If you ever get a DeLorean, immediately have the electrical system redone by a professional. The car’s biggest weakness is that the electrical system in them is crap. My brother has a friend with one, and the guy literally has a mechanic on duty 24/7 to fix the thing. One time, because of an electrical problem, the guy got trapped inside his car, and he had to have the mechanic come to him to get him out of the car! :eek: (Can you imagine being stuck inside a bright and shiny silver car, parked in the sun in the middle of summer, while you waited for your mechanic to show up and get you out of the car?)
Oh, yeah, I forgot! DeLorean’s look absolutely stunning when painted. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, stainless steel body and all that, but trust me, I’ve seen three of them painted and I was totally blown away by the look of the cars. I didn’t even realize that they were DeLorean’s until I saw the emblem on the front grill.
Hey, why single out the Sparrow? I don’t think VW Bugs and 60s British sports cars are much safer.
Noticed a couple folks chose a GTO, I already have a 66. But if I could have 5 more I would choose:
A 66 to 70 Hemi Mopar, preferrably a 67 Plymouth Satellite or GTX.
69 Shelby Mustang.
A 57 Chevy covertible.
56 Ford Thunderbird.
69 AMC AMX.
Without too much thought:
70-73 Camaro RS
Well built FJ-40 Landcruiser, with a 350 and all power, discs, etc. (had one ready to build, but dumped it)
Jeep Commando (gots 2 of em! one nice and one nasty. makes up for selling the FJ)
Bitchin’ BMW Land Yacht (gots that, too! 5 passenger cruiser at 130 mph. smooth!)
Genuine Italian sportscar (gots that too, natch!)
Its not having what you want, but wanting what you have. Just waiting to find that RS and my list will be nearly complete!
Okay, okay! Heres a “real list”:
Subaru WRX or Baja
BMW M5
Super-Duty F350
That Camaro again
Special Edition Nissan Maxima with the 6-speed and fancy seats
'32, '36, and '40 Ford V-8s (victoria, convertible sedan, and woody wagon respectively).
'55 Chrysler 300.
'64 Mustang convertible.
'69 Dodge Charger
Original Cooper Mini
Subaru Brat
Jeep CJ-7
Dodge Shadow V6 convertible
my second car was a 4 cyl. Shadow America, the stripped-down bare-bones Shadow, yet i loved that little car, ran it into the ground and it never failed me, i’d love to get another Shadow, just for nostalgia reasons, i know it’s not as fast or powerful as my Neon (95 HP in the Shadow, 132 HP in the Neon), but it was a great little car, i can only imagine the power-to-weight ratio for the Mitsubishi-engined V6 Shadow
1967 Mustang Fastback 2+2 with the Pony Package powerd by a little 427 Shelby powerplant …
1969 Pontiac Firbird
1953 Kaiser ‘Henry J’
1937 Cord Roadster
Shelby Cobra [any year ]
At least four of those would give my insurance agent a heart attack.
(Come to think of it, my wife would probably throw a fit as well …)
Porsche Boxster. Depending on what your definition of reasonable is, a used one from the first year or two is less than $20k.
Triumph TR4. I choose this over an MG because MGs are so common.
Morris Minor convertible. Because it’s so damn cute.
Ford Falcon Sprint. Instead of the common Mustang. I really hate seeing the car I’m driving everywhere.
Lincoln Continental. One of the sixties ones with suicide doors. These are unappreciated cars that sell for less than half of what a similar Cadillac would sell for.
1968 midnight blue Mustang Mach I - spoiler , hood scoop , mag wheels , lots of chrome… drool
1969 cherry red Camaro - pretty much decked out as above
2005 Avalanche pick up , metallic copper
**2005 Mustang Mach I ** -bright screamin’ yellow
any type of nice mini-van with all the goodies , for going to dog shows 
Come to think of it, maybe I should replace the Spitfire in my list with a TR4A IRS.
I agree that it’s fun to have less-common cars. That’s a point in favour of keeping the Herald – everyone finds it unusual. It’s a tough choice choosing between a TR4 and an MGB. There were many fewer TR4s made, which make them nice for the collector. Which is prettier? Tough call. They’re both beautiful. But having lived with MGBs, I still have to choose a chrome-bumper MGB.
I agree with the Falcon and the Lincoln; but I just can’t place them in a five-car collection.
Had to do a search to see this. You’re right, they do look nice. I particularly liked the yellow one.
Aye, I’ll add this and a most recent year BMW M3 to my list. A few years ago I would’ve listed a BRAT but I think the Imprezza might be more solid and it’s definitely faster. I’d have to remove that ridiculous spoiler, though.
So, is the 5 cars supposed to include what we want for daily driving, or is it 5 cars in addition to that?
Anyway, if I had a 5-car garage, but didn’t have an excessive budget, this is what i’d fill it with:
1975 Mercedes 450 SEL. Beautiful, perfect, big luxury sedan.
Early '70s Mercedes 560 SL convertible. In red. Woo!
1995 Jeep Wrangler–the kind with the roll-bar and where you can take the doors off.
1995 Ford full-size pickup with 4WD, crew cab, diesel engine, and cap.
1995 Subaru Outback. <-- the daily driver.
(FWIW, our current vehicles are a 2001 Subaru Outback and a 1995 Toyota T-100 pickup.)
Re: DeLorean. There is a buyer’s guide in the July 2005 issue of Classic Motorsports.
I’ve seen people mention the Lotus Elise from time to time in other threads. Here’s what CM has to say:
Well, you know what Lotus stands for, doncha? “Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious.” 
This one’s powered by Toyota:
It also uses the same six-speed manual transmission found in the Celica and Matrix.
I agree! Especially if you have the inclination to take it to the track where it really shines. I am the lowliest puke of a novice track driver and I get to regularly beat up on supposedly much faster cars.
So here goes:
[ul][li]2005 Lotus Elise (I hope I’m wrong, but I think it’s downhill for the Elise from here. Get one before the waivers expire.)[/li][li]A big Healey of some sort. Probably a BJ8. Like this. [/li][li]A Lotus 23. If not that, a Lotus 20/22. 23. 20. [/li][li]A Lotus Type 14 Elite. Here’s one. [/li][li]A Series 1 E type.[/li][/ul]
I’m pretty happy with what I have, but one of my managers has a Chrysler Crossfire convertible. I wouldn’t mind having one of them to cruise chicks in.
I thought the Elise wasn’t street legal in the US, due to its excessive emissions. Or is that just the Exige?