My Relatively Ancient Automobile History

I've always had an interest in cars. Not like most guys. I was not a gear head, always wanting to go fast. My interest was more along the lines of the history and efficiency gains that have happened over the years. I am originally from the Detroit area, and have family that had been in the industry for years. I have owned a number of cars in my lifetime, and each of my cars affected me in some way.

'71 Datsun 1200 - 1983

My very first car that I owned was a 1971 Datsun 1200 that I borrowed money from my sister to buy while I was off at college in 1983. It was nothing special, but it forced me to learn how to drive a stick in a hurry. It gave me some freedom, and it was super easy to learn the basic workings of a car of that era. A friend, who was a gear head, showed me how to rebuild the carburetor. Then after I move back to Colorado another friend helped me to change out the transmission.

'76 Mercury Comet - 1985

A little while after I moved back home I realized that my mother HATED that car. She thought it was a death trap. It was a bit of a tin can, but it ran great. Regardless, I folded under mom's pressure to trade cars with her. She gave me her 1976 Mercury Comet, and she sold my Datsun 1200. To this day I still have fond memories of that car.

One of the things that didn't make sense to me when comparing the 1200 to the Comet was how a car 5 years newer (the Comet), yet no bigger inside could be almost half as efficient. I hated the Comet. My mom bought it when I was 11, and it was a piece of shit from day one. I resented being forced to take this thing. I held onto the Comet for a couple years until I just couldn't stand it anymore.

'83 Ford EXP - 1987

I bought a 1983 Ford EXP, a 2 seater version of the Ford Escort. It was a fun little car, and had some nice features. It wasn't much more efficient than the Comet, but it felt a little nicer. Unfortunately I slammed it into a curb when the road was shear ice. I had it repaired, which was my first time having to deal with a major suspension issue. I remember it costing me about $650 for all the repairs. For me at the time, that was expensive. Not too long after that I found that the power steering fluid was leaking. Not wanting to dump more money into this car, it was time to sell it after owning it for maybe a year.

'85 Ford Ranger - 1988

It probably was not a good time for me to be buying a vehicle, but after discussing it with my then fiance, we figure it was needed. This was 1988 and we were to be married that fall. We went down to a dealership and bought a 3 year old Ford Ranger 4x4. My first 4 wheel drive vehicle.

The Ranger was a departure for me. I never saw myself as a truck guy, but having a truck became very handy. I hauled wood for the fireplace down from the mountains. I went 4 wheeling with my wife once, but I don't think she enjoyed it that much. I learned and started big game hunting. This truck came in very handy for that. My friends called me the bush hunter because I could get my Ranger up 4 wheel trails that their trucks were too big to fit.

'90 Mazda Protege` - 1990

But now there were 2 adults dealing with vehicles in the house. My wife had an old Subaru GL that she had since just out of high school. We sold that and bough our first brand new car, a 1990 Mazda Protege. We intentionally got a 4 door because at some point we were going to have kids. That eventuality came in 1992 when our 1st son was born. But that was "her car" and I had the truck.

That truck surprisingly kept me happy for about 10 years. Repairs were getting harder and harder to deal with when it would break down, and we were making pretty good money by the late 90s.

'97 Chevy 1500

I took my sister up on her family discount for a new GM vehicle. We bought a 1997 Chevy 1500 4x4 pickup. It was a nice truck, but not great for the gas mileage. It was the first time I went into some expense on a nice car stereo. Once of my good friends also helped me install sub-woofers. It was quite the thump-er.

'01 Chevy Tahoe

I changed career paths in the late 90s, and a few years later my wife was needing to get a different vehicle. I was resigned us to the eventuality of getting a minivan, but she wasn't having it. She pressured me into a 2001 Chevy Tahoe. Luckily we could afford it with my sister's family discount. This thing was so comfortable. Clearly the nicest vehicle I had ever dreamed of owning.

The problem came when my wife and I started having issues, which eventually lead to getting a divorce. I was fine with keeping the 97 truck for a few more years, but she could not afford the Tahoe payments, so we had to sell it. It was only a year old, and we kept it clean. Some time in early to mid 2002 I sold it by putting signs in the windows and parking it at the grocery store. It sold in a week for exactly what I asked for it. It was a fair price, but since I got the family discount I made a bit more than what we owed on it.

'96 Honda Accord - 2002

I decided to take a contract job in Denver, and driving the truck to Denver daily was not very affordable. I kept the truck, but bought the Honda Account as a commuter. Buy this car was a bit odd. I don't recall how I found it, but bought it from a "reseller", and it had a salvage title. This was due to a lot of hail damage. This car was in great shape otherwise. I figured I could keep this car for a few years as a commuter.

I put a really great stereo in this car, with an amplifier and sub-woofer. It kept me entertained on the daily drive to Denver. It kept me very happy until late 2004 when it became obvious that the brake system was failing miserably. The first hint was when I tapped a lady driving a BMW on I-25 because I was unable to stop in time. My friend Evans was with me. He was sitting in the car on the shoulder, and was cracking up when I was talking to the very pretty lady that was driving the BMW. He was sure I was hitting on her because we were both laughing. The reason for the laughter was because I found out she is a lawyer, and I had a tiny panic attack.  She was actually really great. We couldn't see any damage. I gave her my number and said if they have it checked out and find a problem, to contact me.

