Rust Bucket1974 Mercury Comet - This was our first car. Peggy brought it to the marriage. A good lookin' car. But unfortunately, that's all it had going for it. This car probably represented the nadir of American car manufacturing (along with the Pinto and Vega). Under the hood was a wimpy straight six that wouldn't have looked out of place on a tractor. Quality control was nonexistant and the heater gave out about a year into our marriage. I can still remember driving back to Provo from Kanab all bundled up and driving with one hand while sitting on the other to warm it up and then switching hands! I fixed the heater and while it worked for four winters in Cleveland, so did the rust. The automatic transmission gummed up on us in Luverne, Alabama one Christmas trip to visit Uncle Kim and Aunt Marilyn in Florida, but fortunately the good folks at the Ford dealership there had us going in short order. The final straw came about a month before graduation when the hood flew up on me while heading down Carnegie on my way to work. We made some quick trips so some dealers and dodged a bullet when we almost bought a K-car (remember those?) Instead we bought the Subaru. I will say this for the Comet, it got us through our school experience, alive.
The Subaru and our old house were about the same color.1981 Subaru DL 1600 - We bought the Subaru because our then bishop, Pete Gail, had one and loved it. We opted for the two-wheel drive version (cheaper) and in base trim (no AC, AM only, etc.) $6000. We loved that little car. It's little flat four moved it right along and it was perfect for us and two kids. We bought it about a week before graduation and drove it pretty steady for about 14-15 years. Jared and Andy learned to drive in that car. We still kid Jared about the time he came home from school all hot and bothered. "Why didn't you tell me the Subaru is a wagon?" All this time he thought he was driving a hatchback! Hatchback=cool, station wagon=dull. That little car took us a lot of places, including some where it probably shouldn't have gone, like right through a wire fence gate (there's a story for another day). Good car, we'd probably still have it today except for the guy that ran into Andy and crunched the front end pretty badly.
This truck took us a lot of places!1977 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup - Every guy ought to have a truck and this was my first. I bought it for $1700 bucks in 1983 or 1984, I forget which. A real truck, it had full-time four-wheel drive, a 3/4 ton chassis, and was already beat up, so I didn't have to worry about bashing it up. It also had amber running lights on the roof which led Peggy to name it "Navajo Joe." It took scouts on trips, hauled a lot of wood and rocks, and took me and the older boys a lot of places. Although Navajo Joe is long gone, part of it is with us still, as I'll mention later on.
1987 Dodge Caravan - We joined the minivan crowd early on, in late 1987. By now we had added Sarah to our growing family and the little Subaru was hard pressed to hold all of us and our luggage when traveling for any extended trips. Besides, we really were starting to miss AC! This was the first edition of the Caravan with a four cylinder engine, a bench front seat, and most importantly, air conditioning! A gutless wonder, it gave us room and convenience and taught us to plan way ahead when passing a slower car. We had it for six years (enjoyed not having a car payment for a year!) and then we traded in for a Grand Caravan. Say what you will about minivans, they were right for us at a certain point in our lives.
We ought to have a picture of our Grand Caravan somewhere!
1993 (or 94) Dodge Grand Caravan - Follow on to our first van. Bigger, faster, nicer. It let us down in Anaheim with a busted transmission while on a trip to Disneyland. We rented a car, got the van fixed while we enjoyed the park. Nice outfit, but it gave way to:
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