[pjl56]

I'll start this one. What is your vehicle ownership history? Mine:

> '69 Chevy Nova (used) - most fun, idiot teenager on the loose
> '70 Plymouth Duster (used) - wrecked it before I could enjoy it
> '75 Ford Pinto Wgn (used) - unsafe at any speed
- married, 2-car time
> '80 Honda Civic Hatchback (used) - getting smarter as I got older
> '82 Honda Prelude (used) - felt pretty sporty in this one
- here come the kids
> '86 Subaru GL Wgn (new)
> '88 Honda Accord (new)
> '95 Jeep Cherokee (new), 115K and still with us, albeit repaired quite actively
> '96 Honda Civic (new), 92K & still going strong
> '03 Honda Pilot (new) - biggest, nicest, strongest; goal: to have this one in the family & still going at 150K miles

No regrets (okay, maybe the Pinto).

pjl56

 

[a2Pilot]

Our Automotive Journey

This will be amusing!

1974 Mustang Mach I (used & full of Bondo!)
1972 Mustang Mach I (used & I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself!)
1984 Mercury Lynx (New & graduation gift from Dad & Mom)
1987 Ford Tempo GL Sport (New) (Sport?, yeah right!)
1989 Ford Escort GT (New) (GT for Gotta Tow!)
1989 Honda Civic LX (New) First big purchase with and for my lovely new wife.
1993 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 SuperCab (New) Very cool truck. LOVED IT!
1995 Ford Explorer (New & to accomodate second child) Beginning of boring rides! Wife drove this one mostly.
1996 Ford Contour SE (New) Cool car, but handled like crap in the snow. I live in Michigan so it's OUTA HERE! Sold to my sister in Atlanta.
1997 Ford Expedition XLT 4x4 (New) Boring ride #2 What a HOG!
1997 Ford Escort (New for my wife) She still has not forgiven me for this piece of crap!
1999 Ford F150 SC 4x4. (New) Very cool looking truck, but spent so much time in the dealer being repaired I hated it. Don't get me started on the "Tough F150"!!!!!
1999 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro. (New for my Wife) Yeah, for her. Now she forgives me for the Escort!
2001 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4x4 (New) Try a Ford truck one last time. Not too bad, but the dealer still stinks!
2003 Honda Pilot EX. I'm done dealing with the crummy Ford Dealer. Our Audi Dealer also sells Honda, so now we're one big happy family!!!

I leased Ford products for years because I got the employee discount through another family member. We're done leasing, and are purchasing the A4 and the Pilot. We expect to get 8 to 10 years out of them!

 

[Lone Star Pilot]

A Long List

Ok Here Goes,

High School
1. 1969 Plymouth Valiant 2-door - Slant Six
(First car @ 14 and almost mechanically indestructable.
Unfortunatelty the rust got her).
2. 1964 Mercury Comet 2-door - Boss 302 V8
(First hot rod. Rust got this one too. It was a
Ford cousin with too many problems to list
here. It was originally from Miami and had
no heater.)

College
3. 1965 Plymouth Belevedere II
2-door - 426 Wedge V8
(My last true muscle car. Had all through college.
6 miles to gallon.)
4. 1987 Chevy Caprice Classic - 305 V8
(A modern day land yacht but a great car.)
5. 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z - 2.2 Liter Turbo 4
(A cool little runner but with traditional K-Car issues
had to go.)

