My love of cars started as a young boy.  It started the day that I saw my first Mercedes SL It was the day that I decided that one day I would have to own one.  I didn’t know how.  I didn’t know when.  I just knew…one day…

First Car – 1982 Pontiac T1000

Specs

Engine: 1.6 Liter, 62hp, Inline 4 cylinder

Rear-wheel drive, 4 door, 4 seater, hatchback

(image found on Tumbler)

My first car was a 1982 Pontiac T1000.   It is the only car that I have owned that I do not have a picture of, so I had to scour the Internet for a suitable picture.  Surprisingly, it was more difficult than I anticipated.  The Pontiac T1000 was, to put it simply, a Chevrolet Chevette with a Pontiac badge.

I do not have many favorable memories of this car in the short period of time I owned it. I can only say that it was my first.  Like that first of anything in life our memories can be with good, bad, or indifferent.  The “indifferent” Pontiac T1000.

Second Car – 1988 Chrysler Conquest TSI

Specs

Engine: 2.6 Liter, 188hp, Inline 4 cylinder w/Turbo Charger

Rear-wheel drive, 2 door coupe, 5 seater, hatchback

My dream car was always a Mercedes SL  I breathe SL.  I dreamed SL.  But until I could reach the dream I had to go live the life before the dream.  Other than the SL, there was a car that I considered the closest thing to an SL for the average human (my opinion).  It was a Nissan Z.  As a young man, I would see the Nissan Z with it’s two-seater sportiness, and it’s T-top (targa top) and it would inspire other dreams.  Maybe the Mercedes SL was beyond my grasp, but the Nissan Z car seemed achievable.  Now having said all of that, my second car was a car that competed with the Nissan Z back in the 80’s.  The Chrysler Conquest TSI.

My early car history was starting with contrasts.  Cars that wanted to be something else.  The 1988 Chrysler Conquest TSI (similar to my first car) was a basically a Mitsubishi Starion.

Talk about fun.  This car was a blast!  In some ways it felt like my true first car.  Although it wasn’t my first car I had a bunch of firsts in it.  First speeding ticket.  First time achieving triple digits.  First real road trip.  First time experiencing the responsibility and cost of ownership of a sports car.  Ah, the memories…

The Conquest had one of the best 5 speed shifters I had ever driven.  I rear wheel driven 4 cylinder with a turbo charger.  Blistering speed.  Over a hundred horse power more than my first vehicle.  Over 2 decades after owning it, I still think of it favorably.  For it’s time, the car was a head turner and a car that generated a lot of compliments and conversation from strangers.  Also a lot of questions from other Conquest owners.  “Hey?!  Have you had trouble with your turbo?” No.  “Oh, you are lucky.  If I was you I’d get rid of it before you do.”  Hmmm.

Long story short, I got rid of it when the turbo burned out at right about 70K miles.  I had the turbo replaced by the Chrysler dealership.  I traded the car in a few days later…

Third car – 1987 Nissan 300ZX

Specs

Engine: 3.0 Liter, 160hp, V6

Rear-wheel drive, 2 door coupe, 2 seater, hatchback

The 300ZX.  The “Z” car.  It was fun.  It was fast.  It was short lived…at least for me.

This Z car with its Targa Top (T-Top is what they called it) was an incredible car.  It was mated with Nissan’s reliable V6 engine and had an impressive stance that drew attention and admiration from many the onlooker.  Unfortunately it was taken out of my service prematurely due to a run-in with a MAC truck.  Yes.  I was hit by a MAC truck.  Driven by a guy in his 60’s with an expired CDL learners permit.  Unreal.  I couldn’t make that story up.

