The 21 Vehicles that shared my life ...

[Allen]

My sister bought a "real" as in POS Volvo. It had a thick guard rail looking front bumper (I forgot what was on the back). The bumper was made of aluminum and probably had more scrap value than the car. My State Farm Ins agent had one that was identical. He claimed not only was the bumper cast aluminum but the brackets attaching it to the body were cast aluminum also. He said you could gently bump into a concrete curb and crack/break off the bumper.

The engine (on my sisters car) came apart around 86K miles.

She actually bought another real Volvo. She lived in Atlanta and the whole interior cooked and cracked up to nothing. No one ever sat in the rear seat and possibly the passengers seat but they decomposed as well. The a/c went out after the warranty expired and would cost more to repair than what the car was worth.

After this one she bought a different brand.

She was so proud of her first one that she took it to the mechanic that did her auto repairs and asked him to drive it and see what HE thought of it. He drove around a few minutes and returned. My sister asked him "well, what do you think about it?????" His reply was "it drives like a hospital bed".

We all have different auto experiences and like music and opinions they're all going to be different.

Don't forget: Jaguars, expensive but still not a great car, made their best improvements when owned by Ford.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Thank you for the comments. I guess I'll just have to set my sights on my other dream car - an E type Jag. Alas I understand that although beautiful, they were unreliable. For the moment though, I'll just have to continue using my Honda CRV, a vehicle that is surprisingly easy to get out of

[Allen]

Thank you for the comments. I guess I'll just have to set my sights on my other dream car - an E type Jag. Alas I understand that although beautiful, they were unreliable. For the moment though, I'll just have to continue using my Honda CRV, a vehicle that is surprisingly easy to get out of

Those made back in the 60's had those big straight 6 cylinder engines (held 9 qts of oil) that overheated in traffic. The V-12's were better I hear. If settling on the newer versions (XR8) beware of the 4.0 liter V8 engines. The 4.2 replaced them and was much better. Perhaps the best ever made by Jag.

I had an interest in them back when I was in high school. Nice used ones could be had for less than $2000 and were plentiful.

[Former Cav]

1st car. 61 Bubble Top Impala, 283-2v with a glide
69 road runner (when I came home from Nam). I called it the "road limper" A beetle would kick my ass.
69 Coronet R/T great car, I traded the runner in on it
70 Charger R/T S/E, bought it in 76 when my 69 R/T got totalled
79 Impala, 305-2v, first car with factory air
77 Olds Delta 88 350 -2v chevy motor from the factory. bought it used from mother in law it had only 30K on it.
88 K-5 Chevy Blazer. 350 TBI. The body got rust holes in it 6 months I bought it new in the summer of 88
95 Ford Bronco...good vehicle
99 Expedition...good vehicle
04 Expedition...good vehicle
13 4RUNNER... probably the best vehicle I ever had in terms of reliability
20 Explorer now. The seats fell apart in the FIRST week.
I also built and restored a 69 Charger S/E did it stock 383-4v Factory Air. drove it from 94 to 11, then I had a pro built 440-492 Cube stroker put in it. (I had to REDO that). when I got done it would do 11.73 at 113 with the A/C on, just put it in drive and stand on it. 3.23 gears. It would pass everything except a gas station.
Edelbrock heads, Lunati voodoo cam that had 513 lift. It would idle at 16 in of vacuum so the vacuum operated head light doors, vacuumbooster brakes, and vacuum trap doors for the A/C worked. ! Eagle Rods, Eagle 4.15 crank, Mahle pistons, Edelbrock intake, 800 holley double pumper that would ALWAYS leak, I put a edelbrock on and solved that problem, it was an 800 also.
I sold it like a moron to some guy in Holland

[Allen]

1st car. 61 Bubble Top Impala

My favorite Chev.

[dryheat]

My '67 Impala was a mess. I always bought (could afford) used cars. The engine smoked. The exhaust pipe actually fell off. The brakes were metal on metal. But it rode like a Cadillac. My brother had a much later model. It has 160K miles and has issues, but it rides like a Cadillac too.

[Doc Sharptail]

Not sure I could list them all.
Here are the stand-outs.

Personal favorite was an '80 GMC 3/4 ton. RWD 350 4 bbl on the small block.
In the time I had it, the only problem was the mechanical fuel pump giving up the ghost.
Utterly reliable, and a bit slightly over-built. The only vehicle I ever got a traffic ticket in, for accidentally squealing the tires.
It sat like a rock on the highway at 70 in auto o/d.
Hard on gas, but not as bad as the 350 2bbl I had in a full size window van.

'85 Ford Escort. Not all that quick, but utterly reliable. A rebadged Mazda GLC, IIRC. 5 speed manual.
We put a ton of miles on that thing, and it still ran the same when we had to trade for something bigger.
Over 250k on the clock when we let her go.

'98 Chev Astro. Of all the vehicles I went through, this was the most pleasant to drive, especially on long road trips.

There's ton's more, and I won't even attempt a list.

The least reliable, most problem prone vehicle I ever had was the last one- a 2006 chev uplander. What a waste of time and money. It has the dubious distinction of souring me on g.m. in general.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

[Johnny P]

The one I wish I had back the most.