O/T...What`s In Your Dream Garage ?

[CTMilller]

Continuing with CAM?s US theme, the car I?d really like would be one that I bought fifty years ago: a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro RS 350. It was the year of my first overseas assignment to Detroit and I bought it from a guy transferring overseas for $1500. Immaculate condition in metallic blue. I kept it for three years and sold it on for a bit less than I paid. They cost about $50,000 today when nicely renovated.

[Brin]

Continuing with CAM?s US theme, the car I?d really like would be one that I bought fifty years ago: a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro RS 350. It was the year of my first overseas assignment to Detroit and I bought it from a guy transferring overseas for $1500. Immaculate condition in metallic blue. I kept it for three years and sold it on for a bit less than I paid. They cost about $50,000 today when nicely renovated.

CT, nice 'dream' car my friend. Putting aside my mickey taking out of CAM, there has indeed been lots of muscle cars produced by the states. The thing is they never ventured into Europe in the 60's/70's to challenge the elite of motoring at the time.

Makes you wonder how many rally's might have turned out? Yours sounded like a good car I bet you wish you could have kept.

For me, the car I truly wished I could have kept was my Lexus 200 IS Sports.......I wish I could still drive it now.

[CTMilller]

I think with mpg in the mid ****s you were never going to see many American cars in England in the 70s, Brin, given the much higher price of petrol. My Camaro had a 5.7 litre V8 big block engine and guzzled the stuff.

That Lexus 200 would have been a very smooth car.

[Brin]

I think with mpg in the mid ****s you were never going to see many American cars in England in the 70s, Brin, given the much higher price of petrol. My Camaro had a 5.7 litre V8 big block engine and guzzled the stuff.

That Lexus 200 would have been a very smooth car.

CT, I thought I would take a look on youtube to see if I could find anything on my old Lexus. Low and behold I came across this clip being presented by a very young James May. Not only is the Lexus in this video the same model as mine was, it's the exact same colour on the bodywork with the silver wheels. Memories came flooding back of the great times I had driving that beauty.

May by the way does not give the car just credit until the closing scenes. It was absolutely stunning not only in appearance but you could get different interiors and mine was half leather over cloth in a light tan and against the bronze paintwork it looked a million dollars. Lord how I wish I still owned it. One thing May also didn't know was that you had the option to disable the reversing sensor audible sound if you wished to do so, he wasn't that good of a presenter way back then!

Another added feature was that the middle rear armrest also held another secret. If you reached inside the gap where the pulled down armrest sat, there was another strap for you to pull on. Once pulled down it opened straight into the boot. This was to allow you to place your skis, yes skis right the way through the car rather than strap them on a roof. The Japs did think of everything! Not that there was much call for skis in Rotherham back in the 90's . The one that May presents didn't have the blacked out rear privacy windows, and I mean black if you got right up close to mine you could just see inside if you cupped your hand up to the glass, very private indeed.

A top speed of 134 mph and I know it could do that as I once did it on the brand new, at the time, M6 toll road near on my way back from seeing the Millers at West Brom when Sedgy scored our goal to win 0 v 1. Crazy I know to do that speed but it's what you did in your younger days and ironically the road was absolutely deserted. Here it is.....

[CTMilller]

Enjoyed the James May piece. (Always liked him; his series on Japan was excellent. This was early stuff and the script a bit overwritten and contrived.) I tend to agree with him that the Lexus interiors are a bit blah but sounds like that was a really good drivers car. Anyway it holds great memories for you which is the main thing.

I took the Camaro out to the back roads of Canada shortly after I bought it and opened it up to see how fast it would go. Like you I had it up to a bit over 130mph but it was weaving and wobbling all over the place and felty distinctly unsteady. Never did it again, That was the problem with US cars then. Huge engines that churned out massive power but not much spent on steering, suspension and brakes.