Thread: What cars have you owned?

First car: 1976 Olds Delta 88. Four door tank! Got into a crash when I was 17 (it wasn't my fault). Was on the highway and traffic stopped due to construction. Guy behind me didn't notice and rammed right into me while I was stopped. The guy who hit me in the back had his whole front end pushed in. He had to have his car towed. I just had a cracked brake light plate and a small dent in the bumper which I hammered back out later lol.

Second car: 1988 Olds Cutlass Supreme. It was a great car but I got into another crash with it (this time it was my fault). The frame was bent and it basically cost too much to fix so I sold it and didn't tell the guy about the frame lol.

Third car: 1982 Pontiac Firebird. Had this car for over 15 years before I had to junk it due to the frame rusting out and not being safe to drive anymore. I loved that car. T-tops. 305 V8. Only got 8 miles per gallon and only had a 14 gallon tank. So I had to fill up every couple days.

Fourth car: 1995 Chevy Cavalier. The car was in my name but I let my ex-wife drive it mostly. She ended up crashing it (and totaling it) on her way to meet some guy 500 miles away. Notice I said my ex-wife.

Fifth car: 1992 Olds Silhouette. It was my parents car that they gave me after they bought a new one. Nice little van. Used this car to get my Kia Soul with the cash for clunkers deal back in 2009.

Sixth car: 2005 Ford Focus. It's in my name but my wife primary drives it. We still own this car.

Seventh car: 2010 Kia Soul. Still have it.

Since my first car, a 1957 Chevy Convertible, bought (used) for $150 in 1965, I've always liked driving cars, vans, etc., that were a little bit different.
For instance, (short list, just the special ones)
1961 Pontiac, 2DHT
1967 Opel Kadett Rally
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado
1966 International Harvester Scout Aristocrat
1977 Olds Toronado, XS Brougham
1989 Chevy Sprint Turbo (made by Suzuki, 1000cc, 3 cyl. Turbo Charged)

But the most special of all, my 2013 Kia Soul. It's just so much FUN to drive!

I lament, that I have NO pictures of many of the vehicles I've owned over the past 48 years.
I try to make up for that now, by taking lots of pic's of my Soul.

Happy 2013 Everyone!

TM

Dang! There was just a Marriage, on a float, in the 2013 Rose Parade. WOW!
I hope they got lots O pic's.

my very first car and it was three years old when I bought - any guesses (year and version) we all know its a VW

Here are ours, in order of acquisition, all bought new unless otherwise noted. For much of the time we've been a two-car family:

• 1970 Fiat 124 sedan 1.4L, MT — "The White Tornado." Added Koni shocks, fancy 13" mags and Semperit M401 tires, plus futzed with the suspension. Lots of fun for autocross and ice autocross (on Lake Winnebago in the winter).
• 1972 Fiat 124 sports coupe 1.4L, MT — Bought used. Sadly, the seat cloths rotted in a couple of years! Mechanically okay, though.
• 1967 Vanden Plas Princess 1.1L, MT (no syncro on first) — Bought used. A fun second-car runabout. This was an MG sedan tricked out with burled walnut over mahogany, cream leather surfaces and carpeting. The backs of the front seats had little picnic trays. Classy ride. Sold it before the rust-repair bodywork popped through again.
• 1976 Opel Manta coupe 2L, MT — Bought new. Learned all about terminal understeer. In 1979, after lots of mechanical problems, it finally broke its crankshaft at 55,000 miles!
• 1980 Fiat Brava 2 liter sedan 2L, MT — Except for a carburetor percolation problem (easily solved), trouble-free for 86,000 miles. Terminal frame rust dictated trade.
• 1986 red VW GLI 1.8L, MT — A really fun sports sedan. Totalled when rear-ended in 1990.
• 1986 steel gray VW GLI 1.8L, MT — Bought used to replace the red one. Provided reasonable reliability for 162,000 hard city miles.
• 1991 red VW GTI 1.8L, MT — Bought used. Wife's commuter special, then I took it over as an urban beater and baseball car. Huge fun! Fairly reliable for 126,000 miles.
• 2002 VW Jetta sedan 1.8L, MT — Sadly underpowered (0-60 in 14 seconds!), and too much understeer for my tastes. Not as reliable as my 1980 Fiat Brava. Got mighty tired of four-figure repair bills.
• 1999 WV Passat 2.7L V6, AT — Inherited from my father. Monster repair bills to solve problems caused by 4,500 miles per year plus neglect. Still have it, and am praying it kinda lasts for another few years before I inherit the wife's 2012 "Seoul Train."
• 2006 VW Jetta wagon, 1.8 turbo, MT — At 128,000 miles it blew its head gasket: $3,600, as the whole top end of the engine had to be rebuilt (12 of the 20 valves, for instance, were destroyed). A year after that, traded for:
• 2012 Kia Soul+ 2L AT moss — Wife promptly named it the "Seoul Train." At point of purchase, added heated leather seats crafted by the dealer. After a few thousand miles, dumped the Hankooks and replaced with Michelin Primacy MVX4s. Added SSD strut tower bar and Michelin X-Ice 3 snows to a set of 15 inch steelies for the winter. The plan is for the wife to put 20,000 miles per year on it for four years, then I get it as an urban-mobile for the last six years of its powertrain warranty. I would love to go back to my college days and race this on the Lake Winnebago ice!

