Favorite Non Mopar Car

If you had to admit it, what was/is your favorite non Mopar vehicle that you ACTUALLY OWNED. Mine was a Toyota Tacoma pick up.

Favorite that we have actually owned, or fantasy favorite if money was no object?

1972, 1973 "round tail lights" BMW 2002 O=00=O

I have always liked the 1977-79 Impala/Caprice 2-doors with the fastback/bubble/whatever it's called rear window glass.

Greg

That’s a good one! I love those old BMW 2002s, I have a Toyota 4runner that’s a great rig. My favorite non mopar is a 1963 Impala. Such a great looking car!

De Thomaso Pantera

For me, 1965 and 1966 Pontiac Bonnevilles, GP's and GTO's. Next would be my old '69 GP SJ, 428 370HP.

Don't really have a single favorite non-Mopar, but there are a few I like:

Ford/Mercury:

Mustang fastbacks and the 69-70 Shelby GT350/GT500 always looked nice to me.
66-67 Fairlane
64 T-bolt factory drag cars
Some of the early Mercury Comets and Cougars look nice when done right. Ronnie Sox raced a Comet at one point.

GM:

55-57 Chevy as early day 2 race cars or hot rods only. Stock they are boring as can be. Also don't care for the convertibles of these either for some reason.
61-62 GM "Bubbletop" cars are styled nice. Good freeway cruisers that still turn heads
62-67 Chevy II - Not the best factory brakes or suspension setups, but plenty of go fast potential with the right engines
66-67 Chevelle
66-67 Skylark/GS
70 Buick GSX
Some early GTO's are ok in my book.

I briefly owned one in '91 when I still lived 'back East'. Car had less than 50K original miles. In quick passing, the car looked like it just needed a buff and interior detail to be showroom fresh, BUT.........the frame was swiss cheese. I so badly wanted to find a donor chassis for it. Instead, I drove it around for about a two weeks before the rear axle assembly tried to come out of the car. Sold it to someone who bought the engine/trans for a little more than the $100 I paid for the whole car.

Other than Mopar? Don't really have any 'favorites', but I've always liked the big GM's of the'60's and '70's. Always wished that Ma had made a US variant of the ElCamino.......

Actually owned

I have three -

A 1978 Toyota Celica that was my daily driver for many years. Took a licking and kept on ticking. Handled pretty well, Cruised on the highway at 75 mph all day. Decent mileage and built like a tank. I was rear ended a couple of times in stop and go traffic and the most it got was a little wrinkle in the quarter panel.

My second would probably be the 2013 Corvette GS that I currently own. It's plenty fast, handles amazing, comfortable and looks good (to me).

The third would be my wife's 2009 Honda Accord V6. It's a great daily driver and road trip car. Plenty of power, very comfortable and handles well.

Current 4runner, I will not own any other brand SUV

Actually owned would probably be my '72 Vette because I have owned it for some 50 years. I sold my first car a '71 340 'cuda to my brother (he still has it) to get this '72 because I wanted A/C. I've upgraded it to a 383 stroker and Tremec TKO-600. Been a great car.

Haven”t owned but I do like and wouldn’t mind owning : 70-71 442 , 70-71 Buick GS 455 , 68-72 El Camino , the early Ford Rancharos are cool too and of course a 70 Chevelle SS

Mine would have to be the '87 Mazda Rx7 Turbo I owned back in the day. Just wicked fast.

Okay, I did NOT actually OWN this car, my dad did. But when I got older he let me drive it some. Since I did some of the maintenance on it. Yeah, I'd love to have it... a 1950 Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupe.

Absolutely was one of the cars that helped give Jaguar its reputation of being high maintenance. I don't care, she was like a beautiful woman.

So many family trips, adventures and stories revolve around this car it's crazy. In that aspect alone the Jag is very special.

Dad was a chiropractor and when his x-ray machine went kaput, the Jag got sold to pay for a new x-ray machine. It ended up going somewhere in the Chicago area. Have never seen it since... But there'd be no way I could afford it even if I COULD find it!

Hands-down favorite, my 73.5 Porsche 911T - I miss it dearly.
Not far behind:
My '69 Mustang FB Gulfstream Aqua stick car, my red '67 El Camino, the family '73 Nova 350 hatchback I got from my grandparents.
I really liked my '89.5 Mustang LX 5.0 stick car, too; more than my existing '97 Mustang GT stick car, actually.
The Mopars I let go & would like to have back is another list...but ya can't keep 'em all...

