Ford Mustang – My very first car was a Ford Mustang. For whatever reason, I was hell bent on owning one. I have no idea why and I do understand why my father tried like crazy to talk me out of it. It was a . . . I’m trying hard to tone down my list of adjectives and I just can’t. Let’s just say it was not a good car and I will never own another Ford. Thankfully, I don’t feel too guilty about the abuse I gave it. It had a very hard clutch to push and after hours of dancing at the bars with Tina, my bad left knee didn’t have the strength to push in the clutch. I learned to drive it sans clutch, but that thing needed to die anyway.
Honda Prelude – Based on the fact that I could no longer comfortably drive the heavy-clutched Mustang, I drove it off a cliff (OK not really) and bought a cute little red Prelude with a nice sunroof. It was automatic, reliable, fun to drive, and all around a great car. Kudos to Honda.
Suzuki Samari – While still owning the Honda and still liking it, I accidentally fell in love with the new Samaris. This is probably where my irresistible urge to buy impractical cars started. And that gene must have been passed down from my father because he bought the Suzuki for me without me being REALLY sure I even wanted it. I said I loved it, we test drove it, and the next thing you know I owed it. So I had to sell the Honda. I drove the Suzuki for about a year before I got my nice stereo and enormous speakers stolen and that was when I realized it couldn’t be my full-time vehicle.
Nissan Pulsar – So I picked up an older Pulsar as my second car so I didn’t have to drive the Suzuki into Downtown Hartford. This had to be the worst car I owned – yes, even worse than the Ford (which is hard to do). This car didn’t last long in my life.
Subaru XT – By far one of the coolest and most practical cars ever made. I LOVED this car and would still be driving one if they still made them. It was a turbo charged, 2-door sports car that went into 4-wheel drive with the push of a button. As a matter of fact I could lift the entire back end to clear a snow bank (which came in quite handy in the UConn parking lots). Drove it until the clutch blew.
Saturn ?? – Next was a sports car by Saturn. I loved it so much I can’t even remember the name. Ok, that was sarcasm. I hated it. It was fast and cool looking, but it rattled, leaked, and was terrible in the snow. Didn’t last long. And I’m starting to develop my dislike for American cars.
Kia Sportage – I know, you’re thinking “LAME,” but I bought this vehicle long before they came to New England. I was down in Florida one day when I spotted the first one. It was small and cute and was it a car or a truck? It was exactly what I wanted, a mini-SUV, before I even knew what a mini-SUV was. I’m always before my time. So I bought it and had it delivered to CT. It was OK, but the problem of not having a dealer anywhere near me was an issue. Again, didn’t last long.
VW Jetta – My first taste of German engineering and I have to say, as far as VWs go, I got really lucky with this one. Gave me almost no problems, was reliable, and drove like a dream compared to the Kia.
Mazda Protégé 5 – The only reason I ditched the Jetta was to get a hatchback. You see, I acquired a big dog that needed to be in the cargo area and not on my back seat. Can’t say enough good things about this car. It rocked. Fun to drive and not a single thing went wrong. I sold it to a coworker and I sometimes miss it when I see it in the parking lot.
Saab 92X – One dog turned into two dogs and I was convinced I needed a bigger car. So I went from the hatchback to a mini wagon. Then I decided that the car was too nice to put any hairy dogs into it. Go figure. The Saab was cool, extremely reliable, fast, powerful, but sadly . . . boring. Just didn’t reflect my personality and needed to go.
MINI Cooper – I don’t even need to write anything here. There’s no question about the mini love affair I have with my Coop. Not sure I’ll ever drive anything else. I found my match.
And one I forgot to mention . . . “the Beast.” Karlo bought this bicentenial 1976 CJ7 in honor of my 4th of July birthday. He completely rebuilt the thing and it should have been on display somewhere. We made it part of our wedding and had a ball with it for two or three summers, but the 5 miles per gallon started to grate on my nerves. We sold it and now we have a more modern Jeep to kick around in.
1 comment:
This does not surprise me.
In the short time I've known you, it seems like you want or buy a new car every 9 months or so. I'm glad you documented this, so in a year when you're selling the Mini for something else, you'll look back and laugh.
Now when are you going to add a Yaris to that list??
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