1985 Dodge Omni. 218000 miles (new engine at 153000). 2.2 liter engine, 5 speed. Homely, but fast & agile.
1989 Toyota Corolla, 160000 miles. Super ultra awesomely reliable. Dull as dishwater, but, man, it nevernevernever breaks down. The blue Base coat/Clear coat paint sucks, though; every scratch shows up white and looks terrible.
1989 Plymouth Voyager, 116000 miles. Bought it a couple years ago for Mrs. R to haul Brownies around in. A really useful and likeable vehicle, but of course you have to be nervous about that four-speed automatic. When we bought it, it was on its third transmission…
1964 Rambler American convertible. The play car. Spent a lot of time and effort repairing considerable rust damage, but now it’s red all over. White top, red and white interior. I just put in a new glovebox I got on E-bay, so now it’s perfect, except for the rock chip I got last week, courtesy of a furshlugginer garbage truck.
I drive either an 89 Ford Probe GT or an 83 F150 with a 351 in it. Both are getting pretty ragged out as I tend to see them as utilitarian vehicles to get me to and from places. The Probe is still fun to run around in and the F150 will take me just about anywhere or tow just about anything I might need. Plus, I can still do some of the repairs on them.
My wife, however, tends to see her car as an extension of herself and she keeps up with them as such. She had the Probe when we got married and even today it is still in as good a shape cosmetically as when she bought it.
Since she takes such good care of her car, I bought her a 1999 Trans Am with a six-speed and she absolutely loves it. She added an early 80’s screaming chicken decal to the hood since a TA just doesn’t look right without it and has spruced it up with a couple of other extras. It is one of the best looking cars in the area and a treat to ride in. I imagine it is fun to drive, too.
Yes, I have no idea how the car drives. We have had the TA going on three years now and, due to various previous incidents in cars under my pilotage, I have yet to be allowed to drive it. Can’t blame her. I’d be too tempted to try to find its top speed, anyway.
1989 Ford Escort, 120,000 miles. Bought it for my wife last winter after some drunk idiot U-Haul truck driver rear-ended her 1988 Toyota Tercel. She only drives a couple miles to work each day.
1991 Volvo 240 wagon, 105,000 miles. My daily driver.
My pride and joy: I just bout a Ford Econoline E-350 Super Duty XLT Van! 1999, 28,000 miles, seating for 12, removable bench seats! Camping gear capacity to burn! Woohoo! Unfortunately, my wife neglected to get it insured for collision damage to it, so until we get that fixed, we can’t drive it anywhere. grrrrr…
It’s a Go-Fasta Red 1999 Mustang GT. It’s not my dream car, but then again I wouldn’t have the mechanical expertise to keep a late 60’s Shelby Cobra operational even if I could find someone willing to sell me theirs at an affordable rate.
Dark blue '89 Dodge Shadow 3-door with 117K on a 2.5 liter. Needs to go into the shop next month so they can track down an oil leak. About $400 in other work is also needed but the garage says it’s not an emergency. Of course, that was 3 months ago.
1999 Chevy Prizm. Good car. Boring car, but good car. And it’s silver. I hate silver. My last car (a '93 Eagle Vision) was silver. I loved that car but hated the color. I’m cursed with silver. I want black, red or something shiny to distract my eye!
Hubby drives '97 Geo Metro. On it’s second engine (tip of spark plug blew off and fell into the piston) but it’s running like a champ. 145,000 on it. He put 100,000 on it in one year due to his job as a courier. Sounds like its hamster is going to blow up when you take it out at highway speeds though.
1997 Dodge Avenger.
[li]Pewter-blue, metallic. []Five-speed manual, 2.0 4-cylinder (the 6 wasn’t available in stick, but my 4 can take one, interestingly enough.)[]Loaded with everything except the fog-lights (I found out I had heated mirrors this past winter, didn’t even know until I saw steam coming off them!)[/li]
I bought it as a graduation present to myself- the first car I ever bought and the only thing I had for credit was the offer letter from the job I had yet to start and years of banking in one place. It worked though.
I just found out that I can get GM cars at cost*, so I might be adding something soon…an SUV or truck I suppose.
A 2000 Cavalier, red with silver/grey graphics, a huge dent that covers the entire rear driver’s side door, and no passenger side mirror. Every hubcap is bent in such a way that causes each one of them to squeak. I hate that car.
