Entertaining thread at TTAC

Post #304,893 by Another Scott 3/1/09 10:54:10 AM Reply	Entertaining thread at TTAC Your Entire Car Owning History Please: http://www.thetrutha...g-history-please/ 243 replies at the moment. Cheers, Scott.
Post #304,907 by static 3/1/09 7:30:11 PM Reply	I'm not going to reply there... We can have our own list here. :-) My first car was a 1971 Leyland Mini I bought off my dad. 997cc and four gears. I used to think if I had the time and patience, I could do great things with it. I sold it when it got too small and the fuel economy started dropping (it needed new piston rings...). And it needed a fifth gear. Second car was a 1982 Mitsubishi Sigma wagon. 2L. Very nice, actually. I loved the very even gearbox ratios. Unfortuantely, I got shunted one day and it was never quite the same. Third car was a splurge. A 1989 VN Commodore. My first and only Automatic. The main problem with Commodores is that their value falls so quickly. Plus being a 3.8L V6, it was thirsty. I traded it in. My current car is a 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer. 1.8L. Goes well, but I'm getting a little bored with it. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #304,908 by pwhysall 3/1/09 8:40:19 PM 3/2/09 1:13:40 AM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... 1. 1989 Nissan Bluebird LX 1.6. Too much car, too little engine. 2. 1995 Renault Laguna RT 1.8. Comfy, slow, rusty, timing belt went and cost me £480. 3. 1998 BMW 318ti M Sport. Fun, thirsty, costly to run for what it was. 4. 1999 BMW 528i SE. Best car so far. More-or-less the same running costs as the 3er, but with the refinement and power to justify it. The I6 is smooth, the ride excellent, and it's no thirstier (35+ MPG on the motorway, 25ish around town) than a 2L 4-pot driven enthusiastically enough to get the same kind of performance. On the motorway, I reckon it's just about perfect. ETA: All of these are manual transmission; auto is something that's unusual in the UK. Almost everyone passes their driving test in a manual because if you pass in an automatic, you cannot legally drive an automatic. The only auto cars I've driven and not been given Teh Rage by are big diesels (BMW 530d wasn't bad, frexample - the box could change gear without you noticing). My mother's Ford Fusion (1.6L petrol, she's got a dicky left hip and using the clutch aggravates it) is simply not suited to the automatic gearbox. Buzzy and while not exactly jerky, I can change gear better than that autobox does. She'd have been better off with a nice big diesel automatic, but her comment was "I can't park a large car". My comment was "you can't park a small one, so why not have something quiet and comfortable, with a big boot?". But then she never listens to me. Keeps buying Windows laptops, for a start... Edited by pwhysall March 2, 2009, 01:13:40 AM EST Expand All History
Post #304,909 by Andrew Grygus 3/1/09 10:02:45 PM 3/1/09 10:09:46 PM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... 1. 1955 Nash Metropolitan 2. 1948 MG TC roadster - traded to uncle for Jag. 3. 1961 Jaguar XK150 coupe - destroyed by a red light runner from NJ. 4. 1954 Jaguar XK120 roadster. 5. 1965 Jaguar 3.8 liter MK II 6. 1977 Toyota Celica hatch-back 7. 1983 Toyota wagon - crashed. 8. 1993 Ford Escort wagon - disintegrated in use. 9. 1997 Saturn wagon. The Saturn is still in great shape after more use than destroyed the Escort, and I'm pretty sure its the best handling car I've had - holds the road like glue. Edited by Andrew Grygus March 1, 2009, 10:09:46 PM EST Expand All History
Post #304,910 by malraux 3/1/09 10:54:04 PM 3/1/09 11:47:07 PM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... 1. 1987 Camaro Z28 - New. Fun car for an automatic, and it was in great condition the day it was stolen out of a parking garage in Southfield, MI, in 1999. My second car; the first was an Oldsmobile Delta 88 diesel station wagon of my parents'. The Camaro was wonderful until my little sister let me drive her Vette for a week on my honeymoon. Then the Camaro felt like crap. Grr. 2. 1995 Ford Taurus - Leased, nice family car for as long as we had it. 3. 1997 Ford Taurus - Leased, very solid car. This was the first unibody version as I remember. Never had a problem with it. Very comfortable family car. 4. 1999 Ford Windstar - New. 125K miles. Still running, pretty good on repairs, other than the rust. Oh, the rust. We brought it in to get the windshield repaired, and on the way out of the lot the vehicle starting making a very distressed crunching noise going around the corner. Brought it immediately back. "Oh, it appears that the engine mount has rusted through." Ugh. The driver's side doors are rusting all along the bottom as well. Lots of little issues with this vehicle apart from the rust: freaky interior lights, broken door lock actuators, sticky sliding doors, and so on, but nothing huge. I won't buy another. 5. 1989 Ford Mustang LX - Used. Bought to replace the Camaro. This is a built for the quarter mile car: headers, K&N filter, no cats, 4.55 rear end, flowmaster exhaust. 