[censored] cars your parents owned

[exranger06]

The first parent's cars that I was old enough to remember were my father's 1985 Chevy S10 Blazer and my mother's 1983? Chevy Camaro Berlinetta. I don't remember enough to judge whether they were junk or not. I remember my mom complaining about how gutless and slow the Blazer was. I found the VIN in some old records and ran a Carfax on it out of curiousity a few years ago. It's apparently still driving somewhere.

I remember the Camaro missing 3 of its center caps, no AC, T-tops, the driver's seat belt being broken, something about the headlights only working on high beam, and riding home from pre-school in the back seat while my mom listened to 80s pop songs by Bon Jovi and Heart.

The cars they bought after those have been very good and reliable and we still have them today. Two of them, in fact are in my signature. Mom got the Accord in 1995 and Dad got the Explorer in 1996.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

1991 Escort

The engine had no power, got lousy mileage, and ran hot. The automatic transmission would go into third gear almost as soon as you started moving, and would hold third no matter how slow you were going or how steep a hill you were climbing, so you had to shift it manually. Ford claimed the car staying in top gear all the time was a "feature", to improve fuel economy. The only time it would shift out of third was when you hit the brakes. As soon as the brakes were applied, the trans would suddenly drop into second or first (depending on speed) and the engine would also rev up as if the car was actively trying to thwart your efforts to stop. You had to remember to put it in neutral if you wanted to stop. The brakes, for their part, barely worked at all. It had those automatic seatbelts that one day quit working and stuck in the forward position, so you didn't have a shoulder harness, just the lap belt.

Bad, bad, dangerous car.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
1991 Escort

The engine had no power, got lousy mileage, and ran hot. The automatic transmission would go into third gear almost as soon as you started moving, and would hold third no matter how slow you were going or how steep a hill you were climbing, so you had to shift it manually. Ford claimed the car staying in top gear all the time was a "feature", to improve fuel economy. The only time it would shift out of third was when you hit the brakes. As soon as the brakes were applied, the trans would suddenly drop into second or first (depending on speed) and the engine would also rev up as if the car was actively trying to thwart your efforts to stop. You had to remember to put it in neutral if you wanted to stop. The brakes, for their part, barely worked at all. It had those automatic seatbelts that one day quit working and stuck in the forward position, so you didn't have a shoulder harness, just the lap belt.

Bad, bad, dangerous car.

I'll have to admit my '84 wasn't that bad.

 

[addyguy]

I've mentioned here upteen million times about my dad's 1978 Chevrolet Malibu wagon with a 305 V-8 he bought brand new in June 1978.

I have fond memories of it, as it was the car I grew up with, but in general it had nothing but problems. I remember near the end, the engine was so badly carboned-up, it would literally diesel-on after shut off for 5 minutes.

It took forever to start, and when it did, it coughed out HUGE clouds of black smoke, and stalled all the time. In the early years, it was re-painted and had tranny work under warranty....it totally soured my dad on NA vehicles 'till his dying day.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
I've mentioned here upteen million times about my dad's 1978 Chevrolet Malibu wagon with a 305 V-8 he bought brand new in June 1978.

I have fond memories of it, as it was the car I grew up with, but in general it had nothing but problems. I remember near the end, the engine was so badly carboned-up, it would literally diesel-on after shut off for 5 minutes.

It took forever to start, and when it did, it coughed out HUGE clouds of black smoke, and stalled all the time. In the early years, it was re-painted and had tranny work under warranty....it totally soured my dad on NA vehicles 'till his dying day.


Our wagon did that! (the dieseling) dad had to run it on high-test to get it to stop.

 

[jayg]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
....it totally soured my dad on NA vehicles 'till his dying day.


Naturally Aspirated?