I bought my first car in 1977, when I was 16. It was a 1963 Chrysler 300.
(This is a stock photo. Mine looked much worse).
383 cu engine, push-button transmission. I loved that car, but it was kind of beat up (what do you want for $300, even in 1977?). I got into 2 accidents, and eventually abandoned it (though it still ran)! In 1978, I went through 4 cars:
1965 Pontiac Catalina
1967 Pontiac LeMans
1966 Chrysler New Yorker (passenger door was smashed in but the car was as smooth as a speeding couch).
1967 Dodge Fury.
After that I had nothing for a few years then acquired my brother's 1967 Dodge van for a year until it burst into flames.
In 1985 I acquired a beat-up and poorly maintained (see the pattern?) 1976 Chevy Impala. I had that for a while, restoring the body and replacing the engine. All was well until a wheel actually fell off while driving over the Whitestone Bridge. I quickly junked the car.
Then I inherited my aunt's 1990 Ford Taurus. Decent car, at first. Within a few years one thing went then another. Power steering pump, alternator, water pump. My neighbor had a similar year Mercury Sable and said whenever something went on my car he knew the same thing would happen to his soon.
My fiancé moved in in 2000 with her 1995 Toyota Corolla and we were a 2-car family.
In a few years after, both of our cars started getting long in the tooth and we leased a new 2006 Ford Escape, my first new car. Nice car, but it was FWD, and performed horribly in the ice and snow. Much worse than any car I had owned (the Taurus and the Chrysler 300 were best).
In 2009 I purchased a new Mercury Mariner AWD.
Much, much better in slippery conditions. Good car overall, but had some manufacturing defects with the suspension so it was in and out of the shop. This car I had for 12 years, and too many things (some little, some big) went wrong over time.
In the interim, we leased these as a second car:
2014 Ford Fusion (loved it).
2017 Ford Focus and
2020 Subaru Crosstrek.
In 2021 I purchased a Bronco Sport Badlands, trading in the Mariner for $1000., and this is what I have today:
(This is a stock photo. Mine looked much worse).
383 cu engine, push-button transmission. I loved that car, but it was kind of beat up (what do you want for $300, even in 1977?). I got into 2 accidents, and eventually abandoned it (though it still ran)! In 1978, I went through 4 cars:
1965 Pontiac Catalina
1967 Pontiac LeMans
1966 Chrysler New Yorker (passenger door was smashed in but the car was as smooth as a speeding couch).
1967 Dodge Fury.
After that I had nothing for a few years then acquired my brother's 1967 Dodge van for a year until it burst into flames.
In 1985 I acquired a beat-up and poorly maintained (see the pattern?) 1976 Chevy Impala. I had that for a while, restoring the body and replacing the engine. All was well until a wheel actually fell off while driving over the Whitestone Bridge. I quickly junked the car.
Then I inherited my aunt's 1990 Ford Taurus. Decent car, at first. Within a few years one thing went then another. Power steering pump, alternator, water pump. My neighbor had a similar year Mercury Sable and said whenever something went on my car he knew the same thing would happen to his soon.
My fiancé moved in in 2000 with her 1995 Toyota Corolla and we were a 2-car family.
In a few years after, both of our cars started getting long in the tooth and we leased a new 2006 Ford Escape, my first new car. Nice car, but it was FWD, and performed horribly in the ice and snow. Much worse than any car I had owned (the Taurus and the Chrysler 300 were best).
In 2009 I purchased a new Mercury Mariner AWD.
Much, much better in slippery conditions. Good car overall, but had some manufacturing defects with the suspension so it was in and out of the shop. This car I had for 12 years, and too many things (some little, some big) went wrong over time.
In the interim, we leased these as a second car:
2014 Ford Fusion (loved it).
2017 Ford Focus and
2020 Subaru Crosstrek.
In 2021 I purchased a Bronco Sport Badlands, trading in the Mariner for $1000., and this is what I have today:
