The First Car.

5 Bodies, a shovel, and a gas can fit in the trunk without a problem.

That's alot of bodies all at once. Or do you keep hold of them until you've got enough for a real fire?

That's alot of bodies all at once.

Definitely could have held more but our in-car industrial blender never seemed to work right.

That sounds really nice. Even though I'm really getting to like my coupe, I grew up in boats - three of my best high school friends had Buicks and Caddys that look a lot like the Parisienne.

I love the look of those cars. When they're in good condition, you get a lot of head turned and bright smiles. When they're in bad condition, people try not to make eye contact.

I'm a sportscar nut now. Whoda thought cornering at speed would be so much fun? But when we take cross country road trips with the 300lb springs, and various chassis braces, my back wishes it was back in the boat... cruisin.

sounds like she saw a lot of youthful terror.

Ah yes. She brought many a look of joy to a small band of delinquents, and she put up with it all like a champ.

Plan59 is a great timesuck

It just consumed the last hour of my life. Thanks! :)

Have you gone cross-country [or a long way] in a coupe?

Not a full cross country trip, but a few from the DC metro to Springfield MO (2 full days of driving), to Montreal (one full day), to Cleveland (3/4 day)*[I will definitely be avoiding Ohio in the near future... or at least until they develop the technology to pave their roads properly.], and everywhere in between. Many trips to NYC, Boston, Philly, AC, OBX. The experience of getting there definitely rivaled the time we spent at each destination. I only had one passenger, so having a coupe was no problem. Intimate quarters, no doubt. But tons of fun.

How bout you?

I haven't done a California road trip since high school and I'm thinking ahead to tricking a friend into going with me.

I've been trying to do a summer road trip to cali for the last 3 years and something always conflicts. Be it work, funds, family, or any number of unforeseen issues. It WILL happen soon, though.

I can see it now. 3000 miles, GPS, A stack of WBAI Underground Railroad mixtapes, 100GB of eclectic tunes, a digital camera, 3 Boxes of Red Bull, a strange and offbeat sense of destiny, and no particular plan but driving west.

Sounds like the beginning of a Hunter Thompson novel. Minus the ether. hah.

Maybe we can fit a VineMeet in.

That would make for an awesome trip. Heading cross country and stopping to meet new like-minded viners. I think you may have something here.

Tell me you're up on illdoctrine.

From day one. JaySmooth is my hero. :) It was great seeing him get some coverage on NPR recently.

First car, remember?

Haha my bad. I was distracted posting and totally slacked on the context.

This is what i was after:

I have gone to Portland and Vancouver from Seattle, New York, Philly, North Carolina, and Rutgers from Baltimore, and that California trip which was awesome. But they were all in other people's rides and I couldn't drive on the California one.

I've always wanted to go to Vancouver. Did you enjoy your time there?

I'm going out to Seattle and Portland in June to visit some friends and I'm hoping we can squeeze in some Canadaland by way of Vansterdam. Got any suggestions or recommendations in the PNW or Vancouver?

Sounds like a summer project. Still would have to work, though. Spammers and trolls aren't gonna handle themselves.

If only they took vacations. Good thing for laptops and wireless internet. They can't hide!

1979 Chevy Chevette in a lovely brown.

heh heh vis......I had a light blue one.....the floor boards were rotting out.........I actually had an @!$%# sugar the gas tank........I took the gas tank off dried and blew out the gas lines....pulled the head off...replaced the gasket............the guy at the auto store said,"nothing you can do". I drove that thing for another 200,000 miles...lmao....this was early 80's...sorry, you brought back a memory. :)

lol Tyler...............it was pretty comical....:)...........(after I kept it running)... LOL

Funny...I bought my first POS from my brother. That's two anecdotal data points suggesting that its a poor idea to buy vehicles from immediate family members...

Camaros looked really dope that decade, tho.

Oh yeah... that's the Z28 model. Mine was sort of plain Jane... antique copper color.

