The best car of all time is.....

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THE_STIG
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The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

So last week whilst somewhere in the karoo I thought to myself "what is the best car in existence" at almost that exact moment I saw 4 old cars come past in the opposite direction. One of them being a Mercedes produced between 1977-1985 and still a common sight on the roads. So that's when it hit me that the best car ever made has to be the Mercedes W123 series, the 230E to be exact. Why? Because it went out of production 28 years ago and yet it is still a common sight on the roads, you don't see too many other cars of this period around anymore and provided the owner looks after it and is not a chop then it does not hold up the whole highway or burst into flames every 2 seconds. It behaves just like any other car(handling is pretty good apparently) out there and people still trust them enough to travel to cape town and back.....with family's

This puts it a bit better: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/cla ... -W123.html

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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by GreyWolf »

VW Beetle. -> remember when TG special when they crossed Namibia?
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

But it was Hitlers creation. The merc can still easily be used everyday and its comfortable, will easily do 120km/h whereas the beetle isn't

The successor to the the W123, the W124 was also very good and just as indestructible.

//Still not sure that the beetle did cross nam. It was out of shot most of the time so could have been on the back of a truck for all we know
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by rustypup »

THE_STIG wrote:But it was Hitlers creation.
you what now?... and mercedes was the very model of anti-nazi? it may shock you to the timbers to learn that manufacturers the world over enjoyed a significant boom period during the rise and fall of nazi germany.. benz and co were very much pro-nazi...

wasn't the beetle a porsche variant at some point?

regardless... as far as longevity is concerned, as per the OP, it knocks any johnny-come-lately into a cocked hat... up to and including the drivel that is mercedes..
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by GreyWolf »

THE_STIG wrote:But it was Hitlers creation.
ahem: notice the emblem on the hood ?
Image
Yeah, not a VW.

As to the discussion:

Longevity:
Mercedes W123 : 1977 -> 1985 = 8 years
VW Type I (beetle) : 1938 ->2006 = 68 years

Speed:
I owned a Beetle for 5 years, and I had no problem reaching 120km/h on the highway

Comfort:
The beetle ferried 4 adults and baggage quite easily from OR Tambo to my home on more than 1 occasion. No one ever complained.

Reliability:
Nothing ever broke so seriously, that it could not be fixed with a no.10 spanner and a flat screw driver.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

:lol: yes, Hitler did fancy Mercedes. But the beetle was his idea.....

The beetle was an icon yes. It was reliable too because there was very little to go wrong with it. I still find the merc to be better, it was relatively complex with its fuel injection, automatic gearboxes and all but it was no less reliable than a beetle. Even though it was expensive they still sold over 2milion in just 8 years and most are probably still going. And then there was its build quality
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by GreyWolf »

THE_STIG wrote:The beetle was an icon yes. It was reliable too because there was very little to go wrong with it. I still find the merc to be better, it was relatively complex with its fuel injection, automatic gearboxes and all but it was no less reliable than a beetle. Even though it was expensive they still sold over 2milion in just 8 years and most are probably still going. And then there was its build quality
Fair points but I have 1 more thing to say:
As good as the W123 is, it is still just a "car that Mercedes built in the 70s and 80s". It nothing more than a collection of rubber, metal and plastic. It is a tool with no more charisma than a hammer.

Now compare that to the emotion that the little bug elicits. It is more than a car, it is part of world culture.
I remember when the last Herbie movie came out, I stopped at a robot, and some Indian kids in the car next to mine LOST THEIR FRIGGIN MINDS! And adults are no more immune to the little cars charms. I am not a person who gives names to his cars. In fact I find the act deplorable, but if I was to give a name to any car, it would have been my Bug.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

True that. Those small basic cars do have the most sole of all.

Personally I do find there to be a sole in almost all cars......expect the stuff from the east which is designed only to fill a gap in the market and generate profit. To me that old Mercedes has a go anywhere do anything never give up spirit, similar to that of the beetle. Also if you get in one you wont miss out on many modern creature comforts, depending on the model they had aircon, power steering, electric windows, airbags.....

