Another almost worthless topic

Cars......both how many/types and whether they are auto or manual.

US
Chevy Nova- auto. 1973-1974 A real piece of crap which I called the blue bomb because of the smoke it produced....both inside and outside the car. Although.....at least it didn't break down on me.
Ford Cortina (US specs).manual. 1975-76.  Fun to drive, but also a piece of crap. Hard to get parts for, windshield wipers kept falling off, had to pump the clutch at times to get it to change gears.
Datsun pickup-manual. 1977-1980. Possibly my favorite vehicle....incredible gas mileage and useful for everything.
Nissan pickup- manual. 1980-84
Buick Skyhawk, auto. 1984-87. Bought from an uncle to be used during summers.
Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme.auto. 1987-89.  Bought from another uncle for summers. Sure was comfortable.
Subaru Forester. auto, 2011-15.
Also one underpowered Yamaha motorcycle from 1977-80.

Outside US
Austin Metro, manual. 1984-88.
Mini Clubman (old style). manual. 1989. Really liked this, although parts started falling off.
Honda Accord, manual. 1989-97.
Chevy Venture van, auto. 1997-99.
Toyota Lite-ace van. auto. 1999-2004
Toyota Windom. auto. 2004-2006
Honda Jazz. manual. 2006-11
Ford Fiesta. manual. 2010-11
Volkswagen Polo. manual. 2015-16

Conclusion- 9 manual, 7 auto. General attitude towards manual/auto vehicles.....the bigger it is, I'm more likely to go with an automatic. Automatics on smaller cars are not very good at getting them to get going....although they are getting better. Now that we are back in Harrogate most likely for good.....when this Polo kicks the bucket I will be going back to an automatic. All we ever do is drive around this area and there is way too much traffic.....auto's are just easier to drive in stop+go traffic.

Datsun pickup

I like little trucks....can you even get them anymore?

I like little trucks....can you even get them anymore?

Nope. They slowly got bigger and bigger over the years. "Little" pickups now are fairly big. Now.....the downside of those old little pickups is that they were really light......getting into an accident would have folded you up like a pancake. But if I were still living where we were in the US......I would buy one anyway if they made them again. Incredibly useful vehicles. But......once the safety people start getting carried away.....it's lucky everybody isn't driving tanks.

I like these sort of topics... visas are boring when it's not yourself applying for one! 

My family were one of those sort of families that had too many cars for the amount of drivers in the home! When I was 16 and 17, I had a choice of driving any of the following:

Bronze metallic 71 Pontiac Firebird
Brown 79 Honda Civic
Giant white Ford Crew Cab (early 70s)
Green Chevy pickup (early 70s)
yellow 71 Porsche 914
white Baja Bug
blue Baja Bug
black Corvair with red interior!

When I moved out and started buying my own cars:
white 79 Datsun pickup with a 'shell' which was fully carpeted in light blue shag-pile!
grey Mazda pickup with white stripes

Then came the bikes-- I had 3 different Honda Nighthawks (all early 80's models)-- a blue 250, a maroon 450, and a yellow 700.

I moved to the UK in 1985.  These are the cars I've had since I came here:

G-reg white Nissan Patrol
L-reg white Jeep Cherokee
R-reg black Subaru Forester
2007 blue Renault Megane estate (technically not mine, as it was a company car)
51-reg black Suzuki Jimny

Currently I'm driving a silver 56 reg Megane convertible, but it leaks!  So I'm looking at changing it... tempted toward getting a new Dacia Duster, possibly. 

eta: all cars were manual apart from the Firebird and the 2 huge old trucks.

56 reg Megane convertible, but it leaks!  So I'm looking at changing it... tempted toward getting a new Dacia Duster, possibly. 

Update:  I've now got the Dacia Duster... 63 reg with only 10k miles.  Loving it, and no more leaks! 

I had a 74 Nova with a straight 6. That thing ran forever.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Just noticed the post above from Albatross that talks about a camper shell with a "shag pile ". 

Snicker!

I used to have a 1970 C150 pick up truck with a camper shell, sadly without a carpet for shags.  Once I found myself in a giant gravel parking lot, so I started doing doughnuts.  I heard a mighty crash as the camper shell was ripped off by centripedal force (help me physics geeks).  I drove away in a blind panic but was recognised and later forced to take it to the dump.

Oooo, fun one!  I love cars!

US:
1987 Nissan Maxima - auto.  My first car.  I can't believe my parents let me drive around in this P.O.S.  They must not have loved me!     Used to break down so much that I was a MEMBER of Nationwide Towing Club and I got a 15% discount.  This was before cell phones.

1996 Honda del Sol - auto.  Loved this car.  Red, targa top, two seater.  My dad also loved this car and would borrow it at every opportunity.  HE TOTALLED IT.  I thought the kid was supposed to total Dad's car - not the other way around.

2000 Nissan Maxima - auto.  My super boring car I got after my dad totalled my del Sol.  One of two cars I've bought new.  Had it 8 years and drove it into the ground.  Was a good car though too boring for someone my age!

2007 Acrua TSX - auto.  My other bought-from-new car.  LOVED this car.  I got in a horrible accident in this car and walked away without a scratch.  The photos are pretty terrifying!

