Cars

[crustybowl]

1988 Chevy Sprint 1.0 ltr 3cyl
1991 Honda Civic hatchback (head-on collision with 18-wheeler after 9 months)
1992 Honda Civic hatchback
1996 Honda Civic sedan used
1982 Ford Taurus used
2005 Hyundai Accent hatchback (sandwiched in traffic accident)
2007 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom used
2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan
2012 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail used
2019 Toyota Tacoma

All were new vehicles, unless indicated. Favorite being the Tacoma, short bed, leather interior, 6sp manual... and the Softail in the summer!

 

[mso489]

A geezerly observation. When I was a kid and teenager, nothing was more important than a car, though somehow I didn't actually own one until my late twenties. Delayed gratification indeed. However, now a lot of young people prefer not to learn to drive and get around riding with others or on public transportation or bicycles. They don't want or can't afford the cost and maintenance and insurance of a vehicle. Cars are way less mesmerizing than they were and are to me, for younger people. Cars used to be an expression of who you thought you were or who you wanted to be, right down to the model and year and power plant. Now they seem like an expense and annoyance to many young people. With many cars written up in motor trend pricing out at above 80K, I see the point. I think my dad bought his first car, a model T, very used, for five bucks, and it ran. Five bucks was about 100 in those days.

 

[tbradsim1]

65 427. 2 /4 BBLS, Galaxie 500, loved that car, Hurst Shifter, got married, wife couldn’t depress the clutch, sold it, bought a new Volkswagen, I CRIED!

 

[timelord]

It may come as a shock to my American cousins but I didn't start driving until I was 37 (and this despite a life long interest in motorsports - primarily F1 and le Mans but I also served as a marshal on the RAC rally and other such events a few times). I have the excuse that I lived in London and road a bicycle (not a motorbike) everywhere or used public transport when alcohol was involved.

Then i got a job with a company car and they allowed me to travel to North Wales to do a one week intensive (crash?) driving course. 4 days of 5 hours a day around Snowdonia and surrounding areas on all types of roads (and through breathtaking scenery followed by driving test on Friday morning. Passed first time, turned up at work on Monday morning and was given the keys to my first car (not new... ...it was 2 months old, previous 'owner' had resigned).

So not a huge list but;

1. SAAB 900SE turbo - loved that thing; I went all over France and Belgium (and the UK) with it

2. Mercedes E220 (also a company car; I changed jobs and was working for DaimlerChyrsler or more sepcifically debisIT - Daimler Benz IT Services which at the time was the worlds second largest it services company after EDS and nobody outside of Germany has ever heard of them!!!)

3a. Mercedes E320 - i bought this one; got the car 1 day before I resigned from debisIT. (had to make sure i got the staff discount...). Great for the autobahn runs to the Alps.

3b. (and my favourite). Morgan +8; bought new but had the engine re-bored from 4.0l to 4.5l. Absolute blast to drive; knocked the socks of Porsche Boxters and was quite capable of giving Porsche 911's a fright too (as well as scaring the s***t out of me on occasions). Not something to drive to the Alps in winter. Wifey wasn't sure if she should have stopped me getting a motorbike after she'd been out in it a few times...

Then I moved to Australia...

4. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (JKU); 'Overland' which I think is an Aussie only version

Then I moved to Brazil...

and er; that's it. Currently in Brazil we are car less - we wouldn't be able to go anywhere anyway at the moment - but I guess #5 will be another Jeep or possibly a Fusca (*) or Kombi

(*) that's an aircooled VW Beetle

Should anyone be unfamiliar with a Morgan; this is not mine (my interior leather was the same colour as the bonnet strap on this one and iMHO a much better combination with the Connaught Green body).



oh; and my Jeep

 

[Old School 3319]

A geezerly observation. When I was a kid and teenager, nothing was more important than a car, though somehow I didn't actually own one until my late twenties. Delayed gratification indeed. However, now a lot of young people prefer not to learn to drive and get around riding with others or on public transportation or bicycles. They don't want or can't afford the cost and maintenance and insurance of a vehicle. Cars are way less mesmerizing than they were and are to me, for younger people. Cars used to be an expression of who you thought you were or who you wanted to be, right down to the model and year and power plant. Now they seem like an expense and annoyance to many young people. With many cars written up in motor trend pricing out at above 80K, I see the point. I think my dad bought his first car, a model T, very used, for five bucks, and it ran. Five bucks was about 100 in those days.

Waiting til later in life is not as odd as you may think a lot of people in larger cities don’t drive. I grew up in a rural area so driving was just a part of life I started at 13. My daughter just completed her driving classes and passed @ 15

 

[boatme99]

View attachment 72040
65 427. 2 /4 BBLS, Galaxie 500, loved that car, Hurst Shifter, got married, wife couldn’t depress the clutch, sold it, bought a new Volkswagen, I CRIED!

I would too. That car is a beauty!

