My Cars

A chronological history of the cars I have owned and comments. I will try to add pictures at some point.

1983 Chevy Camaro – A fun and fast car, std transmission though the clutch must have been misaligned because it chattered in reverse when the clutch was partially engaged. Handled like crap though, but the guys loved it. All black

1980 Plymouth Horizon – I bought this car (for commuting) and the Alfa at the same time with the proceeds from the camaro. I remember once I drove from the passenger seat while Meg was in the driver’s seat cause she was hitting every bump in the road.

1974 Alfa Romeo Spider – what a great story. bought for $275 and it cost 190 in a truck and trailer to bring it home. A literal barn find it had a ton of rust and a squirrel’s nest in the airfilter. Dad and I did a ton of work and I had an offer for 5K at one point but I turned it down because I wanted 5500. Then I sold it to Mark the idiot who pulled a Mass Lemon Law BS run on me cause a 30 year old car didn’t run great. a-hole. Later I sold it to Sasha Ladovac in Croatia over eBay. I shipped it there (his money) and even filled out my export forms, that was cool.

 

1987 Toyota Tercel – The little red thing I piled miles on to get to Bentley. Ribbsey rolled over me and died one night coming home from dropping off Meg. That was scary

1975 BMW 2002 – Man I wanted this car to work out. I had the bright idea that I would restore cars for a profit. This was a rare automatic with a factory sunroof. It ran, but never on the street. I lost a ton shipping it to the junk yard right before the wedding.

1994 Dodge Neon – Our first real (and our first new) car. I loved the idea of this car and what Chrysler did with the engineering and making it simple. It was a great car

1987 GMC S10 Pickup – Cheap truck when I had the idea for the Stofler System and I thought I would be able to start my own business. That was never allowed to happen

1996 Geo Tracker – New car when it became clear that I needed something fun and sporty and convertible that got great gas mileage. I liked this car even though everyone thought it was silly

1997 Pontiac Vibe – Another great car that went nowhere. Very utilitarian, cheap and got good gas mileage. It became all mine when Meg wanted that silly VW Jetta

1998 Audi A4 – The BMW 2002 was supposed to be this car. I wanted deep blue and white leather seats. This was a stripped down Audi and had way too much turbo lag. But it was fast on the highway and really pretty. Plus quattro was fun.

2001 Audi A4 – After I started cranking miles on cars when consulting, I figured that my mileage reimbursement would let me just keep swapping cars, so I bought the newer version. Fun car, much more power. This one was dark grey and had really cool 5-spoke rims. Cost a fortune to maintain.

1999 Dodge Grand Caravan – This was a jolt but we just had Taylor/Haley and the dogs and bought the lake house. I hated driving it, but it was very useful. Was even good for tailgating cause it held a ton.

2005 Mini Cooper – I don’t care how much of a chick-car this is, this car was awesome. It was fast, supercharged, had a TON of power for its weight and drove like a go-cart. I even got both carseats in the back. I miss this car

2006 Pontiac G6– Loren called it the “disposable car” because I just wanted something 4 door and practical for the 2 year lease. I still remember signing the papers and then realizing it didn’t have remote locks. Never even occured to me that a car wouldn’t have them!

2008 Mercedes C280 – What a nice car. I hated buying cars so much, I just told Loren to tell me what I should pay. It was a nice car, but I am sure the axle was about to die when I sold it. I’ll never forget the $200 oil change/maintenance. What a ripoff

2010 Ford F150 – A little of everything. Great for tailgating, trailering, snow, hauling, and holding 4 people and dogs. Crappy gas mileage is killing me and I want to ride my bicycle to make up for it, but it is a useful vehicle. I’ll never sell it.

2013 Ford Focus. Nice little car to get great gas mileage. Corners well with almost no body roll, that surprised me. Really nice suspension even though it has no power…but that is what I wanted.  2016 update – this will be Taylor’s car.  Yes I taught a Millenial to drive a standard transmission, hat-tip to me.

2011 Buick Regal. I really like this car, good styling, nice interior, great ride and has some pickup.  First used car that I have bought since the minvan.  Yes I am aware of the old-person stigma of owning a Buick.  When I told Loren he said. “What are you 106?!?”  Taylor is now driving the Focus.

2000 Ford E35SUP Bus.  Yes I bought a bus.  12 Passenger tailgating vehicle and it kicks ass.  Can’t wait to get it rigged up with all the gear and drive it to games.  Insuring commercial is a pain and not sure if I can keep TAILG8R on there, we’ll see

2018 Ford 150.  I traded the Buick and my old truck for a new F150 lease in black.  I really like this truck, it’s so smooth and will work better with TheMissionZone.  But the door panels are plastic?!?!  My skins won’t even stick on, ugh.