Cars

[boatme99]

Or trucks, what was your first? what have you had? Favorite that you owned? Got now?
Line 'em up, let's start the parade!

At last count I've had at least 45. The only new vehicles I've ever bought were for a wife, lord knows why the hell they can't drive a slightly used car.

Some of mine, in no order

Cars:
4 Oldsmobiles - 2 convertables
3 Mercedes
2 BMWs
3 Subarus
4 Lincolns - 3 TCs, 1 Continental
5 VWs - 2 Beetles, 2 campers, 1 Rabbit
2 Chevys - 1 conv., 1 SW
1 MGB
1 Plymouth - conv.
2 Cadillacs - Sedan de Villes
1 Ford
1 Rolls Royce
2 Hondas
1 Pontiac SW - a real pos
1 Jeep Cherokee - another pos

Trucks:
2 Chevy pu
4 Fords - 3 pu, 1 f 350 12' stake bed
2 Dodge - 1 crew cap pu, 1 window van
2 Toyota vans

I know there are a couple more but that's all I can pull up right now.

Favorites:
All the convertables, of course. A 64 Cutlass, 66 Impala, 69 MGB, 67 Olds 98, 65 Plymouth Satellite
The 3 Ford pu's and the 62 Dodge crew cab
The Continental

With the exception of the Pontiac wagon and the Cherokee, all have been good vehicles.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've had a few out of necessity, but there are few things I despise more than driving.

 

[Old School 3319]

I have owned way to many to count everything from semi trucks to harley's but pride and joy was a 64 1/2 cadillac deville

 

[bullet08]

Buick Electra Limited 1982. My very "first" car. Used to call it "Driving Fortress". Crushed few Hondas with it. It wasn't even a bump! My real first car was Nissan Sentra. Didn't drive it. Gave to my father for his Buick.

Second car was Olds Continental Supreme maxed out with options including HUD display. I think it was 86/87 model. Great car until the payments ended. Was in shop every week. Last time it was down, told the tow truck diver to take me to Honda dealership. Got me a Accord.

Accord last me few years before replaced it with Acura TL. Then Nissan Xterra.. Honda Pilot.. Now CRV.

Love huge American sedans. But not rich enough to keep 'em at dealership. I heard they are better now days, but afraid to risk it.

 

[DanWil84]

In have only owned 1 and own 2 presently in about 18 years, a Citroen (French brand, never released in the US, I think) and presently a Ford Focus and a Hyundai i10 aka The Rollerskate (also never released in the US I think). The Hyundai is mostly driven by my wife, nifty little town car. The Ford is a nice car, but it does what it should do drive me from A to B. I to drive a car because I need for work and holiday, but other than that I prefer anything on 2 wheels.

 

[LOREN]

My favorite was my 1970 Plymouth sport fury. I was so flat broke I had to sell her. To this day I still try to think what I could have done different to be able to keep her. ?

 

[alaskanpiper]

All mine have been what one would typically expect out of a teenage and/or golden girl. 2003 Dodge Neon, then a 1995 Buick Century, and now a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta.

Before you start laughing, just know that all those vehicles have seen more moose and fish blood than most of you have probably seen in your life, they all smell like a mixture of decomp, bloodhound funk, and tobacco smoke, and I've taken them down roads (or lack thereof) that your average Los Angeles Humvee driver would shit their pants on.

But why those vehicles? Well, because I share operating costs of one other vehicle that costs so much to frickin run that there isn't much left over for the road system:

 

[captainsousie]

I've had several but my first one that was "mine" was a 1985 Mercury station wagon with a 5.0 transplanted from a Mustang and given a bit of a going over by my dad who could wring every but of HP and torque out of it. It wasn't fast but it embarrassed many a garage tuner.

My current favorite is my Pontiac G8 GT (Holden Commodore VE for those in Oz). The LS v8 is more power than it needs but it's a comfy cruiser when you want it to be. A bit of work with the setup and it'll go around corners as well as a car 2/3 its weight.

Of course in WY the daily during winter is the Audi A4 since all wheel drive helps immensely.

 

[captainsousie]

All mine have been what one would typically expect out of a teenage and/or golden girl. 2003 Dodge Neon, then a 1995 Buick Century, and now a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta.

Before you start laughing, just know that all those vehicles have seen more moose and fish blood than most of you have probably seen in your life, they all smell like a mixture of decomp, bloodhound funk, and tobacco smoke, and I've taken them down roads (or lack thereof) that your average Los Angeles Humvee driver would shit their pants on.

But why those vehicles? Well, because I share operating costs of one other vehicle that costs so much to frickin run that there isn't much left over for the road system:

View attachment 71851

I'm not laughing. Those are great cars. Especially when it comes to ice and light/moderate snow.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I'm not laughing. Those are great cars. Especially when it comes to ice and light/moderate snow.

