The other thread about cars got me thinking about my first car. It's a 1970 Opel GT, pretty rare in the states. When it was running, it ran very well (with a few improvements on the stock 1900cc engine). I still have it, though currently it's in pieces in a friend's garage. Can't wait to get enough free time to get it back on the road.

'64 Plymouth Belvedere

'66 Barracuda

'81 Vette.... CheVette.

You STILL have a 1970 Opel? I would have thought it would have succumbed to the rust monster by now.

My first car was the 1978 Honda Civic referred to earlier. I loved that car. I once drove it as fast as I could on the perimeter road on Norfolk Naval Base. Entering an S-curve, I saw a security car enter the other side of the curve. By the middle of the curve, I had dropped from my 55 or so to the 30 MPH mandated.

The security guy waved me over, and suggested I slow down. Apparently, my inside rear tire had been off the ground when I entered the curve. It got his attention, though of course he couldn't clock me.

Later I learned that these light front-wheel drive cars (Civics, VW Rabbits, etc) did that all the time, when raw-hiding in a curve. Still, it gave me all kinds of warm fuzzies.

Then there was the time I was driving on a snow-covered road, and pulled the emergency brake to see what would happen. When the car finally stopped spinning (I think it did a 1 and 1/2 complete spin) I discovered it helps the rear end go faster than the front end, on ice anyway. Note to self -- never do this again.

1985 Plymouth Reliant.

It exploded.

No really.

1978 Chevy Malibu with collapsing head liner (sold)
1981 Chevy Citation (totaled)
1988 Pontiac Firebird (stolen)
1992 Saturn SL1
traded for
1994 Saturn SL1 (donated)
1996 Honda Civic
2003 Honda Pilot

Last two are our current cars.

I'm challenged, tho. To date I haven't gotten rid of any two cars the same way. Not sure what to do next...

Philo

Oh! Exploded! Capital idea!

Thanks!

Philo

Don't be so glib about car explosions in this day and age =).

Was on a road trip to Galilea, Rhode Island. I heard a knocking sound under the hood so I turned up the radio (I was around 17 I think, no wait it was my 18th birthday). After another hour or so the car overheated and stalled, I coasted to the side of the road. When I checked under the hood, the engine was on fire. I got everybody out of the car and we started walking to a payphone (no cell phones yet, though people had those suitcase car phones).

After about 3 minutes of walking I turned around to look at the car and there was a 6 foot column of flame coming off of the engine. The tired popped one by one, each time rocking the car. Burning oil/gasoline was dripping onto the road.

A state trooper pulled up in his Corvette with a fire extinguisher which he promptly set on the ground, and then began directing traffic away from the shoulder.

T +00:20:00 the firetruck pulls up. Guys take a hose down off of it, and proceed to blow the windows out of the car sideways as they extinguish everything. The car was a total loss, although several binders full of Magic cards in the trunk survived with just smoke damage. The two decks in the glovebox worth $1,500+ in total were sealed in when the glovebox melted.

Good times. It took me 6 months to get another car.

Allan - emergency brake? What emergency brake?

Oh, you mean the parking brake. Let me see now...so you did a handbrake turn in blissful ignorance, while driving on snow, and you were surprised when the well documented outcome actually occurred?

Hmmm....

:-)

'76 Olds Cutlass. Bench seats. Good times...

The reliant had bench seats. I fell asleep across the front seat in a parking lot once with my legs hanging out the passenger side window from the knees down. As in, my knees were draped over the windowsill in the door.

When I woke up I couldn't walk for almost an hour. My legs were COMPLETELY numb, my toenails were even a bit blue.

Whee! I just found out the Opel GT is back! Will be sold in the states next year as the Saturn Sky, but I'm sure I could change the branding. Not sure if the wife's gonna go for it though...

Saturns suck but I still wouldn't mind an Ion.

Still haven't bought a car yet.

Chevy Vega - world's best car in the snow because it had so little power you couldn't spin the tires.

Disposal: a friend dumped his dead Maverick by just leaving it in the university parking lot, after burning the VINs off.

I had a Vega once.