After College (Joint ownership with my wife)
6. 1994 Chevy Camaro Z-28 - 350 V8 (Great engine
and transmission but body was started to unravel
after a year. It was capable of 160 MPH, don't ask
me how I know.)
7. 1992 Nissan Maxima SE - 3.0 liter V6
(Probably one of the best cars I ever owned.
Finally traded it in on the 2000 Maxima SE).
8. 1997 BMW 318 ti - 1.8 Liter 4 (Good little car.
Very useful and great gas mileage).
9. 1998 BMW M Roadster Convertible - 3.2 Liter 6
(Quickest car I have ever owned. 0-60 in 5 seconds.
Along came our first child and it had to go.
Traded it for the M3 this March).
<img src="http://home.earthlink.net/~chapman/_uimages/MikesRoadster.jpg">
10. 2000 Nissan Maxima SE - 3.0 liter V6
( See #7. Not as good a car as the 92 but not bad.)
<img src="http://home.earthlink.net/~chapman/_uimages/maxima.jpg">
11. 1998 M3 Sedan - 3.2 Liter 6 ( Great car so far. All the practicality of normal 3 series sedan with the Roadster's
naughty side :1:. 0-60 in 5.5 Seconds. It actually outhandles my Roadster. I love finding kids in "Hot Rod" Civics with the big pipes and embarrasing them in my family car.)
<img src="http://members.roadfly.com/mike_chapman/Mike's 1998 M3 Sedan.jpeg">
12. 2003 Honda Pilot - 3.5 Liter V6 (Traded in our
beloved 2000 Maxima SE this past weekend. Needed
more room. Babies come with a lot of accessories.)
<img src="http://world.honda.com/news/2002/image/c020327_1.jpg">

In case your wondering. Yes, I am a car nut.

 

[pjl56]

Re: Our Automotive Journey

11 Ford products and lived to tell about it! Congrats for making it out of FixOrRepairDaily-land alive, a2!

I leased Ford products for years because I got the employee discount through another family member. We're done leasing, and are purchasing the A4 and the Pilot. We expect to get 8 to 10 years out of them!

 

[pjl56]

Re: A Long List

Yikes, LSP, after *that* car list I feel a little like I've attended the wedding of a friend for a marriage that I fear won't last -- does the Pilot have enough "oomph" to hold your interest???

{impressive performance car list history deleted}

In case your wondering. Yes, I am a car nut.

 

[Lone Star Pilot]

I love the Pilot!

Yikes, LSP, after *that* car list I feel a little like I've attended the wedding of a friend for a marriage that I fear won't last -- does the Pilot have enough "oomph" to hold your interest???

Hi, pjl56

The Pilot meets my needs like none of the performance cars
I own or have owned in the past ever did.

I have my M3 on a 3-year Buyer's Option Plan from BMW. I will need another vehicle if I don't keep the M past that. I have to admit I looked into the MDX but it was little high priced for me (with Acura stealers marking them up) at the time of it's introduction. Since the Pilot is based on the MDX and virtually the same as the Acura it was a natural choice for us for a famliy truckster. Maybe there is an MDX or Acura sedan in my future. Don't know about that just yet.

It' exciting to dream of going camping or canoeing (I was an Eagle Scout as a boy) with my wife and son (he is 4 months old now) with this vehicle in the future. Not to mention the Honda Reliability Factor is second to none for sure.

I left one car out of my list. It was a 1986 Accord Hatchback I owned for a year in between the Z-28 and the 92 Maxima. It was a good car and had over 180,000 miles when I sold it to a high school kid for a work car. It epitomized Honda Reliability.

 

[HavBluNav]

We keep our cars for a long time

'74 Mecury Capri - was rear ended and totalled in '83
'84 VW GTI - still have it - lots of fun
'85 VW Golf - sold in '95
'95 Ford Windstar - piece of junk - traded in on our Pilot
'98 Audi A4 quattro 1.8T - still have it - great car
'03 Pilot EXL-NAV in Havasu Blue

 

[WVPilot1]

1. '77 Pont firebird (new) - light blue, got it right from the same showroom floor as my pilot! Drove on and off for 20 years...oh the memories!

2. '87 Pontiac Grand Am (new) - not a bad car for the price and had nice styling for the time.

3. '91 Ford Exporer (new) - Had relatively few problems for new model (except one transmission overhall). Traded it in at 150K for the Pilot.