Fourth car – 1990 Nissan 300ZX

Specs

Engine: 2.6 Liter, 222hp, V6

Rear-wheel drive, 2 door coupe, 2 seater, hatchback

After losing the 87′ Z prematurely, I wanted a replacement, but could not bring myself to replace it with the same year and body style.  There were too things that brought me to my 1990 300ZX.  One was a commercial that I saw on TV that ended up getting banned.  It was estimated that the car in the commercial was going in excess of 150mph.  150mph!  I was intrigued.  You can find the commercial here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCJE1LiHo0s

The second thing was an experience that happened approximately a year and a half earlier while driving on the freeway near Baltimore, Maryland.  This memory linked directly in my mind to that commercial mentioned and linked to above.  It was late, around 1am in the morning.  Something was approaching me from the rear…fast!!  It looked like two bright pin-lights.  I was driving around 60mph at the time.  Quickly, the two pin-lights overtook me and passed to the left.  I saw that they were on the newest (at the time) model 300ZX.  I floored the accelerator in my feeble attempt to catch this Z and maybe run with it for a bit.  Not a chance.  This thing accelerated and pulled away like a bad kid from the loose grip of a parent at a candy store.  I had to back off at 90mph or so, due to safety…mine.  This Z was hitting slight curvatures in the road as though the car was a roller coaster mounted on rails.  In my mind, I was like “WOW, I HAVE TO GET ONE OF THOSE!“.

Eventually, I went to the Nissan dealer and purchased the vehicle pictured.  It was fun.  It was fast.  It was everything that I imagined it would be.  Easily tapping the triple digits, it seemed as though it would easily hit the 155mph limit placed on it by a governor.  If I were in a mood to admit it, I would admit that I have tried to touch that governed limit, and admittedly I would also have to admit that there is nowhere that I had driven that Z where you could safely do it.  I would also have to admit that in the mid-triple digits this car seemed to barely be breathing hard and still pulled like a bat out of hell.  It would rip the doors off of any Mustang of that time period (at highway speeds), out run Porsches’ and give fits to Corvettes and any other car that called itself a sports car.

Too bad I am not in the “admitting” mood.

Fifth Car – 1995 Dodge Avenger

Specs

Engine: 2.5 Liter, 155hp, V6

Front-wheel drive, 2 door coupe, 5 seater

There comes a time in every man’s life where he has to grow up.  Put away the toys and the things of youth and replace them with the things that come attached to new found responsibility.  For many, the new responsibility takes the form of wife and kids as the time it did for me.  I could not justify keeping the Nissan Z car any longer and relegated myself with the comfort that I had the opportunity to not only have one Z car, but two in my time.  But I still wanted fun. I wanted sportiness.  I wanted some measure of practicality, somewhere to put those child seats and not feel like I was being a bad dad or something, but I did not want a minivan or station wagon.

Enter the 1995 Dodge Avenger.  Enter the world of driving something new to the market.  Enter the “regular visit to the service shop” club.  Horrible, horrible experience with a vehicle.  Has to go down as the most horrible car experience that I have had in my life.  It was a nice looking car at the time, but not nice in the reliability department.

I purchased this car with 0 miles on it right off of the showroom floor.  In the year or so that I kept it, it was in the shop no less than 10 times.  Each time requiring the services of a flatbed tow truck.  Once it went dead at a car wash.  Dead.  I mean no lights, no warnings, no indicators, no ignition, no nothing.  Dead.  Not dead battery.  No jumping.  No hooking up a cable and firing it back to life.  Dead.  It was the event that made me say “I am getting rid of this damned thing!’  It did not help that the Dodge dealer could not seem to ever figure out what was wrong with it.  Once they even kept my car for a week and never called to update me on the status.  I called them after a week to ask why no one has called me to update me on my vehicle and they were like “oh, your car is ready”.  I was like “well, what was the problem with it?” and they were like “Nothing was wrong with it.” Really???  Really?  You kept my car for a week, didn’t call me, and you are telling me that nothing was wrong with it?  Not to mention that the car came in on a flatbed tow truck (yet again), but they swore it was perfectly fine and they found no issue with it.  Well, I never found another issue with it either.  I got rid of it!

Sixth Car – 1993 Acura Legend

Specs

Engine: 3.2 Liter, 200hp, V6

Front-wheel drive, 4 door sedan, 5 seater

We have heard legends.  Fables.  Stories from our childhood.  Some evoked fear.  Others invoked wonder and amazement.  I had a Legend that invoked excitement.