Aine MacDermot,

First Car: 1974 Chevy Camaro, 350ci V-8, auto. I bought it off my father, who cosigned for the loan.

I cosigned for my daughter for 2000 Toyota Camry LE on her 18th birthday. It was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. Perhaps it is the generation but I ended up paying the entire thing myself with repairs and insurance and speeding tickets. After I made the last payment I took her and her boyfriend to the DMV and put his name in place of mine on the title. She's 22 years old now and going to the University of Maine. My and the wife moved from West Bath, Maine to Tampa Florida several days ago and I brought my Golden Goose with me.

I had just paid my car off about 5 weeks before it got wrecked... didn't stick the old man with the bill. ;)

First Car: 1974 Chevy Camaro, 350ci V-8, auto.

That is way too cool. My first car was a 74 Camaro but it had the 250 straight six in it. Blew up three of them before switching to a 350 then I destroyed 2 transmissions with the new engine ( I liked to race a lot in those days ).

( I liked to race a lot in those days )

So did I, and the Camaro was very aerodynamic and clung to the road... the faster you went, the better the wedge-effect. I had mine set up with adjustable air shocks and dual exhaust, which made it even better.

Zom,

Hi...Just wanted to tell you...I won't be able to make it tonight....Ummm.....Death....Yah! That's it!!...Death in the family...Gotta go grieve......Uhhhh...Don't call me....I'll call you.

:-)

I was driving in Malibu canyon. The road made a switch back and I rolled down to meet it :)

It was awesome. Since it was Malibu, every other car that passed before the Highway Patrol showed up said "I'm a doctor" or "I'm a nurse" and "is everyone ok?" Then they'd drive halfway down to the next switchback, stop, get out, and take a picture on their cellphone. Humility. I haz it.

So, I was on my way to highschool one morning, in the Mercury. I grew up in a small-ish town, so there was only one road to the highschool. There is a stoplight. I didn't see it. The dodge ram van in front of me did. It stopped. I didn't. I was going forty when I plowed into it. The way the hood is slanted on a Mercury, if you run it into the back of a Dodge Ram Van at forty miles an hour, it'll slip right under the back-end. The van popped the engine right outa my car. I still had enough momentum from the bounce- back to pull over to the curb.

So, now that you have a car, I suggest you look for stoplights :)

I would suggest you look out for ZomZom, too.

My first car was a Mercury. I crashed it within a month

My third car was a Toyota Echo. I sorta rolled it off a cliff

.But my fourth car is a Yaris, and it's awesome! Only one accident since I bought it a year ago.

I was going forty when I plowed into it.

◔_◔

I would suggest you look out for ZomZom, too.

Hey. I've only hit another car twice. It's usually walls, curbs... stuff like that (and a cliff). One time a gaspump. Don't worry--I have good insurance (although it's more than three grand a year, at this point).

Won't somebody please think of the walls and curbs?

Thank you for creating jobs in our state road maintenance agencies, insurance companies, automotive repair shops, and sales departments. America thanks you.

Hehehehe.

...A gas pump?

Actually, the Regal was a gem of a car...I think I retired it with 200K plus miles on it. The transmission started leaking like a sieve. I'd go through a few bottles of transmission fluid...you know...make a check list on every journey..."check the water in the radiator, check the oil and transmission dipsticks...don't forget to fill-up with transmission fluid, if needed". What a mess.

The day it quit I was on my way to work. The school I worked in at the time was situated at the top of hill. The road dipped deeply down and then upward, with the school near the top of the hill( think: sort of like a v-shaped paved hilly knoll). Well. By the time I reached the top of the hill...approximately 50 yards from the school driveway, the transmission couldn't strain against gravity any longer...and I started losing ground and moving backwards. Man, was that ever! a harrowing experience... but, I loved my first car.

The used Chief was an automatic transmission...and... well... it really wasn't made for a woman who could care less about Quadratrak transmissions, powerful V8 engines, and lots of space to cart stuff...but it was a cheap purchase, got me to and from my destinations, and an AMC workhorse...when it wasn't smoking...I guess... before I took ownership of it. I always considered it a piece of junk from the start...

