1974 Triumph Spitfire 1st car my name was on title punishment
1975 TR-7 totalled punishment again
1970 VW Bettle restored it sold it
1969 Karmen Ghia- restored it sold it
1982 VW Rabbit
1989 B2200 Mazda Truck
1995 VW Jetta- driving a a european car is like dating a super model high maintenance
1998 VW Jetta
2002 Nissan Altima- so far so good
2008 Nissan Altima- ditto
38 Cars and 1 Motorcycle
In order of Ownership:
( Note: I have often used parts cars to keep running cars supplied?)
Owned a Honda 50 Motorcycle
- 1969 Datsun 510 SW White
- 1971 Datsun 521 PU Blue
- 1971 Datsun 510 SW Green
- 1970 Datsun 510 SW Blue
- 1970 Datsun 510 Sedan Green
- 1964 Chevrolet Biscayne SW Blue
- 1969 BMW 2002 White
- 1977 Datsun 710 PU King-Cab Blue
- 1971 VW Bus Orange
- 1970 VW Bus Red
- 1983 Dodge Aries SW Blue
- 1984 Plymouth Voyager SW White
- 1971 Datsun 521 PU Blue
- 1984 Nissan PU 720 4x4 King Cab Blue
- 1970 BMW 2002 Blue
- 1985 Dodge Ram Van Silver/White
- 1971 BMW 2002 Blue
- 1970 Datsun 510 SW Red
- 1971 Datsun 510 SW Blue
- 1973 BMW 2002 Blue*(parts car)
- 1959 Mercedes 219 Pink/Coral
- 1961 Mercedes 190D Grey
- 1961 Mercedes 190D Brown
- 1983 Nissan PU 720 4x4 King Cab Blue
- 1982 BMW 320i Blue
- 1981 BMW 320i White
- 1992 Toyota Corolla White
- 1984 Volvo 240 DL Sedan Blue
- 1974 Porsche 911T Black
- 1997 Toyota Corolla White
- 1998 Toyota Corolla Brown*
- 1974 BMW 2002 Blue*
- 2000 Saturn SC-2 Silver
- 1952 MG TD Red*
Sons owned and I maintained:
35. 1988 BMW 530i Brown
36. 1984 BMW 320i Silver
37. 1998 BMW M3 White*
38. 1991 Toyota Celica Black*
*- Presently own the following
1950 Chevrolet, $15, needed transmission in 1960. It ran okay, but my parents were mostly using it, and when they told me to buy new tires for it so they could keep driving it, I didnât.
1936 Chevrolet, $35 needed U-joint, not too competent, but lots of personality, great on ice and snow. It had seats more comfortable than easy chairs.
1949 Chevrolet, $100, I stopped driving it when mud came through the floor and hit me, brother drove it for a while until he bought a new VW 1965
1953 Chevrolet, $250, cream puff when I bought it around 1963 or 64, beat it to death, put in new motor and transmission on leave, drove it to Ft. Lewis then home when dishcharged, gave it to my older brother and he drove it a year or two.
New 1967 Chevy II, $2050 new, no radio, stripped, poor quality, but drove it cross country very well. Stuck ex-wife with it when divorced.
196? Dodge Dart, old but ran well
1965 Chevrolet Bel Air, first automatic transmission I ever drove, never owned another manual transmission due to large feet.
1966 Chevrolet 396 with positraction, worthless on ice and snow
1969 Dodge
1976 Nissan, most unreliable car I ever owned, worse than 1936 Chevrolet
1975 Ford
1976 9 passenger Pontiac wagon, sold it to friend for $1, he drove it for years
1986 Pontiac 9 passenger wagon, wrecked in 1998 by second car back on I-35 Low in Austin
New 1988 Nova, (Toyolet) it ran 248,000 miles, done in by rebuilt parts
1989 Dodge Caravan It was so bad when I drove cross country to visit family, whenever I arrived at someoneâs house, my first activity was to make an appointment for mechanic.
New 2002 Toyota Sienna, 156,000 miles, best all around car Iâve ever owned. Two and a half year old AC-Delco battery failed last week here in rural Mexico, fortunately local dealer had 24-R in stock, Mexican equivalent of 24F. Yes, I kept it full of liquid, and alternator is okay.
That is what, 16 cars in 49 years, which isnât bad considering most of them were beaters when purchased.