1st gear is good for 15mph, if you still have any tires left. My first and only manual transmission car. Terrible in the winter; at one point I was putting cardboard in front of part of the radiator to get the heat to work (racing thermostat). The car bought me a nice set of tickets during a 15-second period of extremely poor judgment (managed to pass, doing 70 in a 45, an unmarked police car that had just cut me off). Currently this car is sitting in the garage, because it was replaced with: 6. 1999 Ford Taurus VOHC - Used. Nice car... quick, roomy, decent handling for a sedan. Bought from the neighbor with 30K on it, driven only by his wife. I was sick of driving the Mustang in the winter, and we needed something more practical because of our second child's arrival. At 50K on the odometer, the engine seized. I was driving into work and, in order, the oil light, temp light, and check engine light went on within a few seconds of each other. Then the engine went off forever. According to some research an interested neighbor kid did, these things were known for that. Sheesh. I will not buy another Ford at this point. Replaced by: 7. 1997 Audi A8 - Used. Yes, the famously in-the-shop A8. Still expensive, still in the shop occasionally, and still a very nice, comfortable, sporty, roomy, well-handling car - 145K on it now. Although the other arm rest just fell off (the '97s were famous for this problem). I will probably keep this car until it falls apart (10 years from now! Or more! Do you hear me, car??) Mileage: 20/28. However, I live 3 miles from work, and I fill the thing up once every 2 months. I reckon that's not bad a'tall. When it's time to replace the van, we'll probably get a Honda Odyssey. Edit: what happened to the rest of the Mustang comments...? Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson. Edited by malraux March 1, 2009, 10:55:35 PM EST Edited by malraux March 1, 2009, 11:47:07 PM EST Expand All History
Post #304,916 by pwhysall 3/2/09 1:15:08 AM Reply	You do realise... ...that you're the first person in the world to describe the livingroom-on-wheels that is the A8 as "sporty"?
Post #304,917 by Meerkat 3/2/09 6:14:30 AM Reply	...but compared to most US cars...(gd&r) :) They said I was gullible ... and I believed them
Post #304,953 by malraux 3/2/09 3:57:05 PM Reply	Re: You do realise... Excellent pick-up and great handling. OK, it's not a sports car. But it's a hell of a lot better than other barges I've driven. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #304,912 by Another Scott 3/1/09 11:12:10 PM Reply	Copied and pasted from TTAC... HereÂs my list (many of them my parentsÂ): 1955 Chevy Bel Air - My DadÂs daily driver for decades. 4 door, 6 cylinder, Â3 on the treeÂ. He finally gave it away in the 1990s. 1960 Rambler - My MomÂs car for a couple of years in the Â60s. The front seats reclined all the way, forming a handy bed with the back seat. It was fairly reliable, but quirky. The Â3 on the treeÂ shifter would often hang up shifting from 1st to 2nd, so sheÂd have to stop, open the hood, free the linkage, close the hood, and get in and try again. One headlight would go out going over bumps. 1969 Chevelle - My MomÂs for a couple of years. 1970 Pontiac GTO. My MomÂs car when I was in HS and college. 400 CID, Â350 HPÂ, automatic. I loved that car. The original engine threw a connecting rod driving through Indiana as it overheated. (Turns out the water pump impeller was eaten up by a cooling system cleaner that ate aluminum.) I replaced it with a used 455 CID engine that had an an astounding amount of torque. Unfortunately, she loaned it to a friend who wrecked it. :-( 1966 Olds F-85 (the lower trim version of the Cutlass). Given to me by a friend. 330 CID, 2 speed automatic, manual steering. A very light, very simple, reliable car. No A/C. Top speed of about 90 mph (tested driving on a new asphalt road in Oklahoma when it was about 110 F outside). Given to my Mom who had it for several years before I gave her a used 1988 Olds 98 (she put about 300k miles on that before it disintegrated). 1974 Ford Galaxie 500 2 door. Given to me by an uncle when I was in grad school. A comfortable car, except for the out of balance wheels created by a service tech who used a sledge hammer to try to get the rusted wheels off the axles. Had terminal rust problems (said uncle stored rock salt in the trunk for too long) - even the gas line rusted out. 1987 Buick LeSabre T-Type. 3.8 litre V-6, 30 mpg highway, 20 mpg commuting. Given to me by my step Mom who had it as a business lease. It was a reliable car and I put over 130k miles on it (about 185k total) before giving it away. Had the tranny replaced under warranty, and the usual maintenance, but it was cheap to run. The paint went to hell after about 7 years though. I had to replace the harmonic balancer shortly before I gave it away - I had to use a 10 foot long lever arm to get the bolt to budge! 2004 VW Jetta TDI Wagon 5 speed GLS. Bought new in late 2003. I wanted a small wagon that got at least as good highway mileage as the LeSabre and had very few choices. ItÂs been quiet, fun to drive, good stereo, and very reliable. I get 45 mpg per tank average commuting to work (I drive like a granny) and up to 51 mpg on the highway. I love it. Cheers, Scott. (Who fixed a typo or two.)
