Has anyone ever told you that you were born in the wrong time? I got that a lot growing up because I tended to gravitate towards hanging with people older than me as I found them vastly more interesting than the dorks my own age. That of course meant that I was usually surrounded by people how had – at the time – accomplished a lot more than I had, and that led me to pine after many of cars, which at the time I couldn’t afford.
If you’re a car nut then your teens can be a vastly frustrating time as your wallet has yet to mature in equal proportion to your interest in autos. When I was in my early teens – my automotive interest first took hold when I was about 10 or 11 – I pined after an Opel 1900, Mercury Capri II, and, most desirous, a Fiat X1/9. I couldn’t afford any of them, and instead went through a series of decade-old cars that sapped my bank account while at the same time honing my mechanical abilities.
I’m pretty sure that you went through a similar phase, in fact I think it’s most likely a rite of passage for teen car nuts. But what if you were that teen car nut today? What if you lived in a world of High School AND $3.00/gallon gas? If you could transport your teen self to today, what do you think would be the unobtainable ride that you would lust over the most?
Image: Star Driving School
Hooniverse Asks: What Current Car Would 16-Year Old You Covet?
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43 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What Current Car Would 16-Year Old You Covet?”
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When I was 16, I wanted a 1990 Camaro. 16 year old me today would probably want the 2015 Camaro. It was all about the American horsepower.
My mom would probably insist on a smaller displacement compact. So instead of the Impulse that I had, 16 year old me now would probably get like a used Veloster. -
16-year-old me was driving a 1988 Dodge Ram 50 (2.0L carb’d, 5sp, 2WD), and wanted nothing more than an exact replica of Marty’s 4×4 Toyota from BTTF.
The closest thing I can find to that is not available here, and while it’s got a turbodiesel, I call that “close enough”.
Hilux ripped from the pages of toyota.com.au: -
When I was 16 I really wanted a Corvette. Thanks to healthy depreciation, working for the previous 3 years, and some help from family, I got a 1977 Corvette in 1990, when I was 17. So I guess I would be going after a 2002 or so C5 Corvette today. Seems like there are several examples priced in the $10k-15k range on Craigslist right now. Which, when adjusted for inflation is right about what I paid for mine in 1990. I must confess at 15 I was rather clueless about cars and really didn’t know what I wanted for my first car, other than it had to be a 2 door. I ended up with a 1981 Buick Regal Turbo.
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When I was 16 I dreamt of nothing but then 20-25 year old muscle cars. (40 year old me still pines over the same cars.)
If I was 16 today, would I be lusting over early ’90s “hot” iron? Hmmmm, Beretta GTZ, Ford Probe GT, IROC Daytona? (no, probably not). I suppose my desires would fall to the new muscle – Challenger Hellcat, Z/28 Camaro or Shelby GT350-
Camaro IROC-Z, Pontiac Trans-Am GTA, Buick Grand National, or Mustang GT 5.0? Those were the real hot tickets in the early 1990s.
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I think I mentally blocked out the IROC/Z and the GTA even existing because I had two buddies who drove them and distinctly remember how terrible they really were: with their rattly, brittle plastic interiors, lackluster performance (at least compared to the rest of our clapped out late 60’s rides – and they really were an IROC/Z and a GTA, not the V6 wannabes) and funny, both of them REEKED of Drakkar Noir air fresheners. Didn’t want then, don’t want now.
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I was still in my Audi/VW phase at 16, digging on the RS2.
I’d pine for the new RS3 hatch.
Transportation reality- probably a Mk4 Golf with Audi wheels I found on Craigslist. -
I turned 16 a little over 5 and a half years ago… so basically, I’d be looking at the same rusty old Swedish cars I am now. Living the dream, I guess.
I’m secretly an Alfisti at heart, though. -
There was this Peugeot specialist shop near the house where I grew up. When I was 16, they had this grey 605 and light blue 406 coupe for sale and boy would I be happy if I got either one of those. Obviously I didn’t end up buying either one of them, and they stayed unsold for about a year, taunting me every time I pass the shop.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Peugeot_406_Coupe.jpg
If I were to be 16 all over again, I think I’d covet the 208 GTi -
At 16, I shared a tired 1984 Chevette with my older sister. So most days I rode my bike the 2 miles to my summer job and watched the traffic for what would be ‘acceptable’ for what I’d get when it was time for my own wheels. Of course, trivial things like how much the car would cost, gas, parts, insurance, etc. never occurred to me, so the world was my oyster. Surely nothing but the finest in motoring awaited me. I think for 1992 that equated to a C4 or something with the pinnacle of engine technology… a Northstar V8 (ah, the innocence of youth!).
My standards came crashing back to reality when my sister moved to college along with the piece of Chevette and I took the money from working and turned it into a 1976 Buick Skyhawk with a 5 speed. -
I coveted all of the usual suspects, probably would have driven a ZR1 Corvette if given the keys to the world back in 1992, so the new Z06 with the double-extra aero package would probably adorn my walls alongside the GT350 Mustang and SRT Hellcat. Whatever nominal appreciation I’ve gained for lithe handling and chassis sophistication over the years was completely absent back then; it was all about the MOAR.
