It appears that women are always shopping & buying clothes, jewelry, makeup, fashion nonsense etc. and it almost always seems that all the stores and shops wherever us guys go are for women, right? I don't think women are even close to spending what we do as guys because when you're an old guy like me looking back at where all the money went, it sure becomes obvious, FAST!

So here's a few cars on the list and this doesn't count all the other less-than-stellar investments like ski boats, fishing boats, jet skiis, sail boats etc. that somehow I ended up buying. And some of us may have even justified to our significant other than we actually needed to buy a certain car. Amazing that I never had to sleep on the sofa when I look back.

When you think about your cars and you're not young, for me at least, it appears that to some degree, they defined where I was at that point in my life mentally. So I guess the new 2006 JCW Mini is to get some of the "kid" back and have some real fun w/a daily driver.

Past.........
1940 Ford Coupe, Flathead w/2x2 carbs (why didn't I keep this one at $65K today!)
1963 Volkswagen Bus (for surfing of course, growing up near Malibu)
1956 Ford Convertible (My Cruiser, another why didn't I keep this one at $40K+ today!)
1965 Ford Falcon Futura w/289, slicks and a high-rise manifold (early race days!)
1973 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 4.5, purchased new after college for $10K!
1975-1979 Company cars (sooo ugly!)
1980 New 911 Targa Porsche, waited 6 months, custom color from Stuttgart!
1982 Lamborghini Countach 5000 (living in Germany, what a great Autobahn car!!!)
1983 Cadillac Eldorado (don't ask)
1983 to 1989- Multiple Mercedes Benz vehicles
1990 to 1994-2 trucks and a small ranch to escape from the city
1995 Range Rover (what a piece of junk!!)
1997 Audi S2 Wagon, 4 speed, fast but no parts when it broke!
1998-2000 Mercendes 430, very pedestrian but mandatory living in Florida
2001-Toyota SUV & 2001 Porsche C4 Cabriolet
2003-Acura SUV for the snow now that I live in the mountains
2006 Mini JCW, 4 packages, Parklane, Doug Whalen's "Works" custom ****. Mini is due on Dec 15th, yeah baby!

Present......
Mustang Collection: 1969 Boss 429, 1966 Shelby GT 350,1967 GT 390 Fastback...at least these have been investments and maybe keeping the 2006 JCW~ last year of the new body style, someday it may have some classic value (?), you never know!

 

My short list over a long time:
1961 Mercedes Benz 190 sedan, Graphite Gray, first learned to drive on my dad's car that he bought before I was born.
1977 Honda Civic CVCC, white, (same length as a MINI). Traded for new...
1987 Honda Civic Si, RED, sold to get...
1957 Chevy 210 4-door Station wagon, turquoise & white, 235 with twice pipes, R400 conversion, got tired of replying "no, it's not a Nomad."
198X Oldsmobile Brougham 98, silver, with more buttons on the dash than my dress shirt.
198X Buick Park Ave., maroon with the stupid Landau roof, barf!
1991 VW Jetta GLi, black, 186,000 mi., great when it ran, now parked.
1948 Chevy 1/2 ton 5 window pickup, unrestored but running.
2002 Lexus RX300, pearl white, runs great on rough roads (wife's).
2003 MCS, RED. White roof represents Honda #1, Red is Honda #2, black windows and trim is Jetta. MINI should offer turquoise.

 

well I have drive three I have ever only owed one the thrid one the the two i have before the i am driving now is a 1993 Nissan pickup 4 cylinder engine about 140 harse power
next was a
1993 honda accord 4 cylinder engine about 140 horse power
the one I am driveing now is a 2002 new beetle sport 4 cylinder engine 150 hp trubo charge

 

I am pathetic compared to you guys.

