How many cars have you owned? List Them!

General Discussion
21

Got my driver’s license in 1968. Since then, in chronological order of purchase:

64 Sunbeam Minx sedan
63 Dodge Dart GT (slant six, push-button automatic)
65 Sunbeam Imp (achieved 75 mpg on a weekend trip in this car)
66 Sunbeam Alpine Series V
71 Toyota Corolla 1600 Coupe (Toyota’s little hemi 4-cyl with a 4-spd, only car purchased new)
71 Volkswagen Type ll Bus (owned for eight years - loved it)
78 Yamaha XS 500 (500 cc eight-valve DOHC twin - only motorcycle I’ve ever owned)
67 Volkswagen Type lll Squareback
74 Toyota Corolla 1600 SR5 (just like the 71 but with a 5-spd)
63 Dodge Dart 270 Sedan (slant 6, push-button automatic)
79 Ford Fiesta S (1.6L Kent engine, 4-spd)
79 Mercury Marquis (302 V8 - 3-spd auto)
83 Volkswagen Quantum Coupe (4-cyl, 5-spd)
85 Ford LTD Crown Victoria (302 V8, 4-spd AOD)
84 Toyota Camry Sedan (4-cyl, 5-spd)
87 Mazda RX-7 (rotary engine, 5-spd, S option package)
97 Acura 2.2 CL (4-cyl, 5-spd, this is a re-bodied Accord coupe)
91 Pontiac LeMans VL Aerocoupe (4-cyl, 4-spd, very reliable and inexpensive to maintain)
96 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (2.2 L 4-cyl, automatic, AWD)

I still have the 97 Acura (currently 87.7K miles) and the 96 Subaru (currently 124.5K miles). The Acura is the best car I’ve ever owned, and I hope to continue driving it for many years to come.

In addition to the list above, I’ve had Ford Rangers as company vehicles since they were first introduced. I’ve had at least one of every generation, including a 4X4 with a Mitsubishi Turbo-diesel engine. I’m currently driving an '07 Extended Cab 4X4 with a 4.0L V6 and an automatic transmission.

22

2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750

Whitey, I have hem-hawing around for a while about a bike and cannot decide what to pursue. The Honda you have has caught my eye as far as styling. Concerning the ride and handling do you like this bike?

23

61 Olds Dynamic 88 Gold
72 nova straight six 2 speeed tran, black over red
68 cougar xr7 v8, black over white
72 Ford F100, tan with red ford letters on the tailgate
71 Nova v8, white over maroon
73? ranchero maroon
91 toyota pickup blue
03 Ranger black
03 Trailblazer black

24

My first two vehicles were 1 1959, and a 1961 VW microbus. Lots of fun, but not particularly reliable. Then I ‘traded up’ . . . to a 1947 CJ2A. Ran fine, until I got the brainstorm to put a Chevy 327 into it. After months of messing around, the whole mess had to be carted off to junk land. Then there was a '66 MG Midget – blast to drive, until it tangled with a suburban housewife in a Ford LTD – guess who prevailed?

Took the insurance money and ‘invested’ in a '68 Pontiac Firebird convertible with a blown engine. I fitted it with a Chevy 427 and a Turbo-400, and continued to pour money into it for several years before buying my first new car – a 1978 Plymouth Horizon. It was the first model year, the one with the Audi engine. Nice design that suffered from the usual Detroit implementation – windows started falling into the doors within the first few thousand miles, door handles had to be replaced several times a year. Nevertheless, it got an honest 38mpg on the highway (4spd manual), and I gave it to someone, still running, at 150k miles.

Had a couple of new Ford Escort wagons – again, 4 & 5-speed manuals, and they were pretty solid and servicable little cars.

Bought a wonderful short-bed 1980 Dodge van, with the slant 6 and 4-speed manual trans (pretty rare). Have no idea how many miles I put on it. I do know that I put over 100k on it AFTER rolling it while responding to a fire call. By the time it would no longer pass inspection because the body was so far gone, it drove itself to the junk yard – very sad.

Had a monster F350 dually 4Wd with a steel flat bed, goose neck hitch, 460 engine, and 4-speed manual. What a brute! It would haul up mountainsides pulling my 4 horses behind and scarcely break a sweat.

More recently, I’ve had 3 Taurus station wagons. Absolutely reliable, cheap to own, and reasonably comfortable.

Also have a 1989 Dodge B-250 with the 5.9L engine, 727 TorqueFlite trans, limited-slip rear, factory interior, tilt, cruise, air, electric windows & locks, etc. It’s remarkably reliable, powerful enough to tow or haul coal a ton at a time, and still gets just a shade over 14mpg.

There have been others over the years, but nothing memorable.

25

74 to 81 was quite a run for the crappy Volvo.

26

Caddyman; you really like cars! Now that Jay Leno is retired, you should get together with him. Do you get a break on your insurance rates?

27

Yes, it handles very easily. It was the perfect bike for a beginner like me when I bought it new. It has wide, low slung handle bars and a very low center of gravity. You don’t even have to lean into turns. You just press on the handlebars, like they teach you in the MSF BRC class, and it behaves exactly as it should.

If I had to list any complaints about it, they would be that I wish it was fuel injected and I wish it had hydraulic lifters. I haven’t had any problems, but getting the valves checked and adjusted every 8,000 miles should not be necessary on a modern bike. Neither should pulling the choke and waiting for it to warm up. I guess I shouldn’t complain about the carb. It is bulletproof and hasn’t given me any trouble.

28

How did that 87 four cylinder Taurus treat you? Just curious, my parents had an 88 that was THE biggest problem car I’ve ever seen. 90 h.p.! Did you know the 4 actually had worse gas mileage than the 6? That thing really struggled to move the car!