Post #304,914 by static 3/2/09 12:43:49 AM Reply	Car stories... 1960 Rambler - My Mom's car for a couple of years in the '60s. The front seats reclined all the way, forming a handy bed with the back seat. It was fairly reliable, but quirky. The "3 on the tree" shifter would often hang up shifting from 1st to 2nd, so she'd have to stop, open the hood, free the linkage, close the hood, and get in and try again. When I was growing up, my Dad had a Vauxhall sedan, model unknown, possibly a Wyvern. I was just old enough to remember replacing it with a Holden Torana. Anyway: Dad had several stories about the Vauxhall, notaby involving the gear linkage, as it was also a column shift. Apparantly it used to "fall down" and to change gear, you first had to "pick up" the linkage, somehow re-engaging the gearbox. However, sometimes that didn't work, and you had to go under the bonnet and reset the linkage from there... He said doing that twice in a few metres in a busy shopping centre convinced him it had to be put out to pasture. Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #304,915 by malraux 3/2/09 12:49:17 AM 3/2/09 12:54:55 AM Reply	Interesting... My parents had a 1969 Buick Le Sabre convertible with a 400. That engine also threw a rod and was replaced with a 455, and yes, that's a ridiculous amount of torque. :-) What a great car... bench seats like twin beds, perfect for cruising the beach, and a phenomenal engine sound. That car could hit 130 without breaking a sweat, but it felt like 60. Until you had to turn, that is... http://www.gmphotost...s/53218245_pr.jpg - except red, not white. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson. Edited by malraux March 2, 2009, 12:54:55 AM EST Expand All History
Post #304,945 by Another Scott 3/2/09 11:14:08 AM Reply	Pretty. That must have been a blast in the spring and fall. Our GTO was similar to this http://www.americanb.../1970-GTO--29.JPG But in our case, the color was called "Palomino Copper Metallic" and it had a tan vinyl roof. THM400 transmission, column shifter. It wasn't a monster by any means, but was a blast. Late '60s and up until about 1971 GM iron was a great for kids in the late '70s. Cheap, fairly abuse-tolerant, great to learn wrenchin' on, and could be made scary quick for not a whole lot of money. Of course, those cars killed a lot of kids, too. The highest speed I ever saw in the GTO was 120 (indicated) with 6 people in it (with the 400). It was pretty tired when we got it, and for the longest time it wouldn't do above about 60. It would accelerate like the dickens, but never be able to get above about 60 mph. After throwing a lot of money at it replacing parts (carburator, fuel pump, ignition stuff, valve job, etc., etc.) because I didn't know how to properly diagnose it, I finally discovered (with the help of my friend's dad who was a farmer and always tinkering with his machinery) that a piece of rubber fuel line at the gas tank was kinked. Cutting off about 1" of it and reinstalling it fixed that problem. Another good thing about having a car like that when you're young is, at least in my case, you appreciate the memories but don't want to relive them (at least not as a daily driver). Cars are so much better now. :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #304,913 by mvitale 3/1/09 11:34:54 PM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... 1. 1988 Plymouth Reliant K. Yes, a K-car. Automatic little piece of crap. It served me well enough from high school (when bought used from my father's aunt) through college. After moving from Texas to Illinois, it decided that it didn't like Illinois winters (it must've gotten acclimated to Texas "winters"), and gave out 3 months after moving up here. The second engine always had issues after my brother seized the first engine running it without oil. Famously, while driving it to Texas from NJ, the engine coughed up 3 of the 4 motor mounts. By the time I got to Vidor, TX, the engine was noticeably moving vertically when placed into/out of gear. It always had a problem holding on to its motor mounts thereafter. 2. 1998 Honda Accord. 4-door, 5-speed manual. 118k+ miles and still going. I bought 2 of these at the same time -- I have no clue if my ex-wife still has hers or not. I treat it like crap (it has now officially been 1 year and 2 days; about 4500 miles since its last oil change. I'll get it done soon, I promise!) and it runs like a champ. I've been told for about 4-5 years by my mechanic that I need to replace the clutch. I always have something better to spend my $1200 on. Clutch refuses to give out. 3. 2004 Nissan Maxima. This is Beth's car. 5 years old in a couple of months; I'm preparing to make my last car payment on it here in a couple months. Can't friggin' wait. Maybe I'll save up a few of Beth's car payments and replace my clutch. 28k miles, I think. We don't drive anywhere anymore. It's nice. Assuming that the Honda doesn't give out, the next car I purchase will likely be for stepson #1, who is currently 12 going on 20. Or perhaps another for Beth, who will then hand over her Maxima to said stepson. Who knows? -Mike "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
