My first car was a ??.

[Merc]

First vehicle was a '68 Ford F-250 camper special. Was a front-end total, paid 300.00 . Took over a year to get it on the road, but ready when I got my drivers license. Had a 300 straight six with 4 speed manual.

The few dirt track stock cars drivers around here used to love the torque developed by that powerful 300 CI straight six cylinder truck engine. It would rev quickly and walk away from the V8s on the straight aways.

[lyman]

my second vehicle was a 77 ford F100 shortbed
300 with a 3 spd,

motor was excellent, trans,, despite a 3 spd , was good, the linkage to the column shifter was trash, I put a floor shift kit in it,

[dryheat]

What was your tenth vehicle? I've had around twenty over the years. I know guys who have owned fifty, but I'm not a car guy. Absolute worst? The AMC Pacer. Yes, I actually owned one and at the time I thought it was kind of cool. AMC made some of the goofiest looking cars ever made and I made fun of Citroens. The Pacer broke down weekly. Somethings broke over and over. I got to where I could pull over, raise the hood, fix something and be one my way in minutes. The best car? The Toyotas. After 120 thousand miles the seat belts wouldn't retract. My friend's daughter was gifted his Toyota. She sold it at 300 thousand miles. Remember the bumper sticker: I'd eat...how did it go?

[Allen]

What was your tenth vehicle?

My first car really was a ??

My grandmother gave me her car, a '61 Falcon, she bought a '63 Nova, decided she wanted the Falcon back so we swapped. I didn't care for the Nova, sold it, gave her the $ back and my parents bought me a '66 Olds Toronado. Loved it and would probably still have it except it started to rust inside where the windshield met the metal part of the dash. The metal was textured like leather so I didn't see how any body shop could have repaired it. Aftermarket body part panels weren't made back then.

Of course I didn't know that in the future the car would be worth something. All above mentioned cars were used.

File photo of what I had including the color.

[dryheat]

That's a beauty. I had a 66 Pontiac GTO. It had the funky tail lights that were dropped in 67. The rear window was so rusted that when it rained the trunk would fill up with water. When you hit the brakes a tsunami would flow forward all the way to your feet. It would have made a great movie sketch.

[Allen]

That's a beauty. I had a 66 Pontiac GTO. It had the funky tail lights that were dropped in 67. The rear window was so rusted that when it rained the trunk would fill up with water. When you hit the brakes a tsunami would flow forward all the way to your feet. It would have made a great movie sketch.

That was the problem with the cars of the 60's and 70's including the imports.

My trunk and back floor mats got wet a few times on that Toronado. I removed the rear window glass and re-sealed it with a tar like substance. No rust though, just a bad seal I guess.

[Merc]

I probably have owned 20 cars since 1964.

Absolute worst? 1998 Chevrolet Venture Van and a 1995 Buick Roadmaster. We had the bad luck to own them both at the same time. They were mechanical disasters.

Absolute best? Two Toyotas that we bought new and still own. The 2011 Sienna and the 2018 Highlander Hybrid. Both are very reliable.

[Allen]

Best: Considering the miles I put on a vehicle vs repairs they've all been the best. Mostly Ford products.

Worse: 2002 Chevy Camaro I bought for my daughter, still under fac warranty.

Far Worse: Mercedes Benz. Bought used from a realtor with 50K miles. Kept it about 5 years and sold it with 57K miles. Spent most of it's time swinging on the back of a wrecker. Could not find parts for it (5 different engines used that year), no one wanted to work on it, could not trade it in, even at the Mercedes dealer. VERY flimsy made compared to U.S. vehicles.

[lyman]

What was your tenth vehicle? I've had around twenty over the years. I know guys who have owned fifty, but I'm not a car guy. Absolute worst? The AMC Pacer. Yes, I actually owned one and at the time I thought it was kind of cool. AMC made some of the goofiest looking cars ever made and I made fun of Citroens. The Pacer broke down weekly. Somethings broke over and over. I got to where I could pull over, raise the hood, fix something and be one my way in minutes. The best car? The Toyotas. After 120 thousand miles the seat belts wouldn't retract. My friend's daughter was gifted his Toyota. She sold it at 300 thousand miles. Remember the bumper sticker: I'd eat...how did it go?

2015 Honda Civic,

my to and fro car

currently on it's 7th week in the body shop waiting on a hood,,

hit a deer in the middle of Nov,
car driveable, and no appts for the estimate till Dec,
then scheduled for 1/31 due to back logs etc,

and after a few days, there was some issue with the hood ordered,, and none available,

so now using my 7th vehicle as a daily driver,,, 2000 tundra

[Dan in NH]

Merc, you're right. that 300 straight six had all kinds of torque coupled with the creeper gear it could haul anything. Had no problem moving a bed full of firewood and a trailer full of same out of the woods

[Merc]

One of the race cars front wheels would lift off the ground when the driver hit high revs. He was the winner in most of his races. I wonder how long Ford made that engine.

Edit - 1965 to 1996.

[kj47]

I believe the 300 six was discontinued in 1996. had one w/ 4:11 gears 4speed.

[Johnny P]

Not my first car, but of all I have ever had the one I wish I had now. Third or fourth owner down the line smashed up the front end and sold it for scrap.

Ordered it, and took 5 or 6 weeks to come in. When it came in they had left off the SS427 package and had to reorder.

[Allen]

Big bucks back then.

[Merc]

$36219 in todays dollars.