2006 Acura TL - auto.  LOVE LOVE LOVED this car.  Had to sell when moving here.

While all the cars I owned in the US were automatics, I could drive a stick.  My family also had "extra" cars and there was always a stick or two floating around.  Most notable were a 1980 Ford Bronco and a 1966 Ford Mustang.  Those were fun cars!

UK:
2003 Nissan 350z - stick.  Ugh, this car was just too fun.  Bright blue.  3.5 liter V6.  I got very annoyed at how many Brits would tell me this was a man's car. Get over yourself.  I looked hot in it!  Had to sell when I got pregnant (two seater)

2006 BMW M5 - electronic manual.  So when I was sad that I had to get a practical car as I was having a baby, I turned to a 5 liter V10.     Four doors, so perfectly sensible.  Silverstone blue (I'm not normally into silly names but that color describes it perfectly).  Also managed to get 12-13 miles per gallon.     Was very fun but I got it out of my system.  Over £1,000 for a service.  £300 for a new battery.  But the killer was I had to start commuting after being home based.  A tank of gas every two days was redic.  So she had to go.   

2012 Mercedes C220 - auto.  Along the lines of my Maxima where it's a very sensible car.  At least it's red.  And has a panoramic roof.

I like cars a lot.  Unfortunately it's starting to rub off on my husband.  When we met, he enjoyed telling me he had a sporty car (a Vauxhall Astra   ).  Then he saw my 350z.  His taste is getting expensive now!  He gets really annoyed that I give him a budget and make him stay in it.

I don't believe in buying new cars.  They don't make sense financially.  I've had some of the fun cars I have had, *only* because I've bought used.  I also only buy what I can afford at the time and don't do car payments anymore.  Just my preference.

I've given up on trying to be attractive to the opposite sex, so this is my current car


A Skoda Roomster, which is actually an OK car if you've given up on life and have things to carry.

KF Dancer, I have to say that all your cars sound fun!  In fact, a lot of the cars listed would be a blast.  A Corvair especially.

Already posted , but I can't help reposting my best and worst VW bus:



Here's a Datsun 260 z, mine was just like this

Love the description of your car!  Nothing wrong with it!  It's certainly not boring.

I look forward to my daughter being out of a car seat.  The guy I bought my M5 from was selling as his daughters were old enough to go in boosters - so he bought a Porsche 911 (since Porsche's have backseats).  I liked his thinking!  I still hope I'll have an Aston Martin before too long.  But that will be determined by 1.  Kid situation - safety first after all.  2.  If I can manage to keep my husband in a practical car so I can have the fun car.     At some point we'll probably buy a stupidly unpractical fun car.  But considering we've had exactly two date nights in the last year, not much point at the moment. 

I sold that VW bus to a guy with a kid who drove it away with a car seat in the front seat.  It had drum brakes that were so leaky you had to mail in your requests for a stop one week in advance.  I almost called the cops on him for his own safety.

You are lucky to be able to drive to work in a cool car.  Commuting by train is brutal.

What is it about an Aston Martin that attracts you?  Sounds impractical and expensive.

Just noticed the post above from Albatross that talks about a camper shell with a "shag pile ". 

Snicker!

I know... classic! 
My parents were apoplectic with rage when I got that!

When we met, he enjoyed telling me he had a sporty car (a Vauxhall Astra   ).  Then he saw my 350z. 

Haha!  Brilliant!

1972 Pontiac Lemans, quite used when I bought it. My first. Automatic, I think. Blue with unpainted bondo in one of the rear quarter panels. Lovely bench seats - remember those? Not necessarily the most comfortable, but if your sweetie was riding shotgun [note: I had no sweetie then] it made for better scooching over than bucket seats…

Late 70s or early 80s Mazda, don't remember the model. Nothing special. Automatic.
Correction: Monza.

Volkswagon Dasher, also of uncertain vintage and transmission. My hair was longer then, too.


Call campus security.

That was my last car for a little while. Did some hitchhiking.

On the road again: Toyota Tercel, stick shift. I loved this car. Treated it terribly; apparently had no idea that Toyotas needed oil. Burned out an engine, replaced it. Totalled when somebody rammed into me zooming out of a gas station. My introduction to the jaws of life.



My wife had a red car for a while. Sorry, don't remember what it was. Automatic. It suffered from various seemingly undiagnosable ailments, and applying the brakes could require advanced notice.

1992 Toyota Corolla, automatic. Bought with 5k miles, the newest car we've ever owned. Carried us across the US. Eventually shipped it to the UK, the mafia-types who booked it in warning us not to leave the dustbuster in the back seat as it might get stolen. Turns out goodfellas give good advice.



Very fond of this one, which my mechanic always called a "left hooker". Died of neglect (a broken heart, it's said) when we both went without a British licence for a stretch.


The buyer thought he might be able to get good resale price for the moss.

2005 Toyota Corolla, automatic; a "right hooker", if you will. It gets us where we need to go, and the local fauna like it.


Looks like this except different colour. And it's a hatchback.

Did some hitchhiking.

The hat and the setting made me think of:



“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert......”