Cars

I’ve never been much of a car guy but yet I can remember almost every car I’ve ever owned. So here’s the rundown.

1969 – a 63 Chevy Impala 2 door – not bad. Gas was so cheap back then I don’t know if it guzzled or not.

1970 – a 64 Dodge dart – not my choice. My dad bought it for me. The 63 Chevy was really his but I got to use it for a year or so. Most distinctive thing was a slant six (back then) and the automatic shift was a lever on the dash.

1971 – a 65 Mustang. Not as good as it sounds. 6 cyl. so wouldn’t get up and go. Also prone to some sort of vapor lock in the hot Texas summers. Also no buckets but a strange sort of bench seat in the front.

1972 – a 69 Triumph Spitfire. Again not a great as it sounds. Interior was a shambles and I had no money to fix it up. Ended up spray painting my carpets black to hide the wear. Rag-top was a pain to take down and put up. But it was great fun and this car has the distinction of being the fastest one I ever drove. Once on a road coming back home late at night from school in Arlington (U.T.A.) I hit the 90s. Thought we were going to achieve some sort of lift off and actually fly a bit!

My dad liked to tinker and work on this one. The hood was like a Corvette's where it lifts as one piece (hood, fenders – everything) from the window to expose the entire engine. My dad could sit up in there and work on the 2 – count ‘em – two double-barrel carbs.

1973 a 71 VW bug. Pretty OK as they go. Learned how to adjust the lifters or valves or something that always needed adjusting. My dad did NOT like to work on this one. As this will become a recurring theme in our family, sometime in 74 or 75 I hit a large German Shepherd dog while going about 70 at nightime near Tyler Texas. My friend and I both slammed into the dash and somehow only bruised our arms and shins. The dog fared much worse. The VW was never the same either but I continued to drive it for several more years. Amazing that with a VW with almost no protection in the front, I hit a dog at 70mph and live to tell about it and drive the car home. Years later a similar incident with a Chevy Cavalier will total that car. They truly don't make 'em like they used to.

1979 married now so thinking differently about cars. Also can’t just trade them off so easily. Car – a brand spanking new Toyota Corolla. 2 – door. Shoulda sprung for the extra to put AC in it. Summers in Virginia are hot and humid. Best thing about this car – I paid somewhere around $3,600 for it. Two years later I sold it to a guy for $4,000. Can’t do that anymore. But then 80s inflation wasn't much fun either.

1980 First second car. My wife was working and we needed to both have wheels. 1980 Toyota Tercel. Another great little car but once again too cheap to buy AC. Drove this one into the ground for more than 10 years.

1983 First daughter arrives and we need something to handle a car seat so – (forgive me) we got a used Dodge. It was one of their K cars that made such a splash and then later almost killed the company. Didn’t keep this one very long.

1985 Brand spanking new Ford Tempo. Why you ask? Cheap and 4 door and we could afford AC. We had 2 kids by now. Also miserly with gas.

1991 Finally had to trade in the Tercel on another Ford Tempo – this time a 91 program version. Another 4 door with AC. We drove this one well over 100K miles before we had to get rid of it. Have you ever tried to sell or trade a 4 cyl. with perhaps 150K miles? Good luck.

1991 or 1992 Car #3 for short while. Only this one was a truck. We were farmers (almost) and you gotta have a truck. Traded in the 85 Tempo later. This was a modified F-250 that somehow had a 6 cyl. And it ate starters. I replaced two. Finally years later (2001 or 2) I gave this one away. I could only start it if it was on a hill (or with a hefty push) and that became less and less practical.

1996 We joined the mini-van ranks with a big 95 Ford Aerostar. Served us well until the transmission about fell out but we got well over 100K.

1999 Bought a new 1999 red Chevy cavalier - 2 dr. good little car until my daughter lost control on a wet and curvy road. She spun out, ended up going backwards in a ditch and pretty much wiped out the car. She got bruised and banged up - as much from the airbag deploying as anything else. Scared her pretty bad too but no serious in juries.

2000 Small truck time. Not really farmers at this point but everybody needs a truck. Little GMC Sonoma. Nice gas mileage and handy. My daughter took this one over and paid it off and it is still doing fine with more than 150K miles.

2000-1 somewhere in here we buy another Chevy cavalier to replace the totalled red one. Why a Cavalier? Not a bad little cheap car with good gas mileage. But I need to stay away from Cavaliers. Sometime in 03 or 04 I hit a big dog and damaged this one but didn't total it. But within another year or so daughter #2 hits a Rottweiler and most definitely DOES total it this time. What does she buy to replace it? An 03 Cav that she still drives and is in her name and paid for.

2001 Another mini-van to replace the dead Aerostar. A 2000 Pontiac Montana. OK but always seemed to have problems with the automatic sliding door. But would’ve kept this one except the March 2006 tornado wiped it out.

2004 Big truck time. Also big mistake. Bought a used 91 Ford F250. Body pretty rusty and beat up. Ended up putting new brakes all around, complete exhaust system and four new tires. So by this time I have more in that stuff than I do in the truck itself. But still running and serving as a farm truck, gets the kids to school, pulls trailers full of sheep and hay. But something about Fords – this one eats starters too.

2006 Where are we today? 2003 Dodge Caravan. Probably the nicest car we have ever owned. Looks and rides pretty new. Although as I write this it is having new brakes put on the front but that is pretty routine stuff.

So there’s my car history in a nutshell.

What do I want next? Two things – a Ford F250 Quad cab (4 door) and an Austin mini. Go figure. One is practical and will pull anything. The other is absolutely frivolous. Everyone I tell thinks a mini is a chick-car and since I heard that – all I see driving them are girls. But my masculinity is not threatened so if I ever win the lottery or something you’ll see me in one.