There are sometimes moments in a car enthusiast’s life where everything changes. Maybe you try a car that’s outside of your norm, and it opens your entire world. Perhaps you’ve become a parent and you sold your fun cars for a minivan or crossover. Maybe, you did something with a car that put you on a totally different path. Cars are powerful in how they can change the trajectory of your life. What car changed everything for you?
The car that changed my life the most is the Smart Fortwo. My love for Smarts is such a huge part of me that I intentionally named myself after Smart’s parent brand, or, I suppose most correctly, the woman the brand is named after. However, that won’t be the car that I’m talking about here. I have a personal story that I want to tell at a later date!
Winter 2019 brought the car that changed me for another time. Earlier in the year, I bought my first truck, and first car paid for with my own money that wasn’t a Smart, a 1999 Ford Ranger. This $800 truck made me fall in love with Rangers, but I ultimately disliked my tired 4.0-V6 model due to its lousy 13 mpg and wiring short that took out the TCM. Then, I had a Ford Festiva that I tortured myself with.
Sadly, as winter fell, my 2012 Smart was parked and down due to a seized alternator, bad engine mounts, and what I thought was a bad starter. I worked a low-paying job, and local mechanics wanted to charge a small fortune. But I did have $900 on me, and I put the money into something I was interested in since I was a kid: diesel power.
My first diesel car was a 2005 Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon. Sure, it had a ginormous turbo boost leak that reduced 60 mph acceleration to 43 seconds (I’m not exaggerating there), but it was a whole new experience. For the first time in my life, I had a car with leather seats, room for five, and a trunk so huge that I was able to fit an entire Honda scooter in it. Oh, and it got 33 mpg, which wasn’t far off from what my tiny Smarts got. I saved the image from the Craigslist ad:
I found out that kid me was onto something. Diesel power is great! But this Passat was more than just a car. It got me through one of my roughest financial periods, never giving up on me even when I could barely afford to put diesel in the tank. It also got me through one of my worst heartbreaks.
But, I think, most importantly, it taught me that cars outside of my norm were actually really fun. I had never seen a Passat as a car I’d own, and yet, I loved mine. The Passat opened me up further. I always had a dream vehicle list, but I never thought that I’d be capable of owning dream cars like a Saturn Sky Red Line, Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, or a Buell Lightning. Now, I also wanted to experience all kinds of cars. If that Passat was so nice, what else was I missing?
The Passat was Genesis. I sold it and embarked on an adventure that has led me to today, where I’m still shocked to say that I own a decent number of my childhood dream cars. I’m also so happy that I’ve been able to experience so much, from the Acura NSX to a gosh-darned diesel-electric locomotive.
I don’t want to own another Passat TDI again, but I thank it for being an important milestone. How about you? What car changed everything for you?
Top graphic image: Mercedes Streeter
My parents hand me down was a ‘68 Malibu with a V-8 and auto trans plus bias-ply tires. Handled terribly. Used that V-8 hard. Then, I bought a ‘63 Renault Caravelle S – a 51 HP (at least when new) 1100cc convertible. I learned you don’t need power to have fun. Learned to use momentum! Got 32 MPG in the ‘70s gas crisis. That’s the one! Small cars forever.
My bright yellow 1991 Lotus Elan!! Being a car that certainly attracts attention wherever I go, it seemed like not the best idea for someone like me. I’m shy, anxious, worry a lot. I am scared to be myself in public, I have very little confidence
Well, I should say had – but I’m still working on it!! I decided, fuck it, I have one life and I don’t want to spend it pretending to be normal. I am not normal, and that’s okay!! I dress how I want to now, I act how I want to, I am unapologetically me!!
Driving around and seeing people smile, look at the car, get compliments, chatting up strangers, it’s done insane things for my confidence <3
I couldn't have done it without the people around me in my life, they're far more important than any car. I love my boyfriend with all of my heart, and without him by my side, I don't think I would be where I am now… but the car, it certainly helped, at least a little. I feel so happy driving it, knowing that every time I see someone notice it, it brightens their day a little bit :3
I'm sure my custom vanity plate reason "MRRP! :3C" certainly helps with that!! I'm The Cat Girl, and that's okay. That makes me happy. I'm finally comfortable <3
First car had me hooked – a ’77 VW Rabbit. My freedom machine (hat tip to Junior Brown) that allowed me to get away from rural Maine. I don’t recall it ever running well (had about 200k on it when I bought it) but it always ran. I’ll always be grateful for that car.
