List every car you have had

And every problem it has had-
And everybody will get it out of their system :)


1979 Chevy LUV- never got it legal- drove around the backroads of Missouri- basically an Isuzu ( always had carb problems )

1978 Pontiac LeMans- bought for $200- guy thought the engine had a knock ( was a cracked flywheel- fixed myself at age 15 and sold for $700 )

1980 Dodge Aspen - the Slant-6 engine you can run without oil in it ( always keep 3 spare voltage regulator things ( the white module that is 6 inches by 2 inches that goes on the center of the firewall )

1987 Suzuki Swift Turbo - Fun fucking car to zip around it - bought in the hood of St.Louis for $700 - three months later the front end would lift seperate from the body - found it was wrecked and the unibody welded back together behind where front fenders and doors meet - many more welding jobs over the months ensued :rofl:

1971 Buick Skylark - had an olds 350 Rocket with Turbo 350- Used to smoke the tires off that beat up 4-door on the way to highschool and almost crashed into a school bus once- got a ticket for "failure to yield to an emergency vehicle with flashing lights and audible siren" ( When cops want you to pull over- don't think you can outrun them :) )

1979 Pinto Runabout - ( Had to lose the Buick as cops new it in my small town :evilgrin: ) was probably one of the cars I loved the most. bright yellow 2 door hatchback. Had the inline 4 banger with a 4 speed manual. I could let the car roll backwards with the clutch in in first and burn the shit out of the little 14inch wheel in the back.

1979 Honda CB750F supersport- full fairing- drove it in the snow and everything in Missouri from DeSoto to Arnold ( only tranportation for a year )


1984 Ford Escort - was a good little car- traded even with my Pizza Hut deliver driver buddy for his 1986 Ford Thunderbird -V6 auto- tranmission started slipping a year later so used the brake fluid trick to keep it going a few more months.

then

1987 Subaru XT - Was a great little car and very funny looking- my wedge car- was great till I wrecked it into a bridge ( don't drink and drive ) ( party days are about over at this point in time :) )




1985 Toyota Celica GT - the car that moved me from Missouri to Texas- 4 months after living in Texas the clutch started slipping- I'm making good money- so time to upgrade

1995 Suzuki Sidekick - at this time nicest car I have ever had- most I ever paid for a car at $4600 as well...2 door convertable- ran great for years until the engine vapor locked at 134,000

1998 Honda CBR600 - had for about a year till got stolen- did 140 on the North Dallas Turnpike once though :evilgrin:


Now have
1999 Chevy S-10 - ( currently own 4.3L Vortec V6 - Hypertech reprogrammed computer- has 136,000 miles ( between 100,000 to now have replaced water pump- had 2-piece driveshaft re-worked ( GM design flaw in the ZR2 suspension package ) had to replace high side power steering pump hose ( had low side done as well ))
( will replace S-10 with a slightly used Toyota Tacoma some day )

2006 Pontiac Grand Prix - only one problem so far- electronic sensor on transmission went out so it kept forgetting when/how to shift - under warranty ( happened at 28,000 ) got the extended warranty of course- bought used with 21,000 on it

2003 Yamaha V-Star 650- mint with 9500 miles now ( will upgrade to larger V-Star next Spring- or a Warrior :) :) :) )

2003 Chevy Blazer, and now my beautiful 2007 Chevy Trailblazer LT.

1986 Pontiac Firebird - Fine, except that I crashed it in High School. LOL - 2 years

1989 Dodge Shadow - This car really sucked. So many engine problems and power steering issues as well. - 4 years

1995 Chevy Corsica - Normal wear and tear, but it's been a great car and I still have it 12 years later.

1980 Ford Mustang. I got 200K+ out of that ugly little thing.

1985 Toyota Land Cruiser. Bought it used; it threw a rod and I sold it immediately. PIECE OF SHIT!

198X Nissan pickup. Married into this one. Ran it into the ground.

1970 IHC pickup. A beast. Still runs, love it.

1971 IHC pickup. A beast. Still runs, love it.

1970 Chrysler Newport Custom. Our summer cruising car.

199X Chevy S-10. Awesome little truck.

1996 Dodge Neon. Loved that thing.

2001 Ford Focus Wagon. Got 200K out of it.

2001 Ford F-250 diesel pickup. At 150K and counting.

2008 Ford Taurus. LOVE LOVE LOVE this car. I get 25+ mpg with it.

2008 Ford Focus. Also total love. We get 36-46 mpg with it.

Not counting a couple IHC Scouts we fiddled on for awhile.

The Capri - which I STILL have - goes through starters and needs actual tune-ups. I've replaced the timing belt a few times. It actually can use a lot of Pinto parts.

79 Aspen - TONS of hoses under the hood. It blew the intake/exhaust gasket a couple of times. Had a world of weird problems when new for the original owner. Didn't always run well, but it ALWAYs ran.

87 Olds Cutlass Cruiser wagon - inherited it from a millionaire. Really. Had the fuel injectors cleaned once. That's about it other than a battery.

89 Olds Cutlass Ciera - my parents that I inherited. Fancy, but unneccessary computer died after about 7 years. The computer driving the car was replaced once early on and it went through a couple of alternators. My brother has it and it still runs like a top.

2000 VW Passat: The water pump went unusually early. Steering mechanism had to be replaced. I can't walk out of the shop without paying $1000. But I love the car.

Inherited from my grandmother in 1984. Biggest problem is the support bar broke but I found a mechanic to weld a bunch of junk together and the thing kept running.

1982 Ford Escort: Replaced brakes and timing chain
1984 Ford Escort: Replaced bolts on wheel; I can't remember what it was called
1988 Ford Tempo: Replaced U joints twice
1992 Ford Tempo: No significant problems
1996 Ford Contour: No significant problems
2000 Chevy Malibu: Theft system electrical glitch, replaced brakes once
2008 Dodge Caliber: Nothing yet

Really, none of this is significant except the timing chain on the 1982 Escort.

1999 - 2003: 1991 Dodge Spirit (aka The Crudmobile). Air conditioner didn't work. Heater didn't work. Windows sometimes got stuck (it was a crank-shaft, too). Parking break snapped. Twice (I eventually just used zip cords to hold it together). The muffler fell off. But, by God, it was built like a tank and always started, even in the worst winter weather and for some reason girls liked it. Sold it for $500 to some teenager.

2003 - 2005: 1995 Pontiac Grand 'AM. Air conditioner couldn't hold a charge. Sometimes wouldn't start in cold weather. Windows stuck (electric). Not a bad little car. Sold it when I went to NYC for grad school.

2007 - Present: 2005 Ford Focus. I haven't had any problems with it yet besides the windows occasionally sticking.

posted in wrong place

1991 Ford Escort Station wagon. My grandmother gave it to my family so that my sister and I had a car to learn to drive on (since my dad's car was and still is a company car, and my mom's car at the time was a stick). Only problem I had with it was the timing belt died in the middle of the highway.

1999 Ford Escort (sedan). My little green car and I loved it. Started to have problems around 80K, and got quite expensive as time went on. Died very suddenly at 116K.

1999 Subaru Forester. Purchased the exact same time as my Escort. Only by my parents, and negotiated with them for the car when the Ford died. No major problems, nothing but routine maintnance, and still going strong at 140K. I will drive it into the ground.

1994 Olds Cutlass V-6. no problems so far. regular maintenace. 90k miles

1994 Ford Bronco. V-8. no problems at all. regular maintenance. 130k miles

1995 Chevy Blazer. V-6. no problems at all. regular maintenace. sold at 105k miles.

2002 Chevy Venture AWD. no problems. regular maintenace. 70k miles.

1992 Pontiac Trans Am GTA. no major problems, tranny rebuilt at 110k miles. regular maintenance. Sold at 135k miles.

1998 Mazda Protege. Trans rebuilt at 60k miles, AC evap replaced, clutch replaced, all before 80k. Sold at 90k miles.

1990 Ford Festiva multi colored because I put it back together after a family members accident.

1990 Ford Festiva Blue hand me down from brother

1995? Suzuki Sidekick 4dr.

2002 Subaru Impreza Wagon

2006 Subaru Impreza Wagon

1983 Mazda RX7 - Purchased in 1998
Problems: Needed clutch replacement.

1992 Saab 900 (non-turbo) - Purchased in 2001
Problems: Developed a leak in one of the power steering hoses. Head liner fell apart.

2004 Nissan pickup. - Inherited in 2005.
Problems: None.

1998 Saab 9-3 (non-turbo) - Purchased in 2006.
Problems: Faulty climate control computer. Unspecified fault that caused the check engine light to activate constantly. Faulty O2 sensor. Interior lights had a mind of their own. Rear hatchback hydraulics failed.

All in all I've had pretty good luck. Never had any serious mechanical problems with any of my cars. The 9-3 had lots of niggles, but I paid next to nothing for it.

85 Honda Accord - purchased in 1993 for $1500

No problems at all until my sister burned out the clutch trying to learn to drive stick.

91 GMC Sonoma - purchased in 1996 from my parents for $1000

No problems at all, parents traded me for it in 1999

93 Chevy Beretta - traded for the pick up in 1999

Transmission completely melted down in 2001

98 Saturn SL2 - Purchased from a Saturn dealer in 2001

Awesome car. We put over 150k miles on it

88 Volvo 740 GLE - Purchased from a private party in 2003 for $2000

Bought as a second car, loved and adored the Volvo, sold when MrsCoffee and I moved across the country.

2006 Chevy HHR - Purchased new off the lot

FANTASTIC RIDE. MrsCoffee totaled it a month ago.

Currently carless

Would still be driving the Bonneville if the frame hadn't rotted out due to neglect before I owned it.

1972 Ford Maverick
1978 Pontiac LeMans
1986 Olds Cutlass
all used

1992 Olds Cutlass
1994 Olds Cutlass
1996 Olds Cutlass
1998 Olds Aurora
2000 Olds Aurora
and finally a 2002 GMC Envoy.

The only thing I ever replaced on any of these cars was tires and brakes. The last 5 vehicles were all leased. I bought the lease out of the Envoy. Again, the only thing I replaced were tires, breaks and this year a new battery and windshield wipers. I don't have any expectations of ever buying a new car again. I hate George Bush, republicans and anything they stand for.

I only bought the Envoy because I hated driving behind them on the road. I figured, you can't beat em, might as well join them. My Aurora got me through 25 inches of unplowed snow during one of the worst blizzards Michigan has seen in the last 25 years. I got to the end of my steet and had to park at the donut shop because the plow had gone by and blocked my road in. It was a short walk home, but it could have been over 30 miles.

has 130k miles now.

The antenna motor and the trunk lid solenoid are both broken. No biggie.

used Chevy Citation, 1969 used Corvette, 1984 used Corvette, 1985 Madza 626, 1986 new Corvette, 1991 used Subaru wagon (still driving) and 1999 Saturn (still driving).

