So What Car Did Your Dad Drive?

[cj10jeeper]

I wonder if we are the product of our parents choice in cars??

OK so I’m getting on, but I recall the latter years of my dad owning a soft top Zodiac. Back in the 60’s that must have looked pretty cool. White with red seats..Wonder if my desire to have a soft top harks back to then?

Following in the Ford line we next went for a ‘Z Cars’ Zephyr. Same colour as in the picture and same red interior. Memories of driving England to Spain or Italy in an unaircon car fitted with plastic bench seats will haunt me forever…lol I see a theme of red interiors emerging.

Strange as both managed to have white indicators 40 years before BMW built the Zed

My final years of parental scouting around were in a really nice (at the time) white Vauxhall Victor. Back in ’68 when new it looked pretty neat and living in Paris it was well different from the run of the mill Citroen's, Peugeots Renaults. The export model had a 6 cyl in it as a factory option with LHD ordered in the UK. Oh and a red interior again. Now I see why I wanted red seats in the Zed.

I’almost too ashamed to admit that after I moved out the Austin Princess moved onto the drive. Well we’ll leave that alone.

So there we are a softtop car with red seats and a straight 6 is in my genes..

(none of the cars in the pictures are mine, nor any innocent parties related to me. so no humour on that count - pvr included)

 

[2dogs]

Great thread
My dad didn't drive but this was my mum's first car with my sister and me by it think it was about 1970 ish

 

[Jackcat5]

69 & 71 Road Runner

 

[Sceptre]

I can match you for the Zepher 6, and a Humber Sceptre.

My dad also had a 1930's Chrysler with gun holsters and bullet proof glass too.
He gave my neighbor a push to get a Packard Clipper (straight 8) 1936. That was a cool car that I spent a long time restoring with him.

What does my dad drive now? At 78 a Nissan Micra :-( He loves my Zed 4 though.

I loved my mums fiat 500 and Honda n600 so much though.

My own Z4 desire came from early ownersip of a Datsun 240Z samarai. Z4 feels so similar too drive sat almost over the rear axle.

Great thread.

Sceptre

 

[Caddyshk]

1970 Camaro SS

 

[micdundee]

fiat 131 supermiafiori,great car for a couple of years,then fell apart

 

[cj10jeeper]

It would be good to see photos of a few of these cars. Wikepedia is a great source to lift generic photos from.

 

[Z4kma]

We also had a Vauxhall Victor like yours, but it was a VX/490 ...with overdrive in third and fourth via a switch on the gear knob ... that's what I learnt to drive in ... all went downhill from there ... we even had an Austin Allegro ... remember the one with the 'square' steering wheel?

Ah ... those were the days! :driving:

 

[rabman5]

The first car I remember my dad driving was a 1969 Sunbeam Arrow. It was blue. My dad says it was one of the worst cars ever made. Of course, his was LHD.



After that he had a 1972 Plymouth Fury III. I loved that car. His was blue.


After that was a 1976 Dodge Dart Sport his first brand new car. Very Sporty.

 

[gannet]

Well my parents have had a few, first one I can remember was a Vauxhall Viva:


Then a couple of these (Mark 1 Vauxhall Cavalier):


Then a couple of these (Mark 2 Vauxhall Cavalier):


Then a couple of these (Mark 3 Vauxhall Cavalier):


Then a couple of these... tell you what just imagine all versions of Vauxhall Vectras from 1st to last :rofl: oh and some Astras along the way too :rofl:

I've no idea where I got the inspiration to get the Z! My Dad's face when I turned up in it was an absolute picture though :lol:

 

[Nick C]

Earliest memory was one of these Audi 100 models -



Then Rover SD1 -



Then a Daimler 4.2 -



and quite a few others, but these were the cars that triggered my interest in cars at a young age (early 80's).

I'm very tempted to find a late 80's Daimler or Jaguar V12. The smell of leather as you open the door is exquisite. They put modern cars, with their paper thin hide, to shame.

 

[2 Zero]

Mine had a 66 T-Bird!

Black with red interior

 

[louZ4]

I wonder if we are the product of our parents choice in cars??

OK so I’m getting on, but I recall the latter years of my dad owning a soft top Zodiac. Back in the 60’s that must have looked pretty cool. White with red seats..Wonder if my desire to have a soft top harks back to then?