4. '96 Saab 900 (new) - Great road feel and interior styling but underpowered.

5. '03 Pilot EX (black) - Very happy thus far.

 

[autobahn]

Road to 2003

High School:
1980 Buick Skylark - Used

College:
1983 Olds Cutless Ciera Brougham - Used

Marriage and beyond:
1993 Mazda 626 ES
1995 Plymouth Neon Sport - replaced Olds
1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport - replaced Mazda
1999 Honda Accord EX
2003 Honda Pilot EX - on order, replacing Jeep

 

[Cary03Pilot]

our vehicle history

High School
1. 1963 Studebaker used- first car, paid $300; hard to get parts. Totalled it in the 10th grade!
2. 1967 Dodge Dart used- 318 V-8 lots of fun gave it to my brother

College and Service Life
3. 1975 Ford Pinto New (College car, sold it after joining the Navy)
4. 1978 Ford Pinto New (at sea most of the time, stayed parked until it caught fire one day!)

Young single Life
5. 1983 Toyota Celica GTS New( first import I owned, excellent vehicle, great looks but no power!)
6. 1985 Toyota Corolla New (hers)

Married Life (Joint ownership)
6. 1987 Toyota Celica Covertible (hers)
7. 1989 Nissan Maxima (sold my Celica GTS) Best car I had to date.
8. 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee (1st son born, had to get rid of convertible)
9. 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee (traded the 93 Jeep too many problems :3:
10. 1987 BMW 535is ( 1st true sports sedan. Great handling/looks)
11. 1999 Dodge Durango ( 2nd son born, needed 3rd row folding seats, wife hates minivans)
12. 1996 BMW 328iC (hers again, great open air ride)
13. 1993 Accord SE Sedan w/175,00 miles runs as good as new!(laid off, had to sell BMW's!
14. 2003 RedRock Pearl EX-L w/RES (Durango lease expired, leased the Pilot)

Now we are a 2 Honda vehicle family!

 

[JungleJim]

Mine...

1970 Buick Skylark
1977 VW Rabbit
1978 VW Rabbit
1985 VW Golf
1987 VW Golf (still own, No AC!)

1997 Honda CRV (wife's car, bought new)

2003 Honda Pilot (have not purchased yet...Think my '87 Golf will last until Fall?)

 

[pjl56]

Re: our vehicle history

And now, Cary, IMHO, you are right where you ought to be car ownership-wise!!! :29:

Now we are a 2 Honda vehicle family!

 

[homergreg]

I never counted before now, this could get long:

High school:

1. 73 Dodge Charger SE: Rust bucket with a 400 in it. Got about 5 MPG, but could do 120 in a flash!

2. 73 Vega Wagon: Rust bucket with a 4 cyl in it? Got about 30 MPG, but could do 20 in a flash! Wrecked it and bought:

3. 74 Vega Coupe: I should have learned from the Wagon, but I bought the empty body and put the interior and drive train from the wagon in it. The engine finally blew and I sold it to m cousin for $1 . He later found out he got the bad end of the deal.

4. 73 Camaro: Bondo covered rust bucket looked good compared to the others, ran fast.

5. 82 Chevette: Not that bad of a car for $1500 with 30k on it.

Married Years:

6. 74 Buick Skylark: Came with the wife, nice car.

7. 87 Dodge Shadow: First new car, a good one a that, put 130,000 miles on it with only the loss of the radiator and the air conditioning.

8. 87 Dodge Shadow ES: Bought as a redone wreck. 80K and the engine was overheating. Got rid of it quick for:

9. 92 Chrysler Lebaron Coupe (New): Nice teal green that was the rage at the time, 30k and was rear ended so bad that it was totaled.

10. 93 Chrysler Lebaron Coupe (New): Replacement for wrecked car. Good car 95K miles only trouble was the air conditioning.

11. 65 Plymouth Valiant Signet Convertible: My one toy. 273 V8 got better than 20 MPG, ample power. Why Chrysler strayed from cars like this, I'll never know. Sold it to help buy new house.

