As car enthusiasts, we always enjoy an opportunity to discover the strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and characters of car brands and models we haven’t experienced before. Who among us would turn down the chance to drive a 700-horsepower super pickup truck from Ford, partake of the EV revolution in a Tesla, or – if you don’t mind dead brands – bask in the innovation and weirdness of Saturn and Saab?
Some say variety is the spice of life, and with my have-driven list stretching across more than 30 brands, I certainly agree.
I may have missed a few, but the lineup of brands I’ve had seat-time in includes:
Acura
Audi
Bollinger
Blue Bird
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ford
Geo
GMC
Honda
International
Jeep
Kia
Lexus
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Nova Bus
Oldsmobile
Pontiac
Plymouth
Saturn
Scion
Smart
Subaru
Suzuki
Toyota
Volkswagen
One of my life’s missions is to experience as many vehicles as possible and writing for this wonderful site has opened so many doors to doing that. I mean, the list doesn’t include motorcycles, boats, planes, or locomotives! Still, I have a long way to go. You’ll note that I’ve never driven a Saab before or any truly obscure car brand. I also don’t have a ton of experience driving supercars and no experience driving any Jeep Wrangler. Yep, I’ve buried Smarts and minivans in mud and have gotten massive airtime in a Jeep Renegade on a dirt track, but I’ve never driven Jeep’s famed Wrangler. Thanks to David, my first Jeep drive was in a pristine XJ.
It’s hard to pick a favorite vehicle from that list because I’m a firm believer that every car is awesome in its own way. With that said, if I were going to throw down money on a new vehicle right now, I would buy a Ford F-150 FP700 and laugh all the way into a jail cell.
Here’s where I turn the microphone to you. Tell us about all the different car brands you’ve experienced, whether briefly or long-term. Which impressed you most – and least? Which brands seemed best able to maintain the brand’s “feel” across different models? Which brands have you driven most? Which brands do you hope to add to your list? Tell us all about it!
I haven’t counted but it would likely be the worst version of each model thanks to over a decade of work travel and rental cars. One of the standouts for terrible was the Dodge Caliber. The CVT in that allowed for none of the power or torque to make it to the road.
Owned:
Ford (multiple)
Lincoln
Mercury
Range Rover
Jeep (multiple)
Audi
Pontiac (multiple)
Chevrolet (multiple)
International
Oldsmobile (multiple)
Mazda
Saturn
Buick (multiple)
Triumph
Suzuki (quad)
Rupp (mini bike)
Driven, above plus:
Nissan
Toyota
Austin-Healey
Peterbilt
White Star
GMC
Cadillac
Chrysler
RAM
Dodge
Fiat
BMW
Mercedes
Honda
MG
Geo
Volkswagen
Porsche
Acura
Suzuki
Infinity
Subaru
Lexus
Yamaha (quad, dirt bike).
There are still a lot more that I’d like to drive!
For me, the brands I have owned and driven:
Honda
Ford
Suzuki
Saab
Chrysler
And brands that I have driven but not owned (at least not yet):
Subaru
Tesla
Chevrolet
Buick
Mercury
Toyota
Dodge
GMC (moving truck)
International/Navistar (moving truck)
Saturn
Mazda
Hyundai
Opel
VW
Pontiac
Rolls Royce
Acura
BMW
Jeep
So 24 vehicle brands for me.
Mercedes, you’re welcome to take my 900 SPG for a drive if you’d like to try a Saab. I’m in the city.
I’ve driven plenty just as rentals, unless otherwise noted:
I think I’ve tapped out at 34, having chosen for long periods to rent rather than own.
I think Toyota wins for the greatest geographical spread, I’ve driven them on three continents and counting…
OK, this is fun!
Owned cars/trucks
AMC, Kaiser, Jeep, Dodge, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Chevy, Mercury, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Lexus, Infiniti, Kia, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Land Rover
Owned motorcycles
Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Moto-Guzzi, BMW
Forgot Subaru!
A quick count got me to 58 different brands, from 12 different countries (brand origin, not production country)
Edit: Add on 7 brands for two-wheelers and 1 for snowmobile, and the total adds up to 66 …