1960 VW Beetle that was handed down to me from my parents in 1964. I have had many vehicles since then, but the Beetle (36 HP) taught me that it is not necessary to have lots of power to enjoy driving. 60 years later, I still prefer smaller cars with small engines.
My 2012 Volt which I bought in 2015 off-lease. It was a great car in itself, but it led me down the electrification path and now I have a ’17 Volt and a ’19 Bolt. It also was the first domestic I had in a long time.
I got handed the keys to a Buick LeSabre after crashing a stick shift Elantra wagon I’d modded. That Buick taught me the value of quiet and comfort for a highway cruiser. It also taught me how to hypermile. It got similar or better highway mileage as the Elantra! My best ever was 38 mpg in the Elantra and 39 mpg in the Buick. That 39 mpg tank saw me leisurely cruise up I-95 from the bottom of SC to the middle of PA. My next two cars were influenced by that car.
I can’t name just one.
My cousin’s MGB when I was a child turned me on to sports cars.
My neighbor’s 1971 Toyota Corona taught me how great Japanese cars are.
My first car set me free!
My second car taught me a Fiat was the most fun ever, but never to buy one because it fell apart in short order.
Finally, after 35 years in Manhattan, my current car tells me everyday how fun and reliability and capability make for a wonderful car at home or on road trips: 2015 Honda Fit.
I love my 2015 Fit! Combined with our Odyssey, I’d say we have the perfect suburban utilitarian garage! And my god, if my 16 year old self knew how happy I am to own those two particular vehicles he may have died of shock!
I read about the current state of the automotive market and say a little prayer of protection for my Fit every day.
Enjoy your Hondas!
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10161839759341559&set=pcb.10161839760086559
Easily my 1996 Geo Metro LSi. It might have only had a three cylinder engine, but mated to that basic 5-speed manual, I wrung out every single horsepower from that little sewing machine.
I literally learned how to do FWD drifting in that car. How would that not be a life changer for me?
The car that initially changed everything for me was the 1987 Acura Legend my Dad bought as a demo shortly before we moved from the Chicago burbs to Northern Virginia. Prior to him purchasing that, we mostly had American Malaise vehicles in the driveway (Olds Ciera, Pontiac Phoenix, Buick Park Ave, etc.). The Acura was a total 180 from those other vehicles in both appearance and driving manners. It simultaneously destroyed my already shaky opinion of domestic companies and also turned me into an enthusiast of sorts. It wasn’t until I started working at a Ford dealership in 2010 that I once again paid any domestic manufacturer any mind. Between 1997 and 2012, all my cars were from VW, BMW, Mazda or Honda/Acura.
Further proving that my individual tastes are apparently swung from a pendulum, I now really can’t stand the general styling ethos of Japanese cars, having driven Fusions and Mustangs for the last 13 years. It’s about to swing partially back the other way, since I sold my Mustang and am thinking about replacing it with a European hatch or wagon, all the better to transport my drums to gigs now that I’m playing again.
Ha, my family also had an 87 Legend, base no options, which was a dealer demo. Dark blue inside and out.
Ours was the same color! Twas the good old days when you could get an Acura with cloth seats. My Dad’s had a sunroof too.
Legends were awesome. Gen 1- 4 door – 5 speed.
I was already obsessed with cars by then, but when I was three I got a Corgi model of a 911 police car. From then on, the 911 was *the* car above all cars for me. I finally bought one ten years ago and it’s a joy machine. I still react the same way I always have when I see one.
At 14yo – Dodge Viper (I now have a 2005 in my garage that I love as much as I thought I would). At 40yo – a 2022 Rivian R1T. Full convert from full size gas guzzling trucks to electric power and all of the new camping/exploring abilities it affords.
My dad always liked cars that were a little off the beaten path. Mercury Cougar that he personally repo’ed was his start. Then he went mainstream until he could afford something quirky a few decades later. He (a banker) traded in an ’87 Trans-Am straight up for a brand new ’89 Taurus SHO. He gave that to me eventually and bought himself a ’92 SHO.
The SHO gave me the appreciation of being slightly askew of public opinion and realizing that all things being equal, go for something that is more fun and unique than mainstream (unless it leaves you and your family stranded, then by all means go conventional).
And that related to life in general. And never, ever listen to top 40 radio.
Another one – buying a stick shift. I could find em’ and grind em’ if needed in college, but didn’t really LEARN a manual until I went to Skip Barber a few years later. Buying my used ’94 SHO was life changing.