12. 95 Chrysler Cirrus (New): Nice looking, powerful car. OK dependability, no resale value whatsoever.

13. 00 Honda CR-V SE(New): Sick of getting nothing for my used Chryslers, and PO'ed when the dealers for the company that I had spent so much money with wanted $3,500 over sticker for the PT Cruiser and wouldn't talk to me about paying MSRP, I went with my first foreign car: Great vehicle. Just not enough power on steep hills. Extremely good resale value.

14. 01 GMC Sonoma (New): Always wanted a little truck. 15K miles so far, so good.

15. 03 Honda Pilot EXL RES (Really New): Second child on the way and needed something bigger that the CR-V to haul the kids and all their stuff on long trips.

Hopefully We'll keep the Sonoma and Pilot for a long time.

 

[pjl56]

Ahhh, homer, thanks for the memories . The '73 Vega Wgn was the car I learned to drive on (one of Pops wheels at the time). Since I didn't know any better, I *loved* this car! I could get 6-8 buddies piled in the back per gallon and it was off we'd go. I guess because it was so light (despite the cargo) my recollection is of being "offroad" as much as on road. And quick around the neighborhood, yes indeedy. Anywhere cars weren't supposed to be - the Vega Wagon took us there. Golf courses (no greens, honest ), parks, trails, backyards, power lines, etc. If we ever got stuck, it was pile out, lift out, and go.

Pop is gone now (ditto the Vega, of course), but I'm sure that he is watching with a smile on his face knowing his grandson turns 16 this year and soon will be driving *my* cars. Yes, Dad, paybacks are h*ll.

2. 73 Vega Wagon: Rust bucket with a 4 cyl in it? Got about 30 MPG, but could do 20 in a flash! Wrecked it and bought:

 

[WNYPilotGuy]

#1 (1978) '70 (I think) Volkswagen Bug with automatic stick shift. Only paid $300 for it. Gave me one decent year. In retrospect, it was a piece of crap....but hey I was a teenager.

#2 (1979) '70 Dodge Polara. By far the worse peace of sh-- I've ever driven in my life. I paid $500 for it...and put at least that much more into it over the next 3 or 4 mos. Got rid of it...didn't even last 1/2 yr. The mechanic that recommended it to me (a family friend) admitted to me years latter that the only real variable he used was "it's American". While American cars aren't total pieces of crap today.....they sure were in the 70's and 80's. And this collection of metal and rubber was king of that crap.

#3 (1979) '74? Chevy Nova. The first car I ever owned that I actually thought was decent. Got a few good years out of it. I did have my share of problems with it, but after driving a Dodge Polara, this seemed like a dream machine.

#4 (1983) Chevy "something"....can't remember to be honest...it wasn't a model available in the US. I was stationed in England at the time. Only car I've ever owned that you had to shift with your left hand (this was England afterall). Not a bad car...all in all. I only really needed it for a year.

#5 (1985) '85 Kawasaki 454. OK, not a car...but I was stationed in Georgia where you could ride motorcycle year round. Saved a ton on gas. My roommate had a '85 Honda CRX. Never let me drive it much....but I enjoyed riding in it.

#6 (1986) Can't remember.....some american model....didn't like it enough to even remember the name.

#7 (1989) '85 Honda CRX. MY FIRST HONDA!!!!! No, it wasn't my roommates old car. I had moved by to NY (central) at this point. I loved this car. When it came time to sell it (in 93), I put an add in the Buffalo News that started on Sunday morning. By the time the Bills game started (1:00pm)....it was sold. The phone rang constantly for 3 days afterwards with people wanting to look at it. First experience with phenominal Honda resale value.