74 Garelli Tiger 50cc moped
74 Suzuki GT 250 250cc motorbike
72 1200 VW Beetle
71 Ford Capri 1600
60 Ford Cortina
76 VW Golf
82 Ford escort Ghia (auto)
83 Ford Escort XR3i
86 Nissan 300zx
89 Porsche carerra
86 BMW 325i
90 BMW 535i
93 Lexus GS 300 (auto)
92 Lexus SC 400 (auto)
94 Lexus SC 400 (auto)
96 Jag XJ6 (auto)
98 Jag XJ8 (auto)
98 Lexus LX 450 (auto)
*00 Lexus LX 470 (auto) (wifeâs)
01 BMW 325i
04 BMW M3
*99 BMW 323i (sonâs)
*00 Ford Explorer XLT (auto) (daughterâs)
*90 Isuzu Trooper
*98 BMW 528i
*76 KZ 900 with 1015 block, bored out to 1024.
*= Currently owned.
This sounds like it could be from a âmade for TV movieâ circa 1976.
1979 Chevy Monte Carlo (my favorite)
1982 Olds Delta 88 (the absolute worst, least reliable POS I ever owned)
1969 Pontiac Catalina ($100 beater I wanted to restore but had to junk)
1987 Plymouth Reliant (great little car, very reliable.)
1990 Mazda 323 (another great little car)
1990 Acura Integra (another good one, fun to drive)
1991 Toyota Corolla (most reliable, 280K troublefree miles)
2000 Subaru Impreza (good car except for constant exhaust issues)
2000 Subaru Forester*
1979 Chevy Monte Carlo*
*current
Yep, 25 years later I have another Monte just like my first one.
Other family cars, most of which I bought and drove often:
1974 Mazda RX-4 Rotary Wagon (objectively, the worst lemon ever, but a family favorite)
1979 Chevy Suburban (bulletproof workhorse)
1983 Chevy Suburban (fancier with all the options, but not as solid)
1983 Toyota Celica GT (traded a guitar for it and gave it to my mom.)
1982 Ford T-bird (bought for my brother. Looked great but handling sucked)
1988 Plymouth Colt wagon (never had a chance, stolen and wrecked by kid brother)
1989 Honda Civic (piece of junk, contrary to reputation)
1982 Chrysler New Yorker (nice car, was stolen right after restoration)
1983 Olds Delta 88 waagon (junker bought to replace stolen Chrysler⊠also stolen!)
1990 Mazda MPV (family truckster, had a zillion problems)
1999 Subaru Forester (OK except for bad engine)
2000 Hyundai Sonata (reliable but utterly dull)
2008 Honda CRV (our first brand new car)*
2008 Honda Fit (also bought new, my momâs car)*
1989 Ford Econoline (work van)
1999 Ford Econoline (work van, replaced the '89)*
- current
I think Irlandes cut his teeth on car mechanics early in life. My car ownership started in 1958 with a 1948 Dodge and in the next 51 years Iâve had the use of 16 cars, of which I bought two new and 5 were company cars. The only really bad car was a 1957 Plymouth, which was biodegradable and had a sick engine as well. But what can you expect for $325.
Just going through the out of pocket expense in purchasing cars, it came to $45,715 of my own money over the 51 years of driving.
The best car I bought was for a fellow student from Germany, who wanted to tour North America before going back home after graduation in 1960. We found a stripper 6 cylinder 1952 Pontiac stickshift for $150 and he spent all summer driving through the entire USA and Canada, accumulating over 30,000 miles. He called me back in late September to thank me; he had sold the car for $100 or so and had a $28 dollar repair on the gearshift somewhere in California.
He did check all the fluids religiously and drove at moderate speeds.
1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham. My first car, bought it in 1987. Fantastic car! We painted it like the Union Jack and drove around the western US in it. Finally laid to rest in 2000.
1971 Pontiac Gran Prix model J with a 455. I dearly loved this car. Had to abandon it in Oregon when my kidsâ dad abandoned us. I surely do miss that car.