The Kawasaki Ninja 250 being about the best..

- 1979 Ford Galaxy (given to me by a friend)
- 1985 Nissan (given to me by an acquaintence)
- 1980-something Ford Fairmont (given to me by my work place)
- 1993 Nissan Sentra (given to me by a friend of my mom's-but someone ran into me and it was totalled within a year)
- 1990-something Red Mitsubishi hatchback (bought for a $200--I can't remember the model)
- 1990-something Dodge Aries (given to me by my boss and it ran much longer than the other cars--I loved this car and worked on it myself)
- 2001 Ford Focus - bought used from a dealer in 2003. It's still running very well, though my daughter put it through 1 wreck a couple years back.

I sold it for more than I paid for it after a year and a half when I moved cross country. Other than the inside passenger door not being able to be opened from the inside, it was great. Also had a manual choke which I loved. And no fuel gauge. I loved the basic aspect of it.

1969 VW Bug. Once I understood the need to do routine maintenance it gave me no trouble.

1986 Subaru Legacy wagon. Needed a new clutch at 40,000 miles, a new engine at 80,000. The Subaru gods don't like me.

1994 Infiniti G-20. Fabulous car. Never had a stitch of trouble with it. Unfortunately, it was totalled (I did the classic made a left hand turn into the path of an oncoming vehicle that I should have seen.

2001 Subaru Outback wagon. I taught two teenage sons to drive on it, and needed a new clutch at, I can't remember, maybe 60,000 miles. It was in an accident with a lot of front end damage that the insurance company was willing to pay for since it was worth much more than the repairs. More than a year later the head gasket blew, I got it fixed and promptly traded it in for a

1994 Honda Civic LX. Never a speck of trouble. However, less than a year later my son was driving it and was caught between a full-sized pickup truck in front of him and a full sized van in back of him and so it was totalled. No one was hurt in the accident. They really do make cars to absorb a lot of damage, and wearing seat belts is always a good idea. I replaced it with another

1994 Honda Civic LX, same color, only with half the mileage of the first one. No problems of any kind.

In just about exactly 33 years of car ownership (after the first But I went for six years without a car) I've only owned seven vehicles, and the number would probably be only four if I hadn't had the two accidents which totalled out cars. I'd have driven the Infiniti for a good ten years, and I then might have skipped the Subaru Outback and gone directly to a Honda Civic and I'd still be driving the first Civic.

Had 100K miles when I started driving, hit by drunk driver and totaled. Push button shifting on the dash.

68 Chevy Caprice Classic - Purchased at 89K miles and drove to 200K

73 Plymouth Sebring - Purchased at 100K and drove to 250K

74 Plymouth Valiant - Just an old beater that had 150K on it to start drove maybe 30K

82 Chrysler Le Baron K Car - Purchased at 100K sold at 210K miles

85 Chrysler New Yorker - Purchased from my father-in-law at 80K and drove for 50K miles

86 Chrysler Le Baron - Purchased at 60K and drove to 120K

90 Dodge Dynasty - Purchased at 30K and drove to 150K You can see I thought I was moving up in the world here debts paid off and could by a car with less miles.

90 Chrysler Le Baron Convertible - Purchased direct from a dealer, was his personal car at 12K, Borrowed to use in a parade and loved the convertible thing. My wife drove it for 100K and my daughter drove it for another 30K as her first car.

96 Chrysler LHS - Loved this car, purchased at 12K and drove it to 110K. It was a the nicest ride I had ever owned.

2001 Chrysler LHS I thought the 96 was sweet, This thing, Heated seats, sun roof and much more. I purchased this thing at 11K miles. It was a courtesy car for the Pebble Beach golf club. (must have been for the low life) I still own this car at 135K with no plans to sell or trade. I can't find a car that I like as much as I have this one that I can afford. The color the body style the features make driving long distance easy.

2001 Chrysler Sebring LXI coupe - We still own this car, it was my wifes and now my daughter in college. Much nicer than I ever drove in college. It was purchased at 14K and now has 110K (I think).


2003 Chrysler Sebring GTC convertible - This is my wifes primary vehicle but our fun car. We bought it at 12K and currently have about 58K on the Odometer.

Yes all US Autos.

I also had a '79 Luv truck, the only thing I can remember is having to add a manual choke. It ran great after that but was lousy in the snow. Also had a '77 Honda 750k that had more than its share of electrical problems, and was my only transportation for a year.

- 1968 VW Beetle, my first car. Gutless and terrible mechanically.

- 1969 Impala, 327 V8, gave me no end of electrical and carburetor troubles.

- 1977 Cobra II, 302 V8, ran great, but terrible on snow.

- 1986 Honda Civic DX, wish I still had it.

- 1993 Toyota pickup 4x4 SR5, 3 liter V6. Terrific vehicle, but could get better mileage. Very likely the last 4 wheeled vehicle I will buy.

I had a gold-colored Ford EXP. Never had a license and drove it illegally until I decided to trade it for a stereo.



Then I went without a car for a long time. Eventually I got a Toyota Celica Supra,



which was totaled in a really terrible rear-end collision (the lady that hit us died at the scene) and was replaced with a Volvo 240DL.



Then my GF and I split up and she kept the car, so I needed cheap wheels. This was free thanks to a friend who needed it out of his yard; the 1972 Plymouth Duster. No reverse gear and every body panel dented. The inside was covered in printer's ink since he was a newspaper pressman. Ran like a top, however, until the electrical system died two years later.



Again year of walking and then my new GF and I got a 1966 Ford Mustang. My favorite car ever, until a drunk in a stolen U-Haul plowed into it as it was parked on the street.



So we bought a 1993 Toyota Corolla from her parents for three grand. I'm still driving this, BTW. 225,000 miles on the odometer and it still goes.



We also owned a Toyota Matrix, but I soon wiped it out trying not to hit a dog that darted into the street. Wrapped it around a tree and hit the dog anyway.



That's when we got our Honda Element. This is the coolest vehicle on the road IMO, but it's got a really bad blind spot problem due to the huge B-pillars.

1977 Dodge Monaco - gift from my parents. Worst car I ever had - it was in the shop more than I drove it.

1980 Chevy Monza - bought used. Reliable little car with good gas mileage.

Used Ford - can't remember the year or model. It was totaled when a drunk driver hit me, got way more than it was worth from his insurance company.

Another used Ford - can't remember the year or model. Bought it with the insurance money, reliable car that I drove to death.

1986 Chevy Cavalier - bought new. Reliable little car with good gas mileage.

Used Jaguar - can't remember the year. Got it cheap. Beautiful, reliable car but with horrible gas mileage.

Used Audi - can't remember the year. Got it cheap. Reliable car but the parts for repair were very expensive.

1992 Jeep Cherokee - bought new. Second worst vehicle I ever had. It was a model on the rotor recall, but they didn't recall it until after we sold it. My rotor broke while on the interstate and the car skid into oncoming traffic. I somehow avoided an accident, still don't know how. I'm still ashamed that I drove this gas guzzler.

1998 Mazda 626 - American built. Best car I ever owned, very reliable, good gas mileage, I still own and drive it. I will continue to drive it until the wheels fall off.

We also currently own a 2002 GM van that we only drive for hauling stuff.

1981 Toyota Celica - blew a head gasket, but had it for five years before someone hit it parked out in front of my house and launched it into my neighbor's front yard.

1985(?) Honda CRX - I inherited some problems, mainly that it burned a lot of oil. Worked though until I totaled it rear-ending someone on the 101.

1995 Honda Civic

1999 Honda Passport

2004 Honda Element

2007 Honda CRV

Looking to trade the CRV in for another Element and lower my payment. All my Honda's except for the CRX were always reliable and had no issues.

70 Pontiac Catalina
76 Pontiac Trans Am turned out to be a lemon
77 Olds Cutlass
Got married in 87
Wife had a Dodge Omni LEMON!
Wife got a Honda Civic I traded Cutlass on a Honda Accord
Had a Kid
Wife went to a Honda Civic Wagon
Traded Civic Wagon on a Ford Windstar
Traded Accord to a Honda CRV
Thants where we are now!

Awesome care that was handed from me to my sister and to my cousin after that. Odometer broke, but I estimate well over 200k miles before the battery exploded. It wasn't worth keeping after that.

1987 Honda Accord: Terrible rust problems on the roof meant water kept leaking in. Clutch died at 130k miles and sold it for $500.
1990 Honda Accord: Awful car. Everything that could go wrong did. It was overheating badly and I sold it for $900. 150k miles.
1983 Honda Accord: Given to me by a friend. Repaired the clutch and drove it for a month before I fried the radio jumping it with the connection messed up. Ended up donating it after that.
1987 Ford Escort: Bought for $900 in Seattle with 140k on odometer. Drove it to Bozeman and used it for the school year. Never failed me once. Sold it for $800 at the end of the school year.
1987 Camaro Z28. Put in a 350 and enjoyed it for a while. Got sick of the gas mileage and ended up giving it to my girlfriend at the time.
1999 Ford Crown Victoria: Enjoyable car. Terrible gas mileage. Resale value was even worse.
2005 Honda Accord Coupe: Current car. I was very hesitant about buying this because of my past bad experiences with Honda. So far the car has 90k miles without a single problem.

I have had a crapload of them over the years, so I bet I forget some, but here's all I remember.

1968 Rambler American 2 door sedan, straight 6, 3 on the tree-High School ride.

1973 Buick Limited, 455, great highway cruising boat

1963 Plymouth Belvedere. Fantastic car except reverse on pushbutton shift no longe worked

1973 Olds Cutlass Supreme, 350 Rocket. Indestructable

1969 Chrysler Newport Custom, 383. Transmissions were total POS, rest of car ok

1963 Ford F100 Pickup, 292 V8, 3 speed manual. Wish I would have kept this one :(

198x ? Olds Diesel station wagon. Biggest POS ever produced. :grr:

1982 Olds Cutlass, total POS

1983 Olds Toranado, eh, it was ok

1975 Ford LTD, 351M. Great Car

1975 Ford F-150, 360 V8. Great truck but terrible gas hog.

1972 Lincoln Mark IV, fantastic ride.

1970 Plymouth Barracuda, 440 magnum. King of the drag strip :evilgrin:

1979 Dodge Van, 318, great van

1977 Mercury Marquis, bought for $275 and drove for over 2 years, fantastic old car

1985 Chrysler 5th Avenue, 318. Great car

1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Total POS. :(

1987 Ford Thunderbird. Fantastic car, traded off with almost 300k miles and it was running fine :thumbsup:

1996 Ford F-150, 300 straight 6, 5 speed. Indestructible

2000 Ford F-150 4x4, 5.4l super truck, hated to let it go :(

1995 Lincoln Mark VIII, still driving, 206k miles and it runs so smooth it's unbeleiveable


2003 Dodge Ram 1500, still driving it. Basic truck, hand crank windows, rubber floor mats instead of carpet. V6, 5 speed stick. 78k miles and no complaints so far.

that's all I remember. As much swapping and trading as I used to do, I know there are more, just cant remember them all now

Before that, a little Rambler Metropolitan. They were pretty good cars . . . what the heck happened?

but they were pretty good cars. Just plain jane reliable transportation. We could use something like that again.