1982 -Turbo Nissan 280ZX
1990 - Maxda Mx6 non turbo
1989 - Mazda Mx6 Turbo
1987 - XR4TI
1989 - XR4TI
1984 - Toyota Supra
1984 - Mustang SVO
1986 - Mustang SVO
1987 - Ford Mustang GT
1993- Ford Mustang GT

Current
2002 cooper s
1991 Supercharged Notch Back 5.0

 

1967 Sunbeam Arrow
1969 Sunbeam Alpine
1973 Ford Pinto
1978 VW Dasher
1976 Dodge Colt
1972 Oldsmobile Toranado
1982 Subaru GL
1985 Dodge Caravan
1992 Jeep Cherokee
1993 Nissan 4x4 Pickup

Current
2001 Dodge 1500 4x4 Pickup
2002 Toyota Camry
2005 Mini Cooper S

 

My first car:

1982 Honda Accord (in that weird teal greenish color) it had a sweet PULLOUT Pioneer stereo. I got her with 157,000 miles.. guessing it was on it's 3rd oil change by then, because everything broke!!
Traded in for a:

1977 Chevy Nova 4 door with a 305 V-8 and a sweet 3 speed Automatic.
Loved this car... it went like stink and I had zero problem with her for 4 years.

Met my wife..moved to England... bought a:

1987 Honda Prelude (white, Right Hand Drive) imported from Japan. Wicked little car... fun and fast, handled the B roads wonderfully. There was only one thing it really sucked at, and that was avoiding big deer that leap right in front of it. That left me having to order up a:

1999 Saab 9-3 Turbo SE w/High Output Turbo and one of the few with a Manual. I took delivery from the factory in Sweden, and ferried her over to the UK. Great trip! Better car... amazing really... I cried when I traded it in on:

2001 Honda Odyssey. For the wife to drive... I downgraded to her older

1995 Toyota Camry. Good and reliable... no soul whatsoever. The car was incapable of eliciting a single emotion other than depression. I finally was able to get my brother in law to buy it off me so I could purchase a cherry

1996 Ford Thunderbird LX, with a 4.6L V-8, Nice body kit, super clean interior, and one amazing all Pioneer sound system I installed. I zaino'ed the heck out of this car... loved all over it as much as possible. Won at a few Ford car shows... really one of the more enjoyable cars I've driven. Only one car new on the market was capable of replacing it...

2003 Mini Cooper S, all options except Nav, Leather, and Moonroof... now putting 195 hp and 168 ft. lb. of torque to the ground. The only thing I can concieve of buying to replace it is another Mini... love this car above all others.

oh yes... and we recently picked up a 2005 Mustang Convertible with a V-6... all options. Legend Lime Green, Tan leather int, Black top... 177 hp, 198 ft. lb. to the ground... She'll whip my Mini in a straight line, but damn those corners!

 

sorry, messed this one up...

 

cars from the past:

1960 impala
1967 chevy short wide
1970 slug bug
?1976? chevy dually crew cab
1983 chevy long wide
1985 cutlas
1985 renault gls something
1988 jeep wrangler
1991 isuzu
1995 chevy z71 extended cab
1996 yamaha royal star (motorcycle)
2001 hyundai elantra
2002 honda shadow spirit 750 (motorcycle)
2006 MINI COOPER S

COOPER S tops them all, except MAYBEE the motorcycles

 

Past cars and motorcycles

1965 Chevy Impala
1972 Chevy Malibu
1973 Cutless Supreme
1972 Yamaha motocross bike
1977 BMW 320i Manual
1981 BMW 318i Manual
1987 BMW 325is Manual
1991 BMW 535i Auto
1997 BMW 54OI Auto

Current

2003 Mercedes E-500
2005 MCS manual

Next

2007 BMW M3 Sedan?
2006 Mercedes E550?
2006 Audi S4?

(one of the above)

 

74 Toyota Celica LT - Purcased in 82, Sold in 89
82 Kawasaki K440 Motorcycle - Purchased in 85, Sold in 90
89 GMC Extended Cab 4x4 Pickup - Purchased New, Sold in 98
96 Toyota Camary (Wife's Car) - Purchased New, Sold in 01
99 GMC Yukon 4x4 - Purchased new (98) - Sold in 04
01 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Wife's Kidmobile) - Purchased New - Still in use
97 Mazda Miata - Purchased in 04 as a commuter - To be replaced by the Mini in a week or so
05 GMC Yukon XL 4x4 3/4 Ton with 4" Lift - Used for camping and pulling Travel Trailer - Purchased new, Still in Use
06 Mini Cooper S Convertible, Loaded (See Sig)

Current, or soon to be, shown in red.

 

90 geo metro (96-2000)
91 dodge colt (hatch) (2000-2002)
02 VW GTI VR6 (2002 - 2005)
05 Mini S! (sept 2005 - forever)
I LOVE HATCHBACKS!