2008 Toyota RAV4. After driving American cars that always needed service, I had a car that went over 100k without anything other than routine maintenance.
Bought a used V6 RAV4 and it was the opposite for me. Toyota battery lost a cell shortly after purchase. AC Compressor exploded. Brake booster failed. This is things breaking that I haven’t had a problem with on any vehicle before. Final straw was when the timing chain started rattling on startup (VVti problems.) All of this happened in less than a year, and at about 120k miles.
Sleazy salesman was trying to push a vehicle. Carmax was getting famous for ‘no hassle’ pricing at the time, so they were trying the same thing. One of his lines was “This is the car everyone in California is modifying.”
Got a Carmax ’96 200SX SE-R with 10k fewer miles and 2k fewer dollars than Mr. Sleaze had.
Found out about I/H/E. Found out about Mike Kojima and SCC. Found out about fmax turbos.
Spent WAY more money than I had.
Was eventually able to change a clutch cable on the side of the road in less than 10 minutes without burning myself.
Now I see every vehicle as a potential starting point. The insanity I want to impart is up to me.
It has also given me the ability to say, “Let me just buy this as needed from the factory, as this modification process will be cost prohibitive.
Modding is no longer a bad word; it is expected.
hey, were you on the old mailing list?
’96 SE-R is also my answer. Local SE-R mailing list members convinced me to buy a full set of sockets, taught me how to do an oil change, advance my timing, and change my brakes. Did some autocrossing and track days. That was the car that started it all.
My ’92 SE-R – light, peppy, agile, and responsive to mods, it encouraged me to further elevate my driving skills. It was my fourth car, and not even as fast as the one I traded for it, but it was the key to unlocking better driving.
My 1995 Jeep XJ Sport. Though you might could say it really started with my dad’s ’88 Cherokee Chief. My dad’s XJ is what originally got me interested in Jeeps and prompted me to want an XJ of my own. I received my then-new ’95 XJ as a high school graduation present from my parents and grand parents.
The “World Wide Web” was just in its infancy back then and thanks to fairly ubiquitous internet access on my college campus I quickly became enamored with the web and started up my own home page dedicated to my XJ. A blog of sorts, before blog was even a word. “Jason’s Jeepin’ Page” as it was originally known, would soon evolve into a little website called Jeepin.com, and I would change my major from Mechanical Engineering to Computer Engineering.
For a brief moment in internet history in the mid to late 90’s I like to think that it was the premier website for XJ content and it boasted the largest Jeep photo gallery on the web. Mind you this was long before digital cameras, social media, or easy self publishing. I would literally have people snail-mailing me 35mm prints of their Jeeps for me to scan (HP bed scanner FTW) and post on my website.
As graduation neared, I put a note in my “About Me” section that I was looking for a computer programming job in the Dallas, TX, area. That resulted in me getting contacted by a manager at Texas Instruments that happened to be a fellow Jeep owner (a TJ) and who was a fan of my website. Fast forward to a job interview and a job offer and me moving to Texas in the summer of ’00.
That fall, I went on a local wheeling trip one Saturday with the local Jeep club. It was on that trip where I met a beautiful blonde girl in a yellow TJ. Legend says that when she saw me, she told her friend who was with her that she was going to take me home with her that night. 25 years and 2 kids later, we still have that old red XJ and that old yellow TJ.
Going to college I was really exposed to Japanese cars for the first time. This was when I actually first drove them (and even worked on them). The contrast to the domestic (Ford) product I grew up with and owned at the time was startling. The ones I knew and loved best were an ’88 Legend, an ’89 Prelude and a ’91 Pathfinder. But even a lowly early ’80s Corolla or Civic had better thought out design and engineering than I was used to… In many ways they were a joy? to work on compared to Ford/GM.
My answer definitely changed my life but probably not in the way you’re expecting with this question. Long story, sorry, but I think it’s worth sharing.
Back in 2007 I was recently divorced and needing a distraction from life. I read in a car magazine about the 24 Hours of Lemons and decided that sounded fun. I found a local team running a Saab 900, joined their team and after racing with them a couple of times I decided to gather a group of friends to start our own team. We found a $400 ’87 BMW 325e, converted it into a race car, and turned it into a giant porcupine with foam quills called “The Porcubimmer – the only BMW with the pricks on the *outside*” – one of the first “3D themed” cars in Lemons.
