No, only 1.
But some friends have kidded my wife that she has 2 children (me being one of them).
I think there are a bunch of young guys on this post. I have owned:
1936 Plymouth Coupe (former Fire Chiefās car)
1947 Plymouth
1948 Willys Jeepster
1954 Plymouth
1949 Willys Jeepster
1954 Dodge
1947 Dodge Limo (in Japan)
1946 Ford Coupe (in Japan)
1955 Plymouth
1960 Rambler American (New)
1963 Plymouth Valiant (New)
1968 Dodge 440 (new)
1960 Fiat 600 (Germany - lasted a couple of months)
1970 Opel Station Wagon (New from factory in Germany)
1967 Volkswagen Beetle (Germany)
1972 Volvo 164E (New delivered in Germany)
1964 Volkswagen Beetle
1967 Volkswagen Beetle
1973 Volkswagen Superbeetle (New)
1976 Toyota Pickup (New)
1980 Volkswagen Rabbit (New)
1970 Pontiac Convertible (My kidās car)
1968 Chevrolet Camaro (The other kidās car)
1978 Ford Courier Pickup
1979 Toyota Cressida
1981 Toyota Cressida Wagon
1982 Toyota Pickup (kept for 15 years, then stolen)
1992 Honda EX* (New)
1997 Outback Wagon* (New)
1983 Ford Ranger*(Replaced the Toyota - found it in a farmers field-had it 9 years now)
1949 Willys Jeepster* (Shipped to me in Seattle from Massachusets-a former Shrine Parade car)
Now that I count 31, Caddyman has me, but Iāve had my share. Most of my cars were owned for from 3 to 15 years. Some didnāt last long (the ones in Japan were sold right away, the Fiat was a dog, but I needed something till the Opel was ready for delivery.) When I moved to the Island, I wanted another Toyota Pickup, but settled for the Ranger. Now Iāve got so much money in the Ranger that I canāt give it up. Runs OK now and doesnāt have any significant rust. I like the 7 foot bed. At my age, I now have to be practical and frugal.
50 Olds 88
62 VW bug
30 Ford A
64 GTO
69 Ply
68 Jeepster
72 Duster
64 Valiant
64 Austin Healy
69 Chev P/up
77 Blazer
72 Mercury
81 K-car
85 Phoenix
83 Ford camper
78 El Camino
78 Ford p/up
75 Cordoba
70ās Celica
80 Ford van
82 Ford van
86 Escort
88 Taurus
89 Crown Vic
90 Escort
92 Escort
98 Ranger
94 Contour
96 Mystique
94 Crown Vic
93 Eurovan
- 00 Montero
- 05 Astro
- 96 Infinity
Honda XL500
- Honda scooter
- Honda Gold Wing
I used to work with a group at Utah State. When I told them that we were having our third child, they said I could finally move there. And that wasnāt allā¦ they also said that since they either got married there or moved there without kids, the state made them sign a contract that stated they had to have 3 children within 6 years. Who says Mormons donāt have a sense of humor?
It does not really matter how long you keep the car till you trade it; there will be a next owner, and a next. In a previous post someone pointed out that if we all bought new cars and kept them till they wore out, there would be no used cars to buy for lower income customers!!
The real issue here is that many first owners who trade in 3-5 years, do little or no maintenance, since most of todayās cars will run 40,000-60,000 miles or so with just oil changes. The poor next owner will get a half worn vehicle. But it does increase the business for repair shops.
The real wealth of the country does not increase if we built lousy cars and trade often; it just means that a much larger part of your income would be spent on transportation, and not on other things you want to buy.
We have 2 reliable cars (Japanese, built in North America), and so far this year we have spent twice as much on pet care than on running the 2 cars.
I go way back:
47 Packard (pregnant elephant) straight 8
51 Plymouth L6
59 Rambler super 6
65 Dodge Dart slant 6
70 Torino V8
80 Pontiac x car 4 {the worst)
85 Camry 4 (nice car)
91 Camry V6
92 Camry 4
02 Camry 4 (best)
03 Corolla 4
I think that with some of the misconceptions out there (confusing Mormons with the Amish or with fundamentalists that have multiple wivesāand you really donāt see this in Utah) Mormons have to have a good sense of humor. One couple back east a few years back literally thought that Utah regularly has wild shootouts like youād see in an old John Wayne western movie.
A 1978 GMC Motorhome, you say? I bought one of those for my daughter, the Barbie Doll version. All in all, a pretty slick machine.
lets see
73 jeep wagoneer $200. threw a rod. very dramatic.
