What kind of car do you have? (Part II)

[Molandfreak]

Current family fleet: 2014 Mazda 3 hatchback, 2012 Ford Focus hatchback, 2008 Toyota Highlander, 2008 Honda Odyssey, 1989 Ford Probe GT hatchback, 1967 Ford Mustang.

[freebrickproductions]

I personally drive a 2004 Toyota Sienna LE.
The rest of my family drives the following cars:
My brother - a 1998 Toyota Tacoma
My mom - a Mazda 3 (forget the model year)
My dad - a 2001 Honda Accord

[catch22]

2003 Ford Explorer Sport (mine, semi-retired, our "run to the home center to get stuff" car)
2014 Ford Escape (wife's, and our "weekend and trip" car)

Previous cars (both of us):
1998 Mercury Villager minivan
1995 Ford Explorer Sport
1991 Ford Ranger - Sold to wife's nephew in 1998, still running (barely) with just over 300K on the clock.
1989 Ford Bronco II
1983 Ford Ranger
1980 Ford Fiesta (1 each - we had "his and hers" for a while).  Best handling snow cars ever.
1978 Ford Mustang II
1977 Ford F-150 pickup
1976 or 77 Ford Mustang II coupe - g/f's (now wife) hand-me-down beater from her sister.  Engine died a horrible death due to lack of coolant (long story, not my fault.  )
1974 Ford Mustang II fastback  - Totaled in 1977 when someone ran a red and t-boned me.
1974 AMC Gremlin
1972 Ford Pinto hatchback - Worst car by far of the entire lot. Only lasted 53K miles.
1968 Ford Mustang - Bought used (very) from my mom, used as my commuter car until it died.
1966 Ford Cortina
1957 Chevy Bel-Air 4-door sedan - Bequeathed to me for one summer by the lady across the street when I was in high school.  6-cyl/auto, the slowest car of the lot.

You no doubt notice a trend towards Fords. I'm the only male in my family who wasn't a Ford lifer.  All the new ones from 1974 on have been "A/Z Plan" employee discount purchases.

[bugo]

1978 Ford Mustang II
1977 Ford F-150 pickup
1976 or 77 Ford Mustang II coupe - g/f's (now wife) hand-me-down beater from her sister.  Engine died a horrible death due to lack of coolant (long story, not my fault.  )
1974 Ford Mustang II fastback  - Totaled in 1977 when someone ran a red and t-boned me.
1968 Ford Mustang - Bought used (very) from my mom, used as my commuter car until it died.

What did the Mustangs and the pickup have in them? We had a '75 and a '78 Mustang when I was a kid. The '78 had a V6 and was totally gutless but the '75 had a 302 and would scream. The perfect car for smoking the rear tires. Also, I had a '77 F100 pickup with a 302 and a 3 speed manual on the floor. It originally came out with an automatic, but some previous owner replaced it with the 3 speed and they didn't put the right shifter in, so you had to shift a certain way to get into 2nd gear. I was the only one who could drive it.

[catch22]

1978 Ford Mustang II
1977 Ford F-150 pickup
1976 or 77 Ford Mustang II coupe - g/f's (now wife) hand-me-down beater from her sister.  Engine died a horrible death due to lack of coolant (long story, not my fault.  )
1974 Ford Mustang II fastback  - Totaled in 1977 when someone ran a red and t-boned me.
1968 Ford Mustang - Bought used (very) from my mom, used as my commuter car until it died.

What did the Mustangs and the pickup have in them? We had a '75 and a '78 Mustang when I was a kid. The '78 had a V6 and was totally gutless but the '75 had a 302 and would scream. The perfect car for smoking the rear tires. Also, I had a '77 F100 pickup with a 302 and a 3 speed manual on the floor. It originally came out with an automatic, but some previous owner replaced it with the 3 speed and they didn't put the right shifter in, so you had to shift a certain way to get into 2nd gear. I was the only one who could drive it.

The 74 and 77 Mustang IIs were the 2.8L V6 with a 4-speed manual.  Decently quick but no speed demons.  The 76/77 (can't recall which) that my wife had briefly was the stock 4-cylinder with an auto trans.  Slower than slow, especially after my sister-in-law got done beating it to death.

The 68 had a 302 and was an excellent tire-smoker. 