#8 (1993) '93 Honda Civic EX. Still have it....getting it ready for resale now. Do you think I'll sell it in time for kickoff again? Well, since the Bills don't play until September...I better now use that as my benchmark this time. The only problem I ever had (with the exception of the aftermarket stereo and alarm system that were CONSTANT problems)....was a cracked distributer cap. At this point, I'm pretty much sold on Honda for life.

#9 (1998) '98 Honda Civic LX. My wife's car....still drives it...she still loves it. Never has had a problem...probably never will.

#10 (2003) '03 Honda Pilot EX-L (Evergreen Pearl). I get goosebumps everytime I get into this gem. Couldn't be happier. And can't believe my luck that Honda came out with a full size SUV at exactly the same time I was in the market for a new Honda. I was planning on getting a Honda Odyssey. I think the CR-V is a great small SUV, just not a very "manly" SUV. If they are still making the CR-V in 4 or 5 years, I'm sure my wife will be driving one.

YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THIS!!!! I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER BUY ANYTHING OTHER THAN HONDA AGAIN IN MY LIFE!!!! Unless of course I win the lottery...then I just might have a Ferrari in my garage to impress the ladies. But it'll have Hondas on both sides of it. No, I don't have a 3 car garage.....but I'd take care of that minor detail with my Lottery winnings!!!

 

[Pang]

'42 Mercury conv
'54 Chevy 2 dr
'56 Austin Healey Le Mans 100M
'54 MG TF
'46 Ford Woody with an Oldsmobile engine
'56 VW bus
'58 Porsche Speedster
'62 Mercedes 180 4 dr. sedan
'62 VW bus
'73 Plymouth Duster
'70 BMW 2500 4 dr. sedan
VW Safari Thing while in Bali, Indonesia
Daihatsu Diesel 4WD..very bouncy while in Bali
'84 Mercedes 300TD
'85 Porsche Cabriolet
'03 Honda Pilot in Staatsburg, NY, still have the MB 300TD in Honolulu.

 

[pjl56]

As much as I love Hondas, here's hoping you're buying that Ferrari at some point in your future, WNY! :5:

YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THIS!!!! I WILL NEVER NEVER NEVER BUY ANYTHING OTHER THAN HONDA AGAIN IN MY LIFE!!!! Unless of course I win the lottery...then I just might have a Ferrari in my garage to impress the ladies. But it'll have Hondas on both sides of it. No, I don't have a 3 car garage.....but I'd take care of that minor detail with my Lottery winnings!!!

 

[pjl56]

:6: 61 years - that's some impressive range of years from oldest to youngest, Pang!

'42 Mercury conv

{many Pang car models snipped}

'03 Honda Pilot in Staatsburg, NY

 

[MDXlite]

Hard to remember

but here goes:

'75 Vega 5 speed- my brother taught me how to drive on this thing
'76 Vega 5 speed- replaced the wrecked '75. oops.
'79 VW Scirocco 5 speed- now we're talking
'87 Jeep Wrangler- most fun yet
'91 Accord- starting to wear socks everyday
'91 Civic (hers)
'93 Accord- getting the Honda bug
'93 Villager (hers) Enter kids
'94 Ford Ranger 4.0- remodel time
'95 Ford 150 Stepside- last Ford for sure
'96 Accord Coupe- missed my Honda
'98 Town and Country(hers)- mistake- lost our ass
'98 Dodge Ram Quad Cab- does it all, but with drama
'02 Odyssey- makes up for the Chrysler
'03 Pilot- best of all worlds

That wasn't so bad. Boy, looking back, I missed some grand opportunities to own some real muscle. Oh well...

 

[Pang]

pj156,

It's a little embarassing, I'm 62, and the demographic profile for the Pilot group appears to be mid thirties.

The first car, '42 Mercury convertible, cost me only $30, the top was ripped and the trim was all silver paint because all the chrome went to the WW II effort. It was perfect for a 15 yr. old as a surfer's car.

I still love hot rods and sports cars.

:6: 61 years - that's some impressive range of years from oldest to youngest, Pang!