84 datsun $400. electrical fire. fun little car
77 monte carlo. $700 (BAD A** CAR) moved so i sold it to a friend - really wish I still had it.
84 honda shadow $3,000. ok first bike. sold it to get a Harley
90 harley davidson springer $12,500. STOLEN!!! this bike was my sole mate.
89 nissan hard body pick up $1,000 that truck owes me nothing! i loved it. i was going to have to spend some money on it so instead i made a down payment on a newer pick up. I regret it! if your out there little buddy Im sorry. I hope you have a good home.
04 dodge dakota $7,899. present vehicle. very nice and modern.
In order of acquisition:
1977 Pontiac Catalina (first car; gift from Dad; I loved that car; stolen 12/26/1989)
1986? Yugo GV (really bad vehicle; surprisingly terrible mpg; drove it for only 6-months)
1990 Toyota Tercel (big mistake; only car bought new; too little for a growing family)
1990 Oldsmobile Regency 98 (loved this one. wife drove it and then we gave it to oldest son; almost cried while driving it to the junkyard after it was rear-ended)
1985 Honda Accord (bought it beat to hell, but it was OK)
2001 Pontiac Montana (wifeās car; she loves it; great for trips with family)
1996 Buick LeSabre (love this one; about to be given to my daughter)
1993 Pontiac Sunbird (funny car; given to oldest son after Olds got rear-ended; he let the little Pontiac overheat and killed it)
1997 Pontiac Grand Am (bought for second oldest son; his daily driver; OK car)
2003 Chevrolet Silverado (my daily driver inherited from DadāRIP)
Thatās 10 over 25 years of buying/receiving cars; 4 of them (1996, 1997, 2001, and 2003) are still in service.
I almost forgot i also had a 91 honda accord. someone owed me $1,100 bucks so they gave me the car. I then gave it to my girlfriend and she wrecked it. it was pretty nice. probably worth about 3 or 4 grand when I got it.
1979 Chevy Malibu (289?)
1993 Ford Thunderbird
1989 Buick Regal
1992 Ford Taurus
1995 Buick Regal
The best of all of them? My Malibu. It was 17 years old when I got it and it ALWAYS started right up. No computers, no ABS, no FWD.
āOne couple back east a few years back literally thought that Utah regularly has wild shootouts like youād see in an old John Wayne western movie.ā
No, thatās Nevada. Yes, I mean it! One of my college roomies worked for his Dadās mining company one summer near Elko, NV. There was a shootout between two brothers in town that summer. They were in alleys across the street from each other firing rifles. There were fights at the bars (2) in town most nights. Another college friend moved to Wyoming after graduating. He and his wife enjoyed the bars there until about 9-10PM when the cowboys showed up looking for a fight. BTW, the 2 bars in Elko were owned by the brothers in the gun fight, and their business competition precipitated the gun battle.
But that was back in the 70ās.
I worked in the automotive repair business 1968-1985. Customers would bring in cars with āfor saleā signs in the windowā¦I wound up owning too many of themā¦
The only one I wish I had back is the '65 Mustangā¦I waited 6 months to get it, paid $3000 cash. Two years later, the sound of a 390 was all it tookā¦I traded the '65 and $500 for it. I didnāt realize, then, '65 fastback V8 4 speeds were very rare and increasing in valueā¦The '69 DeVille Convert was a fine ride tooā¦We drove it all over the country and down into Mexico tooā¦
I guess Iām up to 32 cars and 12 two wheelers. The numbers do taper off as I get older, maybe because Iām buying better cars earlier in their life cycle. But the scooters are adding up pretty fast now.
Cars I have owned since 1965
1953 Buick Special $40 - burned oil!
1961 Dodge Lancer -OK except for a dashboard short.
1963 Ford Econoline van -Timing chain skipped teeth
1963 Plymouth Station wagon -flywheel broke off crankshaft.
1946 Chev pickup -I miss this one. Sold because I was broke.
1964 Corvair Monza conv. -OK til it threw a rod in Vermont.
1965 Plymouth wagon -unpleasant tank. V8 stickshift
1958 Triumph TR-3 -really never ran long
1965 Dodge Dart -Momās old car.
1965 Pontiac LeMans -very nice ride. AT died.
1966 Pontiac Lemans convertible -rusted in two pieces, really! Broke in half.
1959 Volvo PV544 -wore out. These a great cars.
1963 Chevrolet pickup -body rusted off the frame.
1972 Chevelle wagon (first car I paid more than $1,000)
1975 Datsun 710 wagon -another rust death
1965 Triumph Spitfire -replaced the clutch 3 times, and I gave up.
1975 Dodge Colt -timing chain finally broke.
? Mail jeep (RHD) -this death trap nearly killed my wife.