A few weeks later I was in the drive thru at the McDonalds near my house and as I was sitting there with the brakes on, waiting for the people in front of me to move, my foot slowly went to the floor. I suddenly started moving forward. Luckily I noticed in time before I hit the car in front of me.

I started thinking about working on the Honda's brakes, but decided I should probably just buy a new car. I contacted my sister to find out what GM was making that was good. She recommended the Pontiac Vibe. This Honda was the first trade in I had ever done. Usually I sell my own cars. Used car dealers are vultures.

'03 Pontiac Vibe GT - 2003

I started looking for one, but was wanting to test drive the standard Vibe and the Vibe GT. Once I test drove the GT I knew there was no way I would be satisfied with the standard. Then within the first 6 months of owning the Vibe, my sister and my niece both bought Vibes (they got the automatic transmission). All three of them were silver. When we were all together at Christmas it was really confusing.

The Vibe GT was a champ. It was such a great performer, and I was planning to keep it for a long time. Unfortunately I was hit on my way to work, totaling my Vibe. I started looking for a replacement Vibe GT, and found that Pontiac stopped making the GT version. I was so frustrated. I probably should have tested a standard Vibe, but started discussing other cars. My sister told me about all the awards the new Malibu was receiving...

'08 Plymouth PT Cruiser (rental) - 2008

While I was looking for a replacement vehicle, I was given a rental. This was the PT Cruiser. All I can say is... WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT. I had to drive this thing to Michigan for Christmas. I was appalled at the horrific gas mileage this thing got. I didn't even get 20 MPG on the highway, in a 4 cylinder with no guts. On top of that, this thing didn't have cruise control. Yes, I said the PT Cruiser did not have cruise control.

'08 Chevy Malibu LTZ - 2008

I went into a search for a Malibu. In 2008 the economy took a major negative turn, so people were not buying vehicles. The only exception to the poor sales was the Malibu. I guess all the awards made it the only Chevy that was selling. I looked at dealerships in Colorado Springs and Denver. I again wanted to look at the top of the line version, LTZ. I found one in Denver, and went to take a test drive. I loved the car, but the color combination of the LTZ I test drove was not good. A week later I found one in Colorado Springs.

I drove the hell out of this car for the next 8 years. I drove to Denver 3 or 4 times a week, and crossed the country once or twice a year. It had power, comfort, and looks. The only thing I didn't like about it was the driver's seat frame. It broke twice in 8 years. Also, it was the first car that I did not replace the stereo, although it was a pretty good stereo for a factory.

On March 31, 2016 Tesla starting taking deposits for their new and cheaper all electric car. I stood in line that day to put down my deposit.

I decided at 270,000 miles that I should replace the Malibu. I wasn't sure how it would do if I kept driving it until my Tesla was made, so I bought a Subaru.

'04 Ford Ranger - 2013

I had a dilemma... I had a lot of things I needed to do to the house. Hauling wood and dirt in the Malibu was not a good option. On top of this, my youngest son was turning 16 soon. I decided to buy a truck for my projects, then when the time came, Erik could use it for driving to school and eventually work.

I contacted Rick. He is a guy that was dating a friend of mine and worked at Phil Long Ford. I asked him to be on the look out for a used truck that wouldn't cost much, but was in decent shape. A week later he called me with one. He warned me that the 4 wheel drive was out, but other than that it ran really good. I usually hate buying from used car dealerships, but he was being up front with me, and said that due to the 4WD problem they would usually sell it off to a wholesaler. He said they would sell it to me at the wholesale price. It was a very fair deal.

I got my projects done and taught my son to drive a stick in this thing. Then it started showing its age. The clutch was needing to be fixed, so I also had my shop diagnose the 4WD issue. They said the transfer case was shot. I asked them to find a used transfer case. It is now pretty solid. We keep having issues, but fixing these things are easier and cheaper than buying my son a new vehicle.

We still have the truck, and Erik has it up at college. I doubt I will ever buy a Ranger again, but it hasn't been a terrible experience. Erik is tired of all the minor issues that come up, but its a good vehicle for him to learn things on. They are relatively easy to work on.

'16 Subaru Crosstrek - 2016

My sister had retired from GM, I had a final family discount I could use, but the only car GM was making that I cared anything about was the Volt. I had been following the development and news about the Volt for years. I was trying to use my family discount to get one, but apparently GM wasn't allowing it. This pissed me off, so I went to my Consumer Reports Buyer's Guide and looked up their ratings on small SUVs. The Crosstrek was at the top of their list, and the bonus was that it was cheaper than any other in its class. I then researched resale value, and saw that the Subarus, and specifically Crosstreks hold onto their value very well. I put a list of 3 compact SUVs on a list to test drive. This included the Subaru Crosstrek, Chevy Trax, and Honda HR-V.

None of these 3 cars has spectacular speed. I thought the HR-V was too noisy, and the Trax was ok, but I didn't see it holding its value. Chevy's never really do. The Crosstrek was a nicely equipped car. I have been really happy with it. Now it's it time to sell it, because I have taken possession of my Tesla.

'18 Tesla Model 3 - Dual Motor - 2018

The name sake of this blog is finally here, and the rest of this blog will be about the experiences of ordering and enjoying this vehicle (knock on wood).