I drive my good old stuff (the '60 Caddy, '70 Caddy, and Mach 1) every single day when it's nice out, I don't worry too much about traffic or leaving them parked somewhere, they're meant to be driven, and that's what good insurance is for. My year 'round daily no matter the weather is my '74 F100....although I did just buy a minty fresh '99 Town Car for really long trips and if I feel like something more relaxing to drive in the winter...even big whitey will come out when there's still snow on the ground most years if we get a good day.
Just got this 2500 3/4 ton Suburban a few weeks ago. I really love driving it and it pulls fantastic. This one has the 2wd 6.0 combo and its not that much worse than my previous 1500 suburban of the same year and color that had 4wd and 5.3 motor. I rarely used the 4wd so it was not a bit change.
Nowadays I have a model year 2006 Chevrolet HHR 1LT as a daily driver. Imported in 2013 from California, converted to run on LPG. It's not a very heavy car, so it's relatively cheap in roadtax (US$ 143 a month/ US$ 1716 a year). These are very rare cars in the Netherlands, there are more 1971-1973 Boattails registered in the country
If you ever have traction concerns simply put a Truetrac in the rear. It will make a world of difference.
That's what I've got in the F100. Magic on the autocross course, and even better in the snow and ice. Definitely the best all around diff out there, in my opinion.
Some clown (me) sure hooked you up nice with that ride, buddy .....Probably should've kept it for himself Love it.
My Holden Commodore wagon. The 'lark gets an outing at least once a week, be that the commute to work, the shops, the pub, etc.\ Only way to keep an old car reliable is regular use.
Right now it's a 2004 Toyota Solara convertible. Great car to have at -40 here in Alberta. Ok, I was being only a little facetious; - actually, it's surprising how warm it is inside even at -40 in that car. It's a great car, and it's remarkably sure-footed too. When I move out to the coast, my daily will be my old Mercedes, the Solara will get passed on to my son. They don't use salt out there, and on the Island there aren't too many days with snow, so it makes driving an old car year round possible again.
Until the end of 2016 I pretty much drove my Skylark any day the roads were cleared of snow, and before 2008 I only had my Skylark, Centurion and '67 Thunderbird. In 2016 my wife got her own car so I got my 2014 truck back and we moved to a busier city with higher gas prices and more stop and go traffic. Eventually I bought a more cost efficient DD and the old cars need some refreshing. That being said, the DD was in the shop for a big chunk of October and November and the Skylark picked up the daily duties again. It was fun driving it and my gas was reimbursed!
usually The f150 as I’m just comfortable in a truck and the dog likes it caddy when I feel the need for comfort
Seats. #1 factor in miles driven of various vehicles in the fleet. Well pretty much anyway, definitely the biggest factor for all fair weather days, I have pretty severe scoliosis and my back is a mess. Purchased a 2016 VW golf wagon new. One of the biggest factors for that purchase were the seats. They are absolutely fantastic for my beat up body. I can do four hours in the seat at a time no issue. ‘98 suburban is it close second as I can do hours of seat time towing the race car in comfort as well. Old car fleet - not good. ‘62 Chrysler 300 is the best. Original leather bench/bucket, front seat is actually quite comfortable and I don’t cringe of the thought of doing a couple hours in that if I have to. The old Chevy trucks are pretty much like a park bench but for whatever reason they’re somewhat tolerable if I’m doing simple running around. GS-455 is the absolute worst, absolutely hideous. The front bench seat is so bad I don’t drive this car at all. It gets fired up maybe two or three times a year, driven a 10 mile loop close to the house and back in the garage. Probably 20 years worth of that at this point. I either need to do something about that or just get rid of the car once and for all. Should I put VW seats in it? They would look like hell, but it sure would make that car enjoyable to drive once again! Steve weim55 Colorado
I sense that I am in the minority here. I daily drive my Wildcat because: 1: It is like driving my couch. I love that old bench feeling. 2: Truck needs a new tire (Sidewall leak) 3: Escape is down with some grinding issue. Don't know why? 4: It is fun to drive. Here in Lethbridge, we get so little snow that I can drive her year round. It gives me the opportunity to work on it, and play with it. Up until I got the Wildcat, I drove my F150 almost exclusively. I have had numerous trucks in recent years, my favourite being the 09 Sport Trac Limited, but the F150 has been reliable, comfortable, and relatively reasonable in costs to run. Before I got my first new truck (08 Ranger Sport - great truck but rough riding), I drove old junk others had discarded. I was constantly trying to keep them running. The first few years with my Wildcat have certainly reminded me of that time. There have been a lot of "What now?", and "I just fixed that!", but in the end, she now runs strong and reliably. Can you ask for more (Well, the car asks for more, gas that is...)?
I considered using my old 78 Estate Wagon as a daily but ultimately decided against it. It was just too nice of a survivor to submit to the elements we get up in the pacific northwest (they do use salt and brine here Marc) and I didn't want to be responsible for it's demise. I ended up selling it to someone in Palm Springs who has given it the pampered life it deserved! I do like the idea of having an old car as a daily, and may go that way once I'm closer to retirement, but for now I'll stick with my 2020 Infiniti QX60 as I need the 7 passenger capacity and hitch every so often. I'll likely target a 71 or 72 Riv for my retirement daily! I will say the 78 Buick was a fantastic and reliable car for me the 13 years I had it. Much closer to a modern car feel, so I would support the OP's vision of an "80's" car for a DD, although don't rule out 77-79 LeSabres and Electras.
My daily is a company provided 2014 Chrysler 300S. Awesome car, probably the best one I have had, yet. My lady daily drives the 2023 RAM. I picked up the 1991 C1500 for my non-work daily driver, as a replacement for the Suburban that I traded in on the RAM (with the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee). Since it's lowered (a lot), I am reworking all of that before it gets any serious drive time.
