TSMacNeil wrote:You're right. I shouldn't say that. I dont hate them....I just don't know anything about them.
Have always kinda liked the Avanti, no that wasn't it.
Paxton? Didn't know they came with that in there..
I'll find a picture of what it was...
This:
OMG, a Loewy coupe. One of the all-time most beautiful designs for a car. Consider what else was out there in 1951, when this was introduced. Even a 1951 Ferrari looks clunky next to it. Unfortunately, Studebaker was running out of money and the last new design they could come up with was the compact Lark (which, BTW, ALSO got the R2 supercharged V8!) which was no styling slouch for its day. The Loewy coupes and hardtops got fins and big grilles as the Fifties wound down.
When Studebaker acquired Packard, the last Packard was an uglified version of one of these (the Packard Hawk).
At the very end, Studebaker chopped the fins back off (they were essentially bolt-on appendages much like a 535is spoiler) and made the relatively handsome GT Hawk in ~1962.
You know...this Summer I broke down and bought a new-to-me Toyota 4Runner to have something with 4WD, cold A/C, ability to haul stuff, etc. Since that purchase, the E28 has been resting quietly in the garage. I just took it out today for a quick spin to keep the gremlins away...and man...I really love driving this car. I mean I have been considering selling it to pay off my wife's car...yeah, yeah I know.
Anyhow...I can relate to the OP about the joy of driving these cars, but I certainly do not get any looks from anyone (except from other gearheads who know what I'm driving). Mostly the reaction I receive from my fellow Soldiers is: why are you still driving that old POS? Then I tell them it must be because I was born in the 1970s and remember when cars were not meant to be "throw away cars."
That or I'm just a cheap bastard and hate car payments.
I think I've maybe had 3 people make comments on the car over the past 4 months I've been driving it. I don't notice a lot of head turning per se though. Usually the questions are what year is it. One guy said he see the old 3 series all of the time, but rarely sees a E28. One day I was at work and looking out the office window, when I see another guy in a dark blue E28 pull out of the gas station across the street while doing a double take on my car.
My car is in pretty good shape with no rust and good paint mostly. Interior is decent as well, but I 'd like to tighten up a few things. I had to let it sit for a month or so here recently while I found a new gas tank to replace the rusty one I had. I just had it installed and it's nice to be driving the car again. Man, I love driving this car!
Yeah...we always seem to 'see" each other. I just re-told this story to Kohler today...I've seen my "lent" super eta going down the road and rubbernecked it...until I figured it out...
Three nice compliments this weekend. Well, maybe only two of them nice, and one of them came across funny? Two guys last night, one at the restaurant and one at the ice cream place, both loved the car. With the euro bumpers, they couldn't be sure of the year until I confirmed it. Both always loved the old BMWs and enjoyed seeing it. One of them wondered how long we'd be able to keep driving 'real' cars like that.
Saturday my mother catches up to me and the kids at the soccer fields and says "Oh! The car looks great! Did you get it painted?" I'm left thinking, "What the? It has looked this good all along! She, on her second e92, just figured that out?!?!?"
Alas, this weekend I saw no other BMW's older than 12 years for me to stalk.....
