I remember driving my dad's 1978 99 Turbo. The wind screen that felt so far out in front of you took a little getting used to but it was a fun car to drive. Always felt solidly planted to the road and the engine had nice scoot to it.

As far as character goes, to have it, the car needs nice lines but has to look different from the rest of the pack, but not be ugly. That's a fine line to tread.

Too many newer cars today are indistinguishable from each other except by the badge on the rear lid/hatch. Sometimes I wonder if they are all sharing the dies for their body panels.

A woodside Pacer wagon certainly looks different . . . . But I am sure there are those who loves those too.

Saab kept that oddball key position - I don't know why they did it, but it definitely is quirky. Maybe it kept the lock cylinder from wearing? If you have all sorts of keychain fobs and keys, there's a lot of weight. If you have a "normal" key position, the dangling keys will damage the tumbler of the lock.

Quirky doesn't give a car character. Great example with the Pacer! Different, but I wouldn't say it has character.

Older cars had more individual characters, as each manufacturer built their chassis and frame - or monocoque body - to a unique design.

Now, every Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat are based on the exact same set of three sizes of floor pan, as that is the single most expensive part to produce.

Go back to the 70s designs and the Citroen GS was unique in having a front mounted flat four air cooled engine with a built in pump for the hydraulic suspension and brakes.

A 1222cc engine in a 840kg car had a decent performance and could happily cruise at a ton all day (confirmed on many trips to Germany) and would stop on a sixpence with 62bar of hydraulic pressure a slide valve away from the front brakes. Rear brake pressure came from the rear suspension, all elf levelling.

Not a car to throw into a corner, but fantastically smooth when fed in gently, and a magic carpet ride over cobbles while remaining far more sure footed that anything with springs.

Citroen had some very unusual cars indeed. I like the DS - I've never ridden in one, but I heard that the suspension is super smooth. The 2CV is ... well ... it's certainly unique. I've never ridden, nor driven one either. The stark difference between the 2CV and DS or GS is amazing. It's hard to believe they came from the same company!

The hydraulic system was first introduced in the rear of the Traction Avant a couple of years before the DS/ID made their debut.

Considering that the 2CV was a pre-war design, but successfully hidden from the invading forces, it was incredibly well designed and lasted in production until the early 1990s. There are still a few on the roads around Edinburgh.

The hydraulic system was also used in the GS, CX, BX, Xantia, XM and C5, all of which I have owned at least one example of.

As sprung vehicle suspension improved and the hydraulic system was firmed up, the difference became far less noticeable.

Seeing that you've owned a lot of Citroens, my guess is that you like the cars a lot.

The suspension has been very good for my back, levelling out the bumps.

I still would prefer to drive the older ones with the softer suspension, but don’t want to spend my time lying under them.

The early systems were purely mechanical and very reliable, but the corrosion resistance was poor.

Technology has improved so much, however companies are cutting corners. Case in point; Hyundai/Kia advertises that their cars have more features or a longer warranty vs Toyota or Honda. Why do they do it? Because that's what people want to hear, until they need a motor right after the warranty expires. I've been trying to educate my clients, however the ads must be doing something, because many don't want to listen. So I get them a Hyundai or Kia. I have a client who had a motor go out at 101K miles - threw a CEL and took the car to the dealer. She found out that cylinder 3 was low on compression. She had complained about the CEL turning on for the past year or so. The dealer reset just it and sent her on her way. Lucky for her, she kept the receipts and with my help, she was able to convince the regional rep to accept her warranty claim.

In the last year, I've had more Hyundai/Kia motors go out - more than any other manufacturer. In fact, the number of Hyundai/Kia blown motors exceeds the total number of blown motors by all car companies combined - less Hyundai/Kia.

I love this article! For him, it's a Saab. For others it's something else. For me, it's an Alfa.

People ask me why I like Alfa's so much. My answer is that they have a soul.

When a designer creates art, that's something special - it can be said that he gives the car character.

My favorites are Battista Farina (designed the Alfa Spider), Gandini (designed the Fiat 850 and Alfa GTV), Guigiaro, Scaglietti, Zagato, Bertone, Scagione (Alfa Guilietta Sprint - I almost bought one), and Fioravanti (Ferrari Daytona). There are so many other great designers, but these are the ones that I like - Battista Farina is my favorite.