1973 Chev pickup -too big, too clumsy.
1979 VW Rabbit diesel (first car I bought new) -swell machine until 10 below zero.
1982 Volvo 245 -wore it out
1961 Triumph TR-3 -ran great, wheel flew off. Had kids, sold it.
1961 Lincoln Continental -great ark. Every day was like a parade.
1987 Plymouth Voyager -OK for family, mechanically mediocre.
1991 Plymouth Voyager -ditto
1987 Chrysler Conquest (Mitsubishi Starion)-very nice machine
1990 Ford Ranger 4wd -OK
1990 Nissan 300ZX ? TT -too much car, nowhere to use it right.
1995 Nissan Maxima -these are good sedans
1995 Mazda Miata -one of the finest cars ever made
2000 Nissan Maxima -another very good sedan
2002 Mazda Miata -maybe even better than the 95
2005 Lexus IS300 Sportcross -weāll see. Just got it.
Also:
1946 Cushman Eagle scooter
1959 Jawa 250
1994 Suzuki Intruder 800
1995 BMW R1100R
2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200
(4) 1985 Honda Elite CH250?s
1987 Honda Elite CH150
1980 Honda CB125s
1978 Honda CB750K
74 Pontiac Catalina
86 Chevy Celebrity
86 Chrysler Lebaron
69 GMC Sprint
69 Ford F100
71 Ford F100
77 Dodge Ramcharger
77 Ford Courier
85 Chevy S10
86 Chevy S10
74 Lord LTD
86 Buick Lesabre
86 Olds cutlass supreme
88 Pontiac Firebird Formula
89 Pontiac Firebird Formula
84 Chevy Monte Carlo
8? Dodge Aries
79 Dodge Aspen
79 Ford E350
87 Dodge Ram 350
87 Dodge Ramgharger
90 Ford Festiva x2
94 Chevy C1500
98 ford explorer sport
90 Plymouth Sundance
01 HD Sportster 883
89 Ford F150
79 Camaro RS
71 Ford Torino
02 Chevy Venture
90 Dodge Grand Caravan
92 Dodge Caravan
86 Chevy Monte Carlo
90 Pontiac Sunbird
90 Mazda RX7
79 Chevy K1500
84 Ford Crown Victoria
To answer the question 35
The 65 Fastback was uniuqe indeed. I worked with an advertising rep in those days and he had one just like you describe (V8, 4 speed) in white with US Racing Stripes! Not sure it was a Ford or custom package. Like you, he always had car fever and when the new Toyota Crown with a straight 6 came out, he traded it for that model. Quite a change, but his family was growing and he needed more space!
1967 Triumph Spitfire, 1981 Plymouth Reliant K, 1995 Ford Ranger XLT, 2004 Toyota Prius, 2000 Toyota RAV4. I loved them all, all for different reasons.
1962 Austin-Healey 3000
1963 MG Midget ā¦ turned into SCCA G-Prod racer
1964 Austin-Healey Sprite ā¦ turned into SCCA G-Prod racer
1965 Plymouth Barracuda
1966 Austin-Healey Sprite
1968 Triumph TR250 ā¦ still with me
1971 FIAT 124 Sport Coupe
1973 Volvo 164E
1975 Honda Civic
1982 Datsun Maxima
1985 Plymouth Voyager ā¦(guess when the first kid was born?)
1990 Dodge Spirit
1995 Dodge Stratus
1998 Chevy Malibu
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix
2004 Toyota Prius ā¦ still with us
2005 Toyota Prius ā¦ still with us
2005 Scion tC ā¦ still with us
2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid ā¦ still with us
1960 Rambler Super
1964 Chevy Impala convertible
1968 MGB
1969 AMC Javelin
1972 Volkswagen Superbeetle
1964 Oldsmobile 88
1976 Ford Pinto wagon
1974 Mercury Montego
1972 Datsun 210
1984 Olds Cutlass
1989 Volkswagen GTI
1992 Taurus wagon
1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo
2005 Honda Accord wagon
1996 Ford Explorer
2002 Acura TL-S
2003 Ford Ranger
2004 Nissan Titan
2009 Honda CR-V