Opel 1900 Sport Wagon, had one when I was in the military. Scooted about nice, easy to park, handled well.

My 1st car was a 70 Chevelle. No SS...just a tired small block. I would LOVE to have another one (preferably a BB)but prices for a nice example are pretty high now.

I wouldn't EVER own anything but a Mopar but it's an interesting question. IF IF IF I were ever going to sway from Mopar, which I won't, I always liked the '70-'72 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Doesn't even have to be a 442, just a regular Cutlass with a 350.

I hate to admit it, but when I graduated high school in 1979, I had a 70 Ford Torino SCJ 429. It was right after the gas crunch and I bought it for $900. That car would do burnouts for blocks without power braking. It's biggest downfall was I kept bending the rear trailing arms from all the burnouts and the ten miles to the gallon.

1985 Nissan 300ZX. It was the third and last "Z" car that I owned and it was the best of the three. It was a fuel injected V6, 5-speed, T-Tops, plenty of power, A/C, fun to drive, etc.

It was my daily driver for years and I put 315,000 miles on it but it failed an emission test and I already had two unfinished Mopar projects, so it had to go. Looking back, I probably should have kept it just because it was dependable and fun to drive.

Lots of cars. Two that I still own are the 69 Mercury Cyclone that Diego helped me find and my HS car, 78 Trans Am SE just like the one that a member here had burn up in his garage. Heck, 69 Mach 1 would be nice, 68 Cougar, 65 Riviera,

G-body Malibu.

Dennis

I love my TTA and GN
KID

I had a 71 in high school...ended up wrecking it. Bought a 72 ragtop about 20 yrs ago for the wife.....ended up not driving it much so we sold it a few years ago...great cars!!

The one non-Mopar I'd really like is a '68 Pontiac LeMans Sport Sedan (4-door hardtop). It was a very smooth design and looked great with the windows rolled down. We had a couple of them as rental cars when our '65 Coronet was in the shop for insurance repairs.

Actually owned three 2002's. Two '72's (one stolen two years ago, one totaled in '86 that I owned from the early '70's, along with my hip in five pieces now with a pin into the hip socket and a 9" plate with seven screws but that's a long painful story). I still own the '73 tii O=00=O the dark gray with driving lights on this end of the third photo.

That's my wife's '81 Scirocco and my '86 Jetta GLI that we also still have. The green 2O=00=O2 on the far end and in the single photo was the one that was stolen two years ago, and owned it from '86 when I lost the Colorado Orange 02 first image.

Mike

My previous daily driver...2002 Buick LeSabre. Very comfortable cruising car. It came with the bulletproof 3800 series V6. Got 30-32 MPG on the highway, had loaded leather interior... cheap parts when doing maintenance. They are great cars, but you have to get a car that has a clean frame and undercarriage. Alot are rusty underneath, so you have to be choosey.

An engineer friend from Austria bought this one a while back in Northern California and had it shipped to him (near Saltzburg, Austria), it's a '73 911T with a 2.4 liter engine. He loves it, like you.

Currently,I only have one non Mopar car,it's the other American two seater sports car. It's a 69 AMX 390 4 speed car.

Mostly Mustangs and different sports cars.

I had a 62 Austin Healy Sprite I put a Fiat Spyder DOHC engine in
A 72 MG Midget, 66 Triumph Herald, 85 Mustang GT vert, 87 Mustang LX 5.0, 93 Mustang Cobra, 93 Mustang GT, 04 Mach1, 01 Z06 Vette, 2012 Base Vette, 2017 z51 Vette, 94,19 and 20 Miata’s and right now I have a 2019 718 Porsche Boxster.

Oh and tons of VW Beetles back in the day. At one time I had 8 in the back yard. We used to buy and flip them.

Lots of Jeeps but I guess they are Mopar now

2000 Subaru 2.5RS

I've only ever had two non Mopars...a Kia I bought from a co-worker for $150 (vacuumed it out, then resold it 3 weeks later for $800) and my '79 Buick LeSabre. I paid $700 for the Buick in March of '22, and have put 27k miles on it since. So I'm partial to the Buick...lol.

i have personally bought and sold a LOT of cars.
the one with the most fun memories had to be a 84 turbo colt.


i really enjoy my supercharged 08 Bullitt mustang.
i have a Department Of Boost intake to let me use a TVS 2.3 supercharger from a 14 GT500, upgraded the trans to a 6060 6 speed from a 14 GT500. upgraded the brakes from a 14 GT500. upgraded the suspension. car so it handles really good for what it is.
makes 650 rwhp on pump 93 octane gas. car does 10's in the 1/4 mile all day long yet still gets 20+ mpg.

the best part is i have less in the entire car than it costs to build the 572 hemi that was in my 72 road runner.