The pickup had a 351W with a Borg-Warner T18 4-speed manual.  1st gear was too low to be useful in normal traffic (something like 6.32:1), so I normally started in 2nd (3:1 ratio).  Not real fast off the line but after about 25 MPH it ran pretty good.

[Alex]

Currently driving a 2001 Mercedes SLK 230 with six-speed transmission. It just went over 130,000 miles on the weekend before Thanksgiving.



Previous cars (a couple of times I overshot where I wanted to stop for a sign photo, so my car made photos that ended up on the site):

1999 Dodge Avenger - it went from Delaware to San Diego (leading to a clinch of I-80) and then to Florida (and a clinch of I-10). I gave it to my brother in 2012 at 163,000 miles, he still drives it:



1994 Chevy Cavalier - took me to San Diego from Delaware, with a clinch of I-70. Alternator went on it again and was getting the Avenger, so I donated it to KSDS San Diego:



1978 Toyota Celica - learned how to drive manual transmission in this. The car was my friend's that was sitting at our mechanic's broken down. I got the car roadworthy again but only drove it for two months before I ended up giving it back when I got the Cavalier:



1989 Chevy Cavalier - Liked this car a lot and drove it for four years. Blew an engine at Exit 70 on I-85 northbound in Alabama:



1985 Mercury Cougar - Got it in high school but only had it for two years. Lots of problems with it due to a bad mechanic.

[bugo]

The pickup had a 351W with a Borg-Warner T18 4-speed manual.  1st gear was too low to be useful in normal traffic (something like 6.32:1), so I normally started in 2nd (3:1 ratio).  Not real fast off the line but after about 25 MPH it ran pretty good.

Ah, the infamous "granny gear" 4 speed, which was functionally a 3 speed with an ultra low first gear that was useful only for pulling heavy loads on trailers.  I've driven quite a few of them in my day. I've also driven some trucks with a 3 speed on the column, the equally infamous "3 on the tree". I eventually want an old truck with a 6 cylinder and a 3 on the tree. Those were real trucks, unlike the heated leather seated behemoth luxobarges that are sold now. They were simple, honest, and hard working. And a lot better looking than new trucks.

[OracleUsr]

I drive a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid (first new car, first non-second-hand Toyota)
Wife drives a 2007 Jeep Liberty

[catch22]

The pickup had a 351W with a Borg-Warner T18 4-speed manual.  1st gear was too low to be useful in normal traffic (something like 6.32:1), so I normally started in 2nd (3:1 ratio).  Not real fast off the line but after about 25 MPH it ran pretty good.

Ah, the infamous "granny gear" 4 speed, which was functionally a 3 speed with an ultra low first gear that was useful only for pulling heavy loads on trailers.  I've driven quite a few of them in my day. I've also driven some trucks with a 3 speed on the column, the equally infamous "3 on the tree". I eventually want an old truck with a 6 cylinder and a 3 on the tree. Those were real trucks, unlike the heated leather seated behemoth luxobarges that are sold now. They were simple, honest, and hard working. And a lot better looking than new trucks.

Yep, that's the one.  1st gear was good for push-starting cars but that's about all I ever used it for.

I learned to drive a stick on my uncle's farm truck when I was 14 or so, a well-used olive green 1957 F-100, six-banger, 3-speed column shifter with a lot of play in it.  I wish that truck was still around; it was fun to drive after I got the hang of it. 

[Henry]

What my family and I currently have:
Me--2001 Chevy Tahoe
Wife--2005 Ford Five Hundred
Daughter--2003 Chevy Cavalier
Parents--1999 Cadillac STS (mother)/2013 Toyota Camry (father)

[wriddle082]

Me (personal): 2005 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 off-road extended cab
Me (work): 2013 Ford Transit Connect XL
Wife: 2014 Chevy Traverse

[SSOWorld]

My vehicle - 2009 Hyundai Sonata 105,300 miles
Work - they often pick one of four Chevy impalas - year varies - one has a column shift - others floor shift automatic.  if they exhaust these, I'm stuck with my car.