1989 Nissan Silvia
1994? Nissan 180SX
1998 Dodge Neon :blush:
2000 Pontiac Grand Am

The Nissans were great, and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat if I had the money; as it is, all I can afford are troublesome American 4-bangers with 75K+ miles, which is just asking for trouble.

Oswego "My current car is a bus pass" Atheist

1964 Olds Dynamic 88 my grandma gave me after my grandfather died. I was 16. Thing was a tank. When I got a job and got a car in mid-70's my mom drove it. Then gave it to my female neighbor who had just gotten a divorce. She kept it several years and finally had to junk it when it got a cracked frame. It was still going strong.

1973 Kelly green Olds Cutlass with a white vinyl roof and white vinyl interior. Hard to keep clean. No major problems with the car.

Had a company Pontiac grand Prix in late 70's. Engine got a knock. I didn't much like that car.

1979 Olds Cutlass - again no major problems.

1983 Hurst Olds - only bug was the speedometer would stop working. Dealer finally found it was a kinked cable. Also had some kind of thing about one little engine part I had to replace a couple of times that wasn't all that expensive.

1991 Olds Cutlass International Series. Car even had a computer for trip mileage, ETA, oil, mpg, performance, etc. A bit after 50,000 miles the Quad 4 engine blew a head gasket. The warranty I had bought from 3rd party company was no good - company went belly up. Dealer put some money toward repair. I paid rest. Later GM w/o any prompting by me refunded what I spent saying they found the Quad 4's had this problem. Only other problem I never got cured was water in heavy rains came in to bottom of floor on passenger side.

Pontiac Gran Am - sometime in 90's. Ok car.

Toyota RAV 4 late 90's - ok vehicle. Leased. Toyota didn't make any extra charges when I turned it in.

Saturn LS2 or something like that I leased for 3 years. Ok car. Had to replace power steering once under warranty. I was pissed at Saturn when I turned it in and they charged me $700+ for wear (like tires). Sent me a bill nearly 2 months after I turned it in to Saturn dealer affiliated with same dealer I bought Pontiac Vibe from.

Currently have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. No major problems. Replaced Catalytic converter under warranty near 80,000 miles. Only other major repair was a hub over 90,000 miles. $700 fix. I have near 106,000 miles and still running on original drum brakes in rear.

So in 40 years of driving I think I've had excellent luck with my vehicles from mostly American car companies(all GM). Never had a major accident either, just a couple of fender benders where I had the damage repaired or traded with the minor damage later.

1969 Pontiac LeMans - drove it from '81 to '84, bought for $500, traded it in, really don't remember anything major with it

1977 VW Rabbitt - drove it from '84 to '89, first front wheel drive car I had (you could NOT get this thing stuck in snow ... I tried), sold for $300 with 109k miles, only had routine maintenance expenses and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

1986 VW Jetta GLI - drove it from '89 to '92, totaled in accident with 101k miles on it (and looked and ran pretty close to new), only had routine maintenance expenses and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

1987 Honda CRXsi - drove it from '92 to '94, no back seat but surprisingly roomy for the driver and passenger (and the lack of back seat meant you could load a lot of stuff in the hatch), exceptional handling and acceleration (about two inches off the ground, however), 35+ mpg, sold with 125k miles on it, only had routine maintenance expenses and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

1989 Acura Integra - drove it from '94 - '96, decent car, sold it with 125k miles, needed some spendy auto tranmission work ($1200)

1988 VW Jetta Carat - drove it from '96 - '03, great car, lots of space, drove this one on several 1500+ mile road trips, 35 mpg on highway, sold with 225k miles on it, only had routine maintenance expenses and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

1992 Honda Accord - drove it from '03 - '08, great car, lots of daily miles commuting with this car, 30+ mpg city/highway, sold with 210k miles on it, only had routine maintenance expenses and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

1996 Toyota Avalon - driving now, very nice ride (my wife drove this from '99 to '08), 150k miles with nothing other than routine maintenance and expected wear (oil, filers, brakes, tires, belts, shocks/struts, etc.)

nothing wrong with it except extreme ugliness (it WAS NOT cool in 1981).

1972- Toyota Corona - worked great until it all broke down at once. Dad decided I needed to try my luck with a different car.

1980-something Buick Regal - had it in for transmission work 3 different times.

1986 Renault Alliance- purchased brand new and smelled like rotten eggs from the moment I drove it off the lot. Also would just shut off when I was stopped at lights.

1991 Nissan Sentra - great little car, but my dh is 6'4'' and neither child could ride behind him when he drove it. We gave it to my cousin and he is still driving it.

1995 Dodge Stratus - When Chrysler bought Renault, they bought back my Renault and we used the money as a down payment on this. We still drive it. Nothing wrong with it but old age.

2001 Chevy Venture - Still driving it. Has had electrical problems, but most were covered because we bought the extended warranty.

2000 Honda Civic for daughter - No problems, should last her until she graduates college and can buy her own car.

2000 Toyota Camry for son - purchased from my parents. We just had all the original belts and battery replaced last month, and the mechanic said it was in great shape. Should last until he graduates college.

The Dodge is not reliable out of town anymore and we will have to purchase a car no later than next summer. I hope we can afford one.

Note - all of these were bought new from a dealer.

1967 Mustang - first car, back in high school. great car with no problems. stupidly sold it for $400 back in '70. DAMN!

1970 VW Dasher - very good car, but it developed an gas consumption/acceleration problem that was never cleared up.

1977(?) Datsun F10 hatchback - good little car with enough room for a couple with one child. not really any problems.

1982 Nissan Sentra - another good Nissan. never a problem with it.

1987 Nissan Sentra wagon - needed the space for second kid. again, a good performer.

1988 Acura Integra - great deal on year-old demo to become two-car family. best car I ever owned. it died giving its life for mine when i fell asleep and ran off the road at 70 mph. DOUBLE-DAMN!

1992 Dodge Neon - mixed results. despite its bad rep, it has not been bad. starting to have problems now due to old age (still have it 16 years later). AC died and will not be repaired, clutch finally went as well (did replace that).

1995 Taurus wagon - good workhorse for family. kept until it started to need too many repairs maintenance-type repairs (~2001). replaced with...

2001 Taurus wagon - same story.

2005 Nissan Altima - great car. we bought this when need for wagon lessened, after the great experience our daughter had with a used Altima. no problems.

All these cars were bought new. All were driven a lot (except the Neon - still has less than 100k miles) and performed well. Most were stick (except Tauri and Altima). Never spent more than $10k (except Acura) until the Altima ($16k). How do people rationalize spending twenty or thirty thou for an automobile? I don't get that. Kept them for at least 5-6 years. Even with two kids and all the traveling, never saw the need for an SUV or anything too big. Sure, when daughter #1 went to college, we had to take both cars (Taurus wagon and Neon) to carry all her shit. But never regretted staying away from the gas hogs.

For what it's worth - I totally support saving the Big 3 even though my choices have been mainly imports.

1974 Mercury Comet (First car!) - good car. Replaced starter and ball joint a few times. Sold it after 8 years/82,000 miles.

1978 Buick Skylark - wife's car when we were married. Good car, with very few problems

1985 Mercury Capri - good car, but horrible leg room. Traded it in for..

1986 Ford Thunderbird - good car, no major problems. Sold it to father-in-law

1990 Ford Thunderbird - again, good car, no problems. Traded it in for...

1994 Ford Thunderbird - 8 cylinder...loved this car. Again, sold it to father-in-law.

1996 Dodge Intrepid - three-year lease, again no problems

1999 Chrysler 300M - good car, except transmission went after 6 years

2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser - loved it; traded it in for... (thought the car was too small)

2005 Dodge Magnum RT/All wheel drive - love this car..hemi engine (yes, I know, not "polically correct", not great gas mileage, but it is my vice)

2007 Dodge Charger RT - love it, with a hemi engine.

1966 Chevy Impala, 283, powergrowl 2 speed transmission - leaked and drank oil, had to replace plugs all the time

1967 Chevy Caprice, 396 Turbo Jet, TH400 trans, posi rear end - no problems, sold it to someone who wanted to spend time on it

1982 Chevy Pickup, 305 - always had a tough time smog checking it

1990 Pontiac Trans Am (first new car)2.3L Quad 4 MPFI L4 engine - Blew a head gasket, warranty fortunately

1991 Ford Ranger PU, 2.3L - 8 friggin plugs on 4 cylinders

1989 Chevy Beretta GT, 2.8L V6 - leaked oil from the top of the engine

1989 Pontiac Grand Am (in garage, was late family members car) - can't find title, need to deal with

2008 Chevy HHR LT, current car - none yet

'72 Ford Cortina (Holley carb, Hurst shifter -- bat-out-of-hell -- major rubber in third gear), '62 Mercury Meteor (hopped-up 302 that would seize up :-( ), '72 Datsun 2-speed B210, '80 Honda Civic, '86 Mazda 626, '86 Toyota Celica GTS, '92 Buick Century (POS car), '92 Oldsmobile 88, '03 Mitsubishi...

I was born in 1972. I've owned:

'64 Rambler

'69 VW Bug

'93 Celica

Then I started riding motorcycles instead. Haven't owned an American bike, as I don't much care for the domestic models. Had a Honda 250 first, then a Triumph t100.

Mostly walk and ride my bike anyways.

Girlfriend uses the car a lot though.

1973 Ford Pinto station wagon - for a little third-hand POS, it was actually a GREAT POS. Fabulous in big snowdrifts!

1982 Chevy Citation - bought new - 6 years of moderate use and it was ready for salvage - a TRUE POS.

1988 Honda Accord - bought new - still runs fine but looks like shit.

I'm almost 52. That's not many cars compared to a lot of people, lol.

it when I bought another station wagon. It sat in my driveway for over 7 years. I thought I'd sell it cheap to someone for parts. Some guys came by and put air in all 4 flat tires, put in a new battery, filled it up with water and oil, and it started right up. They drove it off for a 150 mile trip home.

Probably should have sprung for it anyway.

Ford and Chevy both make some GREAT cars along with some junk. The Ford F150 pickup is what I would get if I were in the market for a truck. And my assistant tells me I really need to get a Focus instead of a Yaris for my next car.

1977 puke green Volare - was my Great Aunt's car


2. 1989 VW Jetta GLI Wolfsberg Edition (bought used)
3. 1989 (I think) Eagle Talon (used)
4. Leased 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport (sucked, wicked break problems)
5. 1999 Jeep Grand - nothing but more break problems - (used)
6. 2001 Nissan Xterra - no problems evah, still driving it (bought used)
7. 1995 VW Jetta, just sold it (given to us used)
8. 1980 - something (unsure of year) Honda Accord (used) - Just sold it
9. 1995 Ford F150 Hubbie's truck - still driving it (bought used)

'74 Pinto Wagon, Brown-- Inherited from my sister.