Getting involved in the Lemons community has resulted in forming lots of new friendships and some great memories, but the car itself opened up opportunities for me I never could have imagined.
First, we changed the theme to “Prickstine,” an homage to Steven King’s killer ’58 Plymouth Fury “Christine,” and that got the car into the 2010 SEMA show, my first time attending. It was a hoot driving it down the Vegas Strip. We also got into Popular Mechanics magazine as the 5th ugliest car at SEMA, lol. It was also used as an April Fool’s joke in a Hemmings magazine, pretending to be a 1950s BMW prototype.
In 2013 we wanted to change things up again and were brainstorming ideas of famous wacky vehicles that hadn’t already been done in Lemons. The team is made up of ’80s kids so we’re all big fans of the Simpsons, so we decided to make a replica of “The Homer,” the car Homer Simpson designed when he reunited with a long lost brother who owned a car company. To be honest part of the motivation was being able to reuse the giant sheetmetal rear fins we built for Prickstine.
We put up a short preview video of The Homer on Youtube and it went viral. We didn’t realize that nobody had ever made a real life version of the Homer before, and got half a million views in a few weeks (and this was 12 years ago before Youtube got huge). This sparked our 15 minutes of fame. All of a sudden my car and team were featured in all sorts of web articles, magazines, etc. We were on the front page of the NY Times Automotive section (which I have framed on the wall next to me). It was surreal towing it to a race while listening to NPR talk about us on the radio.
That sparked even more surreal events. We got invited by Matt Groening to Fox Studios to help promote the 25th season of the show. We parked right in front of Gracie Films and a bunch of news crews. Totally insane. Matt autographed the car and got to take Matt and several other famous people related to The Simpsons and Futurama on hot laps around the studio parking lot. That was also when we learned that Fox lawyers were about to send us a cease and desist notice until Matt Groening stepped in and said no, these are fans who should be celebrated instead of punished.
In the years following I was also invited to have The Homer in the Hollywood Christmas Parade with a bunch of other Star Cars. Life and Covid got in the way and we weren’t able to race the car as much as we’d like, but we did enter a few races.
Last year I thought our fame was over, but out of the blue I got an email from Disney asking if we still had The Homer. Fox and The Simpsons are now under the Disney umbrella, and every 2 years Disney puts on a big fan fest in Anaheim like Comic Con called D23, and the 2024 show was to feature a big car show full of Disney/Fox related vehicles. At that point I had recently completed our last race where we unfortunately blew the motor, plus the car was completely filthy from racing, so when they asked if we could bring the car to the show I initially declined because of the work needed to get the car presentable. But I learned that The Mouse gets what The Mouse wants, so the Disney folks sweetened the deal by agreeing to handle all transportation logistics, and then gave us a buttload of VIP tickets to the event. So we cleaned the car up (never thought I’d be “detailing” roller applied house paint on a car by using Goo-Gone to get all of the rubber tire marks off) and I got to invite a bunch of my friends and wife’s friends, some of whom considered D23 to be a bucket list event that they didn’t think they’d ever be able to attend.
The D23 experience was extra cool because Matt Groening and other Simpsons people were having an autograph session which we decided to go to. When I got to Matt, I reminded him who I was and about the car I owned, and he responded “Oh yeah, I’ll never forget that day at the studio!” *YOU’LL* never forget it? Mind blown. We also got to attend a bunch of panels and saw lots of celebrities. I was in the 3rd row of a huge Disney entertainment showcase at the Honda Center where I was sitting behind John Stamos and so close to the stage I could have thrown a sandwich and hit The Rock.
This year I decided to retire from being a race team captain and to retire The Homer from racing after one last race. My friends and I started racing in our 20s and we’re now in our 40s with busy lives, so I do most of the work on the car myself and basically have to beg people to come help me. This has become more stress than fun, and now that E30s are basically collector cars and not normal cars littering junkyards, it’s getting hard and expensive to find replacement parts. So we entered one final Lemons race back in June, which got converted from a normal 15-ish hour race over the weekend to a full 25:01 (making it the longest race in America). That was a grueling affair with several mechanical issues that had us in out pit space for hours, but ultimately we finished in the top 3rd of the 118 car field and the car survived mostly unscathed so I call that a great end to our racing history.
