While the stunningly patient SML was away, I had some time to catch up on some of the blogs I follow. One, Normal Mormon Husbands, did a post about his collection of clunkers over the years and it got me thinking, as well as laughing, about some of the junk that has darkened my garage over the years. So, here's a quick look back at some of them:
1975 Volkswagen Scirocco
My First Car - and the Devil incarnate
Supposed to be a little sporty car. It was red and had a real boss plaid interior (bear in mind it was the early 1980's and plaid was straight out of "The Official Preppy Handbook," my guide to life in the early 80's). I should have known this thing was going to be trouble when the clutch pedal fell off a few weeks after I bought it. It was named Official Pacecar for Satan when then gear shift snapped off in my hand mid-downshift. It was not long for this earth after that incident.1983 Honda Civic 1300FE
My Second Car - my first to be totaled
I loved this car from the day I got it until the day I got t-boned by a lady who ran stop sign, totaling what had been come to be known as 'Wanda the Honda.'1985 Toyota Corolla
Brief life with us - first appearance of Satan in a Japanese vehicular form
To call this car evil is the understatement of the year. The stunningly patient SML and I had been married for a few years when I got this car. I had replaced my Accord with a Chevy Silverado (which I loved) but the gas was killing me (I think gas was maybe $1.00 a gallon) so I went "thrifty" with this heap. I knew I had to go when the transmission went out very early into its life in our garage. It spent more time at some no-name repair place in Mesa, AZ, than it ever saw in our garage. It was hideous.1995 Toyota Camry LE
My Commuter Beater car
I bought this in Mesa, AZ, right before we moved to California. I finally had a car built in the 90's during the 90's - I wasn't aiming particularly high, but at this point in our lives, this car was the pinnacle of luxury. It was a miracle worker once we moved to California. After a year there, I took a job that had me commuting 130 miles a day and I kept that job until we moved to Illinois. The Camry performed admirably. It's the first car I took to 200,000 miles. It finally gave up the ghost at a parking garage at LAX when I got off a plane from London. It barely made the 100-plus mile drive home, where I basically dropped it off at a dealership and got another car.1999 Ford Windstar
We leased it and we won't do that again
This was the first brand-new car we got in our marriage and we'd been married 11 years at that point. We were moving to SoCal when the stunningly patient SML's boss Camry Wagon bit the dust. All our cash was going into the purchase of our house so a down payment on anything was out of the question. So we leased a new Ford Windstar-the Recall Express. Born with the spirit of its flaming Ford Pinto predecessor, this car had more than one recall for spontaneous combustion issues, among other recalls. We dutifully kept it for the full term of the lease and in all fairness, it did a good job for us. Tell you what though, I never camped in it. A fire in the fire ring was all I needed. I didn't need the min-van to add to the excitement.All in all, we've been lucky when it comes to cars. Nothing too horrible in terms of mechanics, etc. We didn't have to take advantage of the government's car handout. We couldn't have as none of our vehicles qualified as clunkers, although SML would probably argue about the Swedemobile (not her favorite car that I've brought home over the years).
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