Here’s a good one! What is the coolest car you have ever ridden in? I’ll go first. For me, the coolest car I’ve driven was a 1923 Ford Model T. But when it comes to riding, I have to go with this car. A 1941 Lincoln Continental coupe, owned by a friend and member of my church, this hunter green ’41 Connie is an absolutely wonderful car, and at the top of those I’ve personally experienced.
Back in 1997, when I was still in high school, Wayne told my dad that we should come out to his place sometime and see his old cars. So we did one bright September day, and while the highlight was driving his 1923 Model T tourer in the “back 40” of his farm, the best ride occurred when he took me and my dad for a spin in his 1941 Continental.
Out on the two-lane, Wayne accelerated to 55-60, and that car rode just like a cloud. I rode up front, and my dad sat in the commodious back seat. What a wonderful ride! What a wonderful car!
Adding icing to the cake was this car’s stunning originality. Only 45K original miles on the clock, and a totally original car–paint, Bedford Cord-and-leather interior, 24K gold interior fittings, etc. It is, to this day, a highlight of my gearhead life. Last year, it was entered in a local car show, adjacent to the Great Race meetup in LeClaire Park in downtown Davenport. Naturally, I had to get some pictures.
And now, back to you, our readers. What was the coolest car YOU ever had the pleasure of riding in?
I rode in a 1911 Baker Electric once at Old Rhinebeck Airdrome… Cole Palen (who started the Airdrome and passed some years ago) saw my very “with child” wife and I and offered to drive us back to the parking lot.
Very cool! Monte Shelton took me for a ride in his 1917 Detroit Electric Brougham, a real honest-to-goodness brougham, which I wrote up in a CC here.
Coolest car I’ve been lucky enough to have ridden in and driven: Tesla S. I wrote that up for CC too. I’ve driven a Ferrari, E-type and XJ-S Jaguars, ridden in Maserati and Porsche, none of them match the Starship Tesla.
Lifelong car guy here, and this question makes me realize I need to get out more…Never even sat in a Ferrari, Lambo, etc.
There was the BMW M5, M6 and M3 at the BMW Performance Driving Center, but I got to drive those as well. Also drove a CTS-V at the dealership last year, with the salesman encouraging me to “get on it”.
As only a passenger, it would probably be my brother’s old 2003 Mustang Cobra with 700+ hp. Also the fastest I’ve ever been in a car. The speedo only goes to 160, and it took A WHILE to come off 160 after he slowed down.
Hell, the oldest car I think I’ve ever even ridden in was my dad’s ’74 Bronco, or a friend’s Super Beetle in HS (unsure of the year).
Edit: Forgot I briefly dated a girl in college who drove a 69 Camaro, never let me drive it, but I got some rides…
Mine is quite unexciting–2011 Corvette. It’s odd, considering how long I’ve been a car nut, that I’ve never scored a ride, much less a drive, in anything truly interesting or vintage.
Thought about it some more and still haven’t come up with one better than the ‘Vette, which was only a year old at the time. 2nd place would probably be a friend’s Audi Coupe Quattro (1991, so it was one of the 90-based models, not the ur-quattro). Not that old or that high performance, but a rare, distinctive car that I was a big fan of.
Much like the commenter above, I’ve never ridden in anything older than mid to late 70’s. “Oldest” prize for me would probably be a mid 70’s K5 Blazer or a mid 70’s MG Midget.
1930 Duesenberg J tourer. I got to ride in it on the leg out. I got to drive it on the leg back.
1938 Packard. There’s a museum near LAX that lets you go for rides in the collection’s cars on Sundays. It’s insanely cool. Back when I did it, they took three cars out on a given day and you’d be driven around a couple blocks (maybe a 5-minute loop). I highly recommend it to anyone who’s in the area.
http://www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org/
This page shows which cars are on schedule for ride-alongs each day:
http://www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org/about/take-a-ride/
If I’m reading it correctly, it looks like one of Stalin’s Packards was on chauffeur duty a couple weeks ago.