Post #304,919 by Meerkat 3/2/09 6:54:02 AM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... First off was a 1980 Toyota Corona. http://upload.wikime...Sedan_-Front-.jpg Beige (of course). Because it was my first car, it was of course the bestest thing on wheels. OK, so that feeling lasted a whole month or two. After one sizable stupid-young-male-driver accident, it quickly degenerated and was hastily traded in on ... 1985 Holden Commodore http://i11.ebayimg.c...?set_id=80000500F Yeah, I was All That in this car :) For a 3.3 litre six, it really moved. Someone smashed into it the day i was announced Sydney won the bid for the 200 Olympics(!). Finally sold it coz one day when I was driving home I saw... 1986 Toyota Celica http://www.cars-dire...a_celica_2601.jpg This was my lesson in why you Do Not Impulse-Buy A Car. It actually kind broke down on the way home from the dealership. A sign of things to come. But it ended up being a love/hate relationship, coz when it was actually working, it was such good fun, a wonderful car to drive. And pop up headlights! I noticed that like most owners of cars with pop-up headlights, it takes only the most minute degradation in natural dayight to make me think "ooh, better put the pop-up lights on!". (Look around - when dusk is still a long way away, any car with pop-up headlights will almost surely have its headlights on:) Sure it'd scrape its front spoiler on everything, the suspension would bottom out if you ran over so much as a toothpick, but it was all worth it on the days when it wasn't getting fixed. At one stage my workmates ran a little competition to see if it would last two weeks without having a problem. It got there..but I think it was a few months after the started their little scheme. Traded it in when it was, I'm quite sure, about 5 minutes away from a total engine failure, on ... 1994 Nissan Bluebird SSS http://www.cargurus....15/pic-37731.jpeg After the Celica, all I was interested in was reliability. This thing had it in spades. In the five-and-a-bit years I owned it, it only let me down once. Not a very exciting car, but handled OK, had nearly enough oomph, didn't cost me all that much to keep and did everything I asked of it, without problem or complaint. And the head-up display was not only cool, but genuinely useful in speeding-fines-au-go-go New South Wales. Then one day my brother told me one of his friends was selling his .. 1999 Mazda MX-5 http://www.premierca...b_525x367_mx5.jpg By this stage I'd changed jobs and was taking the train to work each day - so I'd usually only drive once a week if I were lucky. So I figured if I only drive once a week, I want it to be fun, and who gives a shit about practicality. OF course when I bought it I couldn't drive a manual, but hey I figured it's a sure-fire way to make me learn how to drive a real car :) And what an awesome car, love it. Handles like nothing else anywhere near its price range, it's not super-fast but certainly quick enough, and I may be biased but I still think it's much better looking than the current one. It has a boot not much bigger than a briefcase, cabin storage that'll hold two, maybe three muesli bars, but I don't care. Mazda's "horse and rider" marketing guff suddenly makes sense. You really feel like there's not much mechanical interference between you, the steering wheel, and the road. There's certainly not much distance between your bum and the road, that's for sure! It's ten years old now, and starting to show the typical 10-year-old-car niggles, but I can't part with it yet, I'm having too much 'zoom-zoom' fun. They said I was gullible ... and I believed them
Post #304,962 by static 3/2/09 5:33:43 PM Reply	I'm glad you replied. :) I'd forgotten about the Celica... Wade. "Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
Post #305,006 by Ashton 3/3/09 3:03:18 PM Reply	Mazda -- A much-refined A-H Sprite, but sounds like about the same sense that it's a roller-skate which You are directing / and it follows. Most folks (who don't ride cycles) never experience that er, cyborg- sense. That being ~so, note that a controlled- "two-wheel drift" in the 3-D equilibrium of the two-wheeler ... engages lots more of that inner gyroscope than the simpler, planar equivalent of carz. In any (next) event though -- a few such experiences for-fun can really SYA/instinctively, when the fates converge on a dicey situation. I Hates evull-handling carz (and the bean-counters who force their mass-production) as there are so few reasons to build such crapware, any more == usually just pure-refined greed at the parts, engineering level. Also.. tires, Tires! -- rubber formulation; screw the longevity: it's Your Ass hung out there, daily. (Everyone gets to be Tazio Nuvolari ... for 5 seconds. If lucky.)
Post #304,931 by jake123 3/2/09 9:21:28 AM Reply	What car? Seriously. I've never owned one. I figure I'm probably one of the lowest carbon footprint people in North America... ;)
Post #304,988 by Steve Lowe 3/3/09 3:53:36 AM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... Dunno if I can remember them all.. 69 Plymouth Valiant - 2dr, 225 Slant 6 automatic 77 Chevy Monza - coupe, 4cyl/4 speed - wrecked after owning it a week 66 Chevy 3/4t Pickup - given to me, put a healthy 350 in it. With the 4:56 rear and truck 4spd with 'granny low', it'd literally roast the back tires to nothing. Didn't drive it much as I didn't have a license due to the wreck with the Monza, and I couldn't afford insurance on it when I got my license back 79 Honda CB750F - great bike, was my only vehicle for a couple of years because I could afford the insurance 74 Vega GT - drag race car (that had license plates..). There's a story behind this one that ended with the torque from the 454 I built for it being too much for the car. I learned what subframe connectors were that day. 81 Mercury Cougar. Tiny V8, automatic. 2nd worst car I ever had. Transmission literally exploded while I was driving to work one day. 82 Buick Skylark. 4cyl/auto - one of the best cars I ever had. Had 65K on it when I bought it, and 200K when I sold it. 77 GMC pickup. Was big into camping and offroading - and this was a great beast for both. 350 4spd, 4x4 81 Chevy Malibu wagon. 305 auto - got into a motorcycle accident that laid me up. (ridin bitch on a friend's new harley..he was showin' off, I ended up in the hospital for a week) Was hard to get in and out of my truck, so sold it and my bike and bought this wagon from my girlfriend's parents. 