I’ve belonged to a number of car clubs, including Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, Studebaker and Imperial. The Ferrari guys were the most snobbish. The Studebaker guys most concerned with authenticity. Every club was serious about its marque in general.

I had a 1985 Fiero GT with the V6. It wasn’t a bad little car, aside from not enough HP and a tendency for the car to rocking horse on wavy pavement. Oh, and the AC never worked right despite many attempts by the dealer to fix it.

I rode motorcycles for 50 years and only owned one Hog, my second bike. The unreliability, vibrations, and sluggish handling convinced me to ride other brands. Every other bike I’ve owned, Italian, British and Japanese was far superior to the H-D.

My experience with both MOPAR and Fiat products has been excellent. Those vehicles include a Plymouth Duster, Voyager minivan, Caravan minivan, Fiat 128 coupe, Fiat 2000 Spyder, and last but not least, a 1967 Imperial, which I take to local shows. Maybe I’m just lucky?

Way back in 1968, while driving my 1959 Bugeye Sprite from Pittsburgh to San Francisco, my copilot and I were caught in a thunderstorm on I-70 in western Ohio. Just when we needed it the most, the top blew off and was destroyed by the traffic behind us. That did not cure me rag-tops or British sporty cars.

Now I’m sure I made the right decision not to buy a W12 Phaeton. I did buy a V8 model off of eBay over two years ago. Then, promptly bought an aftermarket warranty. Truth be told, the warranty has barely been used. The car is my wife’s daily driver. Between the two of us, we’ve put about 30,000 miles on the Phaeton,…

I’ll admit I did some 1 AM high-speed runs on deserted highways in my Boxster S, but 147 mph? These little Porsches feel plenty fast at 110, and close to outrunning their headlights. I’m not sure more speed on public highways is worth the risk. Around here, that means the chance of hitting a deer or other wildlife.

Where do you draw the line between GT cars and sports cars?

Alfa is a Fiat brand. Having owned two Fiats, each for over 8 years, I know for a fact that Fiat can build reliable, long-lived cars. I would not hesitate to buy another. But, after reading a number of articles about the new Alfas, I will stay away until they sort them out.

I sold my second-hand 1993 Mercedes 300CE cabriolet after 12 years and over 220,000 miles of driving. In hindsight, maybe I should have restored it and kept on going. That benz was very satisfying in every way.

Not only is our 2006 Toyota Sienna AWD a great vehicle in the snow or on rain-slick roads, it surprised me by being pretty damn quick off the line. I’m pretty sure it accelerates faster than my ‘95 Miata. Another thing: the Sienna has been very, very reliable and low-maintenance.

Ugh. Hideous wheels that will be very hard to keep clean.

Wow, what a bad idea. Writing here as a 32-year member of the Audio Engineering Society and the IEEE, specializing in digital audio, I can assure readers that there is no way interior panels can be made to replace the quality of specific, isolated loudspeakers. Sure, you can get the interior panels to make sound, and…

How hard could it be to change the timing belt on a 1969 Fiat 128 coupe? Should have been a no-brainer, unless you don’t get TDC right. Then, the pistons smash into the valves. The only good thing about that experience was, I got to meet Click and Clack at their garage. Ray chided me for being an idiot, in a nice way,…

My 80 year-old neighbor has a C6 that he drives about once a month, at most. It’s not that he doesn’t want to drive the ‘vette more often, it’s that he has arthritis and can’t get in and out of it without a lot of pain.

Until I read these stories, my mind had blocked out the experience that almost killed the idea of owning any British cars for me. In 1969, I was headed to a job interview early in the morning in my 1959 bug-eyed Austin Healey Sprite. It was pouring rain and I was stuck in a traffic jam. Then, smoke started snaking out…

Good points, Tom. I just bought a 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, which is known to have Active Body Control system problems. Not only was a PPI needed, but typical repair costs as well. That way, I can budget for high probability failures.

Facing the same choice a few years ago, I picked a 2004 VW Phaeton V8. Great car, and totally under the radar.

Chrysler has experimented with multi-use vehicle interiors for many years. Their 1966 Imperial “Mobile Office” show car had a conference table, fax machine and radiophone. The 1967 and ‘68 Imperials were offered with a “Mobile Director” option that had a folding table and spin-around seat.

4-door coupe? Really, Tom?