Datsun 510

I loved my 2005 Holden Monaro (Pontiac GTO). I felt bad b/c I always laid waste to any 6.1 Hemi cars that were out when I owned it, the LS2/6 speed was a great combo in that car.

Well, never owned one, but I would love to own a 1970 BOSS 429 Mustang. These two Mach 1's were ones I owned back in the early 80's.

" vehicle that you ACTUALLY OWNED. "

1972 Firebird Formula

I can actually say I love 80 ~ 88 Toyota pickups as much as Mopar's !!! the 22R /re the best dependable longevity engines EVER made!!! I still have the first (88 2w pickup) I bought 25 years ago with 4 hundred thousand miles on it and still don't use a drop of oil!!!!!!!!!!!!! i currently have 8 Toyota pickups 5 4x4s and 3 2wheel.one is all original 70 k miles and has a dump bed (more for show) once raised its all-stainless steel underneath .. lifted 6 " i call this one Mighty Mouse. The others are all just drivers ... can't go wrong picking them up when they pop up in the 1000 ~ 1800-dollar range ... for about 500 $ you can get all the ball joints uppers lowers shocks wheel cylinders brakes. All the tie rod ends. and then your good to go !! if you do ever have to do a timing chain its 4 hours for the 22R maybe 6 on the RE I sometimes wonder if the boxy shape is why i like the look of both Toyotas and Mopar's? every one of my family has borrowed one of my Toyotas and at times i have two loaded out. the family knows they are there and its why are.

I bought my C5 Z06 new in 2004 and I'll probably never sell it. It's one of, if not the best driver's cars I've ever been behind the wheel of.

'50 Olds 88...still have it.

this is very hard!!!

Probably would have to be a black 59 Biscayne

C5 Corvette Convertible, great driving car and a keeper for sure.

1970 Buick GSX. or even a clean GS would work.

Agreed. I like the 70 Buick GS 455. The understated look I always liked.

1966 Chevelle SS. When I was growing up, my brother who was 18 years older than me bought a new 66 4-speed SS. He took me for a ride in it one day . I could barely see over the dash board but I was hooked. As I approached driving age all I wanted was a 66 Chevelle. I owned three of them at various times many years ago and I would love to have another while I still have time on this earth. This was the last one I owned, 360 HP/4-speed.

Angry vampire car lol

A white 1970 Buick GSX.

Another favorite of them.

I didn't own it, but it's the favorite for me.

69 Boss Mustang. Best looking Ford ever made.

As a young man, I bought and sold MANY cars. I liked a number of them. The Datsun 240Z was cool. A 1963 Buick Riviera was beautifully styled and comfortable. A 1980 Z28 with a four speed was a nice driving, fun car. Without a doubt, my personal non-Mopar favorite was the 1966 Nova. I just loved that car. I love the styling. It was my favorite color. It drove great. It had a newer 350 in it that offered ample power. It was a very fun car!! Unfortunately, it developed some rust in the sub-frame. Back then, I had no idea how to fix it and could not afford to pay a body shop to make the needed repairs, so I let it go. Lots of great memories with that car!!

My all time, ultimate favorite would have to the the 1970 Road Runner. It was a 383 / 4 speed car. A previous owner has swapped in a great running 440. That car would RUN!!! The 440 / 4 speed combination was fantastic!! I LOVED it! That car should have been a keeper.....but I foolishly let it go! At the time, I wanted to buy a 1969 Charger to replace it. Unfortunately, that never happened. Since that time, the prices of Chargers and Road Runners have only gone up..... Both are way out of my price range now!

Still have my '87. A little bit modified now.

Anybody from the PNW remember this gem? I still get a laugh that it was allowed into the Graham show, even for a few minutes.

I have a couple favorite non- mopars. 1970 Camaro ( I learned to drive in one), McLaren F1 (never happen, way out of my pay grade), and now 2023 Mustang Mach 1 (extremely fun car to drive)

Wow . . . right NOW, I have a 2006 SLK55 AMG . . . OMG !! This little car is a BEAST !! . . .don't care what someone says about it, that V8 roar out the back, and pinning you to your seat ! AND stopping, and cornering !! OH YEAH !! . . . thanks to my 2004 Crossfire, I ventured into the "MB" world . . . although, the SLK does say "Daimler Chrysler" on it !! heh heh heh . . .