29

Hey Rockstar,

What did you end up doing with the Trans Am? That thing would be worth some money today.

30

I got my license in !977.

1963 Dodge Dart with the push button transmission. It had one of the rare aluminum block slant six engines - 225 cid wish I still had it.
1980 Pontiac Sunbird - V6 231 cid
1983 Plymouth Reliant - Reliable, but it could barely get out of its own way
1972 AMC Javelin - Called it the Batmobile. Had the 304 2 barrel.
1985 Plymouth Turismo 2.2 - High output Shelby 2.2 liter 4
1976 Chrysler Cordoba - 400 cid lean burn engine - got from parents
1989 Chevy Corsica
1991 Toyota Tercel
1996 Toyota Tercel
2000 Camry V6 - Best car I have ever owned!

Hobby car I have now - 1976 Chevy Vega

31

Other than the lack of power the car was OK. I traded it at about 60K miles so I didn’t get into any major repair issues. The handling was actually decent for the day, but my foot was on the floor almost all the time just to get the car moving. I had driven slower cars so I managed to survive.

My slowest car was the '71 VW Camper. The 0 to 60 must have been about 20 seconds. Trucks and busses could all pull away and out accelerate me. The next slowest car I ever drove was an '84 or '85 Ford LTD with a 4 cylinder auto trans. The LTD was a “midsize” car but was really quite big, heavy, RWD car. That 4 cylinder was way to small and underpowered.

America was coming out of the gas shortage era and supposedly 4 cylinder motors was an answer, speed limits were 55 max and pollution controls were still primative. This was an era of some of the worst performing cars. In addtionn many stumbled when you stepped on the gas, bucked and sputtered as they warmed up from a cold start, and rusted out in a few years. It was these cars that gave the Japanese the opportunity to take business away from GM, Ford, and Chrysler. I just don’t think younger people (ie 40 years old) would believe how bad these cars really were. The build quality was poor as UAW workers were focused on getting bigger contracts and pay than they were making quality products. When you got a new car back then you expected to go back to the dealer several times to fix the knobs that fell off the AC belt that was missing, or the seat that fell off the tracks.

32

1966 Studebaker Cruiser
1975 Corolla
!982 Nissan Stanza
1985 RX-7 (Good Car)
1988 RX-7 (Better Car)
1991 Mitsu Galant
1995 Ford Probe (Mazda in Ford sheet metal)
1998 Prelude SH (I loved this car)
2002 Lexus IS300 (Current - 136K; I’ll keep this till one of us dies)

33
  1. 1975 chevy monza, 2. 1974 chevy monte carlo, 3. 1972 chevy impala, 4. 1970 mercury cougar, 5. mid 70’s pontiac lemans, 6. 1994 mercury cougar, 7. 1996 mercury villager, 8. 1998 chevy astro van, 9. 1995 mercury sable, 10. 1987 chevy celebrity, 11. 1991 toyota 4runner sr5, ( stll have it with 351k on it and runs great) 12. 1998 chevy lumina, 13. mid 70’s ford station wagon, 14. 1978 buick park ave. 15. 1980 olds cutlass supreme with t-tops, 16. 1974 grand torino, 17. 1976 ford elite, 18. mid 70’s plymouth valiant, I know that there is a few more but I can’t come up with them at this point. They are also not in the correct order. 19. year ? dodge omni,
34

Aluminum Six…
http://www.slantsix.org/articles/dutra-blocks/alm-block-sl6.htm

35

Geico loves me…:slight_smile:

36

73 impala 4 dr (1st car)
80 monte carlo
81 impala 4dr
84 ranger
75 camaro
3-76 f150s
3-77 f150s
67 f150
69 ford bronco(1 fun little truck)wish i still had it
66 ford bronco
87 f250
89 f350
85 f150
87 f150(still have and fixing)
80 granada 2dr
81 granada 4dr
73 buick apollo
75 pontiac bonneville
78 ford fairmont
83 f150
67 chevy c-20
70 chevy c-10
86 gmc sierra
91 grand am
95 ford contour
81 grand prix
83 jeep cj-7
81 jeep cj-7(still driving)
84 f150
80 f250(betty-she’s just too good to get rid of)rusty but trusty
01 pontiac grand prix

might be a few more. can’t remember them all. but dont worry i’m not done buyin them yet.
plus snowmobiles,bikes and wheelers

37

Since 1973:

'53 Pontiac Chieftain station wagon; 10 MPG (I miss the most)
'60 Cadillac hearse; 11 MPG (personalized liscence plates: BLK SBTH. A machine with PRESENCE; amazing effect on people)
'71 Peugeot 304 sedan; 35 MPG (this quirky little gem was by far the best riding small car I’ve ever driven or riden in; better than most mid- and full-sized cars as well.)
'77 Honda Accord; 33 MPG (…)
'93 Chevy S10 Blazer; 19 MPG (220k hard miles and still going strong)

38

Thanks Caddyman

39

jt: I like your eclectic selection. When in college I dated a girl who had a Corvair Monza coupe with a four on the floor. Great fun to drive.

A number of years later (1974 energy crisis) I was shopping for a frugal second car and the local Austin dealer had a neat America for sale. It had 30,000 miles on it and the dealer had “just ground the valves” on it. That was enough reason for me not to buy it.

40

'88 Fiat Panda 4x4 - It looked like I made it in the garage from spare parts but I loved it
’90 Nissan Micra - Great little car, converted to run on propane
’97 VW Golf GL - My first brand new car
’93 Mazda MX-3 V6 - Wonderful little car. I wish I still had it to convert it to electric
’06 Audi A4 - My wife liked it so much that I do not have it anymore
’01 Audi TT - Love every mile of it!