My coolest ride is not a “classic” per say but it was the coolest ride to me, and I still love them. It was my cousins 1984 Honda Prelude, with Navy blue metallic and brand new interior navy blue cloth. I loved her car so much, I have always wanted one, the way it drove and handled was amazing, I thought that car was more of a car of that time, it was beyond its years HAHA, still it was and is still one of the coolest rides I have ever had the privilege to ride in 🙂 Call me crazy! but right
This was suppose to upload with my comment, for some reason it didnt HAHA
Literally or figuratively?
If literal, it was a ’72 or ’73 VW convertible. It was quite cool outside and the top leaked a lot of air. That was a really cold, if short, trip.
Figuratively? Likely the 1929 Model A I once piloted. You have me searching my mind and this is all I can recollect at the moment.
I’ve related the story before, but I got to drive my friend’s ’31 Model A all day taking folks out to the flight line at our local airport for rides in a Stearman some years ago. I gave more rides to older folks who wanted to relive their youth than I did to actual Stearman riders, and heard some great stories, too! “I used to go a-courtin’ in one of these!”
There is a place somewhere in the southern part of the state that is an old filling station and picnic ground. For a fee, they will take you to a remote section of the property for your picnic in your choice of Model A sedan or rumble seat coupe.
I must also admit to being rather jealous of your being able to spend the day ferrying passengers in the A. Sounds like a blast.
Objectively, probably my uncle’s 1970 RH drive Silver Shadow. Not thrilling, but cool. Kind of.
As far as subjective cool, well that would be a 1973 Mach I Mustang. I was 12, I had fallen in with a rather bad crowd and one of them had this car. The first time I rode in it he did a burnout. Engine screaming, burnt rubber smell and smoke enveloping the car; I thought it was the coolest thing EVER.
It looked like this:
Probably a Ford GT that belonged to a former neighbor. He showed up unexpectedly at my house one Sunday afternoon and wanted to know if I wanted to for a ride; duh!!! I ended up getting to drive it for a short while and had it up close to 160, by a good bit the fastest I’ve ever driven a car.
The oldest car was a 1936 Oldsmobile that belonged to a friend’s older brother. It was cool in its way but needed some serious work to be really driveable. It basically sat in their parents’ back yard for several years while he tried to collect parts to restore it. Eventually one day it was gone, I assume he ran out of patience and/or money.
1934 Buick….a huge 4 door town car, maroon, twin side mount spares and wide white wall tires. It was purchased new in Prince George, British Columbia so it also had an auxiliary heater in the rear seating area. My wife and I used it on our wedding day in 1991…the use of it was a gift from her Godfather who has a life long passion for cars, especially old Buicks. Absolutely beautiful car.
Took a spin in a Ferrari 250 GTO back in 1970… Don’t imagine I’ll forget the sound of that 12 cylinder rumble …ever !
Probably my Uncle’s Austin Healey 3000
Coolest vehicle I’ve ridden in was a Stearman Kaydett, I even got to fly it for a few minutes!!
Well I have ridden in a few late 1980s Saab 900 Turbos with a stick shift and those sure were sweet. Someday I will get to drive one.
1957 Porsche Carrara that belonged to my Great Aunt (new). I was 5 going 6, she was 75 going on 76.
This image is as close as I could find…. her’s was red.
Now that is one cool aunt. My 84 year old aunt just bought a new car, but, alas, it is a Malibu.
1946 Plymouth.
Coolest was a rusted clapped out ’40 Ford 1/2 ton pickup that a friend of a friend took me for a ride it. Flathead, 6v, no seatbelts, it got me hooked on old cars. It has so much character, it was amazing.
Fastest was a CTS-V that a friend rented, that thing was fast, took off like a rocket.