'78 Mustang II Mach 1 -- Orange+Black. It was in great shape until I got sideswiped in '84. I hired a hack bodyman to fix it, it was never the same.

'78 Mustang II Ghia --Green w/ white landau roof. A very pretty car. I bought it from my Mom. She actually had it before I had the Mach 1.

'85 Dodge Rampage-- red. Not a lick of trouble the three years I had it.
I went carless from '89-'93.

'91 Shadow convertible--Burgundy. It made it to about 150K. It died of a blown head-gasket in 2003.

'94 Buick Park Avenue--Gold(did they make another color?) I hated this car. But my Mom gave it to me when the covertible pased on.

'04 Chevy Cavalier (2 door)--Blue. I've only had it since April, but, so far I'm happy with it. At least it doesn't drink gas like the damn Buick.

1984 - Oldsmobile Omega. Brand new graduation from college present. I made the payments and paid the insurance from my salary as a video store clerk. Lasted until 1991 when we drove it from DC area Maryland to Pittsburgh due to the unextpected death of husband's father. Forgot to check the oil. Opps. But it was a good little car. I was taking the Metro into work everyday and I was depending on the hubby to take care of it. He didn't. *sigh* live and learn.

1990 - Geo Prizm bought new to replace the Omega. Used a car buying club that offered a flat rate for the car. No haggling. But afterwards I got the impression I could have perhaps gotten an even better deal had I been willing to haggle a little bit. It ran very well for a long time until hubby crashed it.

1995 - Used Ford Topaz (I think) Husband's first attempt to make a car deal on his own. Got totally snookered on interest (30% even then!) I left it to him when we split. It seemed to be a good car but 3 or 4 years later he totaled it in a crash. Poor thing just wasn't meant to drive. I don't think he has a car even now and relys on public transport. That is safer for everyone. Trust me. But the topaz itself seemed to be an OK car.

1992 Chevy Conversion Van - Inherited it from my mom, who passed away. I used it every week in fall and winter of 1995-1996 to drive home from my job in Charlotte to take care of her on the weekends. It's a great van. It rant like a top and I never worried about breaking down. I drove it everyday until 2006. Does really well on long car trips. The seats are great. You arrive feeling rested and relaxed. It's still sitting in my yard with 136K on it. It needs work, some transmission, muffler, a new battery. Would make a great fix it hobby for somebody.

2002 - Honda CR-V The first car I ever bought that I didn't have to argue with or compromise with anyone else about, or otherwise have foisted on me because that's what was available at the time. It's what I genuinely want and it's all mine and its paid for.


After the CR-V, I want my next car to be a hybrid if not all electric. We'll see what's around in 2012-2015.

My parents' vehicle that I drove for the first year that I had a license. It was eleven years old and had 120,000+ miles, and it already had some issues, but I enjoyed driving it. It got where it would sometimes die at stop signs if you slowed down in a certain manner, and, eventually, had some problems with the engine that it would have cost more to fix than the car was worth.

I've driven a 2000 Honda Civic since I was seventeen, and, overall, it has been a good vehicle as well. 116,000 miles on it, currently, and the biggest problems are that it can be kind of noisy (loud music still covers that up pretty well!) and recently I've had a problem with the hood not fully closing.

1973 Pontiac Grandville - replaced a water pump
1990 Pontiac Sunbird - replaced front brakes way too often.
1997 Jeep Wrangler - (Still Own) Replaced muffler & Cat converter, radiator
2000 Dodge Stratus RT - thing was still mint when we traded..We got pregnant
2001 Chrysler Sebring - replaced dimmer switch for interior lights
2008 Jeep Patriot - (still own) just got it in July..no probs yet.

1989 Honda Civic

...silver with maroon seats. I bought it in 1990 for $250 and kept it running for another two years.

Second was a 1990 Ford Escort wagon, also silver with maroon interior, bought second hand for $1725 in 1992. I drove that (and hauled my big dog around in the back) for three years, then bought...

...a 1990 Honda Accord LX sedan, midnight blue with tan interior. Followed the Honda maintenance routine and never had a single doggone breakdown. Ever. Nothing went wrong! I drove it in Iowa winters, Missouri winters, two Vermont winters, then cross-country to California. It had over 180,000 miles on it and still passed the CA smog test with no problem.

And I drove that until last April, when we bought a 2005 Honda Civic sedan (gray/gray). Not as roomy or as quiet, nor does it have the git-up-and-go of the Accord, but it's a great city car. Gets 29+ in town, and on a drive up to Oregon recently I got 39.5 mpg. It's an ultra-low-emission vehicle as well, and could easily be the last car I ever buy, since I typically walk to work and for most small errands. I use the Honda for grocery runs and to take the cat to the vet; occasionally I have to drive out to the 'burbs for something or other and can't make it work with light rail/bus in a timely fashion.

I'd prefer to buy cars made by union labor, but after my experience with the Accord (made in Kentucky with non-union labor), and now the Civic (same thing), I just can't justify the cost to the environment nor the pain-in-the-ass maintenance and repairs of an American-made small car.

I rented a Ford Focus, brand-new, when I was in the Midwest on a business trip a couple of years ago. That thing rattled and shook and smelled funny; no power; crappy mileage even on a small car. Maybe it was a lemon, but I think that the American automakers put all their skill into the high-end large vehicles.

My brothers are working men who need pickups and they both have American-made trucks with extended cabs. Those are comfortable and quiet, like my Hondas have been; with routine maintenance, both have held up well.

But I haven't seen equal crafstmanship in the small vehicles, and that's what I need. As much as I admire a pretty, fast car (my dad used to race), the car that I actually need should be smaller and more sensible, and the Big Three haven't been able to match that.

Now, if I needed a truck--and not that many people actually need a truck--the American companies definitely have what I look for in a vehicle.

1949 Ford - no problems; couldn't kill it

1967 Pontiac LeMans - bought new . . . no major problems

1970 Volvo - bought new . . . no major problems

1966 Volkswagon minibus - rebuilt the engine myself; was always repairing something or other

1967 Rambler Ambassador - used piece of junk . . . kept it running as long as I had to

1975 Audi Fox - possibly the best car I ever owned . . . no problems

1967 Dodge pickup - tranny blew, but I had it replaced with a rebuilt one . . . had one of those slant six engines you couldn't kill . . . probably still running today . . .

1978 Toyota Celica - no major problems other than body rust/rot

1980 Datsun station wagon - piece of junk, but no major problems during the short time I owned it . . .

1985 Toyota Celica - no major problems . . . nice little car

1990 GEO Prizm - bought it new . . . timing belt broke . . . while under extended warranty, engine began eating oil like crazy, and the dealer ultimately replaced it with a new one . . . no major problems after that, except that I was forever replacing one part of the exhaust system or another . . .

2002 Toyota Camry - had it for a year, love it, runs like a top . . .

(whew) . . . if you count the GEO as American, that's five American vehicles and six foreign . . . guess I'm bi-auto or something . . .

Buick, Olds, Chevy, Ford van, Ford PU, Datsun, Nissan PU, Datsun PU, VW Passat, Ford PU, Toyota Prius...

Worked 'em all hard and took care of them.

Best PU? Nissan.

Best car all around?

Prius.... by a mile.

When Detroit builds a Prius, I will buy it gladly.

and there's NO WAY i can remember any and/or all problems- so i'm not even going to try.

67 mustang fastback
73 chevy nova
78 chrysler cordoba
4 different pacers- i don't recall the model years. plus 1 more for parts
73 dodge coronet
80-something suzuki 550 motorcycle
68 buick lesabre convertible
80-something vw rabbit
80-something honda prelude
73/74 oldsmobile delta 88/98- it wes a blue 74 olds 98 that needed a new front end...i found a yellow 73 olds delta 88 front end/fenders that had the same bolt pattern- so i customized it.
68(?) vw camper bus
80-something toyota celica
80-something renault LeCar
80-something vw rabbit (second one)
90 ford escort
92 vw jetta
94 dodge grand caravan
2001 vw new beetle turbo
2001 dodge caravan
2005 vw new beetle

Inherited from my mother in early 80s. Beautiful car, nice ride. Gave to my brother (who proceeded to total it :() when I bought a

1986 Nissan Sentra -- new. Another nice ride. No problems with it, and it did a cross-country trip. Sold in 1994 when I moved to the UK.

My husband and I owned various used cars in the UK including a Vauxhall (GM subsidiary) something or other, a Mini, and a Ford Scorpio. I considered them his because I didn't drive over there. The Vauxhall was in a crash before I got there; hubby drove it till it died. The Mini had electrical problems. The Ford Scorpio had an oil leak and won't-start-in-the-damp problem, neither was ever solved.

2002 and back in the US -- 1996 Jeep Cherokee. We still have this. Over 100k miles on it. No problems except having to replace the radiator (unknown to us the radiator was bad when we bought it; we had paid $1700 for an extended warranty that would have covered the repair IF the warranty company hadn't gone belly up a year after the purchase!! We won't buy extended warranties from dealers ever again). Tough car. We love it.

Haha :)

1986 Nissan Stanza: Rear Driver Door stuck shut, Rear passenger window stuck up (hehe), driver rear ended someone and totaled the car (well, it was only worth about $600), fuel leak sprayed fuel onto exhaust system, almost caused car to blow up, Driver lied to parents about her whereabouts and car got broken into.

1998 Isuzu Rodeo: Fine car, diver drove it into military base barrier and ripped of the rear passenger door

2005 Infini G35: Great car, diver has much improved skills (fingers crossed!)

'86 Rolla - I had this one while learning to drive. It was literally falling apart, so upon obtaining my license, I bid it farewell. I have fond memories of you, first Rolla.

'96 Camry - Okay, not a Rolla, but I also didn't personally kill it. My parents forced me to loan it to my little brother. A few hours later we receive a frantic phone call from said brother . . . bye bye Camry.

'95 Rolla - This was a great little car. I miss it dearly. I drove it for many years. Then one day after a snowstorm, I hit some black ice and just about took a nose dive into a ravine. The Rolla's last act was to get snagged on a rock and save me.

'04 Rolla #1 - My first new car! This one lasted about 6 weeks. On the way home for spring break, I find myself stopped in gridlock. Unfortunately the Dodge Ram behind me found himself moving in gridlock. Rolla sandwich.

'93 (?) Escort Wagon - Interlude car. Technically borrowed from my mom. It didn't do so well in the mountains, but it lived to sit in my parents' driveway once again.

'04 Rolla #2 - I kind of hate this car. I don't know why. It has given me almost 80000 safe miles, but it keeps getting hit by other cars in parking lots. I think I'm still nostalgic for my '95 Rolla.

