by "Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
Published 04/02/2017 at 22:41
by "Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
Published 04/02/2017 at 22:41
Tags: Looking Back
STARS: 2
I remember around the time I was out of a childseat mother had a Geo Metro. Being the only car I really experienced I never really thought anything of cars. I was only into fire trucks and semis (which I refered to as “truck truck beep beeps” for most of my younger years). I know that after that car my mother vowed to never have a hatchback again. To this day even a Lexus CT is a penalty box to her due to bodystyle.
After the Geo was an Oldsmobile Achieva Sedan which I remember she loved and was used for a lot of road trips. I really liked the car because she really liked it and I remember she made a five hour drive to Colorado Springs, drove around for a week and filled up on the way back home. I know this because she always references this experience when the car is brought up. Fuel range wins over many people just as often as power, Oppo. Eventually the driver seat caught fire in the driveway and fire trucks came to put it out, which was a great moment in my childhood! The Achieva made dreams come true for me.
There was an Oldsmobile Cutlass after the Achieva which killed all the love she had gained for Oldsmobiles and I remember that she vowed to never purchase a 4-cylinder car again. I also know that when once she prioritized price and perceived value, reliability and ease of ownership became the biggest metric in which she would judge all vehicles and she was now willing to pay the premium.
The last car is a 2004 Toyota Camry which she bought brand new in 2003. That was probably the best car out of any of these. I remember being at the Toyota dealership and they had some car called a “Spyder.” I wanted her to buy that car purely because spyder was the coolest name I ever heard for a car! I also remember that she tested out a Honda Accord V6 right after the Camry V6 and hated the ride quality compared to the Camry (they did have vastly different levels of isolation). The salesman kept talking about the Accord’s athleticism and how it would out corner the Camry and my mom asked what corners did she need to “hotrod” around. That experience from when I was around 14 or 15 years old made me think sporty cars were pretty weird purchases for regular driving when you could have comfort and zero stress at the same price.
***
So, from my mother I learned that:
1. Hatchbacks were the lowest form of transportation you could buy.
2. Fuel range is power.
3. Random car fires are the best way to get a fire truck in front of your house.
4. The devil lives in 4-cylinder engines.
5. Comfort > Sporty.
Then about 3 years ago I turned into an enthusiast and ended up with quite a few shocks as you may be able to guess.
Next time Ill tell you how my stepdad’s car purchases impacted me.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
04/02/2017 at 22:48, STARS: 1
Other than the Achevia those selections seem very mundane. My parents test for a car was 1. Does it run? 2. Is it cheap. This resulted in two Datsun hatchbacks, an olds cutlass sierra, 1968 Buick Electra, and finally a 1989 Subaru XT.
"ToyotaFamily" (robbav35)
04/02/2017 at 22:54, STARS: 1
Now that you mention it, a parent’s car choices influences you a lot in the cars you buy when you’re older. My dad never really was a one brand or body style type of car buyer so we had some variety of cars at home, kinda explains why I’m the same.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
04/02/2017 at 22:57, STARS: 0
For me my parents cars had a huge impact. Namely that every since car my parents had was American, and lame. Aside from a couple of lovable trucks my Dad had they were all boring. From oldest to most recent that can remember. A Dodge van, like full size van not a Caravan, then a Buick Century wagon with red vinyl seats that stuck to your legs on hot days, then a green second gen Sable wagon with that key pad in the driver’a door, then the worst a 99 Turaus sadan. This was the worst because I had to got from sitting the back, facing the rear, minding my own business to sitting between my parents in the front seat. Yeah the thrid gen Taurus was a six seater sedan. That was replaced by a Focus wagon with a manual trans that was way cooler, and sadly that was replaced by a Ford Escape AWD with the 4 banger, that was not enough for a car that size.
Any way I grew up with this vision that American cars, were for your parents. They were boring normal family cars, but imports, Hondas, Nissans, Mitsubishi, Subaru anything that wasn’t an old fashioned American car was something special. Something to aspire too. I even used to claim I’d never own an inferior American car, which I haven’t, but I’m sure it won’t stay that way as I want to expand my automotive horizons.
"C62030" (c62030)
04/02/2017 at 22:59, STARS: 3
My parents’ car choices basically taught me not to buy a Chrysler unless your repair budget consists of a small lottery win.
"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
04/02/2017 at 23:04, STARS: 0
Parent’s cars in no particular order:
Chevy Cobalt
Ford windstar
Dodge caravan (elite! which I am not sure was actually a trim level since I can’t find any info on it)
I think my dad had a pontiac grand prix when I was young, but I really don’t remember it.
I got my enthusiasn from my dad taking me to car shows and from my grandfather. It’s in my genes.
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
04/02/2017 at 23:07, STARS: 0
My Dad bought a 99 V10 Ram 2500 in 02 or 03. It was his dream truck at the time black with a red stripe on the belt trim. He got it with 80,000 miles at a super good price.
A month later he found out it was running on 7 cylinders because the spark plus we original to the truck and fouled but had also basically welded themselves in place. So the heads had to be pulled off and replaced. So from that I learn “if it seems like too good of a deal, it probably is”. Not that I’ve ever actually applied that lesson in my life.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
04/03/2017 at 00:58, STARS: 0
I learned that you must own at least one reliable car at all times. I don’t care if you want to drive something really old and British every day, you’d better have something that just runs when you need it.
The fact they drove crap also gave me a strong drive to own nice cars. Having dealt with uncomfortable, hot, noisy, rough-riding crapboxes until I was old enough to buy my own car, I learned from experience to appreciate the finer things. It still brings me more joy than it probably should to push that “A/C” button and feel that cool air coming out of the vents. Both my cars now have dual-zone climate control, which I thought was the absolute height of decadence until I got heated seats and a heated steering wheel... I am embarrassed to fathom that I experience such ridiculous opulence on a daily basis; the young me would be amazed.
I also realize that it’s a miracle I’m alive, considering the death traps I grew up riding in.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
04/03/2017 at 01:11, STARS: 1
The only American brand worth buying is Ford. GM still makes crap (aside from the Corvette, but who wants to deal with the lifestyle that is Corvette ownership?) and Fiat Chrysler is a dumpster fire. Of course, they all sucked as recently as the 90s, though Ford’s small cars have had some huge bonuses from their ownership/partnership with Mazda for at least the last 25-30 years. Though they sort of sucked in design, assembly, and materials, the Mazda guts were super reliable.
Also, in the modern world, Honda and Nissan are just a shadow of their former selves, while Mitsubishi is an embarrassment (that caters exclusively to subprime buyers). Subaru is decent now, but their soul is getting sucked out by Toyota, so soon they’ll be an empty shell lacking all the gooey weirdness that made them worth buying (I mean, they just changed their name from “Fuji Heavy Industries” to “Subaru Corporation”, which I suspect means they won’t do the extreme levels of weird they were known for anymore, which is very sad). Mazda is suffering a similar fate at the hands of Toyota...
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
04/03/2017 at 03:41, STARS: 0
Since I can remember, my parents always had a 505 as a family hauler (5 different cars over the years) and most of the time a Pajero (also several)as a trailer hauler.Today I own 2 505s and a 3 Pajeros (2 parts cars), so...