84 Olds Cutlass Supreme. My all-time favorite car. Had a 307/THM200 that was shortly replaced with a 403/THM350- both built for speed. Very much a sleeper what with the landau roof and wire wheels. Surprised many Camaros and Mustangs in those days. 69 GMC 1/2t pickup 250 6cyl with 3 on-the-tree. Bought a house that needed major reno work - needed a work truck. 84 Toyota Tercel. I stupidly sold my Olds and bought this royal pile of crap. Hated everything about this car. I bought it because I was dating a girl (who would become my exwife) that lived about 70 miles away and I thought it'd save on gas. It WAS cheaper on gas, but OMFG, I could not BELIEVE how much parts were to fix the thing - and it was broken at least monthly. 83 Buick Century. Got for $200 with a bad tranny. Fixed tranny, drove for a couple years. Meh. 85 Chevy Celebrity. My parents gave us this one. Was a good running car - can't remember why I sold it. (lots of my first marriage is a blur....) 76 El Camino. Sold the GMC pickup and bought this from a friend for $100. Needed an alternator and a carb rebuild drove for a couple years. 70 Chevy pickup. This was my dads for the camper. He sold the camper and was dying of cancer and didn't have any use for the truck anymore. Sold the El Camino and bought this. Later sold it to my father-in-law. 88 Pontiac 6000. Probably the best car I've ever owned. 92K when I got it, 227K when I traded it in. In that time it got a timing chain (just because it had so many miles), a fuel pump, an alternator, a couple sets of brakes and tires. I loved this car. 84 Chevy S-10 blazer. Buddy had this- my wife wanted it, so we sold the pickup to her dad and bought it. Blech. 93 GMC pickup. A road gator went through the grille, AC condenser, and radiator of the 6000 - so I traded it in on this. 92 Geo Tracker. Wife could not stand that I got a car and she didn't, so the blazer was traded in on this. Got divorced. Finally. 93 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Couldn't afford pickup payments on top of child support and living expenses. Nice car, got rear-ended by a 17yo girl driving her dad's F350 clubcab dually diesel. She was doing 40, I was stopped. Yeah. The Tracker got repossessed cuz ex stopped making payments- long story there, too. 72 Chevy Pickup. My sister had bought this as a work truck when she bought her first house and was pretty much done with it. 99 Nissan Sentra. My current wife (the keeper) bought this just a couple months before we started dating. OK car - annoyingly underpowered, but got great mileage. 77 Chevy pickup. I stupidly wanted another 4x4. Was a good truck, but I'm way past the camping-partying every weekend thing. Shoulda kept the 72. 95 Dodge Grand Caravan. The wife had surgery on her left foot and couldn't drive a stick anymore. Both cars we had (Sentra and Pickup) were manuals, so we sold the truck and bought this van for $1000, needing a transmission. I bought a junkyard tranny for $500 and she drove that van for 3 years. We really like the utility the van offered, so when the transmission started acting up at 250K on the clock... 97 Dodge Grand Caravan. This one had the bigger engine (3.8l) and ran great...only had 60k miles. We drove it til it had 180K on it. 99 Chevy Pickup. One day, I'm driving the Nissan, the wife's driving the van..well the van ends up in the back seat of the Nissan. The Nissan gets totalled, the van gets fixed, and we get a few sideways glances from the insurance company. I bought the truck with the proceeds from the Nissan. Still have it. 66 Chevy Chevelle SS396. My dream. My brother-in-law found this car on his dad's property after he passed away. He gave me the car - but a few months later, the owner of it came looking for it. He had the title and last registration (from 1986!) so took it from me. I've been in a depression since then. 05 Chrysler T&C. In moment of weakness (idiocy, actually) we traded in the Dodge van on this one. It's nice - but I hate it because it symbolizes such a stupid financial decision. I can't wait to be rid of it. Every time I get in it I just want to ram it into something. Or puke on the dashboard. 92 Honda Accord. I bought this off of ebay 2 years ago for $1400. It's a bit rough around the edges, which makes it a good project car for my son to learn a few things with. We've done brakes (including hydraulics), frontend, clutch slave cylinder, battery and tires so far. He'll be driving in about a year. It's currently my daily driver (well, when I drive - it goes about 20 miles a week, usually). I love it, and will likely buy another Accord when Nick starts driving - assuming he shows enough responsibility to drive at 16. Ain't looking good so far. It's a 5spd - I insist he learn on a stick. I used to love cars and love working on them. Now I hate them. I'm happiest with an old truck and a motorcycle. If I could buy whatever I wanted (within reason), I'd probably buy a BMW 3series ragtop and replace the van with a VW Passat or Subaru wagon. I'm sure I've forgotten at least a couple in there.... there was a Ford Granada that I've tried really hard to forget- don't really remember when that was, though.
Post #304,993 by Silverlock 3/3/09 8:39:54 AM Reply	Re: I'm not going to reply there... 69 VW Beetle "stickshift" automatic with the clutch in the shifter handle. Fun little beast. Bought for $50 from a junkyard and ran for two years. 72 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus. A very nice ride. Not super fast but had some get up and go. Flipped it end for end off a 12 foot embankement. Didn't run so good after that. 72 AMC Javelin with lots of speed work done to it. Fastest thing I've ever owned. 80 Ford Fairmont. My folks gave me this when I finally decided to go to college in my late 20s. Ran decent but collected rust and dings like a magnet. 78 Olds Delta 88. My highway boat. 89 Saturn SL. The less said about this the better. 90 Chrysler LeBaron "J-series" 2-door convertible. My favorite. Ran great. Decent mileage. Good highway car. Good handling. Several forgettable vehicles not listed because,... I forget.
