In November of 2004, we bought this 1991 Nissan 300ZX for me
to primarily drive to and from work.
It's in great condition and is a lot of fun to drive.
Because
we expecting to expand our family soon, I couldn't purchase a twin-turbo,
because all of the 2+2 (that means it has a back seat, albeit small) models are
naturally aspirated only. All is not lost though. It still comes
with a stock 222 hp 24-valve V6. So with that and the 5-speed, it moves
quick enough to have fun, while still hopefully keeping me out of trouble.
I bought my Kawasaki 454LTD for $1200 in
August 2002. It has been worth every penny.
From August - November of 2004, it was my primary means of transportation. It accelerates much better than my Suzuki (below) and is much more comfortable for long rides, but of course the GS500E handled better and had a more aggressive riding stance, which I kind of miss.
We bought our 1997 Mazda Miata for Amanda in November 2003,
then sold it before moving to California in August 2004 to avoid shipping costs
and also because she was pregnant and thus couldn't drive it much longer anyway.
It was the equal to, but opposite of my Grand National (below) in terms of performance.
By this I mean that my GN accelerated extremely well, but was big and heavy, and
thus handled terribly.
The Miata didn't accelerate all that quickly (although it wasn't terribly slow either),
but was a small 2-seater that felt light and peppy and handled spectacularly.
This was my dad's 1991 Ford Aerostar, after I inherited it.
I drove it around for just a few months.
This is definitely not the type of vehicle that I would
ever need or want without having any (or perhaps many) children, but my dad really
loved it and drove it around for many years.
I owned this vehicle for about 5 years. It's a 1986 Ford BroncoII 4WD.
While not a very sporty or fast vehicle, it was still pretty fun to
drive, especially off road. The picture on the right was taken after
tearing through some trails and mud.
This is the motorcycle that I owned for about a year,
starting in December of 1999. It was a 1989 Suzuki GS500E.
It was a complete piece of crap when I bought it (for $730),
but was in pretty decent condition after I invested far too much time and money
(paint, new gas tank, brakes, forks rebuilt, misc bolts and so on).
This picture was taken soon before I sold it.
Of all the vehicles that I have ever owned, this one is
my favorite, a 1987 Buick Grand National.
The acceleration of its 3.8L V6 Turbo is simply astounding!
Not only is it extremely fast, but it has a fairly comfortable back seat and there's plenty of room for storage in the trunk as well.
This was my 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo.
It's fairly smooth looking, but
I hated the cheap feel of the shifting, being linked to the transmission
with cables instead of metal rods. Also, I'm not too fond of front
wheel drive.
These were a couple of crappy motorcycles that I got (one for free,
the other for $100) with the intent of fixing them up, but never got around
to it.
First gear didn't work on the one on the right, while the one on the
left wouldn't start at all.
My 1977 Chevrolet Camaro.
What made this car fun was the 4 speed manual transmission coupled with the 350ci
(it had a 305 when I first bought it) V8.
This beast was the first car that I got to drive around.
It was my parents' 1978 Ford LTD II Country Squire station wagon.
This is the first motorized vehicle I ever owned
and the only one that I ever bought brand new, purchased for me by my dad.
It's a 1986 Suzuki Quad Sport. I was 15 years old.
All too often, the time I spend with my vehicles is either
underneath them or under the hood.
Maybe some day I'll get a vehicle with a warranty.