My husband had once ownd a Jeep J20 work pick-up truck, 4 speed standard transmission, which did have massive Dana front and rear end differentials. The 4WD shifter had three levels: regular 4WD, low and extra low (or something to that effect, someone here who is more familiar transmission gear boxes could point to the specific terms for the gear ratios)...the lowest gear was really looooooww...the truck was not only a great workhorse, but a fun truck to drive. We used it for camping trips, and was my husband's work truck. Never used for off road, 4 wheel drive nonsense. Did use it to get ourselves out of the mud at a rainy Little Feat concert...once.

Now that I recall, the 5 speed standard transmission, 4 cylinder, '87 Jeep Cherokee I owned had shift-on-the-fly in neutral. It was one of the last to roll off AMC's assembly lines in Toledo Ohio before Chrysler took the reigns of the Jeep brand and offered 7 year or 70K mile warranties It needed major repairs and replacement of its hydraulic clutch due to a defective pressure plate; both of which were replaced just a few hundred miles past its 24K mile warranty. Talk about bad luck, it's a long story but getting our hands on the right new hydraulic clutch part from the dealership/factory for our mechanic was a headache. (No, we were not about to let the dealership charge us through the nose for the repairs not under warranty, we were angry enough about the warranty situation.) But, other than the one major repair and routine maintenance, it was my favorite BRAND NEW vehicle.

That Monaco was just like mine. Color and everything. LOL

My Honda City E was just like the Red one on the left, except it was bright gas blue.

This Civic looks alot like the one I had, except in much better condition than mine... also mine was "Copper" colored instead of white, so it made it hard to tell where the paint ended and the rust began until you were close up... but like the author on the link points out, it wasn't much to look at, and you kinda felt like you were driving an over-sized go-kart, but the engine would run forever so long as you kept up with the routine maintenance.

WD my first car was a 69 cougar, it lasted about 2 weeks till my dad got tired of coming to get me while I was broke down on the side of the road. Then came the yellow 71 opel station-wagon into my life. What a dream car for the early days of my driving experience, it was a auto and the best part was the rear seat let down to a full wagon. great for the drive-in with my girlfriend at the time. We would park near the back and well the rest was heaven. I always like the style of the Probe, Tyler and they are engineered like the Taurus of the 90's. (pretty good car)

Now I come close to being a classic car nut, belong to a couple of clubs and go to shows though haven't been to one in a while. I went out on a limb and bought a 64 vette nearly 3 years ago. I found out some thing , they have droped in value like home prices(drats) But I do remember my older sisters boyfriend came over back when I had my opel and parked his 66 vette next to mine. It was my down fall, I didn't like ordinary anymore even though I could let the seat down and enjoy the drive in.....

wude...don't feel bad...my next car was a datson 210 wagon...orange. It was rusted out and I used a piece of plywood so my feet wouldn't drag on the concrete! Sad Sad Sad. *WD shakes her head and walks away wishing she was at the drive-in with wude*

You had a Flintstones car!

Yabba dabba dooo LOL...Fred's was nicer...it wasn't orange. I have to admit the engine on that car was great...I actually sold it 5 years later...still running...LOL.

I like the Ford Probes too...it should be a great first car Tyler. :-D

You had a Flintstones car

WD I can see you feet sticking out the bottom of the car now....WIILLLLLLMAAA!!! (feet dragging knees all scuffed up)

Yea I'm thinking of the movies I missed in the early seventy's, at the drive in, but we always took a break when they did the bingo...."AHH" to be young again.

Tyler I'm sure there are forums on Probes, B 210 and Opel wagons...

http://probefaq.org/messageboard/index.lasso

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Datsun210RedSunnyCalifornia.jpg

No Opel though...

