1992-1995: 80' Grey Toyota Celica, AKA The Silver Bullet
My highschool car. Fairly reliable when I remembered to put gas in it. A bit too shaky to take out on long highway trips thanks to a bad radiator (often overheated). Actually ran pretty good and it didn't break down, it was "decommisioned" sometime in around 2002.
1995-1999: 1982 GMC Vandura
My roadtrippin' dream, this van nonetheless broke down with regularity. While my Dad, Uncle Bob, and I fought bravely to keep it on the road (after breaking off a wheel, fizzling out the clutch, shorting the battery, and various other minor mishaps) the engine broke down, possibly from the incident when it got stolen.
1999-2000: 80' White Toyota Celica
A car definately not made for the open road. I drove out to Colorado in this car-- on the way out the brake exploded in Pennsylvania, the exhaust fell off in Denver, and the whole time the thing threatened to overheat, prompting me to drive through the scorching plains of Kansas with the heat on full blast (to divert heat from the engine). Once here, the brake line failed and it was compressed into a hunk of metal sometime in 2001.
2000-2002: No car
2002-2003: 1994 Ford Explorer
Another vehicle whose engine simply gave up, before I could really even use it much. With 3 grand needed for a new engine, I sold it for scrap metal--Never lived up to its potential.
2003: No car again
2004-present: 89' Honda Accord
Well, it's been pretty good so far. I knocked the exhaust system off taking it on a 4x4 road up to Kite Lake (doh!) and it currently needs a new windshield and a few other minor tweaks, but it's been an ok ride. Hopefully, once my book comes out I'll have some extra dough to get something new but until then, this black beauty better hold out.
So there you have it. I'm still driving a car from the 80's and I've never owned anything to brag about (though I really wish I could have kept the van alive). I dream of a car with air conditioning or perhaps power locks. Somebody please, get me a spot on the Price is Right!