A 1955 Packard Carribean convertible. Emerald green with emerald green and white leather interior. With the top down,of course. 2nd coolest was a `56 MK.ll Continental, black with a black and white interior, with the air conditioning on.
Has to be the Chaika I was driven in when on vacation in Havana.
Cooool…it must be an incredible ride…if it was powered with the original ГАЗ V8 engine…
It wasn’t. The driver told us the engine had been replaced. This was one of 5 1987 Chaikas from Fidel’s stable, that with their armour removed and their engines changed to Mercedes diesel units, were transfered to Cubataxi.
Very nice. I got to ride around Moscow in one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAZ-12_ZIM
But I wanted a Chaika. We didn’t rate. 🙂
As a passenger: My great uncle’s 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special 4-door hardtop. First car I’ve ridden in with a/c, power windows, locks, and front seat. He purchased it from an estate sale in about 1960, low miles and in great condition.
Next up: 1961 Ford Sunliner with the top down, owned by the son of the same great uncle. Rode in the back seat with my brother from Wheeling, WV to Pittsburgh to see a Pirates baseball game in 1964. Part of the ride was on the newly opened I-70 at 65 mph!
Driven: 1959 Chevy Bel Air with the Blue Flame 6 and 3-on-the-tree.
Maybe not the coolest, but the most expensive was going for a short drive in a Porsche Cayenne when the dealership received the first one. It came in new with a non-functional sunroof, the motor was bad and on backorder so we got the VW part number off it and bought one for a VW Touareg. I guess the coolest I ever was a passenger in would be a 61-63 T-bird or a brand new Corrado VR6.
73 Citroen DS in the mid 70s that my brother-in-law was test driving. To this day I recall the increadibly smooth ride. I still love it’s retro sci-fi style.
I’d love to drive one of those some time, if I got the chance. I was keen to get one for my first car, but economic sanity reared its ugly head.
I concur.
My father’s best friend had a 1971 Citroën DS, and I rode it when I was a boy in 1972. I remembered vividly the sight of inboard headlights moving in accord to the direction of front wheels. Not to mention the car rising up like camel during the start-up process.
Third generation (“Bullet Bird”) Thunderbird. Not the best of situations-as a young pallbearer at the funeral of my five-year-old cousin-but memorable, nonetheless. The car was white over white leather, owned by one of our local veterinarians, who drove us from the funeral home in one town to the town in which the funeral and burial were held. It seemed to accelerate and ride effortlessly, which with the stunning dash, console and wraparound rear seats gave a young boy the impression that he was indeed being transported in some sort of space vehicle, maybe even out of that “Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship” series he was reading at the time.
Recently I would say my friend’s Daimler DS420 limousine. Not too many of them about.
One neighbor in our small midwest town was a Mercedes-Benz family. They had a 58 190SL and a 61 or 62 190D (the W110 with fins), both rare sights in that time and place. As a kid, getting a chance to ride in the 190SL – white, red leather, black top – was a blast. Not the fastest car around but great exhaust note and build quality, and very cool presence. I really lusted for the 300SL coupe and still have a toy example purchased at the local dime store back in the day.
1) ’57 Chevy I owned from 1979-85.
2) Friend’s 2006 ZO6 ‘Vette. He let me drive it too. Sex on wheels.
3) ’69 Camaro convertible. Rust bucket but it was a ’69 Camaro convertible.
Coolest car I drove was a 68 Cougar,302 4 barrel auto,black cherry paint belongingn to my ex.
Coolest car I’ve been in,a blue 71 Jensen Interceptor,Can;t remember what it had either a 383 or 440 but it was seriously fast.The same ex with the Cougar also worked on American V8 engined exotics mainly Jensens and Panteras
My brothers battle-scarred 1958 Peugeot 403 wagon. I helped him rebuild the engine in it when it was about 10 years old. Well, really, I just passed him the tools. It looked like a survivor of the East Africa Safari rally, and the refreshed engine gave it some grunt. Driving it around was a delight because traffic parted like the Red Sea. Nobody wanted to get near it!