I ended up with an ’86 Mustang SVO at 16, which had fallen off the depreciation cliff and was justifiably cheap. Cool car for a hoon with a garage and tools, not so cool for anyone that needed to be somewhere on a reliable basis outside of bicycle range. -
For the most part, automotively speaking, I am still 16 year old me, and have been for 20 years.
My tastes haven’t really changed much in the last 20 years, and I still (mostly) want cars that I wanted at 16. I still want a Z32. I still want an R129. I still want a mid-year Corvette. I still want an E36 M3.
Actually, aside from the Corvette, those were all contemporary cars when I was 16, so maybe 16 year old me would really be more interested in the modern equivalents. 16 year old me would probably want an M4 or a 370Z, even if 36 year old me doesn’t.
We’d share interest in the aforementioned mid-year ‘Vette, and we’d find common ground with a well-executed pro touring ’67 Camaro. We’d probably both have an irrational desire for a ’76 Cosworth Vega, too.
While my current car isn’t really a current car, it’s current enough that it didn’t exist when I was 16. 16 year old me would think a 2005 GTO is pretty cool. -
When I was actually 16 I wanted a Volvo 240 with a V8 and an Escort Cosworth. Now, probably the same thing as nearly 30 year old me, a GT86/BRZ.
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As a 16 year old, I lusted after a Volvo 240. I…eh…still like those best. Never really wanted a new car, and even though I had my driver’s license the day I matured into the legal driving age of 18, it took another two years before I could afford my first car – a ’77 242 in orange, of course.
With today’s information overflow I’d probably try something exotic – even in the early ’00s I almost bought a 30 year old six cylindre Datsun first. So I guess a Hyundai XG30 or, if new must be, a Lada Kalina would be high on my list. A lot of nice cars can be had used for relatively little money now, like a first gen Volvo C70 or a somewhat tired 940. A Miata would definitely be on the short list, too, but lacking the ability to haul bikes, ski or 5 friends, I’d probably shy away. -
The same thing my 16 year old son covets … a Miata.
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http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/12/03-2013-subaru-brz-fd.jpg
I like the Miata, but I need more space for daily use. It would be a toss up between the BRZ and the WRX.
Among high schoolers, the Mustang/Camaro and Civic will always be popular, but the real fun is in the Subies.-
Came here to say BRZ / FRS.
16-year-old me foolishly wanted a Pontiac Solstice.
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Honda-S660-Prototype.jpg
16 year old me really wanted a Honda Beat, but couldn’t have one. I haven’t changed much. -
When I was 16 I was really into European “hot hatches” and Mustangs… I still am, but back then it was major. I was also coming out of my tuner car phase back then as well. So if the Shelby GT350R, Ford Focus RS, Subaru BRZ, and VW Golf R were out back then, I would have sold some of my organs to science to have either one.
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I was 16 in 1979. This was still about a year before I really discovered two-wheelers. Although most of my interest was in the sort of cars featured on the cover of Car Craft, the two current production cars I really wanted were a Subaru Brat or a Triumph Spitfire 1500. They were fun, off-beat, small, affordable cars I could see myself actually owning.
Using those same criteria today, I am guessing that if I were 16 today, I would want a 500C Abarth.
http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/fiat/500/2013/oem/2013_fiat_500_convertible_c-abarth_rq_oem_2_500.jpg-
You know when I grew-up there was a precise moment in time where I realized my mom is cool. That was when I decided she had been right all along, a Suzuki Sidekick would have been an awesome first car.
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DELETED: This was supposed to be a reply to CSM’s comment below. I don’t know if it was operator error or Disqunibbles fault.
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When I was 16, I wanted either a Mazda RX-4, an Opel Manta, or an Audi 100 LS. At 17, I wound buying a ’75 Vega hatchback, base with automatic, a/c and air conditioning. Today as a 16-year-old, I’d want a BMW E30, or an E28 or E34 M5.
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I’d want my ’83 5000s again. That was a sweet ride.
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When I was 16, I loved the G-Body Cutlass Supremes because that was just what the high school kids in my rural town all drove. For whatever reason, I love that late-Malaise three-box look where the car is all straight lines.
http://dreamcarsofthecarolinas.com/images/classiccars/1985OldsCutlassSupremeBrougham15.jpg
I also liked 5th-gen Celicas, Mk.3 Supras, Subaru Impreza Wagons, and GM FWD A-Bodies because all my friends had them and they were (and remain) unkillable despite whatever torture you can throw at them.
I have no idea what any of that translates to except I obviously had (and still have) bad/weird taste in cars, so 16-year-old me would probably want a Nismo Juke or a Veloster Turbo today.-
G-Body cars probably accounted for about 25% of the cars in my high school parking lot in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
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When I was 16 I liked hot hatches so a Fiesta/Focus ST, Mazdaspeed3 or possibly a WRX would be right in my 16 year old wheelhouse. Of course insurance premiums would be epic for a 16 year old so I’d probably end up with a Mazda2 or a Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost for something still fun to drive but cheaper to insure. Note, all of these would have manual transmissions because in high school I drove stick.