My sister has a Corolla the same year as yours. Soon after she got it, someone hit it while parked in front of her house, damaging the fender and lens cover. Less than two months later, she's coming home from a walk, and sees her parked car at a strange angle with one wheel on the curb. Two cars were in an accident and one ended up hitting hers. There was damage front AND, where it was hit, and in the back, where it was pushed into a pole. A year later, someone ran a stop sign and hit her side.


She's had numerous little dings and dents, too. Once she ran into the post office for five minutes and when she returned there was a scratch on the bumper. Another time, she saw someone lightly strike it while backing into a parking space. No real damage, but out of frustration she starting screaming at the guy in his car. He ended up pulling away to another spot!

hitting you

First - 1993 Volvo 860 - I fucking loved this car and it had everything that was considered standard equipment at the time. Unfortunately when I got it, it had nearly 140,000 miles on it and I was only able to drive it for a few months before it died on the table.

Second - 2001 Pontiac Grand Am - Another car that was fun to drive but the thing is - I got it for super cheap because my friend's brother worked at the dealer and sold it to me, but being super cheap - after 6 years the wear and tear REALLY started to show.

Current - 2007 Nissan Altima - Great car. It has everything - GPS, backup camera (which has been seriously useful), sunroof, 6 CD changer, IPOD hookup, leather seats, power windows, you name it. So far the only problem I've had with it has been tire pressure issues but thankfully a visit to the dealer solved that.

'81 Chevy Citation -- transmission died very suddenly when it was only six years old.

'82 Honda Accord -- no problems; great car.

'89 Nissan Sentra -- nagging problem with air conditioning eventually isolated to a backward part installation; great car otherwise.

'93 Toyota Paseo -- alternator died; interlock security device failed and had to be bypassed; great car otherwise.

'98 Nissan Maxima -- maintenance hog; numerous troubles with brakes and transmission.

'05 Toyota Prius -- no problems; still a great car.

'05 Honda Accord Hybrid -- no problems; still a great car (replaced an identical car from earlier in the model year that was totaled between two eighteen-wheelers; driver emerged without a scratch and demanded another one just like it). :toast:

http://www.osomin.com/mycars.htm

It's long, and has photos.

Year Car....................... Cause of death
1975 Honda CVC............. Engine
1979 Pontiac Sunbird....... Engine
1985 Ford Escort............ None, just wanted a new car
1990 Nissan 240SX.......... Bought new, totalled by van that hit me from behind :(
1985 AMC Pacer............. Totalled, hit a deer
1984 Ford Ranger........... Transmission
1986 Chevy S10............. Traded for Hyundai
1996 Hyundai Excel......... Bought new, traded for Jeep
1998 Jeep Cherokee........ Gave it to the ex to expedite the divorce
1995 Geo Tracker........... 350,000 miles, door started to fall off due to rust after accident
2004 Subaru Forrester......

Best (fewest problems): the Tracker and the Subaru
Worst: AMC, Ranger, Honda
Favorite: the Nissan and the Jeep (but I love my Subaru too!)

Not sure where I fit in the DU hatefest today. :shrug:

1988 Mustang - nothing.

1992 Mustang - it got totalled by a semi when it was three years old, so I didn't have it long enough to have any problems.

1995 Mustang - needed a sensor when it was 12 years old.

2005 Mustang - nothing.

My first car was Chevrolet Belair 1972. It ran like a bat out of hell and looked like it had been through hell (the donor of this free car had three DWIs and lost his license for a time).

My second car was a 1979 Ford Escort new, my father co-signed for me and I enjoyed this nice little economy car until someone totaled it well before its time.

My third car was a used 1986 Ford Escort. Kind of a lemon and I muddled through.

My fourth car was a Ford Taurus, 1998, a nice car but gave me a lot problems last year.

My fifth and present car is a Toyota Camry 2009. It's the best car I ever had in many ways. The Belair was faster, though.

1961 Buick Electra


1972 Monte Carlo


1969 Dodge Coronet Wagon


1972 Cadillac Coupe de Ville


1973 International Harvester Travellall


1991 Chrysler New Yorker


1994 Chevy Blazer


2003 Mazda Protege

1965 VW Beetle
1972 Buick Skylark
1966 Chevy Wagon
1966 Simca
1973 Olds Cutlass
1974 Chevy Vega (total POS!)
1978 VW Dasher wagon
1984 BMW 325
1978 Porsche 911SC
1994 Honda Passport
1969 Land-Rover Series IIA Bugeye
1998 Volvo Wagon
1965 Porsche 356C
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon
1999 Subaru Outback wagon
2006 Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab 4X4 6-cyl (too big!)
2007 Volvo wagon
2007 Prius (BEST OF THE LOT!)
2008 Toyota Tacoma Ext Cab 4-cyl (to pull my kayak trailer, etc)

Ok, so I've only been driving 5 years...

1999 Honda Civic DX - Used. Only has had routine maintenance besides having to fix the cracked exhaust manifold. Still have it.
2008 Honda Civic LX - New. Bought in May. Drove it to Savannah, Ga and got about 36 MPG. Regularly gets about 30 to 34 MPG.

I loved my first Civic, so for the first car I bought on my own I bought a Civic. We will see how well it does compared to my older Civic.

1975 VW Rabbit
1976 Lancia Beta Coupe
1979 Sabb 99
1971 Subaru
1985 Honda Accord
1987 Acura
19?? Ford Fiesta #1
19?? Ford Fiesta #2 (They were easy to work on)
19?? Mitsubishi Pick-Up
1997 Mitsubishi Montero
1999 Mazda B3000 Pick-Up (My current ride)

1985 Ford LTD - purchased from my aunt in May 1996 and I owned it for about 1.5 years. Nothing seriously wrong with it, other than the fact that it was an old car and required periodic maintenance. Although the maintenance work was needed a little too often for my tastes.

1997 Toyota RAV4 - purchased used in November 1997 and I owned it for about 2.5 years. One previous owner, about 10,000 miles came already on it. This was the first year of that model (I believe), and I ended up having a SERIOUS problem with the brakes. The brakes would grind horribly and shake the entire car. I took it to several mechanics and no one could fix it. It just became to unsafe to drive, so I accepted the negative equity with my car loan, and traded it in on a...

2001 Toyota Corolla - purchased new in June 2000 and have been driving it ever since. I have had *zero* problems with this car in the 8.5 years that I have owned it, other than standard maintenance. I have driven it for about 93,000 miles, and I could probably go to 200,000 without any serious problems. Great car! :)

65 Rambler Ambassador -- Bought used. No major problems with it, only got rid of it because we couldn't get parts anymore.

73 VW fastback --- Bought Used. Good little car except the engine blew not long after we got it. Had a new engine put in and it ran like a top.

84 pontiac sunbird wagon --- Bought brand new. Piece.Of.Junk. Electronics and suspension were terrible.

69 Chevy pick up. Bought out of a junk yard. MrMadinMo rebuilt the engine in it. No real problems other than the rear end went out in it. Our soon to be 16 year old son is inheriting it.

91 Toyota Camry. Bought in 1992 with 1200 miles on it. Superb car. Still driving it. 184,000+ miles. Gets 30 mpg easily.

2001 Ford F150 pick up. Bought used with 50,000+ miles on it. Still going with over 100,000 miles on it. Recently replaced an idle sensor.

Fiat Balilla. Ducati 250 Scrambler, Suzuki 90, 1955 ford, 1938 Lancia Alpine, 1966 Rambler 660. 1961 Saab 93 V4. Another Nash Rambler. 1938 Moto Guzzi 500. VW beetle, Ford Station wagon, Pacer, Datsun 810, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Colt, Dodge Dakota, Postal Jeep. Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra.

all but the Dodge Colt were used cars. I know I missed one or two along the way.

Honda 55 Trail (13 yrs old, used, 8th grade graduation present)
Honda 90 Trail 1967(9th grade Christmas present, new)
GMC 1950 Stepside PU (14 yrs old, handmedown from deceased grandfather)
DMV Citation - (Driving wo/license age 14, stopped at stoplight on US 101 at Arcata prior to freeway construction)
Yamaha 250 Enduro (new)
DMV Citation - (Driving wo/license age 16 in parents car, sentenced to driving school and getting licensed)
Chev Vega 1971 (new, piece of crap, bought for living in city)
Toyota PU 1970 (used)
Ford Mustang 1967 (used)
Toyota PU 1973 longbed (used)
Olds Tornado 1974 (handmedown from Mom, my exe mostly drove)
International Harvestor 1961 PU (used, dump and firewood truck)
Mazda 626 1982(new)
Toyota PU 4X4 LB 1984(new, great vehicle, sold to employee when it had over 200,000 mi)
Mazda Miata 1990 (new)
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 1993 (new, great vehicle, totalled with 170,000 miles)
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 1998 (used, lemon in electronics and transmission)
Jeep 1955 Willy (inherited from father, doesn't run now but vehicle I learned to drive first)
Dodge 4X4 PowerRam 1987 (used, dump and firewood truck)
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 2003 (used, good vehicle)

1964 VW Beetle (hey, it was what it was)
1973 Ford Falcon (special POS edition, rusted out floorboards, rusty leaking rad, gearshift lever came off in my hand while driving, finally caught fire in my bank's parking lot)
1967 Chevy Biscayne wagon (what a tank!)
1972 Ford 500 (whatever)
1985 Dodge Colt (POS)
1995 Honda Civic Si (probably the best all-around car I ever owned)
1995 Honda Civic SiR (a hoot to drive)
2000 BMW 540i/6 (yet another POS -- a really expensive, fast, comfortable POS)
2001 VW Jetta TDI (highish maintenance, but pretty reliable)

Overall I'd buy another Civic in a heartbeat.

1972 Cutlass- good car for a teenager, but maybe a little too fast for a teenage driver in hindsight :evilgrin:

1982 Chevy Camaro Z28- always in the shop, but what a cool car! Insurance was thru the roof even back then....


1984 Ford Mustang-Good car, not a hardy car, like a shooting star, shone bright and burned out too fast.

1986 Chevy Blazer-big honking bubbamobile


1994 Chrysler Concorde-another gas guzzler but was a nice car


2000 Ford Escort-fuel efficient, but never felt safe in this one-it cowered in fear at the sight of an SUV, big car or 18 wheeler


2002 Dodge Ram pickup-gas guzzler again, but big and good in the winter

2008 Nissan Xterra-so far so good, not as fuel efficient as I would like, but I don't drive much anyway, and with 3 ft of snow on the ground, it cuts thru it with ease safely...

Hopefully when the Xterra is paid off, by then the automakers will have more SUV hybrids for sale and at affordable prices, I will definitely buy a hybrid next time.

