The Car Thread

[wannaduacentury]

I won't say I'm a "car nut", but I have some zoom zoom too!



I'm the second owner, and my mechanics, Hans and Jorn, love me because I believe in fixing things and fixing them well. I have every receipt and piece of paper work going back to the sticker from late '68!

However, I am still getting used to having a car classified for insurance purposes as an ANTIQUE - it's 6 years younger than me

But, I feel fortunate to own a car that I've admired since I was 10 years old!

And my Madone fits in the trunk (when I leave the spare tire at home)

A true gem. Jennifer

[reddDesign]

At least you love yours! If there's anything to love about mine, it's that


no wait, there's nothing lovable about my car

haha what kinda car?

[smilingcat]

My younger sister got her car first thanks to mom&dad. She got a CJ5 jeep. I decided to one up her so I bought a four wheel pkup chevy short bed. totally impractical so sold it after 80k miles??? And bought something more proper, a Tercel stationwagon. I loved that car. Sadly it fell apart after 190k miles.

Then came yet another pkup this time a toyota pkup. A come-on in the ad... I actually managed to snag it dirt cheap. no radio, stick shift, hand crank window... It didn't make it to old age as it was rear ended and totalled.

Seeing how badly it was damaged my next car was/is bit more substantial. I currently drive an Audi A6 station wagon. It also happens to be our dog mobile. dawgs love the ride. It has 220k miles and still going strong. yippeee... hope it goes another 100k miles.

[badgercat]

So I don't have any sort of 'special' car, but it's sure special to me. I got my car to transport myself to and from my summer job and then my high school, which was several miles away from home. It's a green '99 Honda Civic which was 3 years old when I got it. My parents and grandpa fronted me the money when I got it, and I gave them 80% of every paycheck for three summers (when I worked 40+ hours each week), and my parents kindly forgave the balance (they didn't tell me what it was) when I left for college. My friends all thought that was a completely bogus arrangement, as all I got to keep from each check was a little pocket money, but I'm grateful that I had to work to pay off that car... unlike some of my prep-school classmates who were given new BMWs and Corvettes for their 16th birthdays and didn't seem to appreciate it at all.

I don't drive often (in about 7 years, I've put about 40,000 miles on it), but it's been so many places... I lived in IL/WI until very recently, and from there, my car went all over IL, all over WI, to Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Toronto/Niagra Falls/Boston/NYC on a road trip with my BF, rural Virginia for a service project, and then a few months ago all the way out here to Arizona where I go to graduate school. I will be very sad to see it go, whenever that day comes, just because of all the places it's taken me.

PS The autocross pic above reminds me... my BF tried to get me to do autocross a couple years back. He used to do it in his little pickup truck, and was quite certain I would have done very well with my little go-kart of a compact car, but I never got up the nerve to do it. I sort of regret that.

[redrhodie]

haha what kinda car?

It's a Nissan. It's not fun to drive, but it's not not fun, either. It's the car equivalent of mashed potatoes.

I've never had a car I cared about. I don't want worry about scratches and dings, or the chain lube on the upholstery. All I ask of my car is that I not be left by the wayside. I'd prefer to be car-less, but that's not feasible in my current locale. I've got to have someway to transport the bikes!

[Crankin]

I've never cared about cars, per se, although I've had some nice ones. But they were all bought for some type of practical purpose (the 82 Volvo 240 wagon , because all "moms" had one, a Mazda mini van with AWD, so I could get up the hill and take my kids and their friends places), except for for my current car, a 2003 BMW 325xi.
I bought it because the promotional literature/brochure featured the Milan-San Remo bike race in the background, on all of the pages.

[tulip]

Crankin, that's the best reason for buying a car!

I'm partial to VWs in particular, and German cars in general. My first car was a 1973 VW Superbeetle with a Porsche interior. It was screaming yellow. It was 10 years old when I got it and after I went to college, my younger brother took it over. Then he went to college and it was sold. I had a series of Hondas ('79 Civic wagon--great car! that a boyfriend totaled, '93 Civic hatch that I bought new but sold a few years later to go to grad school, an '88 Accord, followed by a '92 accord). I also drove a 1984 Chevy Cavalier that was one of the best cars ever. It wasn't fun to drive, but it was soooo reliable. It was about 15 years old when I drove it.

My current car is a 2007 VW Rabbit that I adore. I can fit anything into it, it gets 34 mpg, 5-speed stick, and plenty of Farfugnugen! I expect to keep it for a long time.

I really would like an old Nissan or Toyota pickup for under $2k for chores, but that'll have to wait.

[Aggie_Ama]

I really like my 2007 Dodge Caliber I have named Gretchen. I have had for three years, it was inexpensive and has these red seat inserts that look wicked cool. The sunroof is fun, the steering wheel radio controls are nice to use and the car is practical.

But through college I leased a 2001 VW Beetle in bright yellow I called her Venus. It was a 5 speed and was so much fun to drive! I told my husband now that he has a quad cab truck when my Caliber bites the dust (I plan on having it awhile) I am getting another Beetle.