I do see a pattern here though. The best cars the world has seen are German(sure Italian cars have more spirit but they will break down all day), maybe I should rename this "greatest car building nation of all time"

//Obviously yes I give names to cars. Mine is called Juliet...since the number plate starts with J
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by hamin_aus »

THE_STIG wrote://Obviously yes I give names to cars. Mine is called Juliet...
Wasn't finding anything you had to say overly ridiculous until this...

Well done on your re-certification as batshirt insane

Mk1 Golf for my 2cent...

Mercedes is and always will be an old mans car. Bleh!
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

:lol: You cant cure insanity

mk1 golf, sort of. They continued to produce it locally for a long time. But in other parts of the world where it went out of production when the mk2 came along you wont find that many still being used everyday.
hamin_aus wrote:Mercedes is and always will be an old mans car. Bleh!
I have never really agreed with that. Sure the older ones were not at all sporty, but then why would you want them to be. I don't want to break my back every time I go over a pothole or have somebody see me coming in the mirror and say "oh no here comes a chop". Old people like small easy to park cars.....Hyundai atoz and i10 mostly

The current cars are definitely not going to win favor with old people. Look at the new A-Class and B-Class. No old person would be seen dead in one, way to aggressively styled and sporty for them. On the down side that has attracted the yahoos and boy racers that were once in BMW's
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by GreyWolf »

hamin_aus wrote:Mk1 Golf for my 2cent...
Yeah. You are right. This is better than the bug, if for no other reason than the GTi.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

GreyWolf wrote:
hamin_aus wrote:Mk1 Golf for my 2cent...
Yeah. You are right. This is better than the bug, if for no other reason than the GTi.
MK1 GTI. That would be best hot hatch ever
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by StarBound »

No one linked the time machine from back to the future yet? Although according to my forza 4 manual/motor book it says that thing is a piece of crap built in a backyard somewhere.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

It was. apart from it being in a movie, and looking pretty cool with its brushed bare metal bodywork and gull wing doors it was rubbish. Unreliable, slow, useless handling.....
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

Actually I think I have found a car that everybody will agree with. The best car in the world - is your first car

am I wrong?
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by naughty »

The best car in the world - is your first car

am I wrong?
yes .... you are wrong - every car i had after my first car was an improvement :P
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by Anakha56 »

Best car ever is the Mini range. ;) Unlike the Beetle it did not have the risk factor of setting your boot on fire... :P

Thread is pointless really due to personal tastes and preferences in cars.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by SykomantiS »

Also remember, just because they sold a gazillion units of a car doesn't make it great- more likely it just makes it cheap enough for the masses to afford.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

Anakha56 wrote:Best car ever is the Mini range. ;) Unlike the Beetle it did not have the risk factor of setting your boot on fire... :P

Thread is pointless really due to personal tastes and preferences in cars.
Yep the original mini. The current one is expensive big and rather ugly.

Two of my friends have them. One a 80's 1275 and the other a clubman. Serious fun they are, you can feel everything that is going on. And you don't have to be going fast to have the fun

Just one problem. you would be spending much time under the car fixing it.....usually the brakes. But at least it wont catch fire :lol:
naughty wrote:
The best car in the world - is your first car

am I wrong?
yes .... you are wrong - every car i had after my first car was an improvement :P
I don't mean technically. The first one is the most special no? The rest are just tools for traveling
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by StarBound »

Nope. My first car was a toyota corolla, as was my 2nd and 3rd. They just keep getting better.
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

But was it more special then the others
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by Hman »

GreyWolf wrote:...Now compare that to the emotion that the little bug elicits....
Nausia, disgust?



Best car evar! Ford Escort Mk1 and Mk2!

Bulletproof engine, great handling, beautiful and also made a legendary rally car.

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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by Hman »

THE_STIG wrote:True that. Those small basic cars do have the most sole of all....
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by THE_STIG »

:lol: Who knows. I for one don't like the beetle that much

Escort is a good one. You do see quite a lot of those still driving around(mostly mk2)

sole :facepalm: I missed that. I meant soul
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Re: The best car of all time is.....

Post by GreyWolf »

Hman wrote:Bulletproof engine,
I can count on 0 hands the number of Escorts I see on the roads. Beetles on the other hand...
Hman wrote: beautiful
Bro, you need glasses.
Hman wrote:and also made a legendary rally car.
This is the Ford's only saving grace.

It is interesting to note that no new car has yet to be mentioned in this thread...
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