1969 Buick LeSabre 400.(current)
1968 Buick Wildcat. (current)
1939 Chevrolet
1951 Chevrolet
1954 Ford
1956 Ford
1939 Chevy
1951 Chevy
1954 Ford
1956 Ford
1964 Chevy
1969 Ford
1974 Audi
1978 Olds
1969 Pontiac
1984 Mercury
2000 Ford
1976 VW
1969 VW
In orderâŠ
1989 Dodge Omni (paid $500 in 1997 and got ripped off)
1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (I miss this carâŠI loved that car)
1999 Chevy S-10
2001 Chevrolet Cavalier
1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (current car)
1970 Ford Pinto
1974 Mercury Capri
1978 Pontiac Firebird Formula
1978 Ford Fiesta
1982 Mazda RX 7
1984 Chevy Camaro
1987 Jeep Wrangler
1989 Toyota Pickup
1996 Nissan Pickup
1996 Nissan Sentra
1998 Dodge Ram Quad Cab
2000 Daewoo Nubira
2004 Nissan Frontier
2007 Honda Fit
2001 VW Beetle
1979 Corvette
2000 Dodge Grand Caravan
1956 Chevy 4 dr
1957 VW Bug (My daughter is restoring it now)
1966 Corvair Van
1958 Chevy wagon
1980 Subaru Brat
1981 Subaru Wagon
1982 Subaru Wagon
1983 Subaru Brat
1993 Nisan 4wd PU
1984 Toyota 4wd PU (535,000 miles!)
1985 Mazda Van
1992 Suzuki Sidekick (200,000+ miles)
1995 Chevy Silverado Z71
2007 Subaru Forrester
1949 Buick
1951 Buick
1953 Buick convertable (buicks first V-8)
1951 Ford Crown Victoria
1949 Ford
1955 ford
1956 Ford
1964&1/2 Mustang convertable (my first new car)
1966 Ford fairlane sw.
1967 Toyota corolla (a lemon)
1968 Ford van
1969 Ford LTD
1970 Thunderbird (great car)
1967 GTX
1978 Mustang
1984 Mecury Capri
1989 Plymouth Reliant
1994 Dodge caravan
1995 Ford windstar
2000 Ford windstar
1992 ford Crown Victoria
2001 Ford ranger
2002 Ford Taurus
2003 Ford escape
2005 Ford Freestyle
53 Plymouth - A gift from my aunt who could no longer drive it
63 GM van - Drove it cross country twice
VW Rabbit - One of two new cars Iâve had. Went to the wife in the divorce
Yamaha motorcycle
Toyota Corolla - 2nd new car. Totaled in an accident the same year I bought it
68 Delta 88 - 20 yr old car. Drove it from Louisiana to New England a couple times.
73 Chevy Impala - The vinyl roof pealed off. The padding gave it a âDon Kingâ look.
Crown Victoria - My teenage daughter once hit a building with it
Grand Marquis - For my teenage daughter and son.
88 Delta 88 - Stolen a year after I bought it
87 Dodge minivan - Actually a fun little car
75 Checker - With jump seats! Flooded in Hurricane Katrina. Sold to another Checker fan who wanted to rebuild it.
90 Chrysler LeBaron - current car
- 1984 BMW 633CSi
- 1990 CADILLAC SEDAN DE VILLE
- 1987 CADILLAC COUPE DE VILLE
- 1991 HONDA ACCORD SE
- 1993 HONDA ACCORD SE
- 1998 NISSAN MAXIMA GXE
- 1998 BMW 328iS
- 1999 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE SPYDER
- 2000 LINCOLN TOWN CAR EXECUTIVE SERIES
- 2000 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z-28
- 2001 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z-28 CONVERTIBLE
- 1997 BMW 318ti
- 2000 BMW 323i
- 2001 PONTIAC TRANS AM RAM AIR
- 1990 FORD TAURUS SHO
- 1993 FORD TAURUS SHO
- 1994 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL EXECUTIVE SERIES
- 2003 HYUNDAI ACCENT GL
- 2004 MITSUBISHI LANCER SPORTBACK RALLIART
- 2001 HONDA ODYSSEY LX
- 1999 NISSAN MAXIMA SE
- 2002 LINCOLN TOWN CAR CARTIER L
- 2003 MERCURY MARAUDER
- 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER ES
- 1990 HONDA ACCORD LX
- 2007 HONDA FIT SPORT
- 2006 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GT
- 1998 LINCOLN MARK VIII
- 1998 HONDA ODYSSEY LX
- 1995 ACURA INTEGRA SE
- 1987 BMW 635Csi
- 1997 LINCOLN TOWN CAR SIGNATURE
- 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY LE COUPE
X2 on the 67 Catalina, I had one of those too. 400 cu.in. 350hp high compression engine, and got 22mpg on the highway. I had to give it up when they did away with 95 octane leaded gas.