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I think age 16 roughly coincided with my “Regal T-Type/Grand National Phase” (Or was it the 300 TD Phase?), so I guess if I was 16 today and pining for something new, it would probably still be a turbocharged six-cylinder rear-drive coupe from one of the General’s premium labels…
http://www.cadillac.com/content/dam/Cadillac/Global/master/nscwebsite/en/home/Vehicles/V_Series/Design/16-ats-v-design-gallery-03-960×480-r.jpg -
I turned 16 in ’02, and at the time, I was very much into muscle cars and such (also, other generally large American cars). Clueless mechanically, but that was what I wanted (I was this close to buying an ’89 Mustang GT). I feel comfortable saying the me of ’02 would adore the Hellcat duo (especially since I ended up in an Intrepid), and Mustangs, and Vipers, and such, just as I did then. I’d probably end up in an LX of some kind – I know I’d be shooting for a 5.7L car if my budget allowed for it, but would probably settle for a 3.5.
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1967 was my 16th year. I’d wanted a Corvette since about 1958. Were I 16 today, a Mustang GT would suit me just fine, altho I suspect I’d actually be piloting a 10 year old Buick … a hand-me-down from Pops.
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Honestly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPzna3p3P5s cause I was really into computers and video games. When I was 16 I wanted a Volvo wagon painted in a checkerboard pattern inspired by Cheap Trick and a Vector.
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Even as a grownup with house, kids, van and boat in place, a Tesla remains an unfullfillable desire…unless I’d do as many other grownups and play the loan-game. No, thanks.
But I get your thinking. The acceleration of these cars is beyond fantastic, and they’re practical, too. I wonder if there are any checkerboard Teslas out there, though?
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Girls will always want a convertible something, in white or pink.–Boys who are not obsessed by their phones or X-Boxes will want a truck or ricer like Evo or WRX. Metrosexuals want a ZipCar membership.
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The two cars my teenage niece is obsessed with are the Mazda RX-8 and the DeLorean DMC-12 (and not because of BTTF). I do love that girl.
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I was 16 in the early 80’s. At the time, I would have definitely gone for an early-70’s Corvette, or one of the fix-em-up muscle cars from the late 60’s. Instead, I got to borrow the keys to my parents’ Chevy Citation.
Right now, 16 year old me wants a brand Dodge Challenger SRT 392 or Hellcat, Header Orange paint (maybe coming back next year, Tor-red otherwise), sunroof (oh, if they only made a convertible), and immunity to speeding tickets. -
I was an Alfista back when I was 16 and coveted the GTV-6. So I guess if I was 16 today, I’d covet the 4C.
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I graduated from HS in 1978 – I drove a 63 Chevy Belair through my junior year. The biggest problem with that car, I think, was that hourglass-shaped frame. I think that caused a lot of wrecks and made it really easy to total the car if it was hit on one corner. Not to mention impossible to straighten the frame. Mine was one that was destroyed in this manner. My next car was a 74 Chevy Nova – I wish I still had it. I like the way those looked. I used to see ‘my car’ on The Rockford Files all the time. While Jim drove the Firebird, if he had a meeting with someone who was friendly, they drove the gold Nova. (Bad guys drove bigger GM cars). When Jim went out of town on business, he always rented the gold Nova.
If I was 16 and could have any car today I’d want a TR-6 – those are cool. You can feel like you are really screaming and not get a speeding ticket because it’s hard to exceed 55 with that tractor motor! Or a DeLorian. Oh, wait, that’s off-limits. Like the cellular phone and the desktop computer, these had not been invented when I was in high school. -
Good thing I’m on the hooniverse I guess. from 16 to now I have wanted an 95 850 t5 sport wagon. I came dawn close with a 95 t5 sedan but I still want a wagon. Also from 13 to 16 I really wanted a starlet but they where mia in Nova Scotia.
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When I was 16 I really wanted a Granada Scorpio 24v.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3864/14963776979_d5486be034.jpg
Actually I still do. I’m not right in the head-
That thing looks to me like somebody took a facelifted Fox-Body Mustang and stretched it.
As such, it is awesome.
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Well, as I am likely the youngest person on Hooniverse, I can actually tell you what 16 year me would want right now, mostly because I am 16 right now. That would be anything that differs from mainstream, since I have a conformity problem. This is why my car is a 1990 Taurus SHO, while my peers lust after lifted Cummins, Hellcats, and GTRs.
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Hmmm, hard to say. 16 year old me had really no desire to own anything modern at the time (mid 2000’s). I wanted something from the 50’s or 60’s, RWD, and V8 powered. What I ended up getting was a severely rusty, 30 year old, straight six Ford Maverick. The only new cars at the time that I can recall liking were the Mazda 6 and NB Mazdaspeed Miata.
So probably the new Mazda 6, ND Miata, or old-school muscle car then? -
16 year old (and now 23 year old) me really wanted my dad’s Quadrasteer Suburban. Good thing he’s putting it in his will for me.
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