Wude...Yeah first the Datsun 210 "Flinstone" wagon then the fellatio hoax...my knees are killing me. I miss the drive-ins. *sigh*

Tyler...That was a cute Flinstone's car...wish my girls were still that little. They are rounding the corner to driving real cars. Ok I know I have said I have no fear left that I knew of since I died...well that has now changed...OMG my girls driving scares the hell out of me! I have taken both out to the country roads to let them drive since they could reach the pedals and see over the dash. I want it to be a familiar thing by the time they turn 16.

#11.1: "Having a car in high school > having a car any other time, I believe."

Well... I've rarely been without a car, grew up in a car-ish family, and my first car may have been like the "rite of passage," but it was merely the beginning. Yes, having a car in High School was great... but most of us had cars then. Mine was among the hottest, but, then, my step-dad was general manager of a GM Dealer... the man knew cars, lived and breathed cars...

So, throughout the years, I've had a 1956 Chevy, a 1957 Chevy, a 1950 Cadillac, a 1952 Chevy, a 1954 Ford, a 1966 Buick le Sabre, a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda, a 1970 Plymouth Duster, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino, a 1979 Dodge Colt, a 1982 Dodge Colt, a 1996 Ford Aspire, a 2001 Hyundai Elantra and now a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. I've lived for, maybe, 6 months without a car... and have fond memories of each one. I love my Santa fe, and it may be the last car I ever have (I'm 65, retiring soon, and my 4-year-old Santa Fe has less than 7000 miles on it; I don't drive all that much any more because it isn't fun any more: too many lunatics out there, too much traffic).

:-)

BTW: My Santa Fe is red... my Elantra was red... the secret to low insurance rates is simple: be over 25 years of age and keep your driving record clean. I've never had a moving violation and the only accidents I've ever been in were ME being hit by tailgaters (twice while I was stopped at a red light... behind other cars that were also stopped at the light).

Good luck with your car, Tyler. Be safe, and enjoy it.

bite...a ford aspire...scary! I got an aspire for a rental when I was in an accident. Tried merging onto a Las Vegas freeway during rush hour......I had the petal down to the floor. Poor little car sounded like it was going 95mph when it was barely getting to 45mph. Never took it on the freeway again. It really did aspire to run...but it just couldn't do it. LOL.

My best friend had a "66 Barracuda and me with my '68 Stang. We were hot I tell ya!

#11.3: "Poor little car sounded like it was going 95mph when it was barely getting to 45mph"

Actually, your poor little Aspire probably needed the services of a good mechanic. Aspire wasn't a bad car... served me well for several years... but the things that did go wrong were weird: broken hatch lock (it literally shattered one day when I tried to put the key in), and the whole hatch had to be replaced - they couldn't fix just the lock. Then some doodad underneath just fell off. Mechanic said don't park in tall grass and it will be okay. The doodad was to keep the hot parts from starting fires. Finally, the speedometer went haywire: worked in summer but spun out of control when temps went below freezing. That's when I decided the time had come to trade it in on the new Hyundai Elantra. Hyundai actualy gave me $2000 for it in trade! LOVED that car, but when Hyundai offered me a bargain if I'd trade it in for a new car, I grabbed the chance to get the Santa Fe that I have now. I'll confess that I cried when I parted with the Elantra... I hope it went to a good home.

Then some doodad underneath just fell off

That's what's known as a heat shield; it keeps the catalytic converter and other hot exhaust parts from starting grass fires. Sometimes they become partially unattached (they're spot welded in place) and cause weird rattling noises at certain rpm ranges.

Heat shield. Yes. That's what they called it and said it wasn't cost-effective to replace if I never planned to park on grass.

Well it was a rental car so it may have been beat quite a bit before I drove it. Only had it for five days.