The 1993 Acura Legend.  My first foray into the luxury sedan arena.  It was front wheel drive and occasionally had that annoying tracking issue that powerful front wheel drive vehicles were accustomed to have during that time period.  But boy was it a great vehicle.  It was the perfect antidote to the sickness I felt from the ailment call the Dodge Avenger.  This car left such a great impression upon me that I wanted another Acura in my stable…

Seventh Car – 2004 Acura MDX

Specs

Engine: 3.5 Liter, 265hp, V6

All-wheel drive, 4 door Crossover, 7 seater

…enter the stable-mate.  The Acura MDX.  I had such an affinity to the Acura Legend that I held on to it for almost a decade.  When it started getting a bit long in the tooth, although I wanted to hold it for a bit longer, I got the MDX and both Acura’s were able to compliment each other.  The MDX drove well for an SUV and had a good amount of available power.  It had a nice stance and inspired a feeling of safety when driving.  Funny, but it actually felt like it drove better in the in climate weather conditions like rain and snow.  In any of the conditions that I drove this vehicle I never felt as though it could not meet and excel at the challenge.

Eighth Car – 2005 Mercedes SL500

Specs

Engine: 5.0 Liter, 302hp, V8

Rear-wheel drive, 2 door coupe, 2 seater, Hardtop Convertible

Life is about dreams.  We dream.  Usually we are asleep.  When we wake, dreams fade away like mist or fog when the sun starts to burn it away.  Have you ever lived the dream

Ninth Car – 2013 BMW X3

Specs

Engine: 2.0 Liter, 240hp, Inline 4 cylinder w/Twin-Turbo Chargers

All-wheel drive, 4 door Crossover, 5 seater

The BMW X3.  A SUV I have kept my eye on for a while.  I always thought that when I decided to get another SUV it would be either a BMW or a Porsche.   I test drove a couple of examples of both the Porsche and BMW.  I even tested an Audi Q5.  I chose the BMW.  This BMW, to be a turbo-4, was a great vehicle.  It felt safe and confident.  Road worthy.  I even got a chance to test it driving back from Maryland to North Carolina during a freak snow storm  It was sure footed and safely got me to my destination.

Unfortunately, my time with the X3 ended prematurely.  February 2020 at the front end of the Covid-19 pandemic, I hit a herd of deer that ran out in front of me one evening after work, which totaled the BMW.  I came through unscathed.

Tenth Car – 2019 Land Rover Range Rover HSE

Specs

Engine: 3.0 Liter, 340hp supercharged V-6

Four-wheel drive, 4 door, 5 seater, Luxury SUV

I finally replaced the BMW. I took a chance on a vehicle that I have quietly admired from afar. The Range Rover. I always thought that it was a beautiful vehicle. I have seen it since I was a young kid, mostly on television or in old movies, usually driving across desert terrains. It had that rugged adventure persona in my mind. I used to see them occasionally in person but never knew anyone that owned one.

I heard a lot about them from listening to casual conversation and rumor. I heard they were a force to be reckoned with for off-road prowess, expensive to purchase, and notoriously unreliable from a mechanical perspective.

I did not let this deter me. I chose to ignore the negatives and rumors. I heard some of the same things about my dream car, the Mercedes SL, and I am still driving it over the 200K mile mark and enjoying every minute of it.

I found an expensive, but excellent conditioned used example that was driven for a relatively high amount of highway miles by a auto dealership owner and his wife. I got a slight discount in the used price, enough to make it a more attractive option and entered into the world of the top-tier luxury SUV market.

Wonderfully appointed with luxury features. Smooth and relatively quiet to drive. The Range Rover feels like driving a bank vault. Not due to the expense (as you would probably assume from that analogy) but rather due to the feel of safety. It feels safe and commanding. A almost snobbish commanding feel on the road. Features and configurations galore. Height adjustments, screen configurations, comfort configuration options, safety features…there are so many things to adjust that I forget them occasionally.

I look forward to seeing how it handles in adverse weather and conditions. Maybe even a bit of light off-road. We will see.