Dream On…Our Favorite Cars from 2006

Our Dream Cars – Photo Gallery: It is an automotive journalist’s plight to fall in love over and over again. From SUVs to sedans and everything else with wheels and a powertrain, we can’t help it. It’s the reason we take the keys and go for long drives with the radio off, listening and feeling, noting and mumbling, destined to break our own hearts when we find what we’re looking for: a flaw, a forgotten piece to the puzzle that dumps us out of love and back to the next car. We look for you, and that’s what Editors’ Choice is for, but we also look for us – and, of the cars we drove this year, these are the four that we’d pick to make our own.

BMW 3 Series Coupe

Yuppified early in life, as a high-school student I lusted for a BMW 320i while my friends drooled over Camaros and Firebirds. To this day, a 3 Series remains my dream car, and after driving the glorious new 335i Coupe I spent serious time shopping a lease on an identical dark gray over red leather sample. Alas, doubling my existing payment is not in the cards, and so the Mazdaspeed Miata remains in the garage. But I’m still dreaming of, and lusting for, the stunning 335i. –

Honda FCX

It sounds like a swarm of angry bees when you step on the accelerator. And when you take a corner, it lollygags around the turn like a minivan. So what? The Honda FCX is my dream car because it is the car I dream about owning…one day. Sure, it was tempting to choose a performance car. And yes, I was wowed by some of our leather-swaddled offerings. But after driving both the current FCX and the new concept, what excited me most was the realization that fuel cell vehicles are serious, which means a new era of silent, fast and clean mobility. Just think: a world where driving to work doesn’t wreck the environment. That’s the world I dream about seeing, one day, and the car I hope to drive into it is the Honda FCX. –

Rolls-Royce Phantom

The word spectacular seems to fall short when describing my time behind the wheel of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Many look upon the Phantom as a car to be chauffeured around in, but the opposite is true. The Phantom performs well for a large car and maneuvers like a much smaller vehicle. There wasn’t another car this year that left me with such a feeling of excitement and impressed me with its build quality, craftsmanship and all out mystique. If I could afford the price of entry, be assured there would be a Phantom parked in my temperature-controlled garage. –

Volkswagen GTI

Talk “Dream Car” and thoughts of a Corvette Z06, a Ferrari, or maybe a Rolls-Royce come to mind. However, of all the cars I drove this year, the one that had me hitting the lots and wheeling and dealing was the Volkswagen GTI. Not exactly a dream car, but its style, quality materials, versatility, and rockin’ powertrain was enough to get my cheap ass to consider a new car loan. I wanted mine in red with four doors, the slick six-speed manual tranny, those oddly appealing plaid seats, and Package 1, meaning satellite radio and a power sunroof. That particular model wasn’t in stock – anywhere – so my frugal tail remains in a rickety Mustang. – Photos courtesy of: Ron Perry