Today I read an article on the Internet that listed the 7 car companies that are either already obsolete or will soon be. One of them was American Motors Corporation. The picture that accompanied AMC was the Pacer. It brought back so many memories because it was my second car; not my first one but the first one I picked out. So I decided to write a retrospective on the many cars I have owned. Some good, some great, and some horrible mistakes!
Mine was white!
Actual color!
Believe it or not, I actually picked this car out! It was very comfortable, and mine was this very color!! David called it my "lunar rover." And you could see it from one end of Powell to the other!
Not the prettiest...Next was another hand-me-down. It was a Ford Granada. Silver. It had been my step-mothers and she was getting a new car. My dad felt sorry for me because I was pregnant with Sarah and it was the summer, it was hot, and I had no air conditioning. I will always appreciate that gift!
I loved this car!!
This car was one of my all time favorites. Just after Sarah was born we splurged and got our first brand new car. It was loaded and I loved it. The cloth seats were plaid! It would have lasted us a while except that we did not really know about putting oil in the car...and it blew a rod or something like that. Expensive lesson!
In 1988, I graduated from UT and the first thing I did-before I even got a job was to buy this new car I had seen advertised. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. It was not however very dependable. It broke down on me twice. So we promptly got rid of it!
My neighbor said it looked like a hearse!
This began my affection for the minivan! I owned two of these. I kept each one about 2 years! First a gray one and then a powder blue one! They sure were convenient for hauling around kids and sports equipment.
Another van. This time a bright green Ford Aerostar. I remember driving it for the first time and looking in the rear view mirror and being amazed at how long it was. We took some great vacations in it.
The last van I had was a great car as well. It was a brand new Ford Windstar. It was a pretty champagne color and very comfortable. We took a trip to the Outer Banks when it was a few months old and on the way home bought a styrofoam cooler full of fresh shrimp to take home with us. It was packed in ice so we left it in the car the last night and when we got up the next morning, we discovered the cooler had a home in it and shrimp juice had leaked out. It was filling up the holes in the floorboard and had soaked the carpet. We had parked it with the back end higher than the front so it spread from the back to the front. There was a puddle under the accelerator. That smell never left. Another big mistake!
So as soon as I could I got rid of it. I wanted a Land Rover and so I got a Land Rover. BIGGEST mistake. It was used and it had all kinds of maintenance issues. And it costs a lot to work on a Land Rover. We bought it from a used car lot and traded in the Windstar. The problem was that the used car lot never paid off the Windstar. So several months later we heard from Ford Motor Credit that we were in trouble for being behind on our loan. It took YEARS to get our credit fixed after that!
Well, I guess you can see a pattern here. Years of bad decisions in the car department. So this time I decided to be practical. I got a Toyota Camry. It was nice and new, but I just saw myself as a SUV kind of girl so off we went to the KIA dealer and...
bought a brand new loaded Sorento. That was 61/2 years ago and I still love it. It was the smartest car decision we had made. It has a 100,000 mile warranty and we are still 10,000 miles away from that.
I must admit I am starting to get the itch to buy again. Maybe looking back will remind me of the bad choices and help me to appreciate driving my PAID FOR car!!
6 comments:
I remember you owning some of those cars! And I also remember the shrimp story lol! The new car itch is quite annoying at times; but just think of all the kitchen gadgets you can buy if you don't have a car payment!
You are so right! And baby clothes!!
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by Tater Tales. Good luck in the giveaway!
I teach 5th grade, and I teach Science to 2 classes. Bless those students' hearts! This is my first year back to work after being at home for three, and I nearly died when my principal offered me the Science block! It's been interesting, to say the least!
My husband is a UT grad, too -- 1984.
Thanks again for visiting!
Tater Mama
Great post! Brought back some memories - mostly of being in high school and driving the Rover. I guess you have started the car hand-me-down pattern by passing off the Camry. You helped me get a good start on smart car buying. Thanks!
I remember hitting a mailbox in the Pacer.(I was driving) The Ford Grenada (actually a Mercury Monarch) was passed along to Monica and I. Good memories! Didn't the Pacer belong to Cindy first?
Mark-you are right it was a Monarch. But I thought I remembered getting the Pacer off the lot on Clinton Highway. Maybe I am wrong.
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