 

1955 Ford F100 Pick Up
1975 Ford Mustang
1940 Dodge 4 Door
1964 Ford T bird
1979 Fiat X-1/9
1990 Mazda 323
1999 VW Jetta
2004 MCS

 

 

1967 Buick Skylark - first college car
1970 Olds Delta 88 - second college car, what a boat!
1976 Chevy Nova
1978 Buick (Isuzu) Opel - stick
1971 Ford Pinto - stick, just married, needed cheap second car
1981 Renault 18i Sportwagon - stick, first great handling car, not much go power
1981 Fiat X1/9 - stick
1983 Nissan Sentra - lousy, lousy POS, had 6 months
1984 Renault Alliance - stick
1986 Dodge Caravan - Mom mobile, yech!
1988 Pontiac Grand Am - stick, Quad 4, go like snot on straight road
1991 VW Passat
1994 Chevy S10 - for towing horse trailer
1997 Acura Integra GSR - stick
2001 and 1/2 VW Passat GLS 1.8 turbo - those wacky Germans and their model years
2004 Subaru Forrester - still have
2005 MCSa - wife's pride and joy
2006 MCS - my baby

 

A little G-man automotive history.

-1967 Plymouth Barracuda - slant 6 w/4bbl, headers, bigger cam, yadda, yadda, yadda, and plenty of rust.
-1966 Mercury Comet (Cyclone clone) - very handsome car, but full of electrical gremlins
-1971 Dodge Challenger - I'd give details, but my tears might short out my keyboard. God I miss that car.
-1969 Pontiac Grand Prix (owned w/Challenger) - 6.6 liters, 350bhp, 15mpg.
-1969 Plymouth Fury III (owned w/Challenger) - bought for $300, sold for $300. What a deal.
-1991 Eagle Talon - Bright red, but should have been yellow. A first rate lemon!
-1993 Nissan Sentra - Very reliable, but YAWN!
-1996 Acura Integra LS - good enough to want another one
-1996 Acura Integra GS-R - Great car! It took a MCS for me not to miss it.
-2001 Honda CR-V - Was the wife's.
-2005 MINI Cooper S - Current. Love it. See below.
-2006 Honda Element - The garage's latest addition, belongs to the wife. All black and I like to call it "Pug Vader". Not pretty, but pretty clever.

 

You win.

 

*1968 Ford Mustang 289 2V 3spd slush box
*1995 Ford Mustang GT Conv. 5.0/5spd
*1995 Isuzu Pickup (lowrider)
*1998 Dodge Neon R/T
*2002 Acura RSX Type S
*2003 Jeep Liberty
*Same 1968 Mustang converted to 5.0 4spd auto
2006 MCS

Wife's Cars

*97 Cavalier
*97 RS Camaro
*01 Chevy Blazer Extreme
*01 Camaro SS A4
*02 Honda Accord
*05 Mustang GT
04 BMW 325ci

* = previous cars

 

1984 BMW 528e (Bronze Beige):

Purchased in 1998, this was my first car. Named it "Delano". I bought it because I always liked the "shark-nose" look. It was the bane of my existence from the very day I drove it off the lot. Never ran well and had integrity issues. I put more money into repairs on that car than I did buying the thing. It's final resting place was some farmland where I left it abandoned in complete frustration. Never saw it again. It should be noted that to this day, I still dig the looks of the E28 though I'd be seriously particular on its condition before purchase.

1978 Fiat 124 Spider (Red):

Purchased shortly before I left the Bimmer for dead in 2000. Her name was "Jezebel" and believe me, this was the definition of a love/hate relationship. Constant maintenance was the only reliable part about this car. I got so fed up with the points on the distributor coming out of tune that I scrapped the hole point system for an electric starter which made things better but oh...the other problems. I broke two rear ends in a car that has only 93 hp! However, when it ran well on a summer evening with the top down, I could find no fault with Jezebel. But of course, the inevitable happens and I lost second gear one winter. After that, I was convinced we were not meant to be so I unflinchingly used her as a trade for my...

2000 Volvo S70 2.4 N/A (Black):

After two terrible experiences with unreliable automobiles (clearly these were my fault), I made my first sensible car buying decision. It was autumn in 2004 when I gave Jezebel the final pimp slap and drove away with the "Black Box" from Göteborg. This car does everything it was designed to do nearly perfect. There are no apparent design flaws and reliability has never been in question. I had put nearly 50,000 miles on before I gave it to my lovely wife and she loves the Volvo. But I, wanting to get back to my sporty foundation, had taken delivery of my first brand spanking new car.

