If I was 30 years older...

This 1967 Ford Country Squire would have been my family car. I'm having a hard time deciding if I'd rather have this or an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.

Zoom!

A Mazda Protege5 makes a lot of sense as my next car. They are readily available with the correct number of pedals, they handle awesomely, they probably get bitchin-sweet m-p-gizzies (compared to my 4runner anyway), and it has 5 doors! Craigslist investigation: engage.

The Dan Fehlings Fantasy Garage, Volume I: BMW 5-Series

Welcome to the Dan Fehlings Fantasy Garage, where I extol the virtues of any car I love. To start us off, I shall introduce you to my favorite all-time car family: the BMW 5-Series.

From left: E12, E28, E34, E39, E60, F10

Serving as BMW's executive-class sedan since 1972, the 5-Series has always been regarded as one of the best sport sedans ever, no matter the generation. Blending contemporary luxury with modern style and peerless dynamics, the 5-Series has received commercial and critical acclaim, leading up to more than 5 million being sold worldwide.

Going to infinity and beyond in an E12

A 5-er is best enjoyed with one of BMW's renowned inline-sixes and crisp-shifting manual gearboxes. If you find this powertain combination in the station-wagon body of a touring series, then you very well may have the best car ever in your driveway; one that can carry 5 people and a bunch of their shit for an amazing drive in comfort and style.

The E34 M5 Touring, which I believe to be the best 5er, and therefore the best car, ever.

Everyone has a favorite 5-Series, and mine is the E34 M5 Touring. The last M5 powered by a proper inline-six, the E34 M5 produced 340 horsepower and rocketed to 60 mph in under six seconds, which is still pretty impressive today. It is also worth noting that this naturally aspirated engine, derived from that of the M1 supercar of the early 1980s, produces more power than the 20 years newer, turbocharged, direct-injected mill in the new 535i. It does all that while being the best-looking BMW ever. Plus, you can get it as a wagon; although the standard sedan is so handsome, even I would be okay with not getting the estate.

The last great 5-Series

The E34 was succeeded by the E39, which received the nameplate's highest sales and greatest critical acclaim. It is also desireable for being one of the last BMWs made before Chris Bangle became head of design for BMW, and ugly-ing the place up. The E39 M5 is particularly beloved for its 394 hp V8 and 6-speed manual transmission, making it one of the greatest stealth supercars of all time. It was succeeded by the E60 in 2004, which was laden with more tech than any 5-Series before, but was unloved by many BMW enthusiasts and journalists for its diluted dynamics and contreversial styling. The E60 M5, however, featured a screaming, F1-like 5.0 liter V10 producing 507 horsepower through a standard manual transmission, or the clunky SMG sequential gearbox which was soon dropped.

 

But the future looks bright for BMW. Despite a poor introduction with the GT hatchback, the new-generation of 5-Series looks poised to be the driver's choice in the crowded midsize-luxury class. Still offering a sweet inline-six or powerful twin-turbo V8 (with 400 hp!) with a proper manual gearbox, the 5-Series looks to once again be one of the best cars on the market today. If it truly is the culmination of the past 40 years, then it should have no problem achieving that goal.

Old Toyota > New Toyota

Yes, this is the same wagon featured before. Yes, I still am in love with it.

I'm almost sure I've posted this picture before, but I simply don't care.

It's... it's beautiful...

The One-Off Alfa 164 Wagon

Forever The D Pillar

On the subject of the E30...

It's a BMW. It's a wagon. It has a 5-speed. It's all-wheel drive. The most Dan Fehlings car ever.

It's a Toyota, it's a wagon, and it's glorious.

Forever the D Pillar: 7 Great Wagons

I catch a lot of crap for this, but I love wagons. They offer all the practicality of an SUV with most of the performance of their sedan counterpart. But these days, the wagon is a dying breed, recognized as “ugly” and “for old people”. This is a shame, because some wagons are truly awesome. Such as-

1)      BMW M5 Touring (E34)

My. God. I love this thing. Like, really, this has to be my favorite car ever. Though a new camry may be a bit faster, I say pffft! Nothing can match this sort of awesome. It has a 340 hp 3.8 liter inline 6 derived from the engine powering the famous M1 supercar. It has a 6-speed dogleg gearbox, one of the first. And it’s a motherfucking wagon. Though the E34 sedan is just as lust-worthy, there’s something special about a homely wagon that was faster, and dynamically superior, to, say, a Corvette of the era. This car must be the peak of the M5 line, which has a lot of peaks.

Like this one.

2)      Subaru Outback

Whenever people ask me “what car should I get?” one of my automatic answers is “Subaru Outback”. It’s one of the best all-around cars you can get: practical, fuel-efficient, dead reliable, killer in the weather, etc. Plus, I can think of very few cars I’d prefer to hoon. It’s a capable alternative to an SUV, unless you need to tow huge shit. And it has most of the dynamics of a regular car on-road, which is good, because it’s available with a turbocharged flat-four and a 6-speed. It exceeds at everything.

3)      Toyota Tercel SR-5

The Tercel 4x4 wagon is way cool because it’s pretty much the same as the Outback above, but packed full of Japaneese funkiness. It’s all tiny, and so much fun, and the back looks like an atm.

Neato!

4)      Subaru WRX Wagon

I mean, look at that thing! It’s so cool! Plus, its all turbocharged, and stick-shifted, and with more weight over the back wheels, it even has a better weight balance! And I promise you, a good WRX wagon will be just as fun on the road or in the dirt. Just stay away from that ugly hatchback that replaced this in 2008. God, that thing is ugly.

Herp-derp.

5)      Volvo 245

I love this car just because it’s so simple! It is the Toyota pickup of the wagon world. Not to mention, it was available in this sweet turbo version, which is way awesome, because it’s still an ugly Volvo wagon, just faster. An alternative to this would be a Mercedes W123 Wagon, since it was available in the states with a diesel engine that would literally never die. But now they’re all driven by hippies who fuel them with dirty French fry oil. Gross.

Get a job!

6)      Toyota Camry Wagon

I love this car for the same reasons I love the 245. But this needed special mention because it’s so awkwardly styled. Look at it, all like “herp-derp, lets go to school!”. It’s just so adorable.

It could be worse.

7)      Audi RS2 Avant

I saved the second best, for last. This started out as a humble Audi 80 Avant, which is cool enough to begin with, but then it was stuffed with the inline 5 derived from the Audi Sport Quattro, and then had the chassis tweaked by Porsche (yes, Porsche) by way of new coilovers and brakes. These are ever so coveted today, and this just started Audi’s fascination with obscenely fast wagons, culminating with the new RS6 Avant.

This wagon has more power than a Ferrari 458.

I'd rather have these 3 Tercel 4x4 wagons than a Rav4.