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

[golden eagle]

The original topic was one of the first ones I made when I came here five years ago. Anyhow, I still have the 2005 Honda Civic, and it's the only one I own.

[Mr Downtown]

I don't have a car.

[1995hoo]

2004 Acura TL, 1988 Mazda RX-7 convertible, and 2003 Acura RSX Type-S (the latter is Ms1995hoo's)

Edited to add in view of subsequent replies: All have manual shifts.

[J N Winkler]

Since I didn't post in the previous thread:  1994 Saturn SL2, "Cronos" (approximately 139,000 miles--odometer is frozen at 127,642 miles since the petroleum-based lubricant put on the urethane gears at the factory softened the teeth, allowing them to be stripped over time; new gears are just $50 but installation involves complete disassembly of the IP cluster).  Previous cars:  1986 Nissan Maxima, "Rosie" (56,000 miles when I got her, 227,000 miles when she left my possession); 1978 Chevrolet Impala, no name (5,000 miles when I got it, 20,000 miles when it was sold).

I have never owned a car with manual transmission.  The Maxima was the first car I owned with air conditioning and cruise control, which I consider musts for both in-town driving and highway cruising.  It was also the first with rear discs and alloy wheels; I prefer alloys for looks and reduced unsprung weight, and I don't like even self-adjusting rear drums because they add to NVH.  The Saturn is the first car I have had with antilock brakes, a driver's airbag, and traction control.

No two of my cars have had engines with the same cylinder count and layout, or valvetrain arrangement.  The Impala had the 4.1-L (250 CID) OHV inline six, which has admirers in some quarters but was sluggish in such a large car.  The Maxima had a 3.0-L SOHC V-6 (the famous Nissan VG30E which still survives in pickups) and the Saturn has a 1.9-L DOHC inline four.

[corco]

2002 Jeep Liberty, 2001 Honda Accord

[Laura]

2003 Chevy Cavalier

[Takumi]

I have 3 black manual Honda Preludes: a 1993 that I bought in 2012 to replace a wrecked one, a 2001* that I bought in January, and a 1991 that my dad traded me in February. I use the 1993 for daily transportation as it has the best gearing and most durable engine (the F22A1 was also used in the 1990-93 Accord and is known for being one of Honda's most reliable engines ever made), the 2001 is my project car and gets driven in good weather, and the 1991 is currently in my garage and will remain so until 2016, when it can get antique plates. It'll mainly be used for special occasions and shows, especially after restoration.

*2001 was the last model year for the Prelude, but it was produced almost all the way through that year; there are a few known with October 2001 manufacturing dates, which would imply that they're 2002 models in the US, but the VIN indicates the model year as 2001. Mine is one such car, having been manufactured in September 2001. Most of these late-year 2001s weren't sold until well into 2002, with a handful remaining unsold until 2003!

[signalman]

2014 Honda Civic Si.  The first new car and first Honda that I've ever owned.  Currently 3500 miles on the odometer.

[xcellntbuy]

1999 Pontiac Grand Am (work) 1985 Pontiac Firebird (pleasure) and 2002 Chevrolet Corvette (pleasure)

[Mapmikey]

Pre-adult:

1982 Aries K - Hand-me-down from parents while in high school.  Nothing to write home about
1986 or 87 Reliant - reward for partial college scholarship.  Was OK.  Didn't have it that long because Dad noticed I was having trouble getting up at the crack of noon.
1984 Chevette - this was a terrible car...clutch cable which ran underneath most of the length of the car would slowly twist over time and the clutch petal would reach the point it couldn't be pressed.

Adult:
1989 Chevy Cavalier - was OK but leaked a lot (rainwater) after being rear ended.  Put 180k miles on it.
1996 Saturn SL - terrific car.  Engine rebuild at 150k miles due to defect that would've been free to fix had the mileage been <100k.  Saturn paid half.  Got 315k miles total before parting ways, including the original manual clutch.
2004 Chevy Cavalier - absolutely no trouble with this car.  Had to part with it after 203k miles when I crashed into a deer going 55 mph.
2009 Saturn Aura - only real problems with this car related to the brake-related recalls (symptoms appeared 3 yrs before recall).  Currently has 206k miles on it.

