jblog

Well I got married and she needed a new car desperately.  Nat drove a car owned by her parents, a 90? Corsica, which was just on it’s last legs and had close to 200K miles – and it showed, sounded, smelled, felt like it.  + we needed to give it back while it was running.  I knew that the next car would have to be hers and I was very glad to have her drive it.  I researched like a maniac to find a cheap but reliable car… i know that’s a paradox but they are out there.  I was looking for sedans or SUVs, whatever didn’t have major problems associated w/ it.  I also was looking to get a vehicle in which we could go on farther trips than we normally would go on, like to Colorado, to have some adventures together. 

Well after the research the Mitsubishi Montero Sport came up as the vehicle of choice.  I really liked the styling of it as well and thought it was the best mid size SUV on the road at the time.  (still do love the looks).  But I was very impressed at the usual price and reliability of this SUV.  It ranked second in its class in reliability – it is based technically on a rally truck base (the Pajero), from whence it sports its toughness.  It was marketed as a “all that u need, nuttin that you don’t” SUV, but who needs luxury or frills when your young at heart and on a budget?  Perfect.  One thing though.  The engine has the least pep I’ve encountered to date – it just doesn’t care to mingle w/ brazen, get-up acceleration. 

But we go to a dealer to see what they have, the first one felt real tight and it was a very clean car and everything felt solid.  We liked it but waited to make sure we were making the right decision and gave it time to test other vehicles, even other “Sports” (our little nickname for the thing).  After driving others and seeing other price tags we thought the first one we tried was a great buy.   Its a 2000 4×4 model w/ a champagne color with a 3 liter V6.  It has power doors and windows, rack system, nice barrel side steps and large format wheels and tires.   

Well, we went on that Colorado adventure and had a blast that first summer.  It had no problems other than on the way back I had to get a new battery and install it in front of the AutoZone in i-forget-that-small, panhandle town in Texas. 

We still have it and it’s really served us well.  I wouldn’t mind getting another down the road if it wasn’t for the engine’s lack of power.  It still is really worth it considering what we paid for it and still amazed at the price. 

So Blanche’s back end got busted and it was time to get a vehicle that was filled w/ the essence of college – the Jeep Wrangler.  If you can believe it, I managed to get a brand new ‘99 basic white Wrangler w/ a soft top for $175 a month.  This thing had a seat for driver and passenger, a heater and nothing else.  What else did you need though?  Take the top off and head for campus is all my brain could say after that.

If a Porsche couldn’t get the babes, maybe a Wrangler could.  It certainly can only help a nice guy – that’s all I’ll say about that.  Next thing I know… I’m married.  Well that’s a few cars down but it was a blur after the Wrangler. 

It was the second year of the redesigned Wrangler, so it was just awesome.  No A/C but why would you need an A/C in a Wrangler?  It was a manual 5 speed with a hi/lo 4WD.  It was alot of fun taking it out to get muddy.  I never got stuck. 

I remember we got more than 10 people in this Wrangler and took a ride around the dorms once.  It didn’t have a back seat so we placed people in the back like sardines.  This vehicle starred in a couple of movies, one to note was the BSU version of Glorieta – Jurassic Park…also starring muah.  It was a fun vehicle to take camping but just fun around town as well.  I finally got a back seat, but it didn’t have seat belts.

One night I had 3 others in the Jeep and I got pulled over, the officer asked where our your seatbelts?  “It doesn’t have any seatbelts.”  The officer didn’t like that, but he let me go after humiliating us for 30 minutes and giving me a long story of responsibility.  Hence, the back seat didn’t serve a purpose after that.   It had no radio/stereo in it which actually led me to pray more.  Funny how God can get your attention.

One disadvantage was the soft top, extreme temperatures or highway noise were annoyances.  It doesn’t exactly have the best aerodynamics going down the road.  So it sounds like your in a wind tunnel every time going over 50MPH.    

Overall, it was the best vehicle I’ve had. 

