America has had a love affair with the automobile ever since the invention of the seat belt, maybe even earlier. Like most people, my memories of cars include the ones I grew up with (riding in the way back), to the cars I was allowed to drive, and to the cars I’ve owned.

Enjoy the list. If you know me, maybe some of the cars are familiar. If not, I am willing to bet you’ve had some similar cars (or rigs, whips, rides) along your road of life. Each of mine has a story. Some good, some bad, some that stick with me forever.

The First Four Wheelers

Probably my first legit car date, with the girl next door. Like any self-respecting young gentleman, I brought my lawnmower and coffee can. (?) The surrey with fringe on top was a much fancier ride than my red pedal car. Katie was quite the catch.

(I promise I will eventually get to actual cars.)

1973 Plymouth Satellite Regent Station Wagon

I'd have to do some research to get the exact model, but I'm pretty sure it was a Satellite - faster than the speed of light.  Notable features included fake woodgrain on the outside, and just general hugeness on the inside.  It felt about 20 feet long. Maybe it was. I had the pleasure of driving this to school for at least of a couple years of high school. Ours was actually a dark brown, the color of vehicular sadness.

1974 Ford Mustang II

This version of the Mustang will not be recalled fondly by anyone who owned a more classic model year (pretty much all other years). Built on the Pinto platform. I think that says it all. But, everyone in our family really enjoyed this car. Originally purchased by my Dad as his commuter car, it eventually became a car that all the kids learned to drive (it had a manual gearbox.) We even had to pass the vaunted "parallel park on a hill" test before we could solo in this car. Seemed mean at the time, but it certainly was a life skill. Slowly but surely, or maybe it was immediately, this car fell apart and rusted through like most cars in Michigan in the 70's. I know more about Bondo now than I would otherwise. Whatever didn't fall apart, 3 boys wore out.

1976 Volkswagen Rabbit

In stark contrast to the family Mustang II, the Rabbit felt like a high performance sports car by comparison. Transverse mounted engine, front wheel drive, fuel injected, tight manual gearbox and disc brakes. This thing was a hoot to drive. It had a Blaupunkt stereo with built in cassette player.  Hello mix tapes. Just a great little car. And if you see one of these still on the road, you'll see how small it actually was.  Crazy small, but with the 5th door hatch and folding rear seat, you could fit a ton of stuff in it. 

1968 Plymouth Fury III

When my Grandfather could no longer drive, my Dad asked me if I'd be interested in his car. Oh my goodness, what a ride. This 1968 beast had the classic 383 than Plymouth made famous. It had a smooth automatic transmission with a little surprise at the top end - a passing gear that could give you whiplash.

So Junior year of college, I am rolling around campus in the second largest car in town. First largest was my roommate, who had his Grandfather's 1966 Oldsmobile 98 Royale. Between the two of us, we could haul about 15 people around (without using the trunks).

My Grandfather used this car during his lifetime in the most delicate way. As a young boy, whenever we would visit him, he made every effort to invent reasons to show us the basic things about car maintenance - every time he used the car. We'd check the tire pressure. He'd pop the hood and we'd check the oil. Add some oil. We'd stand on the big chrome bumpers and peer in and he'd explain what everything was for. He'd even open the trunk and show us that as well. I cavernous empty space for all your luggage.

I completely understand why people seek out a repurchase cars from their past. If I were to do that, this would be the car.  

1973 Volkswagen Camper Bus

I bought this thing in the early 80's while living in Florida. It never quite ran with much power.  This was partly by design, and mostly because about half the cylinders were no good.  For Florida, this was a fun vehicle for heading down to Key West, or going to the beach.  As my time ran out in Florida and I moved back to the upper Midwest, this van's flaws became magnified. Heat? Oh, that's in back, by the engine. Not a good idea in Wisconsin. The fact that people are still fixing up these vans shows that if properly cared for, there is a (sentimental) value to them. Peace!

1987 Mercury Lynx

This 1987 Ford Escort clone was a gift from my parents when I graduated from college. I think my Dad understood the freedom a vehicle provides.  Or at least I hope he did, because immediately after graduating, I loaded everything I owned into that car and moved from the Midwest to Seattle. Maybe a 2000+ mile drive isn't exactly how a new engine should be broken in. My folks ended up visiting the PNW many times, so I think they understood the appeal of the upper left corner of the country (eventually). Definitely a nice little car and as you can see, I took good care of it.

1989 Suzuki Samurai

Living in Seattle meant I had first dibs on exotic new brands of crap from the Far East. Love it or hate it, this 4WD tiny Jeep knockoff was interesting. It featured several things that just seemed cool. A soft top that could be removed in 42 easy steps. 4WD and a manual shift. A 1.3 liter engine.  Flipability. My freshly minted father in-law visited and I took him for a drive. He instructed me to get rid of that dangerous piece of shit.   So long Samurai.

1991 Mitsubishi Montero

Again, an opportunity to try a brand that was just entering the US market. However, the Montero was already a well respected world truck.  It had a beefer 4WD system that was taken from a Mitsubishi heavy truck, so very durable. And it had 4 doors, and a big storage area behind the 2nd row. It had a nice high stance, and I never tipped it over even once!  This was really one of the last of the simple, tough SUVs.  Similar to the original Jeep Cherokees.  Subsequent models just kept getting fancier and fancier, and less truck-like along the way.  One of my favorite vehicles. 

1993 Dodge Caravan

I doubt my story is unique. In the early 90's, if you had more than one toddler, a minivan became an inevitability. The first try at a minivan ended up lasting over 10 years. I only wish we would have purchased the long wheelbase model, but I have no idea how we even afforded this one.