[Stratuscaster]

Today:
2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS (210000 miles, inherited from my in-laws when they retired and downsized)
2002 Dodge Caravan SE Sport (437000 miles, bought for $994 with 397000 miles about 3 years ago)

Previous:
1998 Dodge Stratus (overall, the best car I've owned, now my brother's with 202000 miles on it)
1999 Dodge Grand Caravan SE Sport (152000 before an oil pump failure)
1995 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE (the 2nd best car I've owned - 199000 miles before the trans grenaded)
1993 Geo Storm
198? Ford Aerostar
198? Chevy Malibu
198? Olds Cutlass Ciera
1979 Ford Thunderbird
1989 Hyundai Sonata
1984 Ford Mustang
1987 Ford Ranger
1984 Chevy Chevette
1974 Ford Mustang II
1970 Ford Maverick
1966 Ford Galaxie
1971 Chevy Nova

[Ian]

I have a 2008 Hyundai Sonata with about 98,600 miles on it. My dad has a 2010 F-350, and my mom has a 2007 Chevy Impala.

[02 Park Ave]

We have a grey 2002 Buick Park Avenue (145K) and a red 2005 Ford Mustang (23K).

[ajlynch91]

2013 Hyundai Elantra. I'm less than a few hundred miles from 25,000 already. The commute from the city to the 'burbs is mostly to thank for that, and the long drives out into the country is the other reason for that.

[jakeroot]

2013 Hyundai Elantra. I'm less than a few hundred miles from 25,000 already. The commute from the city to the 'burbs is mostly to thank for that, and the long drives out into the country is the other reason for that.

I know the feels. We have a 2011 Elantra with 62,000 miles on it. 30 miles commute to work (plus 30 back) Monday to Friday, plus plenty of weekend driving. Never a quiet day at our house.

As for the car, so far so good. BUT, the MPG has been pretty lackluster since we bought it (back when they advertised 29-40) -- I max out in the low 30s, and with my lead foot, average about 26. Next car is probably gonna be a diesel given the insane amount of freeway driving we do. What kind of MPG figures have you been managing?

[bugo]

2013 Hyundai Elantra. I'm less than a few hundred miles from 25,000 already. The commute from the city to the 'burbs is mostly to thank for that, and the long drives out into the country is the other reason for that.

30 years ago, Hyundai was garbage. 20 years ago, they were significantly better. 10 years ago they were almost there. Today, they are just as good as most makes and better in some ways. They're a good value as well. A friend of mine has had two turbo Sonatas and loved them. The overrated mileage fiasco was a bit of a black eye, but they are the smart man's car. You did very well.

[bugo]

2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

Seriously, I have the same '98 Chevrolet Cavalier that I've had since 2000. It had 40,000 miles on it when I got it, it has 207,000 on it now.

[PHLBOS]

198? Ford Aerostar

1st Aerostar was the 1985 model.

198? Chevy Malibu

1983 was the final year for the Malibu; the name would go through a 14-year hiatus.

198? Olds Cutlass Ciera

1st year for the Ciera was 1982.

1979 Ford Thunderbird

Final year for the best-selling generation of T-Birds.  What engine did yours have, the 302, 351 or 400?

[Stratuscaster]

198? Ford Aerostar

1st Aerostar was the 1985 model.

198? Chevy Malibu

1983 was the final year for the Malibu; the name would go through a 14-year hiatus.

198? Olds Cutlass Ciera

1st year for the Ciera was 1982.

My impaired memory thanks you.

1979 Ford Thunderbird

Final year for the best-selling generation of T-Birds.  What engine did yours have, the 302, 351 or 400?

302. Was a very light blue and like most T-Birds of that era, the flip-open headlights were always flipped open. Other than that, it was quite trouble-free for the time I had it. One day while at work, the wife traded it in on the '93 Geo Storm. Still not totally happy about that.

[oscar]

Quick update on one of my cars:  My 2008 Toyota Prius crossed over the 200k mark on Easter Sunday afternoon, on my way back home from lunch with family near Baltimore. No sign of the hybrid battery giving out, which was one of the concerns when I bought the car new. 

[Stratuscaster]

Today:
2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS (210000 miles, inherited from my in-laws when they retired and downsized)
2002 Dodge Caravan SE Sport (437000 miles, bought for $994 with 397000 miles about 3 years ago)

Just as an update, the Intrigue just crossed 215000 and the Caravan just crossed 440000.

[corco]

2002 Jeep Liberty, 2001 Honda Accord

I swapped out the Accord for a 2015 VW Golf, so now I have an '02 Liberty and a '15 Golf.

[golden eagle]

I'm just shy of 190K on my car. Since I have some things to do later today, I'll surely go over 190K. I bought it at the end of April 2009 with 94,995 miles on it.