There was a car my ex had when we got married. An '86 T-bird turbo nascar pace car. I swear that car was possessed and hated me. It injured me everytime I drove it. The first time I drove it I had the windows down and I have long hair...the wind sucked my hair out of the window just as I was rolling it up (electric windows) and the window wouldn't roll down after that so I was stuck to the window...LOL. Then it got mean after that. I was getting something out of the back seat and the door closed on my leg...the light inside the door behind the plastic cover popped out and burned the back of my leg (blistered). The center counsel had more electric buttons and it started smoking and smelled rank. Tore it apart to find nothing wrong??? The horn button in the middle of the steering wheel popped out and poked me in the eye as I was driving on the freeway and my eye was watering so bad from being poked. The button to lock the doors fell in as I was pushing it and a sharp metal piece underneath cut my finger pretty deep too...I was not pushing it hard. I stopped driving it all together when the fuel injectors sprayed gas all over the engine...and the mechanic could not figure out why...they were not clogged...made him change them anyway. Nothing ever happened when my husband drove it??? I named her Christine...after that movie where the car was alive and and vengeful...LOL!

#11.8: "I named her Christine...after that movie where the car was alive and and vengeful...LOL!"

That's truly bizarre! Some years ago, Fox ran a silly "Caught-on-Camera" thing about "When Good Cars go Bad," (or something like that), and it showed the things that the cars' owners did to them, and how the cars got revenge... and it really did look like the cars were sentient beings that were out for revenge. Did your ex get that car second-hand? Could it have had a traumatic experience with its first (perhaps female?) owner?

My cars have always seemed very protective of me, especially the Colt Hatchback I had. I named her "The Toy," and she was one of my favorite cars. I bought her used, and the previous owner tried to warn me about her... but gave me a real deal on the price and I drove home quite happy.

One morning, we had an ice/snow storm. I was going carefully along, when the light ahead turned red. I was behind 6 or 7 other cars in the right lane, and needed to get into the right turn lane. I wasn't going even 5 miles an hour as I tried to stop behind the car in front of me, but The Toy had other ideas: she veered left... into the left lane, then continuing into the left turn lane, when she finally came to a stop, just as an oncoming van careened out of control, crossing all the lanes I had just been in, and coming to a stop right where I would have been if The Toy hadn't had other ideas. That left turn lane was the one I needed in order to return back home, which I did. I called my boss and told him there was too much ice on the hill and I wouldn't be in that day.

A couple of years later, I was moving to Virginia (from New York), and drove The Toy. We arrived uneventfully, but when I noticed the check engine light, I took her to a mechanic right away. He fixed her, but when I came to pick her up, he asked how I managed to get her there: her radiator was bone dry! He didn't believe me when I told him I drove her there... anyway, he replaced the radiator and did an oil change, and we were fine for another couple of years after that.

The Toy seemed to have intelligence, and she never let me down.

I don't know where he got Christine but when he sold her I requested she not be sold to a female. Other than it was a Nascar pace car we didn't know any other history...but she liked my ex so I left her alone with him...LOL

My pathfinder was very protective of me. The truck I have now is also. The cars my husband purchased (only 2) for me never were protective of me. The van he drives now...I have only driven it a few times and something always breaks when I do...LOL The key was stuck in the ignition and would not shut off...the other key broke off in the hatchback lock...LOL. The alarm was sounding for no apparent reason etc. I tell him he picks real Bitches for cars! He wanted to borrow my truck...I let him but he left the keys to the van for me...Oh hell no...not going to drive any of his cars again.

I feel the same way about cars as I do pets...they pick you...not the other way around. My truck picked me...I tried to buy other trucks but it all went wrong. I called around for the same types of trucks...they said they were out etc...but this dealer up north in my state told me he had one but it was not 4x4. Then he told me to go to the dealer in my town and see if they can locate one. I walked onto the lot and it stood out to me. There he was...my Chevy Colorado/crew cab/4x4. The sale went great...negotiations...none...I would open my mouth to speak and the sales guy was already lowering the price...then he looked at rebates etc...then lowered it more and more and it was lower than the price I was willing to pay before walking onto the lot and I had a GM credit from another source...then the price dropped another $1200 plus the finance gal looked at the loan on my trade in (husband bought that one) and got me $1400 back! I also got $3000 more for the trade in than anyone else had offered previously. (the trade in was optional...but I took the offer just to save me the hassle of selling it) I drove off the lot in shock...and in love with my truck. I paid $3000 under what I wanted to negotiate and got $1400 back. So I bought some kayaks :-D

