I’m fortunate to live in the town I grew up in. A salesman at a local car dealer is a high school classmate of mine, and that’s why I bought my first car from him way back in 1969. He’s been selling cars all this time, and whenever I need a car, I call him and tell him, “Steve, I need a new car.” He asks me a few questions about what features I want or need, and my monthly payment range. About two weeks later he calls me and tells me my car is ready, and I go pick it up. In over 30 years, he’s never gone wrong.
I’ve always had American cars because my dad would have an aneurysm if I drove anything else. Since I’ve been buying my own I’ve driven Pontiacs - they’ve been good for me, and I like 'em. I’ll be really upset if they get rid of them - I’ve had a Grand Am, currently have a Grand Prix, and I really like that little Vibe. They’ve always been rock solid for me, and fun to drive.
Back then, 57-60, my Dad was still a part time used car dealer. No brand loyalty at all in our house. First 2 vehicles that tried to kill me when it was not my stupid driving were Fords. I have an unreasoning dislike to this day.
Favorite wheels if I could would be a 78 Ram Charger 4X4 with GM electrical system. Those beasts will go where no full size Blazer-Bronco-Jeep-Land Rover can go. Amazing brush wagon.
Wife wants a Chrysler Magnum wagon looking thing with the 10 cylinder. I like it but want the MPG of our 93 Impreza.
All time favorite ride, my first car of my own, bought and paid for, 1956 V8 Pontiac with three on the tree. Next is 54 Vette.
Any distance over 50 miles, I’d really rather have a Cessna -180.
+1 on Hondas…
My cars up to now;
- 83 (I think) Honda accord hatch – got in 90
- 88 Nissan Sentra hatch – got in 94
- 90 Civic DX hatch – got in 96
- 94 Nissan Altima – got in 02
- 98 Civic Si coupe – got in 04, my current fun car
- 94 Ford Explorer – got in 06, my current work vehicle
- 98 Beetle diesel – Satellite^Gal got in 96
- 07 Mazda CX-7 – got this fall, Satellite^Gal’s current ride
so, as you can see, I have a soft spot for Hondas, especially the Civic. All three of my Hondas have made it past 250,000km each, and my current Civic is still going as strong as the day I got it.
S^G
Price and features. Not manufacturer or model.
There… was re-reading my post, and caught this… WAAY too late to edit…
S^G
I’ve owned a Subaru Impreza and a Chevrolet Prizm, and now own a Hyundai Elantra.
I don’t have loyalty to either.
'67 Galaxy 500 (1978)
'73 Beetle (1985) in Germany
'69 Impala (1986)
'84 Volvo 242 (1991)
'87 Cougar (1997)
'94 E-250 (1999) not mine company van
'95 Thunderbird (2005) still driveing
All used cars bought from indiviuals, all in good shape and I took care of them. All sold at or close to the price I got them for. All great cars but no brand loyalty.
Sadly I fear you are correct.
Declan
These days? Man, except for the rich kids over in Briarcliff who got Mercedes and Porsches, everyone had an old mustang for their first car.
Well, my crew had a Datsun 510 that we… did horrible, horrible things to. With a skillsaw.
I disagree with these statements. If you’re saying it doesn’t mean much because they haven’t spent any money on vehicles yet, surely they will be shortly. I’m not sure why you think people under 35 haven’t formed an opinion. Pretty much everybody I knew in high school school, male and female included, had strong opinions; especially those that drove trucks. Growing up, my dad was a Chevy guy. When I bought my first truck (as opposed to driving one of my parent’s vehicles), it was a Dakota. You could tell he was happy for me, but you could tell he would rather I had bought a Chevy. My most recent car purchase was a Charger. I’m pretty sure that my next vehicle purchase will be a Dodge pickup. I’m 25 years old, but I’d say my brand loyalty is pretty firmly set.
I stick with pretty much anything Toyota or Honda.
I’ve driven a handful of American cars and hated every single one. They’ve all felt like boats to me. GranAm, Beretta, Monte Carlo, Chrysler 300, Ford F150, Cadillac.
They’ve all felt odd handling, sitting position, etc.
Compared to all the Toyotas and Hondas I’ve driven (Tercel, Paseo, Camry, Accord, Pilot, Rav4, Corolla) with crisp tight handling and spot on ergonomics I can’t justify ever owning a big 3 car.
