I understand why you like your Tempo, it's your first car. A lot of members' tastes in cars seems to influenced by what they grew up with, but I've never really rated any of the cars my dad's owned while I've been alive (Ford Cortina, BMW 520i [E28], '88 Honda Accord, Vauxhall Omega, Seat Leon) or either of the cars I've had (Fiat Punto, Renault Clio). They did their job, and I have memories of them, but I would never bother trying to track down any of those models for myself in future. The only car belonging to a relative that I'd like to keep for myself one day would be my grandad's old Audi 100 (he's getting old now and this would be a good memento of him), but I know that'll probably never happen, it just wouldn't be practical to keep that old hunk of junk lying around (most people in England don't have much land to themselves).
You know I used to have a bit of an affection for my dad's Vauxhall Omega, because I saw it as like the underdog to the big "snob brand" cars (Merc E-Class, BMW 5-series and Audi A6) in the European executive car market. I thought the Omega was better than it's old contemporaries (Ford Scorpio, Rover 800, Renault Safrane, Citroen XM, Nissan QX, Toyota Camry). But over time I've come to realise that there's a good reason why the Omega depreciated much faster than the Mercs, Beemers and Audis, not only does it lack their image, it just isn't quite in their league in engineering and build quality. But the estate had more space than any European estate since the Volvo 700/900 series. The Omega is obsolete now, European family cars are getting bigger and more sophisticated, there's no need for Ford and Vauxhall to have an "executive class" anymore, they've realised that people will always go for BMWs and Mercs. So the Omega is kind of the last of the large British executive cars, it's a bit like a British version of the Chevy Caprice and Crown Victoria (of course it's a lot smaller, but it was still the flagship Vauxhall).
But I'd never put the Omega on any all time favourite cars list, it's too ordinary.
Maybe my dad will give me his Omega soon (it's getting old and isn't worth much), but he tends to run his cars into the ground, so by the time he's finished with it, it'll probably be at the stage where it'll need big repairs and it wouldn't be financially practical for me (that's why I got rid of my Clio, I wasn't going to spend £700-£900 minimum to fix a £200 car) He's already spent more money in repairs than it's worth in the last few years, only because it's cheaper than him having to buy a new car for the best part of £20K. I don't know when he plans to replace that car, he's just putting it off for as long as he can, but it's starting to show it's age, recently it had trouble starting, so it needed yet more fixing.
Yes, my tastes are heavily influenced by family and my first car (the Tempo). I wouldn't have cared for the Tempo if I didn't own one. Two of my favorite cars, the Ford F-150 and Dodge Caravan, I like only because my parent's owned numerous F-150's and Caravan's and I grew up around them. However, as much as I like them, they are not cars I would want to own. I could see buying myself a 1997-2003 F-150 XL (entry level model) 4x4 with the five speed manual transmission as a work truck only (fishing work, hauling large amounts of wood, dirt, rock or other materials) or when the conditions demand four wheel drive and good ground clearance. I am perfectly happy driving my small car around, but sometimes it just does not cut it.
Since owning a Ford Tempo, I've come to have a sort of respect or attraction to underdog cars from the 1980's and 1990's. Cars like Tempo, the Chevy Corsica, Dodge Spirit, Dodge Aries, and similar cars. Cars normally deemed uncool, low and worthless by today's people. Thats not to say the aforementioned vehicles deserve respect. Because they don't. They were not fast, not powerful, not particularly innovative (though I think the Tempo was very innovative for the Ford Motor Company) and certainly were not very appealing. I have a few friends who have Corsica's, and based on my personal experience with my Tempo, I feel their material quality was surprisingly good. In comparison to more modern American entry level compact sedans like the Chevrolet Cobalt (which my family rented last summer) and American market Ford Focus (which we also rented a while back), they are noticeably better built. Sales reflect that too.
About my favorite cars, they are not influenced at all by what I think is the "best". In fact, I've come to realize that none of them are best-in-class. I just like them, and probably will for the rest of my life.
Edit: I can't stand the Escalade (or Navigator, or the new Chrysler Aspen). I highly doubt that anyone takes their Escalade off-road, and I also doubt that the Escalade EXT's rear bed is ever used for carrying cargo. All the Navigator's, Escalade's, Aspen's and other luxu-yachts I see are always clean and dent and dirt free. I've never heard of any luxury SUV going off-road. Ever.
. Going off-road isn’t something rich people like to do. In fact I hate the look those people give me when I take my Expedition up to a gas pump right after its been off-road. You would think I was transporting illegal aliens or something. I guess its just strange to them to see a vehicle covered in mud. 
Every now and again I go down to take my kids to see my parents. They own a good chunk of land that has a large open field and far back into the woods past the tree line, a large pond that is full of fish (mostly Bass)