I have thought about this long and hard. I have seen these come and go, and never have I seen one that covered this... and yet, I see so many blog comments and posts that tell me that people have the right connection.
What is the theme of my meme?
Gee... can you guess?
Let's look at the facts. The vast majority of us have wonderful and formative memories revolving around our cars. Some people don't want to admit it, but when they start talking about their lives, they start remembering the cars that their parents drove, the car they went to Prom in, the car that they took on vacations as a kid or with their kids.
I remember a lot of events in my life that were not actually related to the car, but in which the car played a vital role. So, here we go...
- What is the first car that you distinctly remember as a kid that your parents owned? What do you remember about it?
- What is the first car that you owned? What was the most important thing about that car?
- Most people (even those that weren't car centric) wanted to own a particular car at some point. What car, Why? And did you ever get it?
- Why did you buy your last car?
- What do you want next? Why?
Then, pick five or so people to forward it to... Call them out... They don't have to be car people. Some get excited about Smart Cars, others want H2s...
Here's mine...
1. The first car that I distinctly remembering my parents owning was a 1966 Dodge Dart. It was ugly. And honestly, the only thing I really remember was that my mom wrecked it while driving me to school one day in the snow in Jackson, MI. There was a car sticking out of a snow bank on one side of the road, my mom hit the snow bank on the other side of the road, and then another car hit both of us. The car was pretty wasted... My dad went out and bought a 1972 Dodge Charger to replace it. I remember a LOT about that car.
2. My first car was a 1973 Ford Mustang Grande with a Mach I hood. It was red with a black vinyl top. I paid $400 for it, and had to put brakes all of the way around before driving it. It was a cool car, and I fixed it up reasonably well for a 16 year old. It ended up getting more motor... I think the most important thing about the car is that it made me free. I used to cruise it in Virginia Beach, and I took it to Nags Head, NC a few times.
3. The list of cars I've wanted to own is a LONG list indeed. The first car that I really wanted to own was an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante. I almost worked out a deal to buy an older Aston Martin, and also loved the DB6. Back around 1985 I was trying to sell my collection of junk to buy one that was being offered for $10,000.
4. The last car I picked was my 1971 Jeepster Commando. I was 4wheeling a 1992 Jeep Wrangler and decided I wanted more wheelbase and interior space... and I was really wanting to do a build up on an older Jeep. I got more than I bargained for... and the build-up is continuing.
5. The next car I want is a Pontiac G8 GXP. The GT, which is one level down has 361hp, and the GXP is expected to hit 400hp. It is also supposed to have a 6 speed manual available in addition to the 6 speed automatic. I love the idea of a 400hp 4 door sedan that offers BMW performance for 1/3 the money. And I like the aggressive looks, too...
So, the big question now is who to tag... And with over 150,000 members now on Active|Rain, there are so many to choose.
So, Rich, Ken, Tara, Rick and Sam... You guys are up.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
Lane
You are correct that cars play a great role of where we were in life and the memories that are associated with them
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Cool post, Lane. I've olny owned 5 cars in my entire life and I'm an old broad. My niece on the other hand has averaged ownership of nearly 5 cars a year since she's gotten her license. Seriously.
Lane - Do you think the G8 will do any better than the GTO. Such high hopes and the public didn't seem to notice. I do think it's cool that someone in GM understands that performance is important, and the best thing they can do is to take advantange of having one of the best V8's in the business. Put that engine in anything that will hold it.
I've had too many pontiacs that were unreliable to buy another GM car. I know it sounds strange since I live 3 miles from a GM plant. But I have a lot more Nissan customers than GM customers, and the Nissan cars I've had in the last 15 years seem to be almost indestructable. My son is driving a 1997 Maxima that I bought new, and it has well over 200k on the original engine that never had a problem. I have infiniti products in my garage, and I am very impressed with the performance and reliablility of these machines.
My favorite car from my past. 1971 Triumph TR6. even though my 1969 mach1 was faster and much more reliable, the triumph was the king of memories.
Tom - They do. It is funny how many people that aren't car centric think about things and the cars that went with them... like the summer family vacations.
Lanette - I have had a LOT of cars... LOTS.
Larry - I think that the GTO had two problems. The first was that it was a 2 door and the market has been long shrinking for those. The other issue was that it wasn't aggressive enough looking. Also keep in mind that in the truest sense of the word, neither the GTO nor the G8 are really Pontiacs, they are Australian Holdens. They are actually imported.
BTW, the new numbers are putting Pontiac and a couple of other GM divisions above Nissan on quality...
;^ )
Lane,
1978 VW station wagon.
I say no more.
Beat me.
Steve
Obeoman
Steven - My dad actually wanted a squareback. I'm not proud of that. The sins of the father...
Lane: First car and I would do it all over again 88 VW Cabriolet. Loved. Best part it was a convertible. Just like that 80's movie "Can't buy me love". The Car Guy writing about cars.
My middle child was distinctly conceived in our car at a rest stop in Texas, dont ask, That same daughter was born in a different SUV we had on the way to the hospital. And there are many other crazy memories with cars in between.
Michelle - I love convertibles. The great thing is that it is tough to be mad with the top down.
Dee Dee - I guess. I won't ask.