Cars and Motorcycles
1968 Chevy Malibu - this was purchased as a used car for a family car, then my parents said it was my car when I got my license. Well, if they had mentioned that, I’d have suggested the red Javelin that was sitting next to it. This was a small block V-8 with an automatic transmission. I took my driver’s test in this car. It got about 11 MPG, no matter how you drove it
1963 Renault Caravelle S - I found this at a garage sale out in the woods. Paid $375 for a rear-engine 4 cylinder convertible, with a removable hardtop. It was such great fun in high school. Weighed about 1,900 pounds. Got 32 MPG with a whopping 51 HP. You did not see these every day. OK, pretty much never. This is the car where I first drove a manual transmission. How did I learn? Just got in it and drove. It was a 4-speed.
1967 Opel Kadett - my Dad came across this and thought it would be fun. It had been modified with Camaro air shocks and had the rear wheel wells cut out to allow wide mag wheels and tires. There were slotted mags all around. It was a good car with MPG in the high 20s, also with 51 HP. My Dad used it for a work car during the gas crisis. Another 4-speed.
1968 Javelin - well, yes, I did get a Javelin. Not a great one. Small block V-8, automatic. Less power than the Chevy Malibu, but with much better handling in corners.
1972 Toyota Corolla - As I prepared to go to college 35 miles away, I test drove a Plymouth Roadrunner and my parents convinced me to go look at Toyotas. Good call, although this was the least reliable car I ever had. It would die in heavy rain - in Seattle - and need to sit for 20 minutes before it would start. The cylinder head cracked, but I happened to take it to a dealer because other mechanics couldn’t determine the problem and it was happily covered by a secret extended warranty. This was a 4-speed that badly needed a 5th gear.
1975 Honda CB360T - This was my first street bike. We’d had small 50-90cc trail bikes when I was a kid. I bought this new. My Dad went along on the purchase, and I rode it home having not been on the street on a motorcycle. My mother was not amused.
1969 Volvo 145 - my dad bought this from a co-worker. I wanted it for the amazingly supportive and comfortable seats, suitable for tall people. We traded the Corolla in for another Volvo for my Dad. This was a 4-speed.
1972 VW Superbeetle - My future wife and I bought this, possibly for the sunroof. We traveled and camped a bit with it, and commuted. It was running quite poorly when we traded it on the next VW. Of course, a 4-speed manual.
1953 Dodge B1-B Pickup - I loved old pickups and got this just for fun, while in college. I looked at several Fords, Chevys and Dodges. This one wasn’t rusted out anywhere, and it had a 5-window cab with corner windows. It had a flathead six, and a three-on-the-tree manual. We’d put inner tubes in the bed and go to the river. I had to sell this when we decided to move to Alaska.
1979 VW Rabbit L - Our first new car. We were moving to Alaska, so wanted front wheel drive and a heater (compared to a Beetle). It suffered from poor valves and began burning oil, so we traded it after two years. This was a 5-speed manual. My first car with FM radio.
1981 Toyota Longbed PU - Still in Alaska, but only rear-wheel drive. With good snow tires and some weight in the back, we only got stuck once in five years. Another 5-speed manual. Sold this before moving out of Alaska. At 5 years old, it was beginning to rust in spite of Zeibart rustproofing.
1981 Suzuki GS750L - This was an impulse sort of deal. An Air Force Sergeant was transferring out of Alaska in October and was selling this for a fraction of the new price. I rode it home in the snow and ice. The riding season was short and cold in Anchorage. Um, never great.
1982 Mazda 626 - Picked this up used in Alaska. This was the rear wheel drive 626 in a two-door with a 5-speed manual. It didn’t have a lot of power, but next to the Toyota pickup it felt like a sports car. I drove it through a full Alaska winter with rear wheel drive and no snow tires. This is where you learn driving finesse.
1984 Saab 900 Turbo - This was my reward car for being promoted to “Manager”. I looked at Volvo, BMW and Saab. As we were in Alaska, the front wheel drive was the ticket, plus it had the turbo and heated seats and a load space similar to a Volvo wagon in a nice looking hatchback. Also, it had 15 inch wheels versus 14 inch, and with studded winter Pirellis on it this thing would go anywhere. We moved to California with this car, then on to Washington State. It was rock solid on the highway at 80 MPH. Saab seats were like Volvo seats - very comfortable.
