Wednesday, December 21, 2016

 

I miss that car!


Twenty-five years ago, I owned a great car: a blue Honda del Sol. It was a weird and wonderful vehicle: A two-seater with a targa roof that came off and stowed in the trunk, and an electric rear window in the back. 

It was basically a goofy Honda Civic, but it was a wonderful vehicle, especially in the summer. If I was to reach back in time and reclaim one car I have owned, it would be that little goofy Honda.

Sadly, I lost it one summer when IPLawGuy was visiting. He was reading an Archie comic book while driving along Lake St. Clair, and the car sunk to the bottom when he went off course while trying to turn the page and eat a lemon zinger cupcake at the same time. Luckily the top was off and he was able to float to safety. 

What car would you want to have back?


Comments:
I had a 1974 Mercury Capri, the last model made in Europe. Hottest, fuel efficient car. It was a 2+2, with a small rear seat that could contain only very small people. In Chicago, where ramps would be two lanes that merged to one just before the freeway, I could beat the Jags, etc., to the merge point. 30+ MPG on the highway. Went to the ex in the divorce and she totaled it before the divorce was even final. The next year, the model was made in the good old USA and was a piece of junk.
 
My grandfather (reluctantly) gave me his 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis when he was informed by his sons that his days of driving were over. It was almost as spacious as my first apartment in Dallas, and far more luxurious, even with Granddaddy's old Red Man stains on the floor. Smoooooooth on the roads, too. I was constantly getting approached at gas stations with cash offers for it. Once, as a first year associate, I gave the managing partner a ride to the airport; before he got out he looked around and said, “Like riding around in my mom’s @&$$ing den.”
 
I have made very poor vehicle decions in terms of driving fun or cool factor. (But very good decisions in terms of saving money.)

My first vehicle was a station wagon that presented the best value proposition for $1000 in 1997. Then I spent $1000 on a Geo Metro. Fortunately I was not still driving that car when I met my wife, otherwise she would not have married me I am told.

I finally wized up and bought a Subaru Impreza, but it was the base model, and was severely underpowered in spite of its all wheel drive.

That said, I now have a 6 cylinder, fully loaded Camry that I love.

I had to learn the hard way. Don't compromise on the type of vehicle you buy. You can have the make and model of any car you want at any price you want. (The the miles and finish may suffer, but you will be driving what you want.)
 
OK, first off, there's no way I would have gotten behind the wheel of a classic "girl car" like the Honda del Sol. And I don't even like Lemon Zingers. Chocolate or Vanilla only please.

Archie comic book? Please. My comic books of choice were Captain Fury and Sgt. Rock.

I really liked my turbocharged 1986 Chrysler LeBaron convertible -- except for the fact that it had an automatic transmission. If there had been a stick in that car, I probably never would have sold it. I replace it with a '91 LeBaron convertible -- the rounded version, not nearly as cool looking as the original box version. This second one had a 5 speed manual transmission, but it just wasn't as classy looking. It had an "every car" look.

My parents had an original 1960 Plymouth Valiant with the fake "spare tire" trunk. I wish that they had held onto to that. And their 1977 AMC Pacer. That was a very nice and spacious car. And it had a 5 speed manual transmission too.
 
I love the car I have now, but I do reminisce about the first car I owned, a 1970-something white Audi 4-door basic sedan. I bought it used in 1983 right after college, from a dealer who supposedly was a friend of our family, and it turned out the tires had dry-rotted. It broke down on I-40 near Winston-Salem a few weeks after I bought it. I got better tires and drove it another year . . . still loved it, even with no A/C (in Savannah!) and a radio I rigged up because that didn't work, either. I often wonder what that car would have been like in its youth :)

 
So as family cars go my parents had a Ford Thunderbird 1968 - 1972 (not sure of the year). It was red and the rear doors opened backwards. Thought this was so cool. They replaced it with an LTD (tank) when I got my drivers license.

My cars... I really loved my Sebring convertible and my Lebaron convertible before that. They were fun cars to drive while living in Florida. I look forward to owning another convertible some day. I drove my VW Passat for 11 years and I loved the way the car drove and it was super comfortable and if I hadn't hit a deer in October I would still be driving it. It had 118k miles. Soon I will resign myself to a practical Subaru CrossTrek. I would purchase another VW in a heartbeat but my hubby is being insistent about the Subaru in light of the VW controversy last year.
 
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