1952 Ford Sedan Delivery, Dad bought for $50!
1966 Plymouth Valiant, begining of my love of Mopars.
1972 AMC Gremlin X, new, paid sticker price and another $75 for undercoating.
1971 Pontiac LeMans Sport, to get married in, should have kept the Gremlin
1973 Vega GT Wagon, family transportation
1974 Vega GT Wagon, a move up!
1968 Opel Kadette, getting me back and forth to work til a rod went out the side.
1975 Pontiac Grand Prix, still thinking about the Gemlin
1966 Plymouth Fury 4 dr, work mobile.
1970 Chevy ElCamino, replace the Gremlin thought, no more wife.
1972 Corvette Roadster and on my way to California!
1960 Ford F150, first work truck.
1963 Volvo 122S, cheap, reliable and fun.
1970 Corvette Coupe, always treat youself when you get dumped.
1947 Chevy Sedan Delivery, yes Vette to a 47 Chevy.
1977 Chevy Laguna S-3, I needed to start dating again.
1965 Plymouth Barracuda, bought from a buddy, still have it.
another 1965 Plymouth Barracuda, from a little old lady for parts.
1964 Plymouth Fury 4 speed, the car I always wanted but sold anyway.
1969 Plymouth Barracuda Fastback, bought after it was totaled when parked for parts.
1957 Ford Ranch Wagon, got in trade for my 47 Chevy and cash, traded it for work on my DeSoto.
1941 DeSoto Business Coupe street rod, hemi power. Small accident, broke my heart, sold it, was in Street Rod Action 10/92 if you have a copy.
1950 Plymouth business coupe, took in trade for 66 Satelite.
1966 Plymouth Satellite, sold it, it never ran right, even with 440
1977 Corvette L-82 4 speed, bought for $2500, someone ran regular gas through the catalitic converter.
1987 Buick Grand National, new, kept it for almost 20 years, what a screamer!
1966 Plymouth Barracuda 4 speed, bought it sold it, miss it.
yet another 1965 Plymouth Barracuda, extra clean, sold on Ebay.
1973 Ford F 250, like the Lone Ranger song, to the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump.
1966 Plymouth Valiant, bought it to relive my youth, didnât work.
1975 Dodge Dart Sport, got with a bunch of parts, sold it kept the parts.
1973 Plymouth Scamp, out of an impound yard, clean as a whistle, vodka and grapefruit juice locked in the trunk, great car, sold on Ebay
1964 Dodge Dart Wagon, totaled coming back from Vegas car show, Mopars at the Strip, one of my favorites, I will replace it.
2003 PT Cruiser GT, wife wanted a VW, but I won and now she loves it.
2006 Dodge Dakota Crew Cab, needed it for work, great little truck.
66 ford fairlane 500/70 chevy pu/72 ply. valiant/78 pon. bonneville/64 chevy pu/88 dodge omni/91 chevy cavalier/92 mits mighty maxâŠthese cars are all goneâŠ89 mits max/91 k3500 3+3/66 chevy p/u short box âŠstill have
In order starting w/ when I got my license:
82 Honda Accordâ"Eh"
85 Olds Cutlass Cruiserâwhat a dog. Tranny probs.
89 Chevy CorsicaâKiller Stereo in that one.
92 Ford Explorerâinherited from dad, sold to my brother. Only car Ford ever did right.
93 Chevy Cavalier V6âNo wonder Caddy killed the âbaby Caddyâ so quick.
96 Chevy Cavalierâwish I still had this car, 36 MPG.
79 Chevy C10 Camper Special, converted from Diesel (bought w/ lots of miles and it went over 200K (on third engine, but original tranny) before I sold it. I still see it in town! Go Chevy!
90-something Pontiac. Was wifeâs car. That car always had the vibes. Glad to be rid of it.
2000 Chevy Impala. Still have it, bulletproof car, 32 MPG hiway
99 Chevy Tahoeâstill have it. Goes anywhere, does anything.
93 1/2 Infinity G20âThese cars were vaunted to last. Bought used. It didnât. Got rid.
2007 Chevy Impala SS. Nicest car I ever owned, and man is it fast! 24MPG hiway from a 5.3L V8.