These are my daily rides over the years

Age 16-18 South Dakota youth, started driving in 1977


1972 Orange VW Super Beetle - Main High School Car - crashed it
1966 Maroon VW Karmen Ghia - Senior Year Car ignition bad
1980 Datsun Pickup*
1976 Suzuki Jeep*
1972 Ford Bronco - gas hog, dude magnet, tippy
1976 Pontiac Grand Prix - gas hog, chick magnet

19-22 SOuth Dakota College days
1977 Datsun F10 Wagon (my main college car Mom's hand me down)
This car was unstoppable. Having a 1/4" steel skid plate and with studded snows in front
I could drive this car through just about anything. Below 10 degrees I had to plug the car in or no start.
Kept a extra battery for cranking in apartment in Minneaplois.

22-25 The Minneapolis Punk Years

1982 El Camino - nice ride, could haul a lot of band crap. Traded Dad for Caddy
1972 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - could haul all the band members and our crap and pull a trailer for band gear.
This car could always start in any weather.

26-33 Early Married Life Northern Wis.
1989 Pontiac Sunbird - First New Car I (we)bought myself. Hit two deer almost totalled drove it into ground. Was a good reliable car, great in the snow too.

34-45 Midlife crisis days
1995 Infiniti G20t (Blew Engine, on second engine still driving)
2003 Mini Cooper - Bought for Wife (now ex-wife she is still driving it.)

46 Out and Proud
2005 VW Jetta 2.0l - Bought for my partner...still driving my G20....

*ranch car available for me to drive

1. 1960something Volkswagen Beetle. I drove it in high school. I remember the alternator belt broke once and the heat got stuck *on* once.

2. 1972 Volkswagen SuperBeetle. I don't remember anything ever going wrong with this one.

3. 1970something Mazda GLC - ran great, more comfortable than a beetle, got rid of it when it was broken into and completely trashed.

4. 1980something Volkswagen Rabbit - diesel. Diesel cars were becoming all the rage. Had to replace a glo-plug once.

5. 1980something Volkswagen Jetta - diesel. I don't remember anything going wrong with this one, either.

6. 1994 Honda Del Sol - STILL driving this one. Air conditioning is not cooling anymore and I've had to replace the door lock on the driver's side - overuse killed it. I need to replace the motor for the windshield washer dispenser. Other than that - it runs great and doesn't use a lot of gas.

1984 Monte Carlo SS...which had been ridden hard and put away wet too many times by its previous owner. Catalytic converter was shot.

1985 Grand Prix - nice car.

1989 Probe (bought used). Had a loose piece of trim under the hood that messed up the pop-up headlights - easily remedied by body shop.

1996 Pontiac Grand Am v-6. Trouble-free.

1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. Mostly trouble free, other than the vents leaked water into the floorboard area during a freak rainstorm. Fixed under warranty.

2002 VW Passat. Wonderful, rock-solid car. Only trouble was having to replace the fuse to the radio 3 times.

2005 Pontiac G6 GT - Nice car. HUGH improvement over the Grand Am. Trouble free.

2007 Mazda CX-7 - Trouble free so far. Tires are expensive though.

HAHAHAHA....it seems a high percentage of DUers drove a beetle at some point...

'76 Honda Civic Station Wagon.
'79 Honda Accord (traded with my father for several months for his '78 VW van)
'82 Honda Accord
'95 Saturn SW2
'99 Saturn SW2
'06 Saturn VUE (ironically enough, with a Honda-built V6 engine.....)

The XR4Ti was a piece of shit made by Merkur (ford)

I loved the miatas! Neither had problems.

Celica had no problems, I just didn't like it after driving my first miata, and so traded it in for another.

Now I drive a chevy S10. No problems. But it is a noisy, truck, and i absolutely hate the plastic-y interior (which is falling apart) especially compared to any of the foreign cars i've owned. Then, again, it's a truck. It simply isn't as appealing as the other cars to me.

That said, I have never bought new and never will, so this entire debate doesn't even apply to me :p

My 1994 Honda del Sol.

I'd tell you the mileage, but you wouldn't believe me.

The only new one I bought was the Ranger, and I never had a lick of trouble from it.

All of the rest were used by the time they got to me, and the only one without problems so far has been the Toyota. The Hondas were probably trouble because they had been driven hard and long before me. The EXP was a bad design overall with weird behavior everywhere you looked. The Volvo has always been a mess (but it's extremely comfortable, very fast, and lots of fun). The Toyota just keeps on going. (I've still got that truck and the Volvo...)

My dad's car... let me drive it when I got my license in 1994. He had bought himself a used conversion van cheap so he used that mostly.

Then that got wrecked when a guy in a Cutless Ciera hit me and totaled it. They gave me my mom's '87 T-Bird so I could commute to college and Dad bought her a used Camaro IROC.

Then the Camaro got stolen. My mom walked up to the car to find a guy inside busily ripping out the steering column. The cops found the car but Mom didn't want to drive it anymore. So dad sold the conversion van, took the Camaro for himself, and bought Mom a used Maxima. This was in 1995.

Then there were... events... that resulted in my parents reclaim the T-Bird at 255,000 miles, fortuantely for me about a week after the head gasket blew. This was in 2000. I had put 120,000 miles on the car in 5 years.

Wow, that's a lot of commuting to school for a degree I never got. :-)


I bought a '96 Neon with a bank loan. Then my ex and I traded in her old Subaru for a new Neon. It was in my name.


Then the '96 Neon blew a head gasket and I never had the money to get it fixed so I garaged it, and when we hastily separated later I just signed the title and mailed it back to our old landlord.

By this time (2005) we'd been given my now-famous 1989 Olds 98. When we separted that year I took the Olds and she took the (new) Neon.

Over the summer I bought a lightly-used Subaru Impreza wagon and sold the Olds for $500 after putting about 50,000 miles on it in 3 years. And that's my current car.

I'm hoping it lasts 12 years so it could be my kid's new car.

Power steering went out-I drove it anyway. Lot's of interior problems, among them the headliner fabric separated from the roof and started hanging down.

'75 Ford Gran Torino
I liked this car, but tended to abuse it. It developed an electrical problem that caused the headlights to short out. (disconcerting when on the freeway) Also the AC started spewing a green mist. I tried to rebuild the carburetor one day and could never get it to run after that.

'85 Chevy Blazer
A real POS. I bought it new. Unknown to me, the "idiot light" oil pressure indicator had either burned, or shorted out. When my oil pump blew on the freeway, I didn't know, until I had rolled the bearings in the crankcase. Engine was rebuilt. (not under warranty) By the time I got rid of it, it was on it's third transmission.

'92 Mazda Navajo
A mediocre driving experience, but at least it lasted over a hundred thousand miles. Was burning oil when I gave it away.

'01 Nissan Pathfinder
I like this car. It developed a problem with the main computer. It kept showing various sensors as bad. When I finally figured out what it was, a local Nissan dealership replaced it for free, even though is was just out of warranty. It has 70K miles on it now.

1986 Olds Ciera, 1996 Chevy Lumina LS, 2004 Dodge Neon, 1998 Chrysler Cirrus.....

Only one I had continuous problems with was the Celebrity.
I've never bought a brand new car.
The best of all was the Monte Carlo..super fast, and the Lumina LS and Buick Regal were both fantastic for road trips. Beauty and comfort.

Let's see

1970 VW Beetle 1982-87
1982 Mazda RX-7 1993-97 or -98

I suppose both cars had their share of problems, but since both of them were more than 10 years old by the time they came to me, and it's been more than 10 years since I've owned a car, I couldn't reliably say anymore. Nowadays a car seems like such an extravagance to me, that I don't suppose I'll ever own another one.

That was all she wrote.

likely never will.

(throws back head and laughs: HA ha ha ha ha! like the 7-Up guy)

and now a 1991 Honda CRX HF with 240K on it and a rebuilt engine,

Little 2 seater, but it totally rocks on MPG - gets 43 city and 48 hwy. Just 72 horses under the hood.

Kinda like a poor man's hybred! :)

and driven into the ground in 1982. Except for normal stuff (tires, clutch), it was wonderful.

1982 Pontiac Trans Am. After 3 years of it seeming to fall apart..suspension was awful, and being followed by the police wasn't fun, I traded it in for a slightly used

1984 Audi 4000... loved this car a whole bunch but when the suspension had to be replaced 8 years later, I had to sell it. It was un affordable to fix it.

1984 Audi 5000....excellent car, bought when it was about 6 years old. Reached an age in the early 90s when it was once again very expensive to repair.

1986 Dodge Caravan...Transmission died and then it was hit by a car.

1986 Ford Taurus...head gasket died.

1986 Subaru 4WD Wagon...loved it and then the carburetor died.

1989 Saab 9000. Great car, but old when I got it and many things went wrong.

1989 Ford Taurus Wagon.. another head gasket, replaced it with a new engine and never really drove it. I bought it for my business but that form of my biz ended and I recently got rid of it.

1996 Acura Integra.... head gasket went and would have been the second engine I put in. I sold it and bought a few months ago

1995 Nissan Maxima...which knock on wood, so far, so good. :)

1979 toyota celica totalled within 2 months of
getting my Drivers license.

1980 dastun 310 lemon engine blew after a year.

1974 lincon mercury big huge car

1967 VW beetle

1958 VW van camper special

1987 Chevy Cavalier SW .. I loved that car
Manual trans . Donated to Charity

1989 Volvo SW turbo good car , Donated to
Charity

1993 Toyota 4 runner , it's got some transmission
problems which hopefully can be fixed . skips 3rd
which is a PITA .

I have never spent more than 2500.00 on a vehicle
I like my car to last at least 4 years w/o much
$work$.

1963 Rambler (passed down from from ex-inlaws)
1971 Toyota Corolla
1973 Opel Manta
1969 Rover TC 2000
1969 MGB GT
1985 Toyota SR5 Truck*
1969 International Scout
1971 Toyota Corolla
1972 Renault R10
1971 VW bus
1971 Volvo 145
1988 Mercury Topaz
1986 Chev S10 Blazer
1970 Dodge Powerwagon
1988 Ford Ranger Pickup
1984 Ford Tempo
1992 Ford Thunderbird*
1992 Ford Tempo (Canadian 6 w/ 5 speed)
1995 Ford Thunderbird
1995 Ford F150 4 x 4*
1991 Mazda 626
2000 Chysler Voyager

Vehicles are all listed in order of acquisition. From 1982-1990 my spouse worked in a Ford/Toyota dealership. We regularly bought cars from the used lot, fixed them up, drove them for awhile and sold them when we were ready for a new project. Those marked* were purchased new.

My first car was a '55 Chevy "Hardtop Convertable". My second was a '55 210 Sedan, next was a '58 Ford Hardtop, then a Datson 2000, then a '64 Corvette, then I sort of lose track for a couple of years - there was a Corvair, a Grand Torino, some model of Dodge that was as big as an aircraft carrier, a couple of VWs, and a Studebaker Lark were in there as well. Then there was a Chevy van, a GMC pickup, another Datsun, three BMW 2002's, a Toyota Celica, an MR-2, a Toyota pickup, then another Toyota pickup, then a Chevy pickup, then a Ford Thunderbird, then a Ford pickup, then another Ford pickup, and then a Mercedes, and finally an Audi. I'm sure I left a couple out and of course my wife had a bunch too.