Here’s a great synopsis of the history of the car and team created by the 24 Hours of Lemons. This was before our time at D23 last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKrwCLVHSkk&t=114s&pp=ygUQdGhlIGhvbWVyIGxlbW9ucw%3D%3D
I’m not sure what to do with the car now. It’s sitting in my garage acting as a giant shelf at the moment. I’m hesitant to get rid of something that has been such a large part of my identity, but it’s not street legal so it has very little use to me if I’m not racing, so I’ll probably sell it, but how and to whom, I have no idea.
Fortunately Fox’s lawyers have bigger fish to fry at the moment….
Not sure what you’re referring to specifically, but if it’s Fox News, Fox Entertainment and Fox News split a few years back. Fox Entertainment under Disney is now called 20th Century Studios and is now not related to the Murdoch’s Fox Corporation which runs Fox News.
Call up Disney and see if they want it! Let them put it into a museum or something.
That’s definitely one of the options. Matt told us he has a storage unit filled with knock-off Simpsons stuff. This would be the ultimate addition to the collection.
My Dad’s MGA (which he still has). It started the period of interesting cars in my family. A string of more interesting cars followed. A 69 Jag XKE 2+2, a 72 Cutlass for me in High School, a Eagle Talon TSI AWD Stick for my sister’s High School car, and my youngest sister got a vintage Falcon with a V8 shoved into it. The Jag would have probably been the one to keep, but he kept the MGA. My sister still has her Falcon too.
It took me a while to start my period of interesting cars too, waiting until some of the kids were in high school, but the MGB started it about 6 years ago, and now it’s an NC Miata for me, and a ND Miata for my middle son. I got the wife a 330E (the PHEV 3 Series BMW) a few years ago too, so she is finally enjoying her car too, after years and years of family hauling SUV’s. I guess I tried to go for the unconventional stuff (I bought a manual Saturn Astra new off the lot, and traded it in for a used Gen 1 Chevy Volt), but I think the “extra car” rather than the daily driver, is the time where you know you have something fun.
My uncle had an e30 (318i) as far back as I can remember, then replaced it with an e24 (635csi) when I was about 10. My fate was sealed, nothing else felt as special as a BMW. My best friend’s first car in high school was an e28 (528e) followed by a parts car 528e that ran better than the original car then an e24, e30, e24 again. Those were the cars I learned to wrench on, I personally only owned an e36 (318ti) but I had a lot of seat time all those cars and BMW cemented itself as the king of the 80s-90s in my mind. As I got older I realized there was more than just ze Germans, so I don’t know that I feel compelled to buy another bimmer because there is so much out there, but right now the top of my list to replace the Boxster would be an e39, or Fiat 124 (classic).
After owning way too many cars, this is tough! For sheer enjoyment, our first Miata. Playful, cheap to buy and drive, reliable, and the most fun you can have with your pants on…
Triumph TR6.
If you want to experience character in a car, take a TR6 for a drive.
Porsche 993. I had a sub to Car and Driver in 6th grade in northcentral West Virginia. I was enamored with the about-to-be-released Porsche and noticed no one there had a similar car. Internally decided ‘Welp, I guess I have to go to college’ then decided to get good grades as a scholarship was the only way that would happen.
It worked out. I’ve lived across the country, traveled a decent bit, and even have a 911 now. 996, convertible, and automatic but it still counts.
My current vehicle… 2020 Hyundai Kona EV
I never realized that a “low end” EV could be so fun to drive. Now, I’ve been bitten by the bug and I’m not sure that I could go back to a gas engine vehicle (outside of, say, a project car or weekend/track vehicle).
Before that I really only wanted manual transmission vehicles, so it’s funny going to a single-speed ????
My first (and only) GM vehicle.
Everything went wrong with that car, from new including a dealership that would fight warranty claims to the death.
I will, forever, have a negative impression of GM and, based on my professional career in the manufacturing industry, will continue to have it reinforced by GM’s corporate behaviour.
Similar boat, an early W-body was my ride during my last college years. EVERTHING on that car broke except the engine itself and the unibody. Swore I would never own another GM (I cheated with the Vibe I bought my daughter, but it is a Toyota in drag). I’m also a lifer in manufacturing and engineering.
That industry view heavily taints my view of quite a few automakers and many of their major suppliers.
Honda and Toyota, otoh, have remained generally positive with regards to work-related interactions (and personal experience with the vehicles). The Vibe is/was a solid car.
Yeah, I’ve really never heard any horror stories out of either company. I worked in steel for almost 2 decades, I heard (and experienced) plenty about all the mills and the domestics.