First car: a yellow 1974 Dodge Polara Custom (we called it the "Grapefruit" because it was too big to be a lemon . . . Replaced by a 1980 Chevy Citation that my brother rolled on a country road . . . Replaced by a 1981 Buick Skyhawk, a sporty little car that got a bit scratched up when it skidded off a wet road and slid partly under a barbed-wire fence . . . Replaced by my wife's car, a 1982 Nissan Stanza, rather unremarkable, but had a leak along the top windshield so water would run in when it rained . . . Replaced by 1986 White Buick Century, good car, but every single white Buick Century I have seen has been completely rusted out--this one was no exception . . . Replaced by 1993 Mercury Villager, well-built, smaller minivan--reliable Nissan engine, served us well . . . Replaced by 2003 Honda Odyssey, great car, but didn't realized just how big it was until I washed it right after the Prius--it's huge! Just added the 2004 #7 Salsa Prius--great car!
1998 - Ford Mustang GT covert. 1999.5 - Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T - Garret Chip, full exhaust - 225 horses 2001 - Lincoln LS - V6 Sport Pack 2002 - Subaru Impreza WRX - TurboXS Stage 4 - 345 horses - 0 to 60 in 4.68 seconds 2004/5 - Toyota Prius - Silver on order and waiting... (oh yea, current "tide me over" until Prius gets in, 1988 Pontiac Grand Am bought used, one previous owner, 84 yr. old lady, hehe.)
Hand me downs from my parents: - Oldsmobile Cutlass Culass (sp?) - Ford Aerostar MiniVan: not too bad for a van First New Car: - 2001 Toyota Rav4: solid vehicle In about a week 05 Prius
From my first car as a university student in 1979, to my current ones - in roughly chronological order, some owned concurrently: 1972 Fiat 127 1977 Fiat 126 1972 Citroen GS (ex Paris-Dakar rally car) 1980 Fiat 127 Sport 1983 Fiat Panda 1985 Audi 100 CD 1985 BMW 318i 1983 Ford Escort XR3i 1984 Ford Escort XR3i 1986 Ford Escort XR3i 1987 VW Golf TDi 1980 Fiat 127 Palio 1987 Fiat 126 Bis 1998 VW Polo 1987 BMW 320i convertible 1990 VW Golf GTi 1991 Honda Accord Aerodeck 1993 Isuzu Trooper 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 1986 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 1993 VW Golf TDi (another one) 1987 Chevrolet G20 Dayvan 1988 Ford Bronco 1996 Audi Convertible 1971 Ford Mustang Grande 1998 Mercedes Benz A170 1983 Fiat Panda (another one) 1999 Mercedes Benz A170 (another one) 1991 Alfa Romeo 164 1986 Jeep CJ7 with 327 Chevy small-block 1999 Beetle 2.0 and the current cars are (until the Prius arrives) are: 1984 Ferrari Mondial QV 2001 Fiat Multipla (you really ought to look at one of these...) 2002 Honda S2000 Phew!
In order: 1959 Ford Galaxy 1965 Oldsmobile dynamic 88 1948 Plymouth Business Coupe 196? Rambler American 1973 Grand Tourino 1977 VW Rabbit 1976 Ford Econoline Van 1984 Jeep CJ7 1986 Jeep Cherokee 1977 Chevy S10 1988 Mercury Tracer 1986 Honda Civic ( two of them) Still have 1997 Honda Civic HX 2001 Mercury Mountaineer ( for towing only) 2005 Toyota Prius Each of the vehicles did (does) it's job very well. Prius is the most advanced and probably fits life style best of all the vehicles. K-State Roller Hockey Club - Faculty Adviser & Coach
Owned myself: 1)'79 Mazda GLC--paid $250 b/c it had been rolled and the roof was crushed down a bit. 2)Fox (same VW & ?SAAB)--can't recall the year, paid $700 made one 120 mile trip and died...thank my dad for that 'great buy'. 3)'89 Isuzu P'up--first new car, first loan, first time the dealer tried to screw me. 4)'97 Ford Expedition My '04 Prius
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco\";p=\"50955)</div> The Fox was a Brazilian made VW. Mine were: 1967 Dodge Dart 2dr hardtop. 1973 Mercury (European Ford) Capri V-6 1978 Datsun 280z 1985 Audi 5000S Turbo 1987 Mercedes 300E All were new with the exception of the Dodge Dart which was a "hand me down" from my parents.
'67 Plymouth Valiant w/ a slant 6 very easy to work on until I rolled it (sharp turn in wet leaves caught a curb as a late teenager. At least I was smart enough to be wearing a seat belt.) '73 Plymouth Malibu - wife made me give it up in the mid '90's because she was getting gassed to death in the passenger seat. '90 Honda CRX Si Still runs well with 204k miles on it. Relegated to be the "kennel car" All pre-Prius cars bought used. ('04 Pruis bought from the dealer as technically "new" but it was their TRAC car and had 3700 miles on it. They sold it to us at just over INVOICE!!!)
94 Geo Tracker...Ran like beast and still runs, just donated it, 01 Porsche Boxster S...Nice sports car, fun to drive, had engine issues. 05 Prius....so far pretty happy with it, doesn't quite handle the corners like the Boxster did next car....maybe a Lotus Elise...