1972 Chevy Nova (307 3-Speed on the Column)

1980 Ford Futura This started my habit of buying foreign cars

1972 Toyota Corolla (bought is used as my beater car while in the shipyards at Portsmouth, VA. Drove it to 250K+ miles

1979 Datsun 200SX

1989 Mazda 626

1978 Toyota Wagon

1991 Mazda 323

1996 Mazda MPV (Sport All Wheel Drive) still have it

2001 Nissan Maxima

2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

1978 Yamaha XT100 enduro. Fouled plugs.
1969 Chevy wagon. Not really mine, but on loan from my dad. Fixed it up, put new tires on it ($20 retreads). Dad loaned it to my brother and it burned to the asphalt the next day. Bad headlight switch, I guess. Out $80 for tires. Shit.
1970 Chevelle. My first real car. I fixed everything at least once. I sold it in 1984 to buy a house. Saw it parked in the local HS parking lot 10 years later. Bought it back. Still have it.
1980 Yamaha XS650 special. Perfect. Sold it '81 because I didn't ride enough.
1982 Yamaha XS650 special. Also perfect. Part of a learning process of what I can do without. Apparently, I can't do without a scooter.
Another 1970 Chevelle. You can never have too many. Sold to a friend in '83.
1972 Toyota corolla. Bad suspension, bad ignition. Rusty. Cute, though.
1980 Luv 4x4. Ran perfectly.
1985 Dodge Shelby Charger. Went like stink in first and second gear, could leave just about anything with license plates behind at the stoplight. Blew headgasket which screwed up the clutch. Traded in 1987 on a...
1987 Ford Thunderbird turbo coupe. Comfy and peppy, but not very stylish and it sucked in the snow.
1968 Chevy truck. "The 400-buck truck" Threw a timing chain after grinding a hole in the timing cover. Until it threw that chain, I had no idea why it was so oily under the hood. Sold it for $500, I think.
1978 gmc 4x4 half ton. Routinely hauled a ton-and-a-half of firewood. Lost a wheel once when a dry wheel bearing ground through the axle. My bad. Good truck.
1968 chevy shortbed 6cyl. Not an easy driver, no ps, no pb, no radio. Granny 4sp with 4:11 gears.
1971 triumph gt6. Coolest looking car ever. It's looks were inversely proportional to its reliability. The british drink warm beer because Lucas (the manufacturer of Triumph electric components) makes refrigerators. :D
1984 mazda 626. Had to replace the entire head. Otherwise okay.
1989 chevy corsica. 100k miles. Never a problem.
1977 chevy full size blazer. A most un-useful (but reasonably reliable) utility vehicle.
1987 chevy van. Big-ass conversion van. The aftermarket paint was all cracked and nasty, but it a tv and vcr and had only 10k miles on it when I bought it.
1987 ford ranger 4x4. Nice little truck.
1987 ford f150 4x4 302. Underpowered and geared far too high.
1991 plymouth minivan. no problems
1984 honda accord. meh.
1994 trans-am. Black LT-1. It's one of those deals where having a cool thing is less cool than you think it will be. :shrug: Really fast, though.
1984 Suzuki gs750e. It now has 16k miles. I need to ride more.
1987 mercury sable wagon. Won't go anywhere if the fuel pump shutoff switch is tripped. The switch is supposed to trip in event of an accident. It also apparently trips in event of a frustrated mom slamming the door.
1984 chevy cavalier. Affectionately nicknamed "ick", because of its gray primer exterior. I painted it then loaned it to a friend when his vehicles croaked. His wife broke it. :mad: Oh well, I was only out $600. Donated it to the local HS auto mechanics class.
1994 chevy 1/2 ton ex-cab 4x4. Excellent truck.
1966 chevy half ton fleetside. Very cool looking. Dead dash lights and no heater when I bought it. Traded it for a bunch of building materials.
1998 pontiac montana van. tv/vcr. Nice comfy and useful. Replaced one bad transmission after 30k miles. Same brother hit a deer with it a couple of years ago. Traded with 100k miles when check engine light gave transmission trouble codes.
1969 chevy c60 dump truck. Now we're talkin'. No heater when I bought it. Tuned it up and replaced a fuel pump. Bought it auction for $3500. Used it to haul gravel to build a house, put $100 paint job on it and sold it for $6000. :thumbsup:
1999 olds aurora. Now has 130k miles. Great car.
1994 chevy 1/2 ton ex-cab 4x4. 240k miles and still going strong. I've replaced the brakes, tires, a windshield, a starter and fixed a coolant leak.
2007 dodge caliber. 30mpg.

Holy shit. I think I have a problem.

least 24 vehicles.

death. It locked up. It wouldn't turn over, wouldn't roll, couldn't even open the hood. It was crazy. There was no sign of tampering. It was weird. My Dakota got rear ended by a Caddy Eldorado. The Caddy was totaled, I drove the truck home. The frame wasn't bent, it tracked and braked straight.

the Lancia had suicide doors. Round a corner at speed and the doors would open.

this was right after I sold it. The guy who painted the car blue later built a bathtub sized boat and sailed across the Atlantic. At night I let some street boys sleep in it just as long as they chased off gasoline thieves.

car. I'd go through three or four sets of front brakes a year.

My brother had a 95 Z28 that went up to 232,000 miles without major problems. Well, when it hit around 232k, it threw a rod off the crankshaft. You shoulda traded it for an LS1 like my 01 Trans Am WS6.

But it made us both feel odd... self-conscious... driving it. I guess it just wasn't our style. I very much prefer tooling around town in my Chevelle.

Over the years, my interest in cars have gone from unbridled lust to just another too-expensive, unfortunate necessity in life. I never got to indulge my passions for Shelby's and Hemi Challengers in my youth, and oddly enough, were I to win the lottery tomorrow, the cars I would buy would no doubt be the most mundane, boring, practical kinds of things I would have accused my parents of. Funny how that works out. But here's a complete list of everything that wormed its way into my hands over the years:

1973 Dodge Charger SE

First car purchased used in high school with a garish vinyl top (a great example of one of the great WTF moments in automotive styling trends) and a wheezing, anemic CA-smogged 318 that could barely muster enough juice to get out of its own way. The power steering was so over-assisted you could blow on the wheel and change lanes, it wallowed around corners like a dinosaur with marshmallow legs, and the front end stuck out so far that people would jump out of the way when I pulled up to the curb (there was such a large gap between the grille and the radiator that I could actually crawl in there and lie down!).

1982 Datsun 200SX

Inherited from my parents when I gave my poor, hapless brother the much-abused and ill-fated Charger. The 200SX had loads of plastic trim pieces and was festooned with miles and miles of stick-on striping - this was in the middle of the era when gaudy styling excess was substituted for performance. It was a twitchy little beast with a mushy suspension that would bob up and down with the application of moderate braking and would skitter wildly out of control if corners were taken a tad too aggressively - no warning, no real feedback that you were approaching its limits ... you'd just be taking a corner one second, and find yourself plowing through a field the next. It was the car that spoke to you when the door was ajar or the seatbelt wasn't fastened, using a breathless, urging woman's voice with a pronounced Japanese accent. And the factory tape deck never met a cassette it didn't immediately render useless. Totalled in an accident with a hit-and-run driver.

1989 Nissan 240SX

Boy, was I ever reluctant to buy this after the experience with the 200SX! But it was a great deal from a trusted source at a time when I badly needed a car, and what a great little car it was - nice lines, turned on a dime, was zippy, sure-footed, very precise steering, well assembled ... I drove that thing 200,000+ miles with nary a problem or breakdown. Great car.

2003 Hyundai Tiburon

First new car I ever purchased after the 240SX finally wore out. Affordably priced and snappy (if derivative) styling, but a disappointment all around - the big V6 was rather anemic, mileage was ordinary, handling was sloppy and vague (it felt like a much larger vehicle), had a substantial blind spot, the air conditioning never got particularly cold, even after a complete servicing, and really put on strain on the engine when in use, and fit and finish was spotty (quite a few trim and interior pieces just dropped off after 30 or 40 thousand miles). A very nice factory sound system, though, which is not too surprising since its aimed toward a younger driver. Should have done more research. Totalled in an accident with another hit-and-run driver.

2006 Subaru Impreza Wagon

Did lots of research on this one, and out of 15 or so cars under consideration (looking at things like total ownership cost, mileage, cargo capacity, reliability, etc.) it came out at around #4 on the list, but negotiated a good deal and couldn't have been happier. The horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder (non-turbo) engine has a surprising amount of power and gets reasonable mileage (although it is a tad noisy at times); handles well; good visibility, ergonomics and cargo space; and the fit and finish is far beyond what you would expect for the price. Crappy sound system, though, but something I can live with since I have long ago given up blasting music when I drive. Research pays off, it seems.

1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa

GM's Edsel and the car that launched the career of Ralph Nader. You'd be surpised how many thumbs-down and middle-fingers I received over the years while driving them. For a vehicle that has received such bad press, though, I think of it as something of a small miracle - a daring, foward-looking concept made at a time when GM wasn't afraid to put forth bold ideas, but was eventually abandoned, both by GM bean counters and a public who wanted nothing more than conventional ideas. It certainly wasn't a perfect car by any means: the air-cooled engine, so long in development, was something of a compromise; it could leak oil prodigiously if not maintained properly; the early swing-axle suspension could, in extreme cases, exhibit some 'unusual' characteristics; the heating system was inherently dangerous; and, in an era of Pony cars and cheap gas, it didn't exactly have horsepower to burn. But there were some very nice things about the car that get lost in its sordid history: the late-model versions (65-69) are perhaps among the most beautifully styled cars Chevrolet ever produced, with a unique shape not marred by superfluous lines or useless adornment; the much-improved late-model independent rear suspension handled very well; the ergonomics, while probably accidental in design, were superb - the interior was roomy, comfortable, with plenty of legroom, and visibility was excellent, with an entirely unobstructed view from any angle unhindered by blind areas (I could take the car on long journeys to LA or SF without emerging at the end full of cramps and stiffness, unlike many modern cars which always make me feel abused after long trips). So, yeah, I loved these little beasts; they were not flawless cars, but they were full of quirks and character that most modern vehicles seem to lack. A great, sadly unappreciated tinkerers car. Of the three I've owned over the years, none remain, having had to give up my manly, vehicular obsessions due to the practicalities of marriage (the one pictured here was the crown jewel of my collection, and is the only one of the photos shown above of actual cars I have owned).

2. '69 Dodge Dart
3. '93 Toyota MR2
4. '95 Honda Civic

So...yeah, there's a little gap in there. I used to bike a lot. :)

1982 Honda Prelude: 1988-1991. 33 mpg, and one hell of a fun little car to drive.

1991 Jeep Wrangler: 1991-present. 20 mpg highway and the paint job has seen better days, but still running strong with 190,000 miles on the odometer. My first brand-new car.

