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1966 Mustand Convertible. Red with a black pony interior. Straight six 200 cu in engine. Routinely burnt out front wheel bearings. Back then I looked like an automotive genius when it came to fixing little engine problems. I long for a single vacuum advance hose and no electronic anything. Drove it for years, until a tree fell on it whilst is was parked in my backyard :0(
1973(?) Fiat 128 The ultimate tin can car, couldn't survive a side impact with a shopping cart, but man could it turn on a dime. I used to run the slalom whenever they put out those orange traffic cones for highway construction or maintenance workers. (When no one was working, of course)
1966 Mustang Fastback GT with a 289 Hi-Performance engine with a 4 barrel Holly carb on top of an Offenhauser high-rise manifold with a 4 speed with a slapstick shift. Forget all the other details except how it would pin me into the seat whenever I stomped on the pedal. Cops would mostly smile and nod their heads when I was crusing down the highway.
The one that got away: 1967 or '68 Mustang Shelby GT Convertible. I forget the exact year. $6,000 at the time. Just sitting there with a ForSale sign on it. Just tooooo much money. (Last time I checked $300,000 or thereabouts wasn't too much money :-0 )
Well, I hope I caused some of you to pause and to think of some of life's pleasantries - like a car that was fun to drive.
Your turn.
GET OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!
Don't get me started on that.
Studies have shown that talking on a cell phone (hand-held OR hands-free) while driving reduces your reaction time to the same level as being legally drunk.
No offense ladies; but women seem EXTRA drunk while chatting on their cell phones.
More fun than taking the bus. One of the true joys of life is being behind the wheel of a good car.
It's the first car that I got to choose what I drove. I have owned 6 cars and only one have I choosen, despite the fact that I paid for 4 of those 6. Not being able to choose the car I had to pay for was what finally got me to move out of my parents house. But that's another story.
You see, I love my car because I have 3 kids and I don't have a minivan. You can not know the thrill of pulling into a grocery store and hauling your kids out of a top-down convertible while the lady in the minivan next to you glares.
My kids also love the convertible. They don't know that it is not a high end car. They see a red convertible and when the weather even hints at being warm they beg to put "the lid down on the car".
I will probably trade the car in this spring, but I swear it will be for another convertible. I don't want to grow up and I really want to be the cool soccer mom. ;)
You see, I love my car because I have 3 kids and I don't have a minivan.
Nice job!
And you don't have a giant SUV either. I hate SUV's! I would much rather have a mini-van.
And yes, all convertibles are fun.
Re: Speeding? My poor son. I have burdened him with a 1988 Volve 240 GL. My car theory? For new drivers: a nice steel cage and impact zones to protect him and a 4-cylinder engine to protect everyone else from him.
Hey, a car is NOT a given. If I meet one more kid who thinks he's entitled to a car I'm going to . . . meet one more kid who thinks he's entitled to a car . . . of their choice! Where do they get this attitude?
It also had the advantage of being a retired Highway Patrol car, with a 454 big block and gearing they only made available to police agencies. For a big car, it could just roar. Outrageous acceleration and surprisingly good handling with a beefed up suspension.
Sadly, in a moment of poverty I sold it for twice what I paid for it to a fellow who wanted to strip out the drivetrain to stick into a roadster truck he was building.
still driving the thing - and that in Germany where the roads are half as wide :)
I am looking very much forward to spring when I can drive topless to the office (the car ... not me - don't you all get your hopes up)
Ditto. About 2 years ago I bought a motorcycle. As a begining rider I found myself riding very defensively, especially in city traffic. I've gotten where, 9 times out of 10 I can tell if a car has the driver talking on the phone. They drive inconsistantly in terms of speed as well as lane position. I really believe that most people are driving impaired when they talk on the phone.
When you ride a motorcycle your life depends on being able to read traffic and avoid getting clobbered. Drivers talking on phones just makes it that much harder.
I was young and dumb then, the block cracked, coolant water shooting out of the tailpipe, the engine seized, and then I got out of the car (stalled on the side of the road) and started walking... never looked back or went back; wonder what happened to that piece of crap.
I really believe that most people are driving impaired when they talk on the phone.
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