2000 Land Rover Discovery Series II, silver, leather, dog in the back. Damn fine automobile, and the only thing I would feel safe in driving up or down the straight side of a mountain. It has more cool gadgets than you can shake a stick at. Love it, and I am thoroughly spolied now, but I still miss my '93 Lincoln Mark VIII, which hauled way too much ass.
The other car in the garage is a 2000 Ford Mustang, black, leather. I try not to be pissed, because I’ve had good Fords before, but this thing is a piece of shit. Not all Mustangs, just this one. It’s a lemon, and we are having to sue Ford over it. It spontaneously stops going, like on freeways, and Ford doesn’t care. This from the company who cares so deeply about my safety, but only if I have death tires on my Explorer. It’s a bummer, because that was the go-fast, sporty car. Oh well.
1966 Mustang V8 convertible. Sunshine yellow, black interior, power top, air, everything. Perfect car. I can’t love it enough. The most fun you can have in the front seat.
Oh, and I drive a 1997 black Grand Am in the winter rain. It’s a great car. Runs like a dream. Does not, however, make truckers turn their heads and honk.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Santos L Halper *
**
A car is considered mid-engined if the complete engine assembly is between the centerlines of the front and rear axles (at least, that’s how the FIA defines it).
Anyway, I drive a '93 Camaro, which of course means that I listen to Guns 'n Roses and enjoy beating people up.
1997 Ford Taurus GL Sedan: 65,000 miles, gold inside and out, lots of power goodies, 6 speaker cassette stereo and as interesting as saltine crackers. It’s nice. It handles well and has enough zip to be a good cruiser but every time I get behind the wheel I feel like I’m leaving the Orlando airport. I bought it the day my Sedan DeVille decided to send a piston through the hood.
1992 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser: The last big Olds wagon. 94,000 miles, light metallic sapphire blue upper body/gray lower body/woodgrain with dark blue leather inside, a gen-you-wine VistaRoof over the back seat and every single option you could get that year (decoded the service parts ID label myself).
Bought it last year at a used car tent sale; the dealer had it tucked in the back like he was ashamed of it and I got it for a relative song. I love it! I don’t need no steenking SUV; flop down the back seat and I can haul anythiing that needs hauling. Besides that it’s made the way cars should be built; big and heavy with the rear wheels driving and a body sitting on a full frame the way God intended.
And it’s rock solid doing the ton on the PA Turnpike. Don’t ask me how I know this.
1966 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham: This is the car I will be buried in. Black (originally silver) with a red damask and leather interior, walnut trim on the doors, and inlaid walnut tray tables in the rear seat to match the carpeted footrests back there. It sat for about 10 years so it’s a bit tatty around the edges but it only has about 36,000 miles on it and an almost new vinyl top and paint job.
I picked it up last year when the former owner’s wife found out how much he was spending on it and almost became the former owner’s former wife. His loss was my gain. I’ve spent more money than I care to admit on it, but it’s cheaper than psychiatry. By next year when I get the interior redone and some minor bits of this-and-that fixed it will be a really slick ride. Even now driving it is like being in a one-car parade and besides, the chicks dig it. Even more than the Custom Cruiser.
Now, all I need is a '75 Chrysler Cordoba and I’ll have enough cars until I see something I really want. . .
2000 Mazda 626 w/10,200 miles on the clock, taupe w/ tan cloth interior. 4 banger, 24 mpg. - bought 3 months ago to replace our beloved Cherokee Sport w/ 126,000 miles on it. A nice enough car I suppose, but a Jeep it ain’t.
*note - if anyone’s looking at these cars, get the 6 cylinder engine.
1988 Ford Ranger XLT extended cab w/ 50,500 mi. black/red interior. - bought last month to replace our 1990 Mazda B2200 w/156,000 miles on it that burned oil like a two-stroke. For what we’ve spent fixing this Ford since we got it we could have just about put a new engine in the Mazda.
I hate Fords.
Hate to tell ya this, Bumba, but Ford owns Mazda!!! (Well, okay, technically, they don’t. They own a majority stake in the company and its Ford’s people who’re running the show.)
I knew they had a financial stake in Mazda, but I thought it was about 40%, I didn’t know they controlled them. That probably explains why the fit and finish of our new Mazda is not up to prior standards. Thanks for the heads up Tucker.