I have purchased quite a few cars myself...never did it ever go that smooth. Usually I walked off the lots pissed at the whole process. "So will you be financing? How much we you looking to spend...blah blah blah? Let me try and talk you into something you can't afford...or something you don't want. I'll see if my manager can take your offer. Well here's his response...he can do this for you but not that..." The games back and forth...LOL Here's my counter offer for your manager "F' him good bye." "Buttttt he gave you a good deal....." LOL...no he didn't!

I do believe certain energies can live in objects and react...just as toy did to get you safely to your destination. I will not buy a car if it doen't feel right.

#11.10: "I do believe certain energies can live in objects and react..."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who believes in the sentience of inanimate objects! Thanks for sharing your experiences.... fabulous!

#11.12: "I need to figure out a name."

Well... I named The Toy after a pet rat I had at the time, a free spirit who couldn't be confined...

My current vehicle is named after a Pokemon character...

Yes, I always name my cars. Now, as for a name for your car, pick one that brings to mind fond memories or happy thoughts. Cars just want to be happy. If you love your car and give it a happy name, it will take care of you. I truly believe that.

Funny, I've never named any of my cars. I had a friend once who owned a 49 Oldsmobile named Gwendolyn, though.

My friend, Bondo the Bodyman, (he worked in an auto body shop) lived in his Delta 88 for 3 months. He called it the 'Oldsmotel.'

Lol

My two-tone yellow car with the spooky on-and-off-again radio was called the Banana From Hell.

Banana From Hell. LOL...I like that!

My last car was named lil' blue...a Suzuki Aerio cute good small car for the big city...but she was too small for the driving I do now (she was scraping her bottom, ouch)...I live in the mountains. Now I have "my big boy" truck. Not a big truck (Chevy Colorado) Shhhh- but he don't know that.

Funny, I've never named any of my cars.

I had a few lemons that I called some choice names. LOL

Wow. A picture of that beautiful car to save and cherish! I guess I didn't realize there was that much pop history of sixties stuff on the internet, I will have to brush up my search skills and take a look more often. I had been under the illusion that none of my geezer stuff was available except in musty old magazines at the library.

Thanks....

I work across the the interstate (though we used to share the same building) from this place. The showroom is unbelievable.

and a Karmann Ghia which looked like a sports car but had a VW bug engine

Such a great car! My neighbor has one in orange. Not quite as shiny as the one in that pic, but it has such a great shape that you barely notice the faded paint. I tried to buy it off of him so many times, but to no avail.

In 1978, I bought my first car for $500, too. A 1965 pale yellow Rambler. Named it Bruce. V-8. Man that car could get up and go. Hydroplaning was an issue. The A/C would freeze our eyes open if you weren't careful. Another interesting feature was its adjustable speed windshield wiper speed. It didn't have settings, just a "dimmer" approach. Great car for several years before I had to upgrade for outside sales work. And, I couldn't afford to keep it. :(

Oops! Bruce was a 1963 model.

That's what I'm talkin' about, folks. What a beaut!

Hitched a ride. We weren't that far from her house. The folks who sold me the car actually looked for (and found) the missing lug nut (which rolled down into a ravine) for me. (MGs only have one large nut that holds the wheel on to the hub) As it turns out, the car had a right side hub on the left side of the car. The right side hubs have right hand thread hubs and the left side has left hand thread hubs so that if the splined wheel strips when the brakes are applied (as mine did after changing to the rusty spare) it serves to tighten the lug. Since mine was the wrong side it instead loosened it and that's how the wheel fell off. (whew!)

I can only assume it was out of expediency or ignorance (though ignorance is a tough sell because the lug had to be replaced as well). It certainly didn't come from the factory that way, I'll wager.