Front wheel drive is key. Light/moderate is not in the vocabulary here so there are certainly better options. The buick, lacking FWD, was by far the worst.

 

[captainsousie]

I guess the car I had that most car guys would laugh at was a beat up 1979 Plymouth Volare Roadrunner edition. They always laughed at it until it beat the fastest Pontiacs and Fords from its era over the 1/8th, 1/4, and 1/2 mile. I have to admit, it was fun.

 

[captainsousie]

Front wheel drive is key. Light/moderate is not in the vocabulary here so there are certainly better options. The buick, lacking FWD, was by far the worst.

The last snow storm back home dumped over 30" at my parents house. The only thing that,was going anywhere there was the skidsteer to clear the path out to the main road. Took most of the day at that.

 

[alaskanpiper]

The last snow storm back home dumped over 30" at my parents house. The only thing that,was going anywhere there was the skidsteer to clear the path out to the main road. Took most of the day at that.

It happens. Snowblower and an ATV with a tire chains and a winch plow are the common remedies here.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

1. '79-1/2 Ford Mustang 5.0L
2. Porsche "VW" 914 2.0L
3. VW Rabbit
4. VW Golf
5. Dodge Neon
6. Jeep Grand Cherokee
7. Honda Accord
8. Ford F-150 3.5L Econ (twin turbo )

Favorite would be the 914. It was a POS, but was so fun to drive (and sooo low to the ground).

 

[captainsousie]

Favorite would be the 914. It was a POS, but was so fun to drive (and sooo low to the ground).

Those were so fun...crazy expensive now too Slow cars but the handling was amazing when dialed in right.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Those were so fun...crazy expensive now too Slow cars but the handling was amazing when dialed in right.

For sure! I wanted to get another one, but hell, I can get a more reliable and faster boxster for less.

 

[captainsousie]

For sure! I wanted to get another one, but hell, I can get a more reliable and faster boxster for less.

Strange but true.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

If I could afford it, I would blow 30G on a Beck Replica 550 Spyder with a Subaru engine or a electric!

 

[canucklehead]

I'm a Toyota fan, my first car was a $400 1977 Toyota Corolla, one of the old RWD ones, I learned to drive manual, drift, and off-road in that car, it was driven all over logging roads in BC and gravel secondary highways in Alberta, it had over 620,000 km on it and was still going strong when a drunk guy ran a stop sign and pulled a utility trailer right over the front end of it.

I've also had 2 Celicas, a Tercel, a Camry, another Corolla, and currently have a Sienna van (my son has cerebral palsy and has a walker and other equipment, our dog is large and old, a minivan is a necessity) and an Echo (wife's work commute car, ridiculously good gas mileage).

I've also had a Nissan, a Dodge, 2 Pontiacs, a Honda, and a Ford. Also, have had three motorcycles (none currently ☹) all older Yamahas, a 1981 Maxim 650, a 1987 Radian 600, and a 1978 XS1100.

 

[mso489]

I've been infatuated with cars since I was a toddler, but there's no romance in my ownership, just funky four-bangers to get around in.

After four years of college and four years of Navy, and grad school, I bought my first car at age 27, a 1974 standard red VW bug, a good little work horse that developed problems, like a gas line leak and an accelerator cable that jumped off the pedal. Then I had a red Nissan Sentra that was great until it developed some kind of fuel injection and/or catalytic converter problem that I drove home from New England nursing despite an expensive repair en route. Then a Sentra sedan that had few problems. Then I inherited my wife's black Nissan Altima, my first automatic, that after some years I traded in on a Subaru Legacy, the last Legacy station wagon they made, with the most bells and whistles, but that required much warranty work -- twice on the a.c.; then two engine fans; then a wheel bearing. My service manager was a prince and got everything fixed and a car rental or two, a great guy. When the Subaru required a few thousand bucks of maintenance, I opted to get a much less exalted Mazda 3 hatch that has so far had few problems, the best in reliability I've had, knock on wood. I've always enjoyed driving, in my pokey way. Quality time in some cases.

Until last time, I have always started out trying to buy an American car, and there's always been some problem. I tried to buy a Buick Skyhawk after the VW, and the guy wouldn't discuss it with me. ?. When I bought the Subaru, I started out trying to buy a Mercury Sable, but the salesmen, all dressed up in fedoras, were too busy talking to each other. And so on. I do not know why American dealerships were allergic to me, but I stopped trying last time out. Now American cars are often made overseas anyway, and my Subaru was made in Indiana. I still subscribe to Motor Trend after the magazine Automobile went out of business and sent me MT. I take an interest in electric cars, but the recharge time and the range limits still seem problematical. I guess I can wait. I'm sort of a crypto car nut.