With the poll asking if the Model 3 is the most you've ever spent on a vehicle, that got me thinking about my previous cars. So here's my history and I invite others to contribute and maybe we can find some common ground. Or debate the virtues of Model "A" vs. Model "B". Just no flame wars.... 1973-75: (years are approximate, given my age and recollection) 1967 Dodge Polara (aka, the "Tank"). Parents car driven in high school. Safest thing ever on the road. Except when the power steering would occasionally go out. Like on highway 17 over to Santa Cruz. 1975-80: 1971 Lincoln Mercury Capri (2000cc engine). Bought from my parents; previously my older brother's car. Last car that I was able to really work on. Personally did the tune-ups, replaced the water pump, alternator and timing belt, adjusted the valve clearances, re-built the carburetor, adjusted the clutch. Left the brakes and transmission to the experts. 1980-88: 1980 Mazda RX-7 GS. First car I bought new. Last couple of years was running with an aftermarket turbo. 1984-91: 1984 Mazda 626LX 5-door hatchback. Bought new. Eventually sold it to my brother. 1991-2000: 1981 Chevy Camaro. Wife's car she replaced with a Dodge Caravan. I had bought her a license plate frame that said: "Wow! I could of had a V8!" (it was the gutless 6 cylinder). 2000-present: 2000 BMW 323i. Bought via this new thing called the "internet" from CarOrder.com. In case you're not familiar with this company, they acted like a middleman between the customer and traditional dealers. They took a person's order and then shopped around for a dealer willing to supply the car at CarOrder's price. Although I lived in San Jose they sourced the car from Alexander BMW in L.A. They must have lost some money on this transaction as I configured the car with the standard leatherette but when I was given the detailed specs prior to delivery saw that it was built with leather. Told them about the error but they said they would cover it. About a year later they closed their "doors".
Also just 2: 1991 manual trans Ford Escort for 14 years. 2005 Prius right now that just reached 13 years in April. I take delivery of the best (and maybe last) car I’ll ever buy on Friday. Can’t freaking wait.
1980 Toyota Starlet 1987 Mitsubishi Minivan 1991 Geo Metro 1995 Honda Civic 1998 BMW M3 2004 Honda Civic 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2014 Tesla Model S 2018 Tesla Model 3
89 golf 98 golf 93 golf 81 rabbit pickup 83 rabbit pickup 00 Jetta 06 golf 10 transit connect ftw After Dieselgate I'm more or less done with VW, except I really like the styling of the new golf wagon and will never sell my rabbit Pickup.
67 vw bug 1985-86 75 delta 88 1986-87 left abandoned 83 Buick skylark 1988-90 velor seats 90 2dr Honda Accord 1990-93 89 Jeep Sahara 1992-93 93 240sx rag top 1993-2001 01 Audi TT 01-05 baseball glove 04 Audi TT 05-12 V6 92 240sx convert 2010-10 left abandoned 11 Mini clubman 12-15 piece of... 71 Chevelle 2012-17 small block 15 VW GTI 2015-...daughter drives 18 Model 3.... 1964 Wife... 1998-presently 1989 Honda Accord 2000 2000 Volvo S60 2000-04 2004 Volvo Xc 90 04-08 2008 Toyota Highlander 17 other twin daughter drives 2017 Tesla Model X presently
1977 VW Rabbit 1985 Ford Tempo 1993 Acura Integra 1996 Acura Integra 2000 Audi A4 2007 Audi A4 2013 BMW 328i 2016 BMW 340i
1980 Chevy Impala wagon (got from my Dad who bought it about 1982) 1987 Ford Festiva (wife's when we got married) 1992 Oldsmobile Achieva (replaced the Festiva around 1997) 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix (replaced the Achieva in 2000) 1997 Subaru Legacy wagon (replaced the Grand Prix in 2002) 1989 Subaru Justy (replaced the Impala in 2003) 2001 Toyota Echo (replaced the Justy in 2005) 2008 Toyota Matrix (replaced the Legacy in 2012) 2014 Chevy Spark EV (2017) The Impala was made in the same factory where they make the Teslas - it was GM's Fremont Assembly from 1962-1982. I should post my Dad's list. It's ridiculously long.