Post #304,929 by jbrabeck 3/2/09 9:09:23 AM Reply	Let's see what I can remember 1960 Ford Fairlane 500 1962 Chevy Impala 1965 Triumph Spitfire 1970 Dodge Dart 1960 VW Bug 1964 Fiat ?? 1970 MG Midget 1976 Dodge Van 1980 Dodge 024 1977 Dodge 1/4T pickup 1986 Hyundai Excel 1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 1992 Dodge Maxi Van 1995 Saturn SL1 1997 Dodge RAM Van 1996 Dodge Caravan 1999 Chrysler Cirrus (300k mile before she died) 1979 Ford F350 2001 Olds Alero 1991 Ford Ranger 1995 Mazda Protege 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 I may have missed a couple... Last two are my current vehicles. Since I live way out in the sticks, I need a backup vehicle. And since I have the need for the second vehicle, I keep it a truck for the times I need to haul things.
Post #304,963 by folkert 3/2/09 6:12:50 PM 3/2/09 9:05:08 PM Reply	Okay the top of this list is: 1976 Pinto. It seems that most of my cars have a story behind them... I see that isn't typical. 1) 1976 Pinto, 351C, Top Loader 5 speed, 3.0(something) gear ration axle (Pinto was light and didn't need low 4.xx ratios), Tubs, Full frame, 5 point roll cage, 5 point harness. Lotsa go fast parts on the 351C. Sold it to a kid, whom killed himself in it. 2) 1973 Pinto, 2.3L engine 4 speed... 75MPH down hill with a 100MPH wind at your back. 3) 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo, 350CiD/350THM, Stock... until the timing chain needed to be replaced. Sold that just before I went into the Marine Corps. It slept six under the hood. 4) 1972 Audi 100, ran... but the under carriage (mainly the back seat where the battery box was) fell out of it going down the road. Left it where was, came back next week to fix it... gone, no police record of it either 5) 1973 Dodge Colt. USMC Base Car. Awesome gas mileage (about 40), awesome mileage about 400K. Sold to another Marine. 6) 1986 Mustang Convertible, White Stock. Stolen while I went to an ATM around the corner of the bank (about 15 foot away from it.) (Security Pacific) 7) 1985 Audi 4000, rolled it going down Snake Mountain going towards Palm Springs. Drove it back to base after changing the tire that blew, slowly. 8) 1987 Suzuki GSX1100R... totaled in front of a CHP shop on CH-62. Hit from behind. 9) 1977 Chrysler Cordoba. Nice nice nice car. Had an accident in it crumpled the front right fender. Traded it for #10 10) 1978 Chrysler Cordoba. HORRIBLE Car. Ran horrible, had the "Lean Burn" setup on it. Horrible horrible car. 11) 1985 Datsun Sentra. Stick, 4 cylinder, Great mileage Wow. Nearly the best car I have ever owned. (until my Lancer). Wife drove it for years, (bad clutch for 16 months). Fixed it up drove it for a long while after. Given to my Niece for College, after she wrecked a 1986 Nissan (something) and sold the 1976 Buick LeSabre with a 455 Karen's Dad gave to her, to a serial murderer (she didn't know it at the time). And he drove around with a dead body in the trunk for weeks, before he was caught. 12) 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with the 5.7L Diesel in it. Best GM vehicle I ever owned. Yes the Diesel. That is, until it threw a rod about 6 months after I had to start it using ether, to take my (then fiancée) wife to the hospital. Put a nice rebuilt 350 Oldsmobile motor in it and drove it another 6 months. Had to sell it to a friend as I couldn't afford to put gas in it anymore. 13) 1981 Cadillac Eldorado. Purchased as a basket case. Never got it running. Sold to a kid in the hood. 14) 1988 Honda Accord. POS POS POS POS. Blew the head gasket about 3 weeks after I bought it. Fixed it and took the Used Car Dealer to court over costs. Paid me. Wife ended up driving the car, for a bit as it was the most reliable car we had. Had #12 at the same time. Traded in for #17. HAHAHA. It died on the lot as I parked it. 15) 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88, 307 V8. Sloth. Got good mileage, sort of. Drove it as a work car all around Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Kentucky 16) Work Finally issued me a 1991 Ford Taurus, it was sitting around for 6 months. The engine puked all its oil on the way home from Traverse City one day. I just made it to the Ford dealership. It had 49,808 miles on it. 3 Year, 50K Warranty. They bitched that we hadn't done the maintenance... had all the records and receipts. They fixed it. 3 months later I quit. Went to work for my ill fated 3 month UPS career for which I bought #17. 17) 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 307 V8. First car I had when working at Genzink Steel. Crashed on the way home, someone pulled out in front of me. Big diesel truck in the right lane doing about 15 miles per hour. I was doing the speed limit of 35 miles per hour. The guy pullout to beat the traffic coming the other way... blammo. insurance fixed it. I still have the Front Clip, rear-quarter panels, engine, transmission, interior, roof doors, accessories wheels in store for #25. 