 

[boatme99]

A geezerly observation. When I was a kid and teenager, nothing was more important than a car, though somehow I didn't actually own one until my late twenties. Delayed gratification indeed. However, now a lot of young people prefer not to learn to drive and get around riding with others or on public transportation or bicycles. They don't want or can't afford the cost and maintenance and insurance of a vehicle. Cars are way less mesmerizing than they were and are to me, for younger people. Cars used to be an expression of who you thought you were or who you wanted to be, right down to the model and year and power plant. Now they seem like an expense and annoyance to many young people. With many cars written up in motor trend pricing out at above 80K, I see the point. I think my dad bought his first car, a model T, very used, for five bucks, and it ran. Five bucks was about 100 in those days.

And they used to have individual style, now they have to be aerodynamic. there's only so much you can do with that type body.
I'd rather have a '57 Mark II than a new Accura. Don't care if it's a death trap that only gets 9 mpg!

 

[boatme99]

Timelord, could care less about the Jeep (I know, it's a Jeep thing) but that Morgan just put a chubby in my chinos!

 

[boatme99]

Had a Silver Spur III Just like this in a dark blue for a couple of years while on the boat.


It was a 1996, so it was actually a series IV but Rolls never badged them as IV's, as in some middle eastern countries 4 is a symbol of death and they were selling a lot of cars there.
It was a great car but I was always a bit nervous driving it

 

[mso489]

I hear getting inside a Rolls is a different world. The amount of acoustic insulation is remarkable. It is somewhere else.

That Morgan is a masterpiece of roadsters. I think the frames were/are made out of wood, and that strap really is holding down the hood flaps.

The Fairlane is the ultimate Ford.

 

[skydog]

A geezerly observation. When I was a kid and teenager, nothing was more important than a car, though somehow I didn't actually own one until my late twenties. Delayed gratification indeed. However, now a lot of young people prefer not to learn to drive and get around riding with others or on public transportation or bicycles. They don't want or can't afford the cost and maintenance and insurance of a vehicle. Cars are way less mesmerizing than they were and are to me, for younger people. Cars used to be an expression of who you thought you were or who you wanted to be, right down to the model and year and power plant. Now they seem like an expense and annoyance to many young people. With many cars written up in motor trend pricing out at above 80K, I see the point. I think my dad bought his first car, a model T, very used, for five bucks, and it ran. Five bucks was about 100 in those days.

My grandfather would buy a car for $500 and keep it running for a year and sell it for $500 and buy another one. He always enjoyed getting under the hood and fixing whatever was broken on a car. I know there are still a lot of people that like to work on their own cars but it's much more expensive and you have to have a much wider skill set with all the electronics in cars nowadays.

Out in the country you're not going anywhere without some sort of vehicle, kids still learn on farm trucks on dirt roads and get a car as soon as they turn 16. There is nothing like the freedom of being able to just get in a car and drive somewhere, especially when you're miles from the nearest store and roads are so busy now that walking is more dangerous unless you're in the city.

 

[ssjones]

@timelord , that +8 is amazing! We have a local resident here that collects them, he has 4-5 from the 1940's to the Morgan Aero and his wife has a +8. Amazing cars.

 

[boatme99]

@timelord , that +8 is amazing! We have a local resident here that collects them, he has 4-5 from the 1940's to the Morgan Aero and his wife has a +8. Amazing cars.

When I lived in Annapolis there was a nice Caterham 7 running around.

 

[ssjones]

In my local British Car club, one buddy has a real Lotus 7, skinny tires and all, it's a hoot.

And a neighbor owns this beauty, which is a beast.

 

[timelord]

That Morgan is a masterpiece of roadsters. I think the frames were/are made out of wood, and that strap really is holding down the hood flaps.

Sort of. the chassis is a galvanised steel ladder (oddly enough a bit like the Jeep in that respect!). On top of that is an Ash frame which supports the bodywork; remember, my +8 may have had an aluminium V8 with EFI etc. but the basic car was pretty much the same as the original Morgan roasters and the design goes back to the 1930's.

Back then pretty much most cars would have had a wooden frame for the bodywork but have a steel chassis.

 

[timelord]

@timelord , that +8 is amazing! We have a local resident here that collects them, he has 4-5 from the 1940's to the Morgan Aero and his wife has a +8. Amazing cars.

A collection? Wow; just Wow!

I'll admit I shed a tear when I sold mine.

 

[boatme99]

Always loved the Allard J 2, would love to have one.


They've recently restarted limited production production
.

 

[boatme99]

Oldsmobile orgy! Ive had 4 Olds'. a1964 Cutlass conv. in burgundy/black, a 1965 Jetstar I in white, a 1965 Jetstar 88 in lt. metalic blue, and a 1967 98 conv. in gold.

 

[ssjones]

This Allard showed up at the Rockville Car show a few years ago. The Rockville show is the best car show I've ever been to, right next to Hershey (the largest in the world). It's the first weekend in October in non Covid years. The owner drove this in (all cars have to be driven in) and he assembled it from parts he had stored for decades. Its amazing to talk to guys like this, who own these kind of automobiles.




Our SS was eventually sold, and I bumped into the local new owner last year at a gas station. He was still keeping it mint. When we owned it, the license plate was SSJONES (its as close to a boat as we will get), hence my screen name here.

 

[boatme99]

Had a 1966 Impala conv. like this. Standard car, not an SS. Also a '65 Bel Aire wagon, same red as the Impala