I know I’m pretty strange in the way I buy a car. I lean towards Detroit iron, but I’ve owned Toyotas and I have one now, along with a Chevy, a Ford, a Dodge, a DeSoto and a Plymouth body. But when I need or want a ‘new’ vehicle (as in “it’s new to me”), I just start cruising the ads and lots looking for something that appeals to me. It has to have styling I like and a drivetrain I like. I don’t buy actual new cars at all anymore. Nobody makes anything equipped the way I want: options are available only in predefined packages, and I’m not spending tens of thousands on a compromise. Since I have to settle for something less, I’ll buy a used car for $2-5000 instead and spend a little money on changing/improving the suspension or brakes or whatever. So, I’ve ended up with a barn full of odd cars. And I have regrets over selling some of the wierder ones I’ve had in the past, like my 1967 Pontiac Tempest Sprint 6, an OHC straight-six with a Quadrajet, ram-air, 10:1 compression, positraction…I put heavy-duty suspension parts on it and the thing handled like it was on rails. Or my 1960 Plymouth Sport Fury, with an AFB-equipped 361, pushbutton Torqueflite, rectangular steering wheel and the Flite Sweep rear deck. These are all the vehicles I can remember right now…
1955 Plymouth Belvedere*
1555 DeSoto Firedome Special Coupe*
1959 Ford Galaxy 500
1960 Chevrolet Biscayne
1960 Plymouth Sport Fury
1964 Ford Falcon Futura
1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88
1966 Ford Mustang 2+2
1967 Pontiac Tempest Sprint
1976 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Liftback
1978 Ford F-100
1978 Chevrolet Malibu Classic*
1979 Chrysler LeBaron
1985 Ford LTD LX*
1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon
1989 Toyota Camry
1991 Dodge Spirit R/T
2006 Toyota Tacoma*
-
- These still live on the three acres with me.
I’m confused by this statement as well.
First of all, I’m not sure why it matters whether the cars that a person has owned are new or used. I know that my positive feelings about Toyotas are partially based on having owned three of them, all used. They were good cars even after the blush of youth had worn off. That’s more important to me than how a car is when it’s brand new.
Secondly, a person can form opinions about cars long before they own one themselves. I grew up observing my parents’ cars and their buying decisions. I observed those of relatives and friends. Hell, I even read my parents’ Consumer Reports! I formed a loyalty to Toyota before I ever chose a new car, and certainly before I turned 35 two years ago!
It’s not a strict loyalty–I like Subarus too–but unless things change a lot in the car biz, Toyota’s going to get more of my money someday.
Aw, man. Why’d you get rid of the SR-5, 3acres?
Rust or?
It was just a bunch of little things that needed work at once. I wish I’d kept it, but I didn’t have anywhere to keep it and work on it at the time. I’d bought a new car a year earlier, so I finally sold the SR-5 after I’d owned it for 14 years - it was the first brand-new car I ever bought. I still saw it around the neighborhood for a few years after that, but I lost track of it. The photo with the wiki article doesn’t show the SR-5 model; it was way cooler looking than the standard Corolla. Mine was screaming zonker yellow and had the 1597cc 2-TC engine with a 5-speed manual, heavy-duty cooling package and heavy duty alternator. I even went nuts and bought a/c; my first car with air. I’d buy one now, if I could find one.
Same here, I had a 98 Contour, 4 doors, 5-speed manual transmission, 6-cylinder engine. There was no equivalent Ford to replace it for a daily driver. I wound up getting a Mazdaspeed3, 4-doors, 4-cylinder turbo, 6-speed transmission. Plus Mazda was majority owned by Ford, until recently.
I’m a Ford guy, I’ve had a Mustang, an Explorer, and currently have a F-150 and Mustang.
My dad’s ‘toy’ was a E-70, the model after yours. Same screaming zonker yellow hatchback. Big ol’ sunshade down the hatch.
Great car.
Dad’s list: Model T, Model A, Model T, Model A. Not sure what order, but there were at least two of each. Then… Mini Cooper, (missing at least two cars, and two motorcycles), F-4, F-111, Porsche 914, Superbeetle (I later had significant amounts of the parts from it.), Camry, Porsche 911 with a racing engine, Jeep CJ-7, Porsche 944, Jeep Grand Cherokee, '95 Eclipse GSX, Jeep Grand Cherokee, 550 Spyder, M-Class Mercedes, BMW Mini Cooper…
(Most Jeeps were parallel, and I’m missing a few.)
There are patterns, actually. I inherited his need for speed, but I like my cars to be invisible while doing 110, and he liked his to be incredibly noticed.
Of them all, I think the 95 Eclipse was the most beautiful in motion.
Control-Z, how’s the Mazdaspeed treating you? I wanted it, but it wasn’t quite available at the time.
jsgoddess, why the Liberty, and not a Subaru WRX?
Don’t buy any car with a chip key. Regardless of brand, make, model, etc. You will be sorry. Trust me.
[church lady] It is the chip of SATAN!! [church lady]
Please see the pit for more info.
Or fog/driving lights. [church lady] They are the… you get the picture…
Chevrolet and Pontiac build (most of) the same cars with cosmetic differences, you know.
The Chevy Cobalt is essentially the same car as the Pontiac G5.