2006 MINI Cooper S (Astro Black/White Roof):

I've had an epiphany. The past is behind me. The near religious experience of driving an MCS everyday has me turned into a motoring junkie and I don't want help! Who knows what the future will bring but one thing is certainly true: The MCS has set the benchmark for all my future cars to pass and I will never settle for less fun than what I have when driving "Darkness"!

J

 

I am glad you are happy with your MINI and Volvo.

But hey a 14 year old car and a 22 year old car - what did you expect?

I would love one of those old BMWs myself. In fact I'll probably be getting a 70s 2002 or something like that hopefully by this summer.

 

E Shock,

Very true as both cars were nearly as old as I was or older respectively. I've had a love affair with an old 2002 tii and I'm confident that if I could find one in proper working order with a former owner who took proper care of it, any old Bimmer would be a wonderful weekender.

 

Time Period Car

(1998-2000) 1986 Mercedes Benz 300E (Blue) - Car was a blast for a larger car, but seemed to cost $500+ every other month in maintenance. Windows were a constant issue.

(2000-2002) 2000 Honda Civic Si (Electron Blue Pearl) - My first Brand new car! This car was definitely a fun little car and a great deal at the time. Introduced me to Hondas and made Me a Honda Car Lover. Throughout my ownership I tried to make the car handle and feel like my next car.

(2002-Current) 1997 Integra Type R (Championship White) - The car that I wanted in 2000, but couldn't afford. Made my 2000 Civic Si feel like an untuned, sloppy steering, boring ride. The Integra Type R is one very special car and I enjoy daily driving mine. Honda knew exactly what they were doing when they designed this car and it is one of the few true drivers cars. I plan on keeping this one forever.

(2006) 2006 MINI Cooper S (PW/B) - We have now owned our Cooper S w/ LSD for 1 month. We absolutely love this car. I am very impressed with the cooper S and really look forward to getting to know it better in the near future if I can steal the keys from my beautiful wife

 

Horoscope for J-Stylez

Clearly the hot and tempermental Latin love affair is what sparked your inner need for the MINI. The Volvo interloper aside, you possess an unquenchable desire for exotic machinery. Small, lithe, great handling and possessing all the necessary curves are important elements to your self-esteem. Your cars are a window into your soul. I see a Porsche Cayman in your future.

 

95 Saturn SL1- modded witha racing seat (sooo comfortable I've debated moving it to the MINI), stero (much safer than a zillion wires to pwer a CD player and XM then send the headphone signal to the tape deck and a custom speaker encloser (The speakers I got for free, so why not?) 207000k miles on a GM car, original clutch
And few bicycles and the MINI I drive now.

 

76 VW Beetle, converted to a Baja Bug
69 VW Bug
80 Citation X11
87 GMC S-15
90 Ford Ranger 4x4
90 Ford Explorer, Wife
94 Ford Ranger 4x4 Ext cab, bought new
97 Ford Explorer, wife
02 Ford Explorer, wife, current
05 MCS, current, bought new

 

1987 Chevy Pickup 4x4 ( first vehicle)
1991 Chevy 454 SS pickup
1991 GMC Cyclone - built to run 11 sec 1/4 mile
1993 Dodge Dakota V8
1982 BMW 328 - Auto-x car
1996 Dodge Dakota V8
1994 Jeep Wrangler - lifted 4", 33's, etc
1998 Ford F-150 Ext Cab 4x4
1997 Jeep Wrangler - most fun vehicle ever, built for serious off-roading
2000 Jeep Cherokee - Wifes grocery getter - mildly modded
2001 Mercury Mountaineer - 5.0, 318whp, all wheel drive (scary fast SUV)
1987 GMC S-15 - most beat up work truck ever - 80% rust
2001 Grand Prix GTP - wife said "next car can be a Mini"
2002 Ford Explorer - wifes newer grocery getter
NEXT UP - 06 MCS/JCW - CANT WAIT!!!

Unfortunatley, every vehicle on this list EXCEPT the Explorer was modded at one time or another. I say unfortunatley, cause I think I'm addicted.