Following in the Ford line we next went for a ‘Z Cars’ Zephyr. Same colour as in the picture and same red interior. Memories of driving England to Spain or Italy in an unaircon car fitted with plastic bench seats will haunt me forever…lol I see a theme of red interiors emerging.

Strange as both managed to have white indicators 40 years before BMW built the Zed

My final years of parental scouting around were in a really nice (at the time) white Vauxhall Victor. Back in ’68 when new it looked pretty neat and living in Paris it was well different from the run of the mill Citroen's, Peugeots Renaults. The export model had a 6 cyl in it as a factory option with LHD ordered in the UK. Oh and a red interior again. Now I see why I wanted red seats in the Zed.

I’almost too ashamed to admit that after I moved out the Austin Princess moved onto the drive. Well we’ll leave that alone.

So there we are a softtop car with red seats and a straight 6 is in my genes..

(none of the cars in the pictures are mine, nor any innocent parties related to me. so no humour on that count - pvr included)

Actually the Zodiac still is cool. My dad was a big Buick guy. Some of that probably rubbed off on me too. My last two "other" cars have been Cadillac CTS's.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Developing into a neat thread.

The Zodiac my dad had was way too cool. Imagine too that it was new and then the only car in the street!! Must have looked something else.

So rabman5 is the Plymouth fury the hitman's car in Bullitt (Steve McQueen chase and all that)?

 

[paddy wright]

my dads always had an amazin cars- he inspired me to go out and enjoy driving- in fact it was he who talked me into the z4 rather than a 3 coup!!! :rofl:

 

[rollingstone]

My dad drove quite a few over the years, starting with the quintessential American classic '57 Chevy... He had eclectic taste, ranging from Olds to a Peugeot (a 505 turbo diesel), but the car I remember most was his lime green Fiat x/19. I was about 6 or 7, and felt like the coolest kid on the block every time we took the top off and went for a spin. For better or worse, it's the car that got me hooked on small, european sports cars.

 

[Herminator]

My dad had a lot of different cars in his youth, he's got plenty of car related stories of him and his friends. I've got a picture of him with his bright red frog eyed Sprite. aparently it was a rust bucket.

The first car I can remember my dad driving is an Austin Maestro.... An awfully Fugly car that he only had a year or two.

Then it was a Ford Granada, pretty speedy and lasted quite a long time, but my Mother hated it since it was tricky to park. It was cream coloured, not something you'd get now.

Then it's the first car he bought from new, an Isuzu Trooper LWB Citation. Pretty good for life in Scotland, he kept it for quite a long time.

Meanwhile he bought a Citroen AX for my mum and then a Ford Focus around the time I was taking my driving test, as the AX had been written off in a crash. The Focus was a great car to drive after I passed my test, 1.8 petrol, bright red, 3dr

Eventually he got the a car brand he really wanted, a Jag. He still has his S-Type, after (I think) about 6-7 years but would love an XK or 6 Series. I think he went for the S-Type because it reminds him of the old Jags he admired when he was young.

So it's a long time since he's had anything as sporty as my Z4, having 3 kids has always made practicality a priority and now he's old he likes something he can waft around in (at high speed)

 

[Wondermike]

LOL at some of those.

My Dad has never really been into cars, so he's had some hideous choices over the years, like this Austin Allegro



He did redeem himself with one of these in the late eighties though, Mk2 Fiesta XR2

 

[mjmyers]

My Dad started out with a '63 Cevy Impala Coupe, then went considerably worse, through a Ford Maverick and one of the ugliest cars of the 70s, an AMC Matador Coupe.

I think this Impala's been lowered at bit...

Ugly is as ugly does-- the Matador:

Then we started working through many of British Leyland's cars, which is probably why I have the Z now. Spitfires, Mk III, IV and !500, and a Stag. Not the usual fare for a family in Iowa.

When it ran, the V8 in that Stag sounded soo nice...

After that he moved on to MR2s before retiring to the middle of nowhere in New Mexico.

 

[alex85]

I thought id posted on here? My old man definitely gave me my love of BMW's - currently has 650i Sport, 840Ci Sport and 535d M Sport.
Has had M5/M3/DB9/911/355 Spider/525/328 - loads of stuff.

Mum has a 120d.

Pictures are posted on here somewhere i think in another thread.