85 Chevy Sprint 3 cylinder 85 Toyota Corolla 82 RX-7 90 Isuzu Trooper 94 VW Golf 91 Mazda Miata 85 VW Golf TDI 98 Jeep Cherokee (my first new car) 00 Plymouth Voyager 02 Dodge Grand Caravan 03 Dodge Ram 1500 (26 Gallon tank at 14 MPG!!) 05 Prius Traded the gas guzzling truck for the fuel sipping Prius.
Learned to drive in my parents 57 Chevy Wagon 1948 Dodge Sedan - drove it till it died. 1965 VW Bug 1957 Chevy Belair 1968 VW Square Back 1964 Chevy Stepside Hot rod truck 1971 VW Super Beatle Datsun 510 Station Wagon 1973 Chevy 4wd Blazer 1964 Corvair Monza 1975 Ford LTD Datsun B210 sedan Dodge ¾ ton Van 1983 Mazda GLC hatchback 1991 Chevy Blazer 1995 Chevy Blazer 2004 Prius
OK dates may be off by a year or two except the first and last. 1969 Fiat 124 Spyder Blue with roll bar and four point seat belt Heithcliff 1972 Red VW Camper Van George 1978 SAAB Turbo Oscar 1986 Niassan Maxima 1990 Ford Explorer Red (purchased in Jan 91 but as 90) 1999 Ford Explorer The Beast (still have 100K) 2004 Toyota Prius Belle
I tend to keep Toyotas for many years. 1975 Datsun 280Z (third hand) 1983 Toyota SR5 Tercel 4WD Wagon (1st new car) 1976 Datsun 280Z (2nd hand) 1986 Toyota 4Runner (2nd new vehicle ever bought) 1983 Porshe 928S (theft recovery bargain, big mistake) 1989 Toyota Cressida (2nd hand) 1998 Toyota 4Runner (2nd hand, to replace earlier 4Runner) 1999 Ford Ranger XLT (bought new, 7 miles on odo when traded in for Chevy truck) 1999 Chevy Silverado extended cab truck (sold after 3 years with only 10K miles) 2001 Toyota Prius (TRAC car) 2004 Toyota Prius BC Black, to replace 2001 Prius 2004 Toyota Prius BC White 2005 Toyota Highlander Hybrid (next new car, slated to replace 98 4Runner summer 2005)
Latest previous car....'95 Miata, owned 10 years, less one week. Sold to daughter-in-law, so I still get to caress it. Other previous fun cars...'57 MGA, '58 TR-3A, '65 Corvair Corsa convertible. Plus the obligatory station wagons and family sedans. Now, if only Toyota and Mazda would cooperate on a Synergy Hybrid Miata......sigh!
Well, up until a week ago I was driving a `93 Grand Caravan, a.k.a. "The Daddy Mobile". 218K Miles on it. Now it's on its way to my favorite "please send us your car" charity. (I'd write a eulogy, but I'd probably break down and ) Everybody in the family loved that car. Long story made short: 18 months ago I had a Chrysler rebuilt transmission installed (36,000 mile/3 year warranty). That transmission died at 37,000 miles. In a nutshell, Chrysler said "tough luck, have a nice day." :cussing: The real bummer is that my Prius is still about a month out. Sigh, life goes on. Chris
First car: 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with a 231cid V6. Years later I found out that my parents referred to it as the Gutless, which was a perfect name for it. Got rid of it when it had 234k miles on it - 3rd engine, 2nd transmission, 3rd paint job Next was a 1981 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham. Hand-me-down from my father. Had it for about one year, during which I replaced the transmission and the engine control computer. When I sold it with something like 140k miles on it, it needed a new steering column, new master brake cylinder and all kinds of other stuff. Horrendous POS! Then came a 1987 Acura Integra LS 3door hatchback. Bought it as a 3 year old car with 87k miles on it. Kept it until it had 223k miles on it. Original transmission, original engine were still running great, original paint still looked good, but it was developing problems and needed suspension work. Best car I had so far. Traded it in for my current ride, a 1995 Acura Integra GS-R, which I again bought used as a 3 year old car with 28k miles on it. Nice fast car that handles very well. Currently has 118k miles on it, but hasn't held up as well as the '87 did. It makes some rather ugly rattling noises at about 3000 rpm that the dealer told me not to worry about (??!). Hopefully nothing major will give out before it comes time to trade it in. Recently put my name on the waiting list for an 05 Prius and was told that it will be 8 months, so maybe early next summer it will be mine. That will be my first new car.
The first three were joint financial ventures with the parents: 1967 VW camper van (struck from behind by high-speed drunk driver, rolled, totalled, no injuries) 196? Fiat 850 (sold; I was VERY surprised to read here that someone has owned several Fiats) 1972 Toyota Land Cruiser (outlasted its engine) 1969 Chevy Malibu (sold) 1959 Ford F600 with Herman van body (amazing 11 mpg toy, now a storage shed in Vershire, VT) 1966 Mercedes 230 (taught me how to rebuild engines; sold to a collector) 1985 Audi 5000 (sold) 1985 Honda Civic 4WD station wagon (stolen) 1990 Mitsubishi/Dodge Colt station wagon (sold) 1995 Honda Civic (sold, since totalled by new owners no injuries) 2001 Toyota Prius (pick of the litter)