18) 1969 Oldsmobile 442 400/400 setup. Horrible shape. Still in process of restoring. 19) 1993 Salvaged Ford Taurus v3.0. Kept this car a long time. Ran, GREAT. Gave it to my mother, she finally got her act together and purchased a nice Buick. Gave us the car back. Gave it to My Grandson's Father. Which of course he killed it in 4 months. 20) 1987 Oldsmobile 88. Purchased when #17's frame cracked where the accident happened. Four Water pumps. Put 100K miles on it. Crashed it on the way to the second day at the College. Bummer. 21) 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais V8 Rear Wheel Drive (last year for that model). Purchase from a kid that spent a bundle on it. Motor, Suspension, lift bars (longer lower links with mount extenders), Suspension pick-me ups, Sport interior... etc. Cut the car up and most of it is still in the Garage on the racks. For #25. 22) 1994 Buick Park Avenue Ultra. Replaced #20. Nice fast barge. Fixed the transmission twice, needed it again. More power and weight than the transmission could handle. Traded in on #24. 23) 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada. Replaced #19. Nice Vehicle until the transfer case needed to be fixed, then it clunked when you turned. Some were witness to it. 24) 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer. Best car yet. Still own it. Will drive it in the ground or until I die. Paid it off in 2 years. 25) 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, V8, everything worked, Texas Car. Rough exterior. Paint beaten and Vinyl top bad. Awesome shape for a redo. Still own and not torn down yet. This is what the all the parts were for. 26) 2004 Mitsubishi Galant ES. Seriously nice car. Was a go getter. Rode nice. Handled well. Nicely apportioned. Very good mileage. Traded in the Bravada (#23) on it. 27) 2002 Chevy Venture. Traded in #26 on it. Took a beating on the Galant. Wife needed a mini-van for daycare. Still have this today. 28) 2007 Yamaha VStar 650 Custom. Selling in a few months. For a new one like #30 29) 2004 Harley Davidson Sportster Roadster XL1200R. Selling in a few months to get a new motorcycle like #30 30) 2006 VStar 1100 Silverado. Best riding Bike I've rode. Nice pickup. Nice looking. Nice features. lotsa accessories to add on over time. 31) a new Motorcycle like 30... not yet acquired. Honorable Mentions: A) 1995 Dodge Neon. Bought for Jessica in Jamacia, NY right on Main Street. Nice first car for a Kid. Blew Head Gasket (of course its that motor). Fixed. Replaced tons of tail-light (kids and backing up don't do well together.) Sold for $800. This is the car I got to be strip searched for, at Detroit Metro. Right in between #24 and #25. B) 2006 Ford Taurus Karen's Dad's car, but we had to own it as part of the divestiture of the estate. Given to Jessica upon Karen's Dad's death (last year about now). Jessica got t-boned in it by a guy late to traffic court. Right after #27. C) 2006 Mercury Sable to replace B. We own it, Jessica drives it. Insurance Break, you know the whole nine yards. D) When I started dating my Fiancée (my now Wife), she owned a 1985 Escort Hatchback with the head cracking between the exhaust valves syndrome. So how it got stolen and incinerated in a remote area ... so hot they only recovered steel and a partial VIN plate from the door. Even the aluminum cylinder head nearly completely melted away. This car fits right in between #11 and #12 Edits: Galore. I evun pruuf red it! Sheesh. Edited by folkert March 2, 2009, 07:25:07 PM EST Edited by folkert March 2, 2009, 07:26:30 PM EST Edited by folkert March 2, 2009, 09:05:08 PM EST Expand All History
Post #304,965 by Another Scott 3/2/09 6:39:29 PM Reply	I see why you're a Mondello fan now. ;-) #13 was presumably an Olds Toronado or Cadillac Eldorado? Unless it was like Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" car, I guess. :-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #304,966 by folkert 3/2/09 7:25:56 PM Reply	Re: I see why you're a Mondello fan now. ;-) Cadillac Eldorado
Post #304,982 by scoenye 3/3/09 12:10:52 AM Reply	Err... just cars? That would cut my list in half.... 85 Honda Magna V65 (used), still going strong. 94 Mustang GT (new), takes care of the summer duties the bike can't. 95 Kawasaki ZX11 (used), only had it for a couple of years. Made it pretty obvious that "heft" and "sport" do not mix well in bikes. 99 Yamaha R6 (new), perfect right out of the crate. Track use only these days. 02 Ducati 748S (new). With the Termignoni carbon fiber cans, of course. Drool... The sound alone... As much fun on a track as the R6. Unfortunately had to let it go when I moved :-( 06 Toyota Tacoma (new). Mrs. Sven's, but my name is on title, so its on the list. The 2.7L is underpowered as mapped (the 08 has the same powertrain yet feels more powerful.) 08 Subaru Impreza WRX (new), the winter car. Our driveway mandates 4/all-wheel drive, and I wasn't about to get a UAV. Nice and tight daily driver. Great in the snow.