1989 Ford Ranger Super Cab - Our first year back in Washington we had a longer freeway commute and needed a second car. We went by the Ford dealer thinking we might get a commuter with an automatic transmission, like a Ford Tempo. We left with a 5-speed manual small pickup. Whatever! It was way more comfortable than the Toyota pickup had been. Way more legroom, a cushy seat, V-6 power, cruise control and a really long wheelbase for a good ride.
1951 Chevy 3100 Pickup - The old truck bug bit again when a friend of my Dad’s had this truck that her husband rebuilt from the ground up before he passed away. It was a 235 c.i. six with a three-on-the-tree manual. It was another 5-window cab with corner windows. Very desirable. I didn’t really have time to use it and do it justice. Had a fun day when the brakes failed as I approached a busy street, and had to drive around the neighborhood without brakes in order to park it back at home.
1986 BMW K100 - Stepped up to a touring bike with luggage. I traveled a fair amount on this bike, down the coast and across Montana. It was 1,000cc with a fairing and hard bags. My wife then learned to ride and got a Suzuki 500 so we could ride together.
1993 Mazda Miata MX-5 - After we sold our motorcycles, we picked up a gently used Miata. What a great car! Convertible fun with a 5-speed. Great handling. Had it for two years.
1997 Volvo 850 GLT - After a few years of another pickup truck, we decided to go to one car and to get something comfortable and pleasant enough we’d drive to pick each other up as needed and not mind waiting. The first 850 we drove felt agricultural with the base engine. We then drove the GLT with a light pressure turbo and it felt like an entirely different car. Some more of those great Volvo seats. It was an automatic.
2005 Volvo S40 T5 - I wanted a little sportier handling, so I went with the smaller Volvo with the same turbo motor. It had nice Scandinavian design and those Volvo seats. At least the automatic was shiftable, so you could simulate some pretty good shifting in the twisties.
2007 BMW F650GS - Was out of motorcycling for a few years, so I went back by buying a new 650, which was a large single . I got all the accessories - Corbin saddle, tall windscreen, trunk for the helmet, tank bag. It got 64 miles to the gallon and was very versatile.
2006 BMW R1200RT - Got another touring bike, purchased used. This was crazy good. Big power and electronic adjustable suspension. It came with bags and I added a trunk. I kept both BMW bikes for a few years, and the choice of bikes to use was awesome. Sold both bikes over a decade ago.
2013 VW GTI - I then decided that since I had given up motorcycles, and wasn’t dead yet, I needed a 6-speed manual transmission. I test drove an Audi A4, but the GTI felt more like my old Saab with upright seating and visibility, and just a bit tighter handling. I am still driving this car.
Spouse's Cars
This is an addendum to add some vehicles that my spouse owned for mostly her use. We shared several of the vehicles on my Cars and Motorcycles page, but these were hers. We’ve never had terribly expensive cars, nor very high powered cars, but we’ve had some fun ones. Always small cars (or trucks).
1986 VW GTI - this was just the third year of GTI. We had sold our Toyota pickup in Alaska, and shipped my Saab to California. This car was 11 months old when we got it and it was more fun in the Santa Cruz mountain twisties than the Saab. So, we had the Saab for highway cruising and fun roads and the GTI for really fun roads. Our best combo of 5-speed manuals ever.
1991 Suzuki GS500E - when I had a BMW 1000, she got licensed and rode her own bike. We both preferred not riding two-up on the larger bike. This was a great little air-cooled twin that lasted about two years. Then, we moved on to a Miata.
2001 Mazda Protege EX - when we both stopped working downtown and taking the bus, she bought this 5-speed manual Mazda. It wasn’t highly powerful, but it was a fun car with enough go for its size.
2006 Subaru Forester - this was my fault as I wanted her to have side door guard beams for protection from trucks running red lights. It ended up being one of her favorites. It was an automatic, and I felt it rode a bit rough with the all wheel drive undercarriage - but that was only me. It was totaled when a woman on her phone in a full-size Blazer rear ended her on an off-ramp when at a full stop.
2013 Mazda 3 Grand Touring - we neither one can explain why there wasn’t another Forester. This was an automatic, and was quite gutless. Great Mazda handling and steering, but lacking power. It had the Bose stereo and leather and was pleasant.