My kind of cars, especially the Fiat 124 coupe. I also had Semperit M401 tires on my '72 Datsun 510, one of my favorite cars and my favorite tire ever. I've owned 45 cars and pickup trucks, 15 of which were bought new. The one I loved the most was my '72 MG Midget, the most fun on four wheels, If my joints worked a little better and I had the garage space I'd buy another in a heartbeat! I like my '10 Shadow Dragon but if Chrysler would import the Alfa Mito without Chrysler stylists screwing it up the Soul would be gone in a flash. Don't think that will happen. There are few new cars I can get very excited about these days.
BTW, I didn't know the Vanden Plas was ever imported to the U.S.

1953 Triumph Mayflower
1953 Ford Zepyre
1964 Austin Mini
1965 Austin 1100
1966 Triumph Vitesse
1969 Wolsely 1800
1969 Ford 1600E
1976 Ford Capri
1977Talbot Horizon
1989 Austin Allegro 1800
1990 Rover SD1 2.6
1992 Rover SD1 3.5 SE
1995 Rover SD1 3.5 Vandan Plas
2001 Daewoo Laganza
2002 Honda Jazz
2007 Kia Seed
2007 Kia Carens
2010 Honda Jazz
2012 Kia Soul Quatum
2003 Subaru H6 Outback In Canada still
2011 Kia Rondo in Canada still
and a few ive missed

BTW, I didn't know the Vanden Plas was ever imported to the U.S.

It never was, by MG, Austin, or (later) British Leyland. But pre-1971 model foreign iron could be imported by individuals without having to be upgraded to U.S. safety/emissions standards. Ours was personally imported by a guy in Neenah, Wisconsin, who fell in love with the car when on vacation in England. Most parts, excepting the body and interior, were all stock MG or Austin, so it was no problem to maintain.

This was the little front-wheel drive MG sedan (basically a four-door Austin America), not the big saloon, which was also called Vanden Plas Princess.

I'm a little oversized for the MG Midget, but I fit just fine in an MG-B. That's one of the cars I missed owning somehow. I love old English sports cars, but I've never owned one. In college, I worked for beer money at a local import repair shop, and after having seen all that could go wrong — and did! — with old British sports cars, I decided a Fiat was the way to go.

For a small population (around 140,000 then), the 1966-1974 Fox Cities in Wisconsin (Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Little Chute, Kaukauna, etc.) had a surprising number of interesting foreign cars running around. There were two AC Ace-Bristols (one a Mark II), a veritable fleet of Minis (including two in Stage 3 tune), some Rolls Royces, a Bentley, a couple of Ferraris, several Austin taxis, a Vauxhall, a Fiat Dino Coupe, and many others.

I also had Semperit M401 tires on my '72 Datsun 510, one of my favorite cars and my favorite tire ever.

A buddy of mine set up a 510 for SCCA Showroom Stock racing at Elkhart Lake. He went with Semperit M401's also. Showroom Stock class didn't let you do many mods, but it did allow a head with larger valves. Bill not only got that, but he ported and polished it. He also specced the engine with new pistons, etc. That mother was honkin' fast!

First drove a 2001 Honda Accord.. then my parents' 2008 Camry and 2009 Rav4. Now a 2013 Kia Soul, base, 6-speed AT woot!

1988 Nissan Sentra
1972 Buick Skylark Coupe
1982 Buick LeSabre
2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV (soon to be retired winter ride- anyone interested )
2011 Nissan 370Z Nismo (current summer toy)
2013 Kia Soul Base (current winter/bad weather ride)

90 Chevy Camro RS
92 Toyota Paseo
95 Plymouth Neon
96 Nissan Altima
97 Dodge Dakota
99 Chevy Camaro RS
01 Toyota Highlander
03 Jeep Grand Cheroke
04 VW Passat
08 VW Passat