2001 Dodge Stratus R/T Coupe: 2000-Present. Decent highway mileage, but I've spent just under $3K this year on repairs and maintenance. Still better than having a monthly payment, though, and at least it's paid for.

My dream car: The new Dodge Challenger. There was a Hemi Orange SRT at the dealer when I had my car worked on this week, and photos just don't do it justice. (Plus, my dad had a 1970 Challenger he ordered new based solely on the brochure the dealer showed him when he originally went in to order a '70 Charger. It was such a new model they didn't even have any on the lot! It's the only car he's ever had that he truly loved.)

1992 Pontiac Sunbird
2001 Chevy Cavalier
2006 Volkswagen Beetle TDI

1991 Ford Probe (OMG) :blush:
1995 Ford Thunderbird :blush:
1994 Pontiac Sunbird
2001 Pontiac Grand Am

The last two cars, as I have posted about previously, have been really good, tough cars and while they're nowhere close to being trendy or top-of-the-line, have served me well and I've been really happy with them! (I don't talk about the Fords.)

1982 Plymouth Sapporo - First car, learned to drive stick on this one. Bought it from a friend of the family for $50...he wanted the money back for the battery he just put in it. Had to replace a door and a side of the car, got parts from a junk yard, the car was in two colors for a while (tan and sky blue).

1984 BMW 528e - Really liked this car. It had an interesting gauge on the dashboard that showed how many mpg you were using. I'm not sure how accurate it was though. Had the entire clutch replaced.

1992 Buick Regal - Replaced the alternator twice, had brake work done too many times to count. But I got over 200k miles out of it.

2004 Saturn Ion - no problems so far, pretty good car, can't really complain.

And that's it so far.

1989 - '79 Buick Regal - the window crank broke, I bought a replacement, took the door apart and replaced it - It was amazing that I could do that as a teenage girl.... also the windshield wiper mechanism had to be replaced - I used to have to pull over and beat it with a hammer to get the wipers to work..

1992 - 1984 Ford Tempo - had starter problems and vapor lock - had the starter and fuel pump replaced

1995 - 1994 Ford Tempo - had about everything replaced it seemed like... the struts went out and it went down hill pretty fast in '04

2004 - -'04 Chevy Cavalier - seems to be doing okay. It does feel like the struts are going tho. And it seems like I go through tires faster than before.

1968 VW Bug, it ran good, some bad brakes when I got it, but I replaced them Pdq

1977 Ford Truck, it ran great, even after all the abuse my brother did to the damn thing.

1989 GMC Vandura-I still have this one, it runs great, never had any major issues, except brakes, but that usual wear tear

2000 Dodge Intrepid, it ran great, great car in my view...it died in early Feb of 2005 two days after we paid it off...a HUGH red Ford truck took it out.

1995 Ford Minivan, a waste of space, a money pit if I ever saw one...bought it when it had around 120k miles...roughly a month after we got it the engine threw rods, and we paid another 2500 to fix that, a month after the engine went the transmission went, another 1800...about two months after that, the rotor/ball bearings were shot...that was another 600 bucks...after that, we decided to trade it in, and we got:

2004 Dodge Intrepid-we still have this one, runs great, when we got it, it had 37k miles, it currently has 140k miles, and its still running like a champ...

1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera-still have this one, only major issue is that it backfires some, but my wifes cousin is working on it this weekend, he thinks it timing/or rotor/cap issues....

The only car/vehicle that I would never recommend is a Ford Windstar...my brother went to UTI in phoenix, and he doesn't have anything favorable to say about Ford...he got all his certs in Ford though. When I asked him why he choose to learn about Fords, he simply said "job security."

A pictorial history ....

























My goodness .... That was a lot of crappy cars ....

My history is intertwined with those pics, which are in order from teenage to middle age ...

1st -- 1998 Jeep Wrangler -- catalytic converter & exhaust manifold quit after about 65,000 miles

2nd -- 2001 Nissan Sentra SE -- nothing wrong until some dumbshit in a Cadillac SUV crashed into me while stopped on the freeway

current -- 1987 Toyota Pickup -- still have after 240,000 miles
current -- 2002 Toyota Tacoma -- no problems
current -- 1978 Toyota Chinook RV -- no powertrain/drivetrain problems, RV issues that I'm restoring
current -- 1988 Toyota MR2 AW11

1930 Model A Ford Tudor sedan, 1963-1969
1960 Mercury Comet, 1970-1973
1972 Dodge Dart, 1973-1984
1984 Ford Ranger, 1984-2004
1990 Ford Ranger, 2004-2008
1930 Model A Ford Tudor sedan 2008-till I drop dead

1983 Olds Delta 88 - 20mpg
1985 Chevy Camaro Berlinetta - 9mpg ( ugh! 4 barrel Carb )
1983 Ford F-100 Pickup ( 6mpg shitty Inline-Six engine )
1983 Lincoln Towne Car ( 20mpg decent car til the trans dropped )
2000 Ford Escort SE ( 30mpg, got repossessed )
1993 Ford Festiva ( 50mpg Highway, 35 City. Best car ever )


The Olds... totaled on my way to school when i was 17, not my fault
The Camaro. Traded it in for the Escort when gas got expensive at $1.45 ><
The Pickup. Sold in Brown county to a farmer as a farm truck, couldnt pass E-check
The Lincoln. Trans lost 4th gear, sold it for $1200
The Escort. Repossesed when my mom decided to stop making payments on it
The Festiva. Still own, still runs excellent. Just dropped $1200 into it for front end work, and new tires.


I just noticed.. ive never owned a foreign car.. unless you count the Festiva ( mfg by KIA for Ford )

1977 Ford Maverick - We bought it from an old woman who's had it for twenty years. We had to replace the ignition switch and put in a new radiator, but other than that, no serious mechanical problems. The exterior and interior were in rough shape, though.

1989 Mercury Topaz - We bought it used off a lot, and it overheated on the drive home. We replaced the thermostat. Later, we replaced the CV joint and the radiator. My ex still had this car years later.

1989 Dodge Shadow - It was already eleven years old when we got it, and had received some rough use. We paid $500 for it. After we'd had it a year or so, the water pump went. Then the oxygen sensor. A few months later, the head gasket went, and when we went to replace it, we found a cracked head. My stepfather replaced *that* with salvage yard parts, and it ran until the day we sold it to another guy for $300.

1994 Geo Metro - This car ran great for six months, and then it was nothing but a money sink. Over a period of two years, we replaced two water pumps and FIVE alternators, belts, and batteries before we gave up and sold it for parts.

1993 Ford Explorer Sport - The vehicle I STILL miss. We bought it for a song from a guy who modified vehicles as a hobby; the local government was giving him hell about having too many cars and trucks at his house, and he had to get rid of some of them fast. He was having trouble selling the Explorer because it was lifted, had oversized tires, and some engine mods and body work that made it ANYTHING but a "soccer mom" truck. However, *we* fell in love. We worked this truck hard over the years that we had it, pulling people out of the mud and snow, and climbing the steep mud-and-gravel hill to where we lived, which was on the side of a mountain being strip-mined. Eventually, the clutch went out, so we replaced it for $200 and it ran fine for another year. Then we moved, and no longer needed it, so we gave it to my Mom and stepfather, who still lived on the mountain. My stupid stepfather sold it for $300; I could have killed him. The 33 inch BFG mud-and-snow eating tires alone were worth damn near that much.

1999 Dodge Stratus - Nothing seriously wrong with it. We replaced a few spark plugs, and the engine didn't like steep hills, but it never actually broke down until we'd had it for a couple of years. Then the transmission went, and there was nothing we could do. We just let the salvage yard have it, since it would have cost more to fix it than it was worth.

Since then, we have not had an automobile at all.

1989 Ford Festiva - 1991 to 1998 (my grandparents still own this car) - I loved this car. It wasn't fancy (my friends called it the pregnant rollerskate), but it could haul lots of stuff and got great gas mileage. One time a fan belt broke around 1994, but it wasn't too catastrophic. Another time around 2002/2003, it stopped on top of a tall bridge and left me stranded. It was pretty scary. I can't remember what caused it to stop. All in all, a pretty good car though, and the fact that it's still running is amazing.

1990 Ford Escort Wagon - my husband owned this car from 1998 to 2002. This car worked great until my husband's roommate at the time wrecked it. Then it had all sorts of problems. Timing belt broke and left him stranded. The ignition had all sorts of problems. Lesson learned - once a car has been in a major wreck, you might as well get rid of it.

1998 Honda Civic - 1998 to 2006. I actually debated between buying this and another Ford. It came down to how the two cars handled, I liked the feel of the Honda better. No problems with this car. One time I got a batch of bad gas, but no lasting damage. Great car.

2002 Honda Accord - 2002 to present. No problems. This is a great car and I love it. We downsized to one car and I have no worries that it's going to leave us stranded somewhere.

... is a '96 Toyota T-100 PU that I bought 20 months ago. Great truck, currently 225K miles on it. Only repair has been repairing, then replacing a leaking radiator. Ironically, the radiator was made by Harrison (GM).

Got it in 1988. That thing was a boat, but it was a good car. Never had a problem. Sucked through the gas, though.

1990 Geo Tracker - No problems

1992 Olds Cutlass Supreme - ate through brakes like they were cookies, rotors constantly needed turned, shocks went out a lot, but otherwise a good car. I always liked Oldsmobiles.

1993 Pontiac Grand Am - water pump went out at 36,000 miles. Transmission problems at 50,000.

1996 Pontiac Grand Am - water pump went out at 32,000 miles. Sold it before the transmission could go.

2000 Suzuki XL-7 - Awesome for a mid-size SUV. Two recall issues (oil leaks) were taken care of by the dealer.

2005 Toyota Camry - Current car, bought new, almost 50,000 miles and not one problem. I am considering getting something else only because of the need for cargo space, but not in any hurry.

and I've owned 4 vehicles:
1) 1988 Ford Ranger 2x4. Great little truck, no problems!
2) 1992 Ford Bronco 4x4...I paid way too much for it (financed for $7k used). Had all sorts of transmission problems, among other things. Big mistake.
3) 1992 Subaru Legacy non-AWD. Good little car, used it for 20k miles and only had to replace the alternator while I had it
4) Currently, 1996 Subaru Legacy AWD. Love it!

1982 Carpice Classic - it was old and very tired by the time I got it.
1992 Pontiac Grand Am - kind of a piece but it got great gas mileage. Had to replace alternator and the head gasket went out.
1999 Honda Accord - didn't have a single problem in 7 or 8 years
2007 Nissan Altima - only had it a couple weeks. It was rated really high in gas mileage, but I'm pretty disappointed so far on that. Maybe the cold weather is hurting it. Otherwise I'm happy so far.