The coolest car I’ve ever been in, as both driver and passenger, is this 1956 S&S Cadillac Hearse that I test drove some years ago… It was a local car that was being auctioned on EBay, and I had to go and check it out. It was being sold to “finance” the purchase and restoration of a Rolls Royce – which was going to be daily driven by the new owner! The Rolls never made it to actual functionality, and I didn’t win the ’56, which I couldn’t afford anyway . I have no idea what happened to it or where it is today.
At least you weren’t the cargo!
My Grandpa’s 1961 Imperial LeBaron 4 door hardtop, complete with squarish steering wheel, Pushbutton TorqueFlite, high-back driver’s seat, Red leather, power windows, including the ventipanes, robe band on seat back, limousine rear window, and huge fins with dangling microphone taillamps! And don’t forget those free-standing headlamps!
In the early ’70s my dad owned a Maserati Mistral 3700 for a year or so, must have been his mid-life crisis peak. It wasn’t a classic yet, then, but as a boy I remember being thrilled and excited and scared to death all at the same time each time I was driven to school or taken for a trip. Motorway rides, with very flexible speed limits at the time, were expecially memorable. The whole nation was pray of the “toll-booth to toll-booth” syndrome, so I remember some crazy runs during which I couldn’t watch the needle in the big dials, so scared I was. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the leather and hear the hiss of the fuel pump and the roar of the four exhausts. I recently saw one of those old Mistrals, possibly one underrated model of the brand, and it still looks stunning to me.
When I grew up, I worked for some time for a chap who unofficially imported any kind of car to Italy (there was a business then, in importing from EC countries at lower prices than those offered by official dealers), and I got to drive all brand-new Mercs, sometimes all the way from Stuttgart ! I remember losing my licence once, on the flight to Germany and later being stopped at the Swiss border and jailed ! Some lovely quarter of an hour.
But my most outstanding driving experience must be a short spell in the Shelby Mustang 400 of a friend’s boss: I was so scared of damaging that beauty, that I hardly shifted into fourth…
I guess it depends on your definition of cool. I did have a memorable night time ride in a 69 Camaro with a 396 as my sole muscle car experience and I’ve ridden in a MG midget once.
I personally consider my weekend in England with a Landrover Defender 90 the coolest driving experience I’ve had so far.
Also, it depends on where you live and what cars are more common / rare there.
I have driven an MG Midget mk I as my only car for a few years (it’s stilll sitting in my garage undergoing a ten-years-plus restoration…): I loved it so much, although I must say it was nothing exceptional. Cool, maybe, yes. Same with a Landy, which I then satisfactorily changed for an old Hi-Lux truck.
American Muscle cars, of which I have driven only two, the aforementioned Shelby 400 and a Z28 I briefly co-owned at 20, are so rare here (Italy) that driving one really is an event: paradoxically it would be easier to drive or be driven in some exotic supersport.
there is quite a few that I can think of but sadly I forget details of the cars 1 would be about a 1978 Ford or Mercury wagon in green with wood siding another is I think a 65 Valiantin a red/orange colour another Datsun 710 wagon in cream another one Fiesta in silver 1989 in maroon and 1994 Mazda 323 in black and a green Maverick with a white top 4 door. I hope to one day ride in a Pacer a neighbor owns one
Guess I was in cool car heaven in ’78…my car was a Datsun 710 (not a wagon, alas) and I used it in the summers to drive to my job as a porter at Hertz, I was one of the people who returned one-way rentals to their home location (or otherwise moved cars from one site to another). Great job for a car oriented person, but it probably paid less than minimum wage at the time…I drove ’78 Ford and Mercurys almost routinely (LTDII, Granada, Fairmont) as Hertz was primarily Ford back then.
