It might not be tomorrow, but the electric vehicle age is coming whether you like or not. That means one day you will very likely drive your last gas-powered car before making the switch over to an all-electric lifestyle. That idea is what led me to my question from last week.
I wanted to know what you all thought the last gas-powered vehicle you'd own would be. There, of course, were some dopes who said they'd never own an electric car because of freedom or whatever, but I ignored them. The rest of you, though, gave some genuinely thoughtful answers. For the most part, it seems like many of you already own what you consider to be your final gas-powered car. However, there are some folks who are eyeing one more ICE vehicle before making the switch to electric, or you want to run both powertrains — saving the gas car for fun weekend duty while using the electric car as a daily. That's the sort of solution that makes the most sense to me.
Anyway, that's enough yapping out of me. Why don't we all scroll down and check out what final gas cars our fellow Jalops want to own before it's too late?
As much as I would like it to be something modern enough for good MPG, airbags and other safety features, I don't want something new enough to be loaded with fragile screens and software that harvests all your data and beeps at you constantly.
I've been window shopping FB marketplace a lot lately and I keep circling around to one of my dream cars since childhood, a Z31 Nissan 300ZX. It would hit all the cool spots AND fulfill my desire to have a car that is just as old as I am. It can get 30 MPG on the highway and the interior is said to be perfectly comfortable for big road trips, as it's more of a sporty tourer than a proper sports car. Plus it would be cheaper and easier to maintain/source parts for than a Skyline.
Give me T-tops, the right color interior (tan or red) and that sick digital gauge cluster, and I'd be happy. Ex-Jalop Andrew Collins said himself that crossing big open spaces of land feels "like a little spaceship on its way across a great void. Huge sky, deep thoughts." That's my favorite part of driving, and as good an endorsement as I could ever want.
Submitted by: HokosukaDreaming
It's entirely possible that it will be the ND Miata I have right now.
Submitted by: Give Me Tacos or Give Me Death
A mid-80s Buick Century. Wagon, probably. If I'm lucky, there'll be a forgotten juice box in the back, somewhere. And fries under the seat!
Submitted by: Modusoperandi
I want it to be a Porsche Macan S, because that's just a car I've always wanted. I'm almost there, but haven't quite gotten to the point of pulling the trigger... Soon
Submitted by: Jimboy Junio
We're talking daily drivers, right? A 2011 Chevy Cruze 6-speed, already turned into a hand-me-down to a family member when I went electric in 2017. This doesn't include vintage sports cars in my collection. Those are changed out occasionally.
Submitted by: R. Cavaretti
I have it right now. We are a 3 EV house. My wife and I got a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 GT respectively in 2022 and '23 and our daughter bought a Bolt last year. I still have my dad's 2013 Tacoma I inherited with fairly low miles. So I plan on keeping that until it disintegrates. I don't see myself buying another gas car ever. ...unless I could find a '71 El Camino like the one I had in high school...
Submitted by: Ten Of Diamonds (Ten Of Diamonds)
Full restoration ongoing.
2nd owner, it has the CR 5speed and LSD rear end, both from the factory, as it was custom imported. Rare to get that in a US spec car.
Already otherwise all in on EV's, 99% of our driving is electrified.
Submitted by: DieselOx
In theory, it should have been the '17 Nissan Maxima I replaced with a Porsche Taycan. In practice, the combination of Western PA's miserable weather, poorly maintained roads, and steep hills have made the "practical" Porsche a bit less practical than I'd like. Wound up getting a dirt cheap lease on a Dodge Charger Daytona, a very stupid yet surprisingly fun car that barrels over spots that trouble the Porsche. So now I'm thinking if the Porsche is going to be a summer fun car then I should double down on it being a fun and less practical vehicle, and I'm thinking I might trade it for a Boxster. So hypothetically a Porsche Boxster I haven't bought yet.
Submitted by: Mike Szekely
I can tell you the exact make and model of my last ICE car. 2004 Toyota Camry LE (with a 5 speed).
However, I'm not certain I will replace it with an EV. Here's the issue.
I use this for short trips daily. Rarely more than 30-40 miles a day, most of the times less than 20. This leads to less than 10k/year in miles. It's got 230k miles on it, so I figure it won't hit 300k miles for nearly 10 years. Camrys of this era will go beyond 300k miles regularly.
I'm in my mid 50s. If you do the math, I should be retiring before this car needs replacement. Something I learned from my parents is that once they retired, they only needed one vehicle. So, there is a good chance that when this finally needs to be replaced, I won't need a car of my own. However, if it doesn't make it to retirement, I plan on replacing it with an EV since my needs are a great fit with an EV.
Submitted by: hoser68
It will be with 100% certainty my Alfa Romeo GT with its glorious 3.2 Busso V6. Such an epic engine deserves all the fuel so it can make me happy with the noises it makes. I will keep that car forever if it will let me, and my daily is a Chevy Volt that uses a tank of gas once a year (short commute).
Submitted by: ChaosphereVIII
Probably the R129 Mercedes SL that I plan to buy in a year or two. I MIGHT be able to convince my wife of the last-gen Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Prices are still steady for a driver. We're planning on getting a Tahoe within the next 6 months for weekend family trips, but our 2 Mazda 6's will remain on daily driver duty until the older one breaks, then we'll probably replace that with an EV since that's our commuter. I showed my wife the Rivian R3/R3x, and she absolutely loved it, so that'll likely be the EV for us when the time comes.
Submitted by: MrMcGeeIn3D