Just for fun: shopping for dream cars

1965 Mustang with 289 V8, $21,000

1959 MGA $7,000

1963 Pontiac Bonneville

2001 VW Cabrio with 19K miles $9,500

1970 Beetle Fully Restored $6,500.

Kid Kar Two: 1999 Toyota 4-Runner

This is Maura’s Car but since my name is on the title and I insure and repair and drive it, I’m including it. I like this car and with 175,000 miles it still runs like a top. We bought it from a good friend who had babied the car since it was new. He needed to buy a minivan since his family was growing and we paid what the dealer was offering him. It was the best deal we ever made.

Kid Kar One: 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport

Since my name is on the title and I am paying for it, insuring it, and repairing it, I am counting it. I will probably end up driving it someday soon. This is John’s car. It has a 5-2tar safety rating and isn’t bad to look at or drive. Nothing exciting but a good buy if you can find one in good condition.

Big Big Mama: 2001 Suburban

Mary wasn’t happy with the Toyota Sienna because she couldn’t intimidate anyone. I think she was out of sync with the current rage of SUV Mom’s. Anyway, she saw this 2001 Suburban on a dealer’s lot and by the end of the day it was ours. Big Mama is dark red with a tan leather interior and just about every power accessory. She gets about 12 MPG which isn’t good when gasoline was $4 a gallon. We still have this car with 101,o00 miles.

Third Minivan is the charm: 2002 Totota Sienna

Here’s the progression: I had the Grand Prix. The Caprice Classic wagon was all but dead. John wanted the Expedition. Mom wanted a new car. She picked out a new Toyota Sienna. She never wastes much time researching or shopping. Three white cars. Everybody was happy for now.

Later we traded in the Grand Prix on a Suburban because the Sienna was too small for Mary. She said she couldn’t intimidate anyone with it like she could with the Expedition. I ended up with the Sienna. Not as cool as the Grand Prix but a very good car. We still have it at this writing with 127,000 miles on it.

My first and only Pontiac: 2000 Gran Prix

This is one of my top ten all time favorite vehicles I have owned. Originally we bought this for John, our first born. We bought it in 2001 from Enterprise Rent-a-car. It was white with a black interior with a V6. I was envious. He drove it for about 18 months or three accidents in high school, then I inherited it when he went to DePaul and we put the Caprice Classic wagon out to pasture at the back of our driveway.

I loved this car and it drove like a dream. Madeleine, Maura and Beth all learned to drive on it and got their licenses using it.

Alas, we traded it in, in its prime for the Big Red Beast, our 2001 Chevy Suburban. I wish I still had that car.

Big Mama: 1996 Chevy Caprice Wagon

This is one of my top ten all time favorite vehicles I have owned. When the lease was up on the 1990 Volvo wagon we snagged this beauty with only 12,000 miles on it. This was the last big mama station wagon and a memory of an era long gone. This is what the yuppies drove before Volvo’s and SUV’s were popular. This is what you saw everybody driving outside a Catholic school (you know – no birth control).

Ours was white with a tan interior. Power everything. 5.7 Liter V8 and a rear facing third row. I loved this car!

This was great for driving girls to traveling soccer games and hauling groceries and soccer gear.

We pretty much ran it into the ground then gave it to John to finish it off. With the engive almost blown we gave it to a family in need of transportation. I was glad it could limp out of our driveway. Great memories.

Diamond in the rough: 1962 Buick Skylark Ragtop

This is one of my top ten all time favorite vehicles I have owned. This was an unbelievable find. A 1962 Buick Skylark ragtop in 1973! It was in mint condition and purchased from the original owner in Wilmette. He had all the maintenance records from the local Buick dealer. It was robin’s egg blue with a white top. I thought the interior was brown but the owner and his wife were snokers. Two bottles of 409 later and I discovered the interior matched the exterior.

I bought the car for $400! It has a 200 cubic inch aluminum block V8! Smaller than most sixes but plenty pf pep for a car this size. This car was a ton of fun to drive.

Then one day it happened…reverse went out on the car. I had to park it where I would only need to go forward. A new transmission would cost more than I paid for the car so I bid it farewell. It was fun while t lasted and I wish I still had it today!

First SUV: 1995 Ford Expedition

The Aerostar was so ugly my wife traded it in before it was three years old. And the family was growing again. We now had seven children and couldn’t fit in a minivan anymore. So one winter day Mary showed up with a brand new loaded Expedition. She’s always been full of surprises.

We pretty much ran this car into the ground and then passed it on to John to finish the job. It was totaled in 2005 – RIP.

Second Ugliest Car: 1993 Ford Aerostar Minivan

After the Pacer, this had to be the ugliest car I ever owned. It always reminded me of a gian ant eater. This was an ugly period for minivans. This is how we invested the insurance money from the totaled Dodge Caravan. I don’t think anybody ever liked it. Ours looked just like this one.