Well finances got the best of me and I was preparing my life to get married…I needed to get out of all debt.  So I reluctantly sold it to another kid in town and kissed it good buy.  I sold it to get enough to buy a used car outright to stay out of debt… 

I was one of the few college kids that could say, “Yeah, I drive a Porsche.”  You would think it hard not to give the pompous tone behind the sentence…but rather I was self-conscious about saying so.  Now…I have to confess this vehicle cost me around $6500 (which was from the insurance money from the previous crash).  Search on Auto Trader and you will be amazed by what you can get used at an affordable price.  (Just make sure it runs good)

This particular Porsche was a 1986, white, 4 cylinder, six speed 944 (non-Turbo).  A couple of steps down from the mothership 911.  But still a real deal.  Because of the shaped lines of this car it still looks great even today.  In fact, I almost was tempted to get another one awhile back which was in better shape than the one I speak of.  The interior was red w/ leather seats and touches.  The sportscar drank 91 octane (super unleaded) but made up for it in fuel economy (over 30 mp/g). It was a solid 6 speed manual which shifted a little hard, it wasn’t an Asian built transmission which tend to feel like a rubberband.  It had a hatchback which gave the sportscar a little more room than one would give.  German interior which was just awesome or just different, made for an exotic look ( i can’t stand saying exotic but that’s what it was).  The wheels had a different shape to them that just made the whole car also allowing for a wider tire.

Was it fast?  Yeah.  And it had the best balance of any car I’ve driven.  The weight seemed to be distributed in the right areas.  One thing I’ve learned though…a sportscar is usually not your nice-cruising-down-the-highway car.  They are built for speed, cornering and turning on a dime.  This all adds up to a stiffer ride and not the most pleasant plush suspension ride.  They are rigid and bumpy going down any road.  Unless your going over 100mph.  I don’t remember going over 90 in that car but sure did have fun driving around in it. 

I probably was over my head getting into this car.  I can’t remember if I got it when I saw it or if I took some time thinking about it.  But I do remember I had my mind set on purchasing it and no other car.  It had around 100K miles but the car seemed to be in good condition as far as major functionalities.  It would start up easily w/ a one of a kind low tone purr.

There were a few exterior blemishes to the car though; the A/C was terrible, a small rip in the leather, the back wiper wouln’t work, small crack in the windsheild and a cut in the front ground effects.  These could be easily overlooked though, with the exception of no A/C, and could have been fixed to make a very polished car. 

All in all it was a great college automobile.  I actually didn’t care that it was a Porsche in name, I appreciate cars for what they are and not what “kind” it is, it was just a neat car in itself.  With the exception of people gawking, “hey…can you believe he drives a Porsche?”,  I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another if I had the chance.

Twas a beast among lambs. A white, 1973, Chevrolet El Camino was my first automobile. My grandpa, after his stepside Chevy pickup was stolen, bought the best of both worlds – a pickup slash muscle car. I was given it since they only needed one car, so I guess you could say I inherited it.

My first impression of El Caminos was not good…I was not too fond of them. I thought the whole multi tasking car was a bad concept. But boy did it grow on me when it was given to me free when I was 15. It had a classic quality which I didn’t appreciate till later. I cleaned, accessorized (bought one of those fuzzy dashboard covers + a tinted strip to go on top of the windshield, which were just dang cool at the time) and added a few components like a chrome exhaust pipe and a new headliner out of random fabric…it was ready for the maiden voyage once I earned my drivers license.

This thing was a haus, a 350 small block with an automatic trans… you step on the accelerator and you fly. Not such a good thing for a kid w/ a virgin slate traffic record. I remember my first ticket. I was going 42 in a 25 zone. The idle on the thing was 50! The policeman sort of ignored that excuse… I also remember the time when I found a road near the airport that was screaming, “test the limits”. So I did. It was the first time I went 100mph in a car. Dangerous, yes, but I was 16 with “the need for speed”.

I believe the reasons to abandon El Camino were some excuses like it was too low to the ground, no A/C, bad stereo, etc. I ended up placing it in the Auto Trader and hence led to my next red vehicle…