

 
Had a 91 Ford Tempo 2 dr with a 5 speed. Unusual to me, 2.3 4 banger was gutless but it got great mileage. My brother got his license and a week later it started on fire. He never paid me for that now that I think about it.
 
In 1985 I bought a candy apple red 1973 Opel GT. I don't remember much about it other than I went through a few driver side window regulators and it had a thirst for oil.
 
I like Studebakers, I had a '50 Pick-Up that I hot-rodded with a supercharged LS1, 9" ford, Mustang II front suspension. I also bought a 1950 Commander "bullet nose" but sold it.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
An 80 Olds Omega 4cyl auto coupe that my dad ordered. Took about 9 months to come in since the first one caught on fire in the factory per the salesman. Salesman was a very nice older man but who knows if true. Talked my dad out of getting wire wheels since they might get stolen. AM radio, no ac, brougham upgraded interior, half vinyl roof, had it 12 years and ran very well. Looked a lot like this.



I had a V6 one in gold in 2000-2004, which made it rare for a DD then I guess. I actually like the car, but it warped the intake manifold somehow and then spaghetti vacuum line carb kept on messing up, so I sold it.
 
Originally Posted By: WiskyBadger
Had a 91 Ford Tempo 2 dr with a 5 speed. Unusual to me, 2.3 4 banger was gutless but it got great mileage. My brother got his license and a week later it started on fire. He never paid me for that now that I think about it.

Had a '90 tampon, a pos all around, but amazing in the snow.
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog


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Oh how I miss my 93 J30. It had the best interior, EVER. To date, I have not found one as refined. It could use heated seats, and vented as it was black on black, but still. And thank goodness I did not need to use the trunk, all of 2 cubic feet of it.
 
I had an '84 Cutlass Supreme that looked like the attached picture. It was not really a family car, not really a sports car even though my insurance company tried to say it was because of "sport rims". It was cool and powerful but there was always some small nickel and dime you to death type problem and at times some major problems. I hated to see it go but it was a relief in some ways.

 
My parents still own from new a 1988 Nissan Sentra XE wagon with 4wd and manual transmission. From what I've read the 4x4 wagons were pretty rare. Last time I visited my parents the car still looked in mint condition, and had maybe 105k miles on it. They don't need 2 cars (mom hasn't driven in years) so I'm trying to talk them into selling to me.
 
I had a 1979 Arrow GT 2.6. It was actually considered fast for its time(0-60 in ten seconds), but dead slow these days. It had a five speed manual and four wheel disc brakes as well. Not a bad car, but in 1983 I sold it and bought the 1973 Bavaria my girlfriend(now wife of 32 years) found for me- and the rest is history...
 
Originally Posted By: WiskyBadger
I’d love to have that Chevelle
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it was a 6-cyl car. The 6 was dead so I put a 1967 302 Chevy in it. It's code was "mp",not the more common 1969 "Dz". Changed the solid cam to a cheap hydraulic and used the 2bbl carb I had from a 307 Chevy. Car ran a 14.47 with it's 3.08 gears and 3 on the tree.
 
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Most of the cars I've owned would be concidered unusual in the USA. But unusual here and there would be the Peugeot 404 Coupe - the worst car I've ever owned.

Not mine.

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Like an MGB from the rear.

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Even more so as a convertable.

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By the criteria of being unique or strangely optioned, my '82 Mercedes is the very first coupe with the turbo diesel engine - serial number 000001. Lots of the more common power options (power windows, sunroof, antenna, auto climate control, etc.) but not the common, but optional, passenger exterior mirror.


And my '67 Suburban is a C10 with Custom trim, factory V8 with HD springs, shocks, cooling, and alternator, RV Junior mirrors (gone now but mounted above and below the window), and Dark Aqua poly paint (see how many results Google gives you for Chevy trucks that color) but was a 3OTT with manual steering and brakes. It was a 4-speed w/PS and PB when my dad got it in the late 80's and it's only their absence on the options sheet and a couple little details that would tip you off they aren't factory.
 
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