They've largely been phased out as taxi's here in Chicago too. Still some in local fleets though, as well as with the Cook County Sheriffs and Illinois State Police. Been a while since I've seen any local municipalities still using a Vic though. If I had to guess I'd say peak horsepower is probably around 5k rpms. They run out of steam pretty quickly after that, but the manual transmission definitely makes the car feel a hell of a lot peppier. Funnest car I've ever driven would probably be an old co-workers diesel F-250. Probably a 2006ish. Had a built 6.0 powerstroke, full exhaust, tune, built trans, etc. Put down 530hp/870lbft of torque when tuned. Was way quicker/faster than anything that large and heavy has a right to be. Sure felt like a low 13 second truck in the quarter mile easy
1990 mustang gt. Bought it for 1k from a buddy who had it sitting In his driveway for 2 or 3 years. New radiator, fan, fan clutch, thermostat, and alternator and it drove great. Little bit of work done to the heads (idk what he had done, just said the heads were worked on a little) and cam. Thing was lumpy so it would shut down on cold startups every time. Always fired up the 2nd time though . It probably only made 250 to the wheels if that, but WOT pinned me back in the seat and I could light the tires up with ease and LSD. Only had it a couple months before I broke something internally and sold it for 900 dollars. I will own another one some day, just hopefully not a clapped out pile of dogshit like this one
I'll have to get some pics up of my '91 GT. Was my first car and been wise enough to hang onto it lol. Been in my family since 1999. Dollar for dollar I am a firm believer they are the fastest thing you can get on the street/strip and be competitive with. Both in initial cost and aftermarket support. It was that was 25 years ago, still true today. They are also very Honda-esque in how you can cannibalize and retrofit so many other Ford parts of the era with those cars, usually to go 5 lug and/or 4 wheel disc. That being said, stock for stock my old Supercoupe T-bird would slay a foxbody.
1981 Datsun 200SX Liftback (Yes, Datsun) It had the NAP-Z engine (2 plugs per cylinder). But I still have a 1989 Celica GT 5 sp manual (lift back) It's a blast. I keep it parked for the most part as my 6th gen. is my daily. Wish I still had pics of the Datsun, it was a beautiful ride for the era.
As an owner of an '84 200sx Turbo, I'd have to say they are sleek and unique cars, but with 120hp idk if I'd exactly consider mine that fun stock lol. The interior is definitely where its at on that car though. Everything is digital, rear view mirror is as wide as the entire windshield, and the car even talks in a robotic female voice lol (seat belt warning, lights left on, etc) Has the CA18ET motor with the goofy 8 spark plugs as well. Ridiculous design, 1 spark plug per cylinder on the exhaust side for emissions.....
I thought I would have been the guy who had a car for 2-3 years then bought another so I don't have very many as I like to hold on to them. The most fun car to drive, my 95 Talon Tsi AWD. I remember when I first got it, even when bone stock, people could tell it was something a bit special when the turbo spooled, not even driving very fast. Modded, it was pretty crazy for the time, 911 Turbo's didn't scare me. That probably had less in it than my Accord, I never dragged it. The next owner did and ran a 12.9 and blew the tranny from a miss shift so it was pretty fast, and we are talking like 2006. It handled well too, it wasn't a drag car, and was really fun to drive on rainy days. It is the only car I have ever driven that is fun in the rain. My favorite car I have owned is my Jaguar XJ6. The car wasn't fun, it was a PITA, it was always 1 step forward, 2 steps back. What I loved was everyone had some sort of XJ6 that they remembered and had many stories to go with it. On one side, it is an amazing car for the era, sharing so many things with the XKE. On the flip side, it's an old Jaguar that broke down out the factory and was horrendously unreliable. I never had so many people tell me a moment in time when they owned one, or wanted to, or just liked the car like this one.
Sorry for the late post, but the funnest vehicle I've driven so far has to be dad's 2017 MDX. Nothing can beat a J35 motor, regardless the application the J series is in. It would have been more engaging if Honda put the 7spd DCT with the J35, but it still has a 9spd AT w/ paddles. And when I filled her up with Shell V-Power 93 octane the dang thing opened up and was super happy and quick. Also, it can do pulls and take corners like a boss (might even do way better with track suspension and tune) on stock suspension. Although it is a 3 row SUV, it doesn't feel heavy at all, but it isn't a light vehicle either too. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I miss actually seeing built DSM's on the street. When I was in highschool (03-07ish) there wasn't a day that would go buy you wouldn't see a built 1 or 2G on the street with a front mount, 16G, etc. Friend of mine bought a 92 GSX about 5 years ago and I got to drive it home from Wisconsin in a February snowstorm at 1am. Such fun little cars. I love everything about 1G's except those dang motorized seat belts!!!