Waynester, I think you had a good car suggestion in this link.

ps,

of course no wimpy stuff like seat belts, padded dashboard or crumple zones. All that stuff is far in the future. :)

Tyler, Welcome to Motor Vine. Thank you for your request, and you are now a Member of what is, the best (only?) Motoring Group on Newsvine.

#16.1: "Thanks for the advice, I'm determined not to skimp on parts ever."

Don't skip on the oil, either... use synthetic if you can afford it. It will keep your engine running well for a lot longer than the "real" (cheap) stuff.

We had an '83 Zephyr. Blue 4-door with a straight-6. That car was butt-ugly, but damn could it take a beating. And it was actually comfortable and had decent acceleration with the 6.

But yes, the horn on the turn signal stalk was extremely irritating.

That car was butt-ugly, but damn could it take a beating. And it was actually comfortable and had decent acceleration with the 6.

I agree. They weren't particularly attractive, but they were not bad cars. Mine didn't always start when it was supposed to, but I attribute that to the people who owned it before me, whose "repairs" seemed to do more harm than good. But when it was going, it had a pretty smooth, quiet ride and got me from point A to point B. What more could a 16-year-old really need.

But yes, the horn on the turn signal stalk was extremely irritating.

I forgot to mention the worst part about the horn. When my friends and I would do the drag, they would lean from the passenger seat all the way across me o be able to reach the blinker stick andhonk the horn when they saw someone they knew or wanted to flirt with, which was just about every car we passed. Irritating.

Thank you for the link as Gas mileage is top priority. After just moving to Florida from Maine, Car Insurance is very important too and seems more expensive in Florida. I suppose I will have to sell my toy - 1987 Nissan 300ZX as I am not going to pay huge money for car insurance. I guess I will have to look into Geico or Progressive.. Any ideas?

Thank you Tyler and for the Link. I will try and take my time and analyze all companies as it is so very confusing. I don't much like insurance companies anyway as I had state farm for over quarter century and one ah sh*% and they canned me. I ever drove for UPS.

Your story makes me think of a guy from my high school named Charlie. He inherited the family station wagon when he turned 16. From that moment on, it was the Chuck Wagon, and like your car, it seemed to always be full of girls.

waynef415,

My first car had 27k miles on it when my parents got it for me. I was in college. 1996 Geo Prizm. And here I am, 10 years later, still driving it. I have beaten the holy hell out of that car in those 10 years.

1996 Geo Prizm = Toyota Corolla

Toyota's run and run.

Rixar13:

If they weren't so damn small, I'd go out and buy a brand new Corolla in a heartbeat. I saw plenty of 25- and 30-year old Corollas still on the road when I lived in Florida, many with 200k+ and 300k+ miles on them. Those cars just will not die... You could bury one in the sand, dig it up 100 years later, and it would still start right up.

waynef415, Yes I agree and traded my 1997 Toyota Tacoma after putting 200,000 on her and I am sure she could have done 300,000 additional miles with no problems. Just took a test drive of 2008 Tacoma access cab V6 at 20 mpg and 250 hp and I couldn't resist.

You could bury one in the sand, dig it up 100 years later, and it would still start right up.

324: "Helps when it doesn't want to start if you whisper sweet nothings, pat the dash lovingly, and call it by name."

Actually, I believe that...

"Actually, I believe that..."

So do I also......nothing can beat a spot of "Car Empathy". Goes a long way.

That is why I call mine "my big boy"...so he'll live up to it :-D

My GTP is named Misty and my Blazer is named BIG RED!

Yeah, I had a 60's Beetle back in the early 70's. It was the white trash hipbilly offroad rig in my neck o the woods. Three or four large earnest slightly tanked fellow goobers could literally lift it out of holes.

I had a '52 Volvo PV444 after the Bug. That is the rig I wish I still had. The only other car I've ever owned was a '47 Chevy Stylemaster Coupe. Wish I still had that one as well. It has been trucks and FJ's since.

I rode my beetle down through Flarda and almost baked my sorry self.

later gator