Post #304,990 by Ashton 3/3/09 6:05:32 AM Reply	Know whatcha mean -- First.. Freedom! machine: Whizzer motor-bicycle.. wanted to ride it from San Diego up to Palomar; luckily-Not -- with one bicycle-brake on rear wheel, the descent would have preempted any entries here. No licence.. managed to run it around S. Diego for many months, finally crunching it into a car; fixed - sold to a sailor. Doodlebug/ with no brakes; stopped via shoes. Kindly Pasadena cop suggested.. don't let me see you again. Lambretta LD-125 - the svelte enclosed-model Scooter, contemporary to Audrey's Vespa ride. Was stopped on Market St. SF, a couple days before heading back to school/South: guy on a mint Matchless 500 cc twin wanted to trade (!) Did.. Year later, Matchless traded in on first Vincent Black Shadow; tiny Italian engineer bought a new one ~ every couple years. Lucky moi, few miles, broken-in fanatically-well. One $1 failure of a small spring for the gear-shifter ratchet/pawl. Not merely a 'classic' - it Worked. As did the 4 brake-drums (for its day.) Speedo "geared to twistgrip" aka Torque where/when you needed it. More Vincents, incl. a 500cc Comet = Just like the V-twin but with no rear cylinder. Mint Shadows now approach $100K on the yuppie circuit. Morris Minor side-valve 803 cc (??) Gutless, bulletproof; a Vincent traded {sob} because, while ya can get girls on a bike, you ca ..never mind. '42 Buick --> '51 Studebaker Starlight coupe, predecessor of Loewy's boffo redesign. Norton 99, 600 cc version of famous 88, then new 650cc 'Manxman' (a vibrating pig. Error.) BSA A6(?) 650cc twin - good all-round ride. Akin to the tricked out boy-racer one lent me on the Isle of Man - 'featherbed frame' handling was no myth, Many adventures on the 'Sunday Morning Ride' (a local Legend, also across the cycle press of yore.) New '60 bug-eye Austin-Healy Sprite, picked up in London via old Vincent 'parts stockist' friend, who also dealt Austin. Grand Tour of the Continent with stops at Dachau [just. because.] and the usual assortment of exotic places, including the Grossglockner Pass at night, in a drizzle - but with Michelin-Xs to ease the odds. Sold ~ year later.. Brief foray with a ~56? Studebaker interim ride till first Citroën needed to be tried. Briefly a tarted-up (Over-restored) Norton International, classic 500cc OHC-single.. made the Manxman seem smooth. Sold to collector {whew.} Honda 305cc OHC twin -- cute, also too much vibration: first of their march into larger territory. Suzuki X-6 2 stroke; amazing power, but not lovely to anyone used to Vincent-torque. Yamaha DT-1 for a brief foray into The Dirt. Fun, instructional but not mesmerizing. First (mass-produced) '69 Honda 750-4. Smooth as butter but Too Heavy, especially around town; traded-down to the new 500-4 ... no torque again, but smooth and light-enough to handle ~OK. With two female friends (on own bikes) went pass-storming in Sierra: Ebbetts, Carson, Lake Alpine ... sublime with occasional camp-out then some Inn, for a clean-up, dinner and decent beds. Citroëns -- 5 'DS's, from a '57 ~junker to vet the design; a '61 so-so, a new '64 DS-M bought here, a '68 picked up in Paris. A fine compromise enabled by the capability of having soft spring-rates, yet with excellent damper control (as the fluid passing in/out of the dash-pot Nitrogen-filled spheres was 'damped' by a series of thin discs == you could easily tailor for best handling.) An engineer's car but also loved across the spectrum. UmMurican too -- part of its local charm. Saabs -- 5. First (New Model '69) picked up in Malmö, Sweden. One near-new, totalled head-on on San Pablo Ave by drunk in a VW; another one run into an earthen bank in Mexico by new-driver grilf.. who, at least turned the Right-direction in an oncoming near-pass on a narrow road. Last, a '77 bought new - given to friend at car-age 25; went on for 3 more years til a ham-fisted friend of hers broke the ign. key mechanism; local repair too pricey. Utterly reliable, decent handling -- never a scratch on it, though the Eldorado Brown paint had long-since faded-->unlovely. The 550cc Kawasaki DOHC-4, tricked out with Grimeka brake and floating cast-iron disc super-stopper ... now mainly sits in garage, as I deign to embark on any marketing hassle, and local roads are inhabited by cluless Tourists-with-cels. '94 Acura Vigor remains pristine; is no appropriate ride for Depression Era denouements.. but can still manage 28+ mpg on road with no thrashing. 'Tis a Japanese vision of a well-made Jag (said to be Designer's inspiration; much as the original Citroën was, "inspired by a waterfowl..") -- IMhO it succeeds in that aim. It Handles as Well as such a long-wb car could be expected to; my first ride with modrin air-bags, ABS / don't need no fancy-shmancy 'stability controls' unless you're totally inept or regularly fail to Pay Attention. Futchah? (if there is one) Will likely settle on ~~ a restoreable HX-Honda of the 45+ mpg variety, whenever I stumble into one not totally trashed by racer-kiddies. "Gallons/year" is the appropriate metric for those not needing to commute; anything >45 mpg implies a high premium for cutesy techno and expensive batteries + the remaining parts at High-$-markup. OK, that's most of them...

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