by "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
Published 03/17/2017 at 09:24
by "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
Published 03/17/2017 at 09:24
No Tags
STARS: 2
I was reading the Jalop post about your history in car colors. It made me ask myself which of my cars I miss the most, and would like to have back today. I assumed the answer would always be Sparlingo Celica. It was the car that sent me on the hunt that led me to the Sunchaser.
It was my first car, and I totaled it the day of my senior prom in a stupid accident that was my fault. But having the Sunchaser has taken care of that.
I realize the one I want back is the 1987 Acura Integra LS I drove in college. 4 door hatchback, 5 speed manual, leather interior, pop up headlights - it was a great car that never let me down even though I pushed it hard.
It saved my life one night outside Colorado Springs in 1991, when a couple of rednecks called a friend and I “long hair hippie faggots” and chased us in their pickup. I lost them in some curves where they couldn’t keep up.
As a joke, a friend and I took it on a drag run on the late, lamented Brotherhood Raceway, as the people with actual racecars laughed at us. We beat a kid in a Ford Escort.
I drove it at high speeds on a dry lake bed, and drove it from LA to Vermont and back. It was fun, engaging, and durable. I even slept in a sleeping bag in the front seat waiting out an ice storm on the Raton Pass in Colorado. That car was a warrior.
But I want it as it was when I graduated from college, battle scarred and slapped with obnoxious bumper stickers. I was proud when I came home to visit and my parents’ neighbors asked that I not park that “thing” in front of the house. I could have a lot of fun with that car.
But I drove it into the ground, and finally the a/c was stuck on hot, the power windows were broken, headlights were floppy, and things were just falling apart. I got a chance at a deal on a 1989 Legend, so I dumped it for basically nothing. I bet some kid grabbed it and riced the shit out of it.
Is there one that you wish was in your driveway today?
"Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street." (demon-xanth)
03/17/2017 at 09:55, STARS: 0
My 2002 Dakota. My ‘06 Ram doesn’t even come close to bringing me the joy that it gave me.
"X37.9XXS" (x379xxs)
03/17/2017 at 09:56, STARS: 2
Easiest question I will have all day
"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
03/17/2017 at 09:56, STARS: 2
My 03 Vibe. It was a total appliance, but a Swiss Army knife. Between the rear glass lifting, front passenger seat folding flat ( made long loads easy, & sleeping in it great), & the hard plastic cargo area.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/17/2017 at 10:01, STARS: 0
My first car. Not the one pictured, but it is a dead ringer, except mine had the original hubcaps on steelies.
Had 24k miles on it and it ran real strong. AM radio, PS, PB, buckets, and the Jetaway automatic. That’s it.
Sold it in 6 months because I wanted a convertible. Bought a 65 Skylark that looked gorgeous but was a POS in reality, then totalled it. One of the bigger mistakes I’ve made, car wise.
One day I will get another one just like it, perhaps in a different color though.
"Stapleface" (patrickgruden)
03/17/2017 at 10:05, STARS: 2
Hmm. I’ve owned 21 cars, and have been driving for 24 years in a couple of weeks. I’ve owned my current for a little over two years and it’s killing me because it’s too damn boring (15 Civic).
If I were to look back at the one I wish I still had, it would probably be my 1985 CRX. It was woefully slow with its 60 HP 1.3 and automatic transmission, but was it a fun car to drive regardless. It was like driving a go cart. The car got tremendous fuel economy, and I could park it pretty much anywhere. Sadly I’d probably be afraid to drive it if I were to own one today. With the proliferation of some of these monster size SUVs/CUVs and people with their heads stuck up their ass on their cell phone, that car would not fair well in any type of accident.
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
03/17/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 1
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
03/17/2017 at 11:01, STARS: 1
I still have my truck that I’ve had since I was 14. But, I miss my family’s Bronco (1990) and my moms 65 mustang.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
03/17/2017 at 11:20, STARS: 1
My 1991 Honda Civic hatchback. I will have another one.
Everytime I think about buying a car I have to pause and think “but will this really be better than a 91 Civic hatch” usually the answer is no, but also there aren’t any clean ones for sale at the time, so I buy the other thing and end up regretting it.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
03/17/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 0
Buy another old Honda, do it. Like this one. I have my eye on it, but most likely no money. https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/6014322952.html
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
03/17/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 1
Easy.
"KeedyT" (traviskeedy)
03/17/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 1
I started counting a few years ago, I’m on 32/33/34 at the moment. I miss aspects and stories from a number of them but there are really only 3 that I sorely wish younger me then desperate me had found a way to hang onto (can I have 3?)
(My bad WilliamsSW, didn’t go far enough up for the reply button)
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/17/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 0
I can very well see why you want to go with 3!!!! I would struggle with those choices, too.
34 is impressive. I’m only on numbers 10-12 now.
"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
03/17/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 2
I was so close to calling off the sale of my M3 (like, phone in hand ready to call buyer close), but let my nerves about the 100% repairable rust win and have regretted it every day since.
I still don’t have anywhere near the attachment to the S10 that I did to this thing and I guarantee I never will.
"KeedyT" (traviskeedy)
03/17/2017 at 11:46, STARS: 1
I have a problem, I’ve intended to have myself checked :-). That’s 28 years worth of cars, almost always 2 at a time, some years my names been on 3 (the better half’s) and I drive them enough that I count them.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
03/17/2017 at 11:54, STARS: 0
How is this a problem? :) Mine are over 33 years, but I’m not counting my wife’s cars. That would only add 2 anyways.
I have a different issue — I’m not buying many, but I never sell them anymore. I’ve bought 3 cars for myself in the last 20 years, and still drive them all.
"twochevrons" (twochevrons)
03/17/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 1
Mine would have been the ‘84 Rover SD1 V8 that I bought in 2006 or so. The first car I bought myself. By all conventional metrics, it should have been (and partly was) a complete disaster. I bought it sight-unseen, flying out to pick it up with absolutely no backup plan. It was rusty, the electrics worked entirely on their own terms, and the glove box filled with water whenever it rained.
That car taught me so much. Not the obvious lesson that buying an infamously unreliable model of car sight-unseen is a bad idea (I’ve done the same thing several times since), but it forced my car enthusiasm to be a more practical one. I very quickly learned how to patch up rust, fix electrical issues, tune carburettors, and tend to its various other foibles.
In many ways, it was an excellent car on which to learn ‘enthusiastic’ driving, too. It was quick, but not quick enough to get me into any serious trouble, and its handling, while surprisingly tail-happy, was predictable and easy to control – on the many occasions my youthful exuberance got the better of me, it would give me a legitimate scare and let me recover, rather than snap and send me through a hedge without warning.
Unfortunately, as a college student, I really didn’t have the resources to keep up with a maintenance-intensive, fuel-guzzling beast of a car. When the transmission started to slip, I decided to cut my losses and offload it. At the time, it was probably for the best, but now that I’m in a much better position to throw good money after bad, I’d love to have it back.
"KeedyT" (traviskeedy)
03/17/2017 at 13:07, STARS: 1
You are right really, people as a whole think I have a problem.... the only one it affects is quite happy I have a car problem instead of a drinking/partying/adultering problem :)
I’d love to have any or all 3 of those back but I realistically have only the space and funds for 1 toy at a time and I still have a list of cars I want to experience before I’m done.
"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12)
03/18/2017 at 07:19, STARS: 1
My first 300ZX
was a damn good find and I’ll never get over crashing it.