I currently drive an 02 Golf TDI. I really, REALLY like the car, and I flew up to Ohio to drive it back to Texas. It is incredibly comfortable inside, it is ridiculously fuel-efficient (46mpg on the last tank), and I installed and tuned an old-school stereo with transparent sounding speakers that just make me want to listen to music in it all day long. Also, it can carry just about the biggest cargo load you’ve ever seen (just picked up my friend and his wife from an airport with 8 bags, and we made it home.)
Just because I really love this car doesn’t mean I don’t want to drive other amazing cars. This is my first manual transmission car, and I still haven’t gotten over just how fun it is to shift gears with a manual transmission.
Golf R
I would absolutely LOVE to kick the tires on a brand new Golf R. It has all-wheel drive, and the newer models have over 300hp. Until 2014, they were only sold in the US with a stick-shift. They now come with DSG (automatic – which I had in my 06 GTI), which is a fine transmission, but not quite as fun as shifting yourself.

I love the way the car looks, I love the comfort of the seats (sat in one at the local dealership), and since blue is my favorite color, I LOVE that blue paint job they’ve got going on. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to own a non-diesel car again, but if I were able to (and I had buckets of cash), this is the car I’d get.

Nissan GTR
I mean, come on. Just look at that.

I’ve loved that car ever since I saw the special Top Gear did on it, where Jeremy Clarkson threw out his back and had to be removed from the car by a team of paramedics. It has enough g-force to have a g-force meter. I would love to drive this car, although I’m sure it’s nowhere near as fuel efficient as my Golf (and why would it be, when you can drive it like a bat out of hell?), but it looks damn fun.
Downside? No stick-shift.

Audi RS4 Avant (Wagon)
I’m a wagon guy, through and through. I want either a hatchback or a wagon, so I can cram as much cargo as possible into a car, if needed. Don’t get me wrong, I love performance in cars! But when it comes down to it, a car is made to perform a task, and I want a car that can perform as many utilitarian tasks as necessary. One of the main things I look for in cars is cargo space.

At my last job, I would pull my 06 candy white GTI into the parking space right next to one of these puppies. Yes, I like the older body style RS4’s more than the new. I knew my GTI was cheaper than this car, and for all intents and purposes, it’s basically the same car, since VW owns Audi, and a lot of the parts in my GTI were Audi-labeled parts. Nonetheless, I still like the look of this car and its increased cargo space.
Yamaha R6
I know, this isn’t a car. But I’ve wanted to ride one of these things for a loooong time. I took a motorcycle safety class about a year ago, because although I didn’t have a motorcycle at the time (and still don’t), I wanted the endorsement on my license in case I decided to get one at any point in the future. I also just wanted a crash course (no crashing for me!) on how to ride a motorcycle.

It turns out, learning to drive stick in my Golf TDI was the best thing I could have done to learn to operate a motorcycle. Getting the clutch / accelerator relationship down is crucial in not stalling on a motorcycle. I’d love to have a bike for taking weekend cruises down curvy countryside roads (which Jess and I will live on soon!), but not for a daily driver.
My Future 02 Golf TDI
That’s right. The last car I want to drive is the one I already have, but in the future. The car has about 175k miles on it, and it’s still running the original clutch. I can tell that the clutch can’t hold the torque first gear has to offer, so replacing the clutch will be something that’ll happen soon. When I do that, I want to replace it with this Luk clutch.

Of course I’ll be paying my local TDI mechanic to do this replacement. I do a lot of maintenance on my cars, but this is one job I’m not interested in doing myself.
Once the new clutch is in, I’ll have increased power from the added grip that the new clutch will give me. The next logical step will be a Stage 1 tune from Malone Tuning.

That will give me a car that still gets 38-48 MPG, as well as having enough power to satisfy my inner race car driver. It’s not a lot of added HP or torque, but it’s enough to make a lovely little difference.
I’d also like to replace a lot of the suspension bits on my car, so it’s quieter over bumps, but that’s a bit less important to me than the clutch / tune combo.
What Car Do You Want to Drive?
Now you know the cars I want to drive. What dream car do you want to drive? You should go out and try to make it happen. I’m contemplating going to the VW dealership and asking to test drive the Golf R, then straight up leaving. 🙂