I did get a chance to drive a Buick turbo Regal, and a Pacer (like the AMC cars, but I’m more of a Hornet/Concord type myself)….I think the neatest car I remember driving was a Dodge Magnum (green of course!), maybe in retrospect than at the time, but I think of it as the end of an era kind of car which made it stand out to me.
My father owned a ’68 Renault R10, ’65 Olds F85, two early ’60’s Ramblers, and a ’56 Plymouth Plaza which I rode in of course but never got to drive..kind of wish I was a bit older just so I could have driven one of them.
For me, the coolest car I’ve ridden in was a 1959 Studebaker Lark VIII. It belonged to a co-worker of mine. There was nothing fancy about it. It didn’t have an AM radio or even an AM/FM radio. There wasn’t much chrome on the body, except for the bumpers or under the trunk lid, where it said “Studebaker Lark VIII”. But I enjoyed riding in it. There wasn’t any noticeable rust, which, as I’m told is common with Studebakers. I found it more comfortable to ride in than my current car, an 06 Toyota Corolla. It also handled better.
A 1973 or ’74 Maserati Bora. Coolest because I was very excited at the prospect of owning it and this was a test drive. Then I drove it……. All I can remember is the huge effort required to depress the clutch and actually drive it! This was hard work by every measure. After 15 minutes I drove it back to the sellers house, politely explained that the car was not for me and the really enjoyed the drive home in my Mercedes 250 CE which was no where near as dramatic, but so smooth and comfortable……
One other – the BMW 335i Convertable I had for three years recently. Traded it on my current E 350. The 335i engine is one of the best power plants ever made by any manufacturer IMHO. Fantastic – I would drop the roof on that car on summer evenings and just listen to that engine……one of life’s genuine pleasures!
My 427 Cobra for sure
Not exactly a car, but. . .
Hard to choose , being very subjective .
Driven maybe the 1934 DeSoto Air Flow Sedan , in 1971 I used to maintain it for a guy who then let me borrow it , take it out on dates and so on .
Ridden in I guess the 1929 Stutz Blackhawk Roadster down in Long Beach ~ I guess I wasn’t scared enough as my goofball buddy wicked it up until we blew some stop signs past a Cop (L.B.P.D. then skidded into a dirt lot and *barely* between a wooden telephone post and the guy wire ~ I don’t think he saw the wire as it flashed 2′ near my face .
That was exciting yes but less fun than I wanted .
FWIW , ‘A’ Model Fords are _really_ fun ! not overly fast , even after you put in a ‘B’ model head and ‘C’ model crank .
Yes , yes I know : ” there ain’t no such thing as a ‘C’ Model Ford ! ” .
If ever you get the chance , drive one .
-Nate
No such thing as a C-model – but you sure find plenty of engine parts around!
I’ll have to go with a c. 1966 Trabant 601 “Limousine” (that’s what they’re called), rented this summer in Nowa Huta, Poland. Two cylinders of two-stroke power (which would make a total of four strokes), four-in-the-tree, and Schwinn-strength brakes! Loved it; a Duroplast blast. Too bad this one was painted a non-authentic black.
See you all in Auburn!
My freshman year of high school, one of the senior girls I knew from track had a red ’89 BMW 3-Series coupe, and she gave me a ride home once. I remember she proudly proclaimed that the car would be an official antique within a few years. I think it was the first Bimmer I ever rode in. It was a car I’d always dreamed about owning and it lived up to all my expectations. Its rev-happy engine made one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. Riding in an incredible car with a beautiful girl, that was a very good day. If only I had been able to drive at that point 🙂
My first Bimmer ride was when the Principle of the engineering firm I worked at to pay for college had me ride with him to pick up the new car (mid-1980s, it was a 5xx but don’t remember the exact model). We drove out in his old car (GM product, IIRC), and after he finished the paperwork, he handed me the keys to the BMW and let me follow him back to the office. I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day!
