Tribute to My Cars

All my life cars have been my passion. Growing up in the “Motor City” and having a dad in the auto industry most likely had a small role in that. I even had a stint in college where I was test driving cars at GM. Nothing like beating up a car when it isn’t yours. So anyway, I thought I would pay tribute to the cars that I have owned over the years. I got my first car when I turned 16, a black 1989 Cavalier Z24. I spent every weekend checking the classified ads until I found the perfect car. Looking back now, I still think it was a great car. 5 speed manual, 150 hp V6 engine, and front wheel drive! I don’t have an actual picture of it, but I did find this on the internet. It is kinda ironic, look in the background of the picture. Yep, as you can see it is very trailer trash. The Cavalier was considered the poor man’s Camero. Kinda funny cause the Camero was considered the poor man’s Corvette, and the Corvette was considered the poor man’s Ferrari. So in essence I owned a poor poor poor man’s Ferrari. I did my best to “pimp” my Z. Tinted the windows, blacked out wheels, headlight covers, Dynomax muffler, and to top it off I had a “No Fear” sticker across the windshield. Yes, it was one sweet ride.

My second car was actually a brand new truck. Back in the late nineties the SUV crazy was in full swing. In order to keep selling giant Suburbans and still meet the Federal government’s requirement for minimum MPG standards GM started selling 4 cylinder Chevy S-10 pickups for dirt cheap to boost their overall average MPG for all the trucks they sold. These things were basic. No power windows or locks, manual transmission, only two seats, and they didn’t even come with floor mats! It only cost $90.00 a month to lease so I couldn’t really complain. I loved that truck too. I don’t really know why. It didn’t look good, it was slow, it was cheaply made, and it was small. I guess it had character and character goes a long way. It did have one redeeming quality, a manual transmission. A giant stick shift coming out of the floorboards. Made me feel like a big rig driver. Unfortunately, right after I moved down to Houston I had first hand experience of Tropical Storm Allison and the great 100 year flood of 2001. I lost my truck to the flood. Oh well. Again, I don’t have a picture so here is one I found on the internet.

So with the loss of my S10, I needed a new ride. Since I had just graduated and had a real job I decided to reward myself with a nice car. I wanted something sporty and even more important I wanted a convertible. I did a lot of research and decided on getting a BMW Z3. I eventually found a used 1998 BMW Z3 2.8l that I really liked. It was Atlanta Blue with a tan top (just like the one in the James Bond movie). Since I had a real job and money to burn I started to put money into the car. (A fool and his money are soon parted). Two days after I bought it I had a complete new stereo installed, subwoofers and everything. Not too long after that I got some 18” wheels and new tires. That had to be the stupidest purchase I ever made. Don’t get me wrong the wheels looked amazing, but to get them to fit, the tires were ultra-low profile. It made for one harsh ride and with the crappy Houston roads I bent three wheels in three years. Guess that is the price to pay for rolling in style. The Z3 was a great car. Must say Germany engineering is not matched by anything else I have driven. When I sold the car it had 90,000 miles. It ran as good as the day it rolled off the factory. It even still had the original battery! In fact, I was so impressed with the car I told my dad he should look into getting one and he did! This is a man who worked for General Motors for 22 years and only ever owned GM cars! The car did have a lot of quirks though, but it was a roadster and roadsters are supposed to have quirks (ie. things that don’t work). For example, in a heavy rain the top would leak at the window seals. On a hot day the air conditioner couldn’t keep up and it would get to about 90 deg in the car. The power top stopped working after awhile and I fixed it once, but it broke again after 2 months. The car was so loud on the freeways (even with the top up) that you had to yell to talk to the passenger. Plus the car was small, very small. The trunk could fit my bag for work and my workout bag and that is all. Was it all worth it? Heck yeah! On a nice day with the top down you completely forgot about all the short comings of the car. Throw in some twisty roads where you could push the throttle down and all the annoyances would disappear. Alas, I eventually decided I needed something more practical. Guess my old age was coming finally creeping in or maybe I was sick of being run off the road by all the giant SUVs that couldn’t see me on the freeway. I sold my Z3 pretty quickly. In fact, the first person that called about the ad bought it.

So again I was on the quest for a new car. I wanted something practical for road trips and hauling my bikes, but at the same time I still wanted something sporty. Can’t think of anything more practical then a station wagon. So that is what I got. I know what you are thinking..... a station wagon???!!!!! Well this one is all wheel drive and has 225 hp. I got a steel gray 2006 Subaru WRX. Talk about fast! Of all the cars I have owned this one is my favorite. I just think it is great that I own a station wagon that goes 0 - 60 in 5.5 seconds. It is ironic then that I only got to drive this car for 4 months. I bought the car in August and in December had to move to Scotland for work. I decided to have my parents look after the car and it should be waiting for me when I finish my assignment here.

So now I am in Scotland and have just bought another car. It is a lot nicer car then I need, but I got a killer deal on it. A guy working for Shell moved to Houston and he needed to sell it fast. So I am now the owner of a 2001 Lexus IS 200. It is a really plush ride. Heated seats, side mirrors that automatically fold in, 6 speed manual, leather & suede interior, 6 disc CD changer, etc, etc. It is much nicer then any car I have ever owned, but to be honest it doesn’t really excite me that much. Guess it lacks that character quality that made all my other cars so great. Well, it does have the steering wheel on the right hand side, so that is kinda cool.

One kinda odd fact in all the cars I have owned is that I have never had a car with an automatic transmission. 5 cars and they were all manuals. Too tell you the truth, I hope I never own a car with an automatic. Manuals are so much fun!