Upcoming: Tesla Model 3 2015 Jaguar F-Type R (current) 2005 Toyota Highlander (current) 1998 Toyota Tacoma (current) 1995 Ferrari F355 GTB 2015 Toyota FR-S 2006 BMW Z4 3.0si Coupe 2003 BMW Z4 2.8si Convertible 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid 2000 Toyota Tundra 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee 1992 Mazda MX3-GS 1989 Toyota Corolla 1983 Toyota Corolla 1981 Audi 4000 5+5 1978 Datsun 310GX
1980 VW Rabbit 1989 Honda Civic 199x Nissan Sentra 198x Dotson something hatchback 1994 Dodge Ram 1500 1997 Ford Taurus (start sales career with company cars) 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix 200x Ford F-150 200x Buick LeSabre 201x Chevy Equinox 201x Chevy Trailblazer 201x GMC Envoy 2006 Lexus ES330 (new job, no company car) 2014 Mazda CX-9
1996 Maruti-Suzuki 800 1999 Toyota Corolla 2007 Hyundai Elantra 2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive
2018 Tesla 3 LR 2008 Cadillac CTS awd (current) 2000 Chevrolet Corvette (current) 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix 1996 Eagle Vision Tsi 1984 Pontiac STE 1978 Chevrolet Monza 1974 Chevrolet Vega
1982 Honda Prelude hand-me-down from my father in high school. 1995 Toyota Tercel base, green, first car bought new. Still see them on the road. 1996 Toyota Celica ST anniversary edition. First automatic, bought used in 1998. 2003 Honda Insight, bought used in 2004. Only Insight I’ve ever seen with daytime running lights. Only other automatic. 1997 BMW F650ST motorcycle, bought in 2005. 2007 BMW F800ST, bought new. Hopefully the Model 3 will be a more reliable first-run vehicle than this was. Sold in March 2016, just a few days before a certain reveal... 2008 Ducati Monster M695, second vehicle bought new. Still have it. 2009 Toyota Yaris hatchback base, traded in the Insight. Definitely a knee-jerk reaction to suddenly needing to replace the battery pack in my Insight after less than 40,000 miles. Buyer picking it up in two weeks. - spouse enters the picture, with a 1977 Datsun 280z Zap edition we still have. - 2004 Moto Guzzi Breva 750 for spouse. - 2013 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer for spouse. 2011 Toyota Tacoma standard cab, manual, bought in 2015. With the Model 3, we’ll be done for fifteen years or longer.
1966 VW Bus Blue with Sunroof and 23 windows I picked up from the Wolfsburg factory when I was 5 (left for my sister) 1973 Pinto Brown (wrecked) 1985 Dodge Daytona Gold (wrecked) 1989 Chrysler Le Baron convertible Burgundy (threw a rod) 1992 Chrysler Le Baron convertible Silver (donated to PBS) Too bad they stopped making Le Barons And now all the cars in my .sig, this thread appeals to my vanity. It's been fun, but I am done buying cars this lifetime -Randy
Almost all used cars and all manual transmissions... 1990 Geo Metro* (1990-96) 1989 Toyota Supra (1996-98) 1991 Nissan Maxima SE (1998-99) 1999 Honda Civic Si* (1999-2000) 2001 BMW 330i (2004-2008) 2001 BMW 325it (2010-present) *new
2004 Honda Pilot 2008 Lexus ES350 2013 Nissan Leaf S 2017 Chevy Volt Premier Still waiting for my Vin for the 3.
Not sure about some of the model years, but here goes: 1984 VW rabbit 1986 Honda CRX 1987 Acura Legend 1989 Toyota pickup 1996 Acura Integra 1997 Honda Prelude 2006 Acura TL 2007 Acura TSX 2008 MINI Cooper S 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2013 Nissan Leaf In my memory, the Honda CRX is still the most fun car I’ve ever owned (although woefully underpowered). Would be really interesting to go back in time and drive it after the M3. I’m sure it wouldn’t hold up too well to the test of time! Sometimes I do miss my manual transmissions, though. Wonder if you could add a simulated stick shift to an EV...?