Mapmikey

[J N Winkler]

1996 Saturn SL - terrific car.  Engine rebuild at 150k miles due to defect that would've been free to fix had the mileage been <100k.  Saturn paid half.  Got 315k miles total before parting ways, including the original manual clutch.

Was this a SOHC with the "coolant milkshake" problem?

[Mapmikey]

Head gasket failed and coolant leaked into the oil

[J N Winkler]

Ugh!  My 1994 SL2 has the oil-burning problem, but I am hoping to nurse it along without too much piston-soak voodoo since I am not running high miles these days.

[agentsteel53]

current fleet:

'73 VW Karmann Ghia - my wife's daily driver.  99.9K on the odometer, unless she's rolled it over to 00000 already.  she may have.
'86 Honda CRX - my daily driver.  234,361 on the odometer as of me getting to work this morning. 
'95 Toyota Pickup 4x4 - for off-roading and/or getting crap at Home Depot.  251K.
'97 Ford Taurus - our only four-seater, in case both in-laws need to be acquired at the airport.  also our only automatic transmission.  179,992 on the odometer as of this morning. 

previous vehicles owned:
'90 Mitsubishi Galant - bought in 2003.  drove immediately from Boston to LA, not a single problem.  then when I got home, it promptly fell apart.  I took it from 59K to 76K on the odometer before getting $1 trade-in value.
'02 Ford Mustang - bought in 2004, 27K on the odometer.  wrecked in Florida by idiot making a left turn from the right lane.  99,972 on the odometer.  I walked away from a 75mph collision with nothing more than a minor airbag burn; not bad.
'99 Honda Civic - bought in 2006 with 69K miles; wrecked in Fort Worth by red-light runner, 100,041 on the odometer.  just after having driven through Dealey Plaza.
'88 Volvo 240 - something like 280K on the odometer; transmission went nearly immediately (lost 2nd gear, not good in an automatic), but I still got about 6 months of daily commute before donating it to the American Heart Association or whoever.
'01 Ford Taurus - got with 107K on the odometer, head gaskets went at 176K and blew the engine.  I sold it in Tijuana, of all places.  it had a Mexico vehicle importation on it, so I had to get it towed across the border, the importation cancelled, at which point I sold it to the tow truck driver for $500.  minus $120 towing fee, I netted $380 cash.  car is probably still tooling around Baja with a new engine.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I currently drive a 2011 Nissan Altima, "Suki", 96,000 km (60,000 mi). Manual, mid-range model (newer manuals are hard enough to find; newer base models are rare as pope poop due to ridiculous 8+ year financing plans that people fall for).

Prior cars (both manual base models):
2004 Pontiac Sunfire, "Blitz", bought in 2009 at 80,000 km (50,000 mi), sold to my best friend (who's a mechanic) at 280,000 km (170,000 mi) due to general unreliability (worn through the second set of front struts, 5th set of control arm bushings, had both the clutch slave cylinder and the alternator go within a year of each other, it was on its third battery, the ventilation/heating system was making a concerning noise and the clearcoat had begun to peel in places, and rust was starting to eat at other places. I just didn't trust that car for long distance trips anymore, and it wasn't even ten years old.

1992 Honda Civic DX Hatchback, "Boomer", bought in 2008, mileage unknown above 210,000 km (131,000 mi) according to SAAQ (DMV) records, the odometer having been rewound to 147,000 (92,000) by a shady dealer. Spoiler and fart can added by my brother during a short period of shared ownership. A surprisingly reliable and smooth driver for such an old, beat up car, but no amount of grinding and repainting (primer + industrial rustproof paint applied generously with a brush) would tackle the rampant rust problem. Started getting electrical problems (ground cable snapped, voltage regular started acting up resulting in a burned up battery, etc.) and found out that the brake lines AND parking brake cable all had to be redone. Got the Sunfire and loaned the Civic to my brother who proceeded to beat the shit out of it (including going on drag strips without telling me) until its A1, well maintained and preserved drivetrain became shit. Sold in 2009 for five fiddy after a few repairs.