My first ride in a BMW was a new 72 2002 owned by a friend. It had air conditioning and an automatic. With its tall greenhouse, sizable trunk, and efficiently designed, spartan interior, the 2002 was quite a contrast to the 72 Maverick LDO I was driving at the time.
I got to drive an 83 733 (?) with a 5 speed in about 1985. A friend worked for the owner and was allowed to drive it for a week while the owner was out of town. It was quite nice!
V12 powered Jaguar XKE 2+2 coupe owned by a mechanical engineering friend who relies on that experience to keep it running right. I don’t care what speed you were going, hit the gas and there was always more there.
A 1968 Olds 442 convertible owned by my boss at the time. When he let me drive it he asked how it was. I jokingly told him it started breaking down at 100 mph. He said he noticed that too! I’m not sure I ever convinced him I was joking.
Interestingly when he bought the 442 he was torn between the 442 and a last year Austin Healey 3000. Since he had three small kids he went with the Olds. That was a step up from the Sunbeam roadster they were cramming into!
Coolest I’ve ever driven: ’63 Fuelie Vette Split Window.
Coolest I’ve ever ridden in: 1911 American LaFrance Fire Engine.
Ridden: 78 Porsche 928 (the ride that first got me interested in cars)
85 Ferrari Testarossa (sheer excitement)
Driven: 96 Porsche 911 (most exciting)
71 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (most attention-getting)
In 1964 a college friend had 1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL convertible, 406 TriPower, 405HP, 4-speed. Got to drive it, too. My god! That was 50 years ago!
I’d have to say it was the ’66 Impala convertible I owned when I was young and single. I swore I’d never sell it, but economic necessity reared its ugly head. Here it is at Red Rocks in Colorado, in 1978.
I know someone who has an identical ’66 Impala convertible. The only difference is the wheels.
Coolest I’ve ridden in was a survivor ’19 Dodge touring car at a ‘historical village’ tourist centre somewhere in Victoria, Australia. Might have been Swan Hill, or somewhere down the Latrobe Valley. For a few dollars a guy in period costume would take you for a drive around the place on the old, rutted, period-surfaced roads – and no-roads. Plenty of dust, bumps, noise and smells, but talk about fun! Really exciting and memorable.
Coolest I’ve driven was a ’70 Renault 16TS I almost bought from a work colleague. Such a smooth ride, and the four-on-the-tree was surprisingly easy to use. Lovely car! But about half the instruments didn’t work, and French electrics? Sadly, no sale.
I was lucky enough to grow up with a “car guy” father and his like-minded pals. Some pre-driving age (1970’s) favourite rides include:
Yellow Ferrari Dino Spyder
Metallic blue Ferrari Daytona
Metallic red MB 300SEL 6.3
Silver Porsche 930 (first one in Canada)
My most cherished driving experience was a Citroen SM through the Rocky Mountains west of Banff.
Here is a favourites of dad’s cars, a 1963 SAAB Sport:
M-1 Abrams tank. Oh, wait, you said CAR. OK, 1965 4.2 liter Jaguar E type coupe.
Hey, the Abrams is pretty cool too!
Ridden: One of my high-school buddies had a father who was a serious car collector. I thus got a chance to ride in a ’36 Packard One Sixty (which was effectively brand-new, with only 50 miles on the odometer … the owner had died immediately after buying it, and his widow had stored it carefully), a ’40 Plymouth limousine, and a ’34 Chevy. The Packard was the most impressive by far.
Driven (and owned): ’52 Morris Minor convertible. It didn’t drive very far, because I was too stupid to see that it was totally rusted out. Holes in pistons, rear shackles connected to nothing. But it was wonderful for a few miles.
My own ’53 Buick is probably the coolest, but the ’41 Continental in Tom’s pic is my personal favorite car (Cabriolet, please).
1966 Morgan +4, hands down. A distant second, 1988 Alfa 75 / Milano 3.0 V6. Some other notable ones but the Mog is definitely the coolest.