I admit when I was younger, I was Mopar or No Car but there's so many different great cars out there from all the manufacturers.

Favorite that Ive owned would be a Grand National-the turbo is like heroin. One that I would like to own would be a 68-72 442 W30

This one of my "daily drivers" a 1995 E320. Smooth but firm suspension with under body sealing for aerodynamics on the Autobahn. Inline 6, double overhead cams, 4-valves per cylinder with lots of torque and ample horsepower. Rear wheel drive. A good long time Mopar friend (helped start F.A.S.T.) took it on a beer run a few month ago, as it was last in, in the driveway and came back raving about the car. Made me feel even better about it. I drove it back from El Paso, TX where I got it from a friend of mine's MB dealership as he took it in on trade almost 20 years ago. Never wanted to buy a MB but couldn't pass on the price and the fact that at the time in had only 9500 miles on the odometer.

Golden Hawk.

Honorable mention:
1970 GSX
1987 GNX
Any year XKE roadster

favorite non-mopar that i've actually owned..... have had a couple pontiacs that i really like but hands down it has to be my 08 mustang. bought it in 2019 with only 7500 miles on it, has just over 12,000 miles on it now.. i've done a few day 2 type of mods to it . i just love the car. looks great, drives great, plenty fast enough to get me in trouble and gets over 20mpg. its just a really nice car all the way around... best of all i can "tinker" with it but never have to "work" on it..:)

Sorry to be "that guy", but this little Chevy street car I built will run 12.60s with slicks. 4-speed small block car with 4.56 tail gears.

Non-Mopar that I have owned?

That is a pretty limited number of choices, being 4 total. 3 were bought, or traded to sell or to junk out, I never actually even drove any of those.

The one non-Mopar I did own and drive was the 1st car I bought. My dad picked it out, bought it, and I paid him to buy it for a full year. Thar car was a 69 Buick 2 door hard top. It had a Buick 350, 2 speed auto trans, and a posi rear end. In less then 10,000 miles I had to replace 3 motors, I put in 3 sets of rear wheel bearings, blew up the posi, and had a slipping trans. The car looked great, but it sure didn't hold up to this teenage driver. As soon as I made that last payment to my dad, I traded that heap off on a 72 Plymouth Satellite Sabering Plus with a 318, 727, and 3:23 8 1/4 rear. I and then my new wife put over 70,000 miles on the Plymouth (I drove it as hard as I drove the Buick). In all those miles, I did have to have the trans rebuilt after about 50,000 miles of abuse.

That one non-Mopar I have owned I would never want again. After many years of pulling wrenches, there isn't much outside of the Mopar camp I would buy. My newest ride is an 04 and it is my wife's car she loves her 04 PT Cruiser, but I won't work on it. Good thing I don't plan on buying any new vehicles, not much Mopar choice out there these days, and nothing else interests me at all.

The stuff I drive is old Mopar with 90s Mopar tech under the old sheet metal.
Pics, The one and only pic of my one non-Mopar that i actually owned and drove.
Pic2 My two current drivers, the wife's PT isn't picture worthy.

1963 Ford Galaxie

Poorboy the Buick does look nice and that's a cool old picture, but I'm with you; non-Mopars not needed I've never owned anything but Mopars and a quick count probably around 15-20 to date Currently 3

Is that a Silver Magnum across the street? Maybe not 1978 yet.

I've owned several non mopar vehicles, most were junk, but if I ever were to own another as a keeper it would be a 64 Riviera, or possibly a 64 Galaxy IF it was a 427, 4 speed car.

64 Thunderbolt and or 681/2 Mustang 428 CJ, my first car was a 72 Monte Carlo Custom nice car loaded tilt wheel AC factory AM 8 track, bought it in 78 thought I was the king of cool at 16. Doug

1969 AMC Javelin 343 4 speed.

My '69 vette.

78 Camaro Z28

My brother has one he bought brand new in 78. Dark green,4 spd,3:73 rear. It currently has about 25k original miles on it.

The picture with the Buick would have been 74 and 75. The car was gone shortly after my 19th birthday in Sept, 1975. That picture was taken at my parents driveway. Those neighbors across the street had a lot of high performance cars, but mostly GM cars, which I would guess that one to be. I moved from their home in early 1976.

I own this brand X machine. It is a nice and smooth highway cruiser.

I liked my 69 until I built my 65.

Since I've never had a Mopar, I'll respond in kind.