My top three all time cars...

[jont]

Let's get some of this in perspective - if you added up the purchase price of the two Porsches I've owned (and currently still one one of), you'd get to about 1/3 of the list price of a new Audi S3.

Indeed. In some ways, the Elise was one of the cheapest cars I've owned - as it simply didn't depreciate (and don't get me started on not being able to buy it back for what I sold it for now )

[sussex2]

I can't really say there is any car that I'd put into a top three; but here are some cars I've driven or owned that always put a smile on my face.

Alfasud Ti - I owned one and just listening to the engine was pure pleasure.
Vauxhall/Opel Senator - may seem an odd choice but again the noise that straight six made. I used these a lot for chauffeuring etc..The noise was pure mechanical, no computer induced pops and bangs.
MX5 - Certainly not for the engine noise which is nothing to write home about. In fact it is really dull. The car does however always puts a smile on my face.

The list above is not complete but these are a few of the cars I do and have taken the long way home in just to drive them.

Ah, happy memories. I owned a number of Alfasuds with their flat boxer engine and two twin weber carbs. required careful tuning, I used a specialist in central London. Early hours of the morning just before dawn, with a hint of damp in the air got the best out of the engine. Sheer heaven.

A beautiful engine but such a pity the rest broke so easily

[discov8]

Three cars that I've owned ranther than driven, in no particular order, are

Escort Mexico, short ownership but over taking almost everything on the A5 returning from a North Wales climbing trip sticks in my mind.

Off road prepared Discovery V8, constant evolution over ten years. 4.3l with 275bhp and 270 ftlbs torque from 1800rpm, three diff locks, winch, lots of armour. Heavily modified suspension and strengthened axle components. Big fun at 5mph off road or 100mph on tarmac.

RS6 Avant, wolf in sheeps clothing, great mile muncher, over 400 ftlbs torque from around 1900rpm to over 5500rpm for overtaking. Lots of smiles per mile.

[true blue]

Note to self: Drive more (good) cars. Currently only two of those I have driven deserve a mention in a 'top three' list!

[Grahar]

My top three cars I have driven:

1. Lotus Elise R - Sublime steering and handling coupled with an absolutely crazy engine. Very happy memories of a summer driving holiday in the Yorkshire moors and dales!

2. Ferrari 360 - Such delicate adjustable balance and a cracking engine! There are probably better Ferraris to drive, but this is the only one I have driven and it was good enough for me!

3. BMW M5 E39 - One of those cars that is so well rounded. Glorious engine, lovely damping and so comfortable and refined.

[TripleS]

Good morning, everybody.

I hope you are all well and happy.

Best wishes,
Dave - an exception (not necessarily notable).

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

What, not even Jags, Dave?

[triquet]

We've gone through life with a series of rather utilitarian cars, but one of the more hilarious was many moons ago, the old original Saab 96 two-stroke with free-wheel, three gears on column shift, and a bare minimum of moving parts. Great in the snow on big narrow tyres, petrol at a quid for four gallons plus a pint of SAE 30 ....

[Silk]

Good morning, everybody.

I hope you are all well and happy.

Best wishes,
Dave - an exception (not necessarily notable).

And there's me thinking I was the "notable exception" here. Perhaps we all are, in one way or another. Just some more notable than others.

[waremark]

Note to self: Drive more (good) cars. Currently only two of those I have driven deserve a mention in a 'top three' list!

I think I find all cars good to drive, whether easy or difficult. No specifics to offer either on the top three or the most disappointing, but having offered a most disappointing feature I will volunteer a most (well, certainly pretty significant) feature - what the car sounds like. My current 6 litre V12 beast does not disappoint (in this or many other ways, actually!).

[TripleS]

What, not even Jags, Dave?

Actually, I wasn't even sure you were referring to me as being the 'notable exception', but I thought I'd sieze the opportunity to clown around all the same.

OK then, just to show willing, here's my three:

1. Austin-Healey Sprite Mark 1 (Frogeye). Cost £724 13s 5d when new in September 1960.
2. 1962 Jaguar 3.8 Mark saloon, manual with overdrive, bought s/h for £550 in June 1968.
3. 1984 Jaguar Series 3 Sovereign V12 (automatic, of course) bought s/h for about £7000 in December 1990.

That's not much of a response to all the (entirely understandable) swooning over Porsches and other very sophisticated modern machinery, but I'd be delighted to have nice examples of my three again, primitive though they may be. I mean, good grief; no ABS, no traction control, no ESP, no daytime running lights; none of the modern complexity at all. Simple cars for a simple idiot.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

We've gone through life with a series of rather utilitarian cars, but one of the more hilarious was many moons ago, the old original Saab 96 two-stroke with free-wheel, three gears on column shift, and a bare minimum of moving parts. Great in the snow on big narrow tyres, petrol at a quid for four gallons plus a pint of SAE 30 ....

By 'eck, that petrol's cheap. My first three gallons cost me 13 shillings. Tha must be older than me.

[TripleS]

Good morning, everybody.

I hope you are all well and happy.

Best wishes,
Dave - an exception (not necessarily notable).

And there's me thinking I was the "notable exception" here. Perhaps we all are, in one way or another. Just some more notable than others.

OK, I'll let you be the most notable: it might be for all the wrong reasons.

[TripleS]

Note to self: Drive more (good) cars. Currently only two of those I have driven deserve a mention in a 'top three' list!

I think I find all cars good to drive, whether easy or difficult. No specifics to offer either on the top three or the most disappointing, but having offered a most disappointing feature I will volunteer a most (well, certainly pretty significant) feature - what the car sounds like. My current 6 litre V12 beast does not disappoint (in this or many other ways, actually!).

I've been pretty happy with all the cars I've had, and I've enjoyed most of them to quite a high degree; though my nominated three were very much 'top of the pops' for me. I can't say I've ever felt qualified to judge cars and pronounce on their merits or failings: I've just driven them and coped fairly happily with what there was.

I appreciate what you say about what a car sounds like. My Sprite (4 cyl., 948 cc) had a nice crisp exhaust note that sounded sporty without being unduly noisy.

The 3.8 Jaguar (straight 6, 3781 cc) had a nice deep purr that sounded powerful, and the Jaguar V12 (5343 cc) was similar to the 3.8, but smoother and more refined in its sound output. I've never been keen on a lot of noise, so I don't think a TVR will ever be on my shopping list!

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Sounds like an excellent response to me. I've never had the pleasure of any of those. I guess the Sprite is at the top because it's the best "driver's car" of the three?

PS I considered putting one of my MG BGTs in my three, but much as I loved them, they didn't quite make it to the top of the list. The rear suspension was their Achilles heel - that and not enough oomph