[PHLBOS]

Current fleet (which made appearances at the meets I attended):

2007 Ford Mustang "Pony Package" convertible.  Owned since August 2007.  Currently has 71k.

1997 Ford Crown Victoria LX sedan with the Handling & Performance Package.  Owned since Nov. 1996.  Currently has 150k.

Past fleet:

1976 Ford LTD Landau coupe, 351M; owned Sept. 1993 - Sept. 2010 (from Sept. 2007- Sept. 2010 it was loaned to my brother & father).

1989 Chevy Caprice sedan, 5.0L/305 V8; owned March 1992 - Nov. 1996.

1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan; owned June 1988 - March 1992.

1976 Ford LTD 4-dr., 351M; owned June 1985 - June 1988.

1974 Chevy Impala 4-dr. hardtop, 350; owned July 1984 - Jan. 1985.

1969 Ford LTD 4-dr. sedan, 302 V8; owned May 1982 - July 1984.

[bugo]

2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

[jeffandnicole]

2008 Honda CRV (105k)
2011 Honda Pilot (50k)

[1995hoo]

2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

Hot Wheels or Matchbox?

[oscar]

My current cars are the same as in the first thread, but with a lot more mileage:

2008 Toyota Prius - over 187k miles
2006 Nissan Titan pickup truck - over 130k miles

The most miles I got out of any of my former cars is over 282k (acquired at about 102k) for my 1982 Honda Accord, and over 194k (acquired new) for my 1996 BMW 328i.  Those also were the only cars I ever named ("Blue Bomber" and "Yuppie Scum-mobile" respectively). 

[roadman]

Current car - March 2014 to present - 2012 Ford Focus SE sedan - not yet named

Past cars:

June 2000 to January 2014 - 1999 Ford Contour sedan - "Sarah"
February 1993 to June 2000 - 1988 Honda Prelude - "Speed Merchant" (reference to New Haven RR 1955 lightweight train)
October 1987 to February 1993 - 1984 Ford Tempo - "Son Of Buick" (reference to parent's 1975 Buick Century wagon I traded in towards the car)

[Truvelo]

I have a 2004 Jaguar S-Type which is coming up to 150k miles. I used to drive new 4-pot diesels but I lost a terrible amount in depreciation on my last one and the peaky powerband, all or nothing turbo lagged power delivery, got a bit frustrating in the end. The Jag, even though thirstier, is working out a lot more cost effective. In the 18 months I've had it the only problem has been the heater control panel which due to poor design ended up burning out. Other than that I can beat the official 22mpg (UK) fuel rating by some way. 32mpg is regularly achieved with the best being 38mpg (31 US/gal).

[spooky]

current car: 2013 Mazda CX-5
wife's car: 2014 Chevrolet Equinox

former cars:
Sept 2010 to Oct 2012: 2010 Mazda CX-7 (Met an untimely end due to a very old man who though he could turn despite my car approaching in the opposite lane)
March 2003 to Sept 2010: 2003 Mazda Protege 5
June 1997 to March 2003: 1994 Saturn SC1
Aug 1990 to June 1997: 1980 Pontiac Sunbird (affectionately referred to as "The Bird")
May 1990 to July 1990: 1985 Dodge Omni (Met an untimely end due to me leaving the keys while away with my folks, and my brother's stupid unlicensed friend deciding to take it for a joyride and an eventual high speed chase due to said lack of license)
Dec 1989 to May 1990: 1983 Datsun Sentra (sold because the insurance company was convinced that my hatchback Datsun (not Nissan) Sentra was a sports car, and wanted to charge my then 17-year old self an inflated rate as a result)

[PHLBOS]

1983 Datsun Sentra (sold because the insurance company was convinced that my hatchback Datsun (not Nissan) Sentra was a sports car, and wanted to charge my then 17-year old self an inflated rate as a result)

You've got to kidding me.  Was you insurance company local?  I would have showed the agent a pic of the car.
The original Sentras (which replaced the old Datsun 210) were tin-can econoboxes.  Maybe, he thought that every Datsun/Nissan was a 280-ZX.

[lordsutch]

Current: 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5SL CVT, first car I ever got new, around 97k miles so far.

Past:
2002-2008: 1998 Infiniti I30 (started becoming a money pit around 170k; bought used with 90k).
1997-2002: 1988 Buick Regal coupe (started eating power steering fluid)
1992-1997: Mid-80s car* (totalled in wreck)

I don't name my cars.

* Not specifying make/model since it's a bank security question.