Anyway, I’m sure whomever had it after us continued to find Cheerios and Legos buried in the seats and floors for many years. This van took us from diapers through youth soccer and almost to driver’s education with the kids. Mission accomplished.

1996 Hyundai Accent

Before Hyundai had a 10 year warranty, they produced cars of such dubious quality that they eventually had to offer 10 year warranties to stay in business.  This was my first "second car", purchased specifically to be efficient for a long Seattle area commute from Monroe to Renton on 522/405.  This commute introduced me to drive time radio in the Puget Sound in an era when AM sports radio was about the only thing that kept me sane. Groz with Gas. And Softy.  Funny dudes that made a 60-90 minute one way commute possible.  The car itself was fine.  The manual window on the driver's side always seemed to be broken. Other than that, it got the job done and had good fuel economy. 

1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

After moving to Wisconsin, the lure of decent traction in the snow was strong. This was a really nice Jeep. Well equipped.  I bought it used and it came with the standard cracked exhaust manifold.  The things you learn. Anyway, Jeeps are cool. If you live & work in the right scenario, they have a specific utility than no other truckster has ever matched.  [Jeep Wave!]

2002 Chevrolet Venture

We attempted to replace the Dodge Caravan by getting used vans at auction.  Attempt number one was a Chevy Venture. Long wheel base, captains chairs, and shoddy design. I can't remember the specific reason why this van lasted less than a year with our family.  No memory. Maybe it was bad?

2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette

Attempt number 2 at auction got us this fully loaded wedge of crap.  It had fancy captains seats all the way back.  6 individual pieces.  This was before fold-into-floor was invented by Honda, so at least removing the seats meant lugging a slightly less heavy & awkward thing into the garage. If I am remembering correctly, this van even had the DVD monitor in the ceiling. It cost $40K when new.  Apparently that did not include working electrical, as this van's fatal flaw was a battery connection system that was never repaired correctly. It would intermittently leave a soccer mom stalled alongside the road with 3 little soccer players in the back.  Sort of a vehicle death sentence. Buh-bye. 

2006 Scion xA

Toyota rolled out a slick little trio of nicely made compact cars right about the time gas got really expensive.  With a reasonably long commute, the Jeep was doomed.  The xA’s four doors also made it simpler to get all the people in & out.  (note to self for future Jeeps)

2005 Mazda 5

The last of the family vans was also the coolest and smallest. This car drove the best, had the best door and seat systems, and got good mileage.  We discovered it a bit late in the minivan game, however.  Front wheel drive plus touring tires equaled the end of this car once we moved to the snowy, rolling hills of the Palouse.  We literally were stuck in our neighborhood with just a few inches of snow due to lack of traction. Many swear words occurred that day. 

2004 Chevrolet Suburban

Sing the praises of the all-purpose, 8 seat people and stuff mover. King of the road. Why did no one tell me about the Suburban 10 years earlier? So much better than a minivan.  With a bulletproof V8 power plant, and a pleasant 12-14 miles per gallon...oh yeah, there's that.  Remember when gas reached about $4.00 per gallon.  The Suburban had a 33 gallon fuel tank.  If you just did the math, you will understand my tears at the time.  Pumps would stop pumping at $100.  

Anyway, this rig (my first official rig) could do pretty much everything a suburban Dad needed to get done with a truck.  No one in my family really liked driving it except me (too big), but they sure liked falling asleep in it on road trips. 

2003 Jeep Wrangler

The second Jeep was picked up rather late in it's life as a college car for my son.  Still a Jeep, still cool.  [Jeep Wave]

2013 Mini Paceman S AWD 

Welcome to the empty-nester era. The kids have moved along. The wife has moved along. Time to try a car that is focused on the driver experience. How about a coupe with huge doors? With leather seats, a sunroof, fancy stereo, AWD, and turbo turbo. Weee!

2016 Ford Transit Connect

A mini camper/cargo van experiment. I may have been slightly ahead of the curve. Maybe what I really wanted is the now more readily available 4WD Mercedes Sprinter.  Maybe I'll try this again someday.

2015 Nissan Frontier

Have you ever wanted to try a pickup truck?  This was my first attempt. I really liked this truck, but it stops there. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing special about it either. Never really used the open bed to haul stuff very often. Somewhat under used as a truck.  So, on to another vehicle.

2018 Jeep Wrangler TJ Sport

OK, one more Jeep for me. With a 5 mile roundtrip daily commute in a area with snow and hills, this Jeep just fit the bill. This particular model had the cold-weather package.  It was quite nice. Nothing really bad so say about it. I did, however, begin thinking more about modern safety systems in cars, and the Jeep is really lacking in that regard. Plus, I moved to a state where 85mph is a fairly normal speed.  That is about 20 mph outside a Jeep comfort zone.  Oh well. [possibly the last Jeep wave]

2019 Hyundai Veloster R spec Turbo

Ever want a car just to compliment a fleet of vehicles or suit a specific use case?  Introducing the Veloster. A small coupe with a very nice compliment of driver features such as turbo, sport mode, more turbo, 6 speed manual transmission with short-throw shifter, a fancy stereo and a bunch of modern electronics. It handles like a go-kart.

This car makes me want to route plan road trips through the mountains. Curvy roads, here I come.

2016 Volvo XC70

The sensible counter-balance to the Veloster is a Volvo station wagon.  I've actually always wanted one of these, and the 2016 model is the last year of the squarish XC70 wagon.  A very solid and safe ride that gets good gas mileage and provides a quiet ride on the freeway at high speeds. With the rear seats folded down, it can haul a bunch of stuff and can tow 3500 pounds as well. And with the right tires, this should be a good Winter vehicle, too.