1 - 1951 International 3/4 Ton Pickup

1964 Volkswagen Beetle
1959 Jaguar 3.4 Litre Saloon
1964? AMC Rambler
1977 Ford Ltd II
1974 Mercury Montego
1964 Jaguar XKE Coupe
1976 Ford Torino
1970 Plymouth Fury III
1979 Cadillac Eldorado
1986 Chrysler Minivan
1988 Chevy S-10 Blazer
2001 BMW Z3 3.0
1991 Jeep Wrangler
1988 Chevy Astro Van

I know I've missed at least a couple ...

I'll bet you did not know that the Chrysler 'K' car had the distinction of being the least stolent car in the US during the 1980's.

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/dodge88.html

1990 Jeep Cherokee. It's still in the family, my sister drives it now. I got it used with around 30k miles, and it has over 100k miles on it now. I want to see if it will make it to 200k.

1975 Chevy Impala.

This was when a 350cui V8 struggled to make 115hp because of the emission controls strangling it. It took regular gas, though, not that new-fangled and hard-to-find unleaded stuff.

Mine was an '85 Buick stationwagon. I blew it up on the interstate - through a rod through the engine and transmission. The car whined a bit, then just shut off.

Got an 85 Nissan pickup. Traded it for a 95 Chevy S-10. Totalled when I got hit by a drunk drive (not recommended as a way to get rid of a vehicle). Got a 96 Chevy Blazer with 28k miles, traded it in at 180k for a 95 Chevy Tahoe with 70k miles, now well over 200k. Hope I don't have to get rid of it for a long while.

You may have heard stories about old Jaguars and their problems. I lost the 59 jag to a gas fire under the hood, but the 64 I eventually sold -- after 3 different electrical fires !!

Ah Lucas, prince of darkness.

Here's a thought to send chills down your spine if you ever imagine driving an older e-type jag: the fuel pump is an _electrical_ fuel pump _immersed_ in the gas tank.

1980 olds cutless supreme... in 1993.

"When I woke up I couldn't walk for almost an hour. My legs were COMPLETELY numb, my toenails were even a bit blue."

I can just imagine Muppet lying on his bench seat, looking at his foot, saying "Wiggle your big toe." :D

Anyway,

1) 1977 (manufactured in 76 according to the glass panes) Volvo 245 station wagon, with round headlamps and a four-speed manual with electric overdrive - didn't even need to lift the clutch to switch between fifth and fourth. Lovely idea, shame it's not used any more. The engine in it was from a later, injected Volvo, retrofitted with a rare vertical carb that nobody knew how to fix. I crashed it into the back of a panel van, and it was torched that night.

2) 1982 Mazda 323 three-door, 1.3 engine. Got it with a dead battery, stalled on the way home from the DMV and couldn't get it started again. There was gunk in the carb so it would stall at idle - I had to either keep my foot on the gas at a stoplight, or restart it when I needed to go. Was driving in a snowstorm, saw a dog by the side of the road, swerved, drifted, smashed into an oncoming Mondeo.

3) Current car - 1988 Honda Accord EX, with a decent engine for a change, and most things work - although it's leaking oil from the sump (cheaper to add a liter or so every once in a while) and has on two occasions dropped the exhaust on the ground, once on the freeway.

I'm actually very tempted to sell the Honda and get this:
http://www.auto24.ee/webcache_kasutatud/auto_php-id=153331-www_auto24_ee.html
I love old Volvos.

Audi A6, last year.

'84 Chevy Chevette

1971 Dodge Charger

1974 Ford Pinto.

I read somewhere that a man who drives a Volvo is deathly afraid of his wife.

Izzat true?

"I can just imagine Muppet lying on his bench seat, looking at his foot, saying "Wiggle your big toe." :D"

Man, if muppet can punch his way out of a coffin six feet underground, I don't think *anyone* here wants to fuck with him. Especially with that Hattori Hanzo he has laying around.

Yes, but nobody said the toe would actually wake up, in muppet's case.

Point taken.

Just extending it to its obvious conclusion. I mean, we've already seen his mad l33t Jedi skilz.

:)