I suspect most people who remember their parents’ cars don’t think of them with any particular fondness beyond nostalgia for happy times spent in them (or vivid memories of the time the dog threw up halfway through the four-hour trip to Nana’s, that sort of thing), and may not even recall what the cars were, even if the memories of sitting in the wagon’s way-back are otherwise indelible. And while encountering a car from childhood might earn a wistful “My Mom had one of those,” an ordinary person probably isn’t hot to acquire the blast from the past.
However, we are not ordinary people, and I suspect many of you would love to own cars that were once your parents’ daily drivers. I know I sure would, and I’m not even talking about Dad’s Volkswagens squareback and Beetle, MG Midget, or Datsun 280Z – or Mom’s Jeep J10 Thriftside, for that matter, though I loved all those cars.
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No, the one car I would most like to have from my days as a passenger would be my Dad’s 1986 Nissan Maxima, which was exactly like the one Doug dives into here:
I have fond memories of this car seeming like the peak of luxury and technology for 1986, but nostalgia aside, I just plain love it. I really miss the crisply-folded era of 1980s styling, and this generation’s straight lines and slab sides really do it for me, not to mention those wheels.
In a very close second, there’s Dad’s 1982 Celica notchback, seen here in a brochure pic:
I actually prefer the look of the “regular” Celica as above over the puffed-up GT, and I like the notchback better than the hatch bodystyle. You may disagree!
Mark Tucker piped in with his own reply to today’s Ask, replying, “Oh, I have a great answer for that AA: my dad’s Fiat 128 sedan. I’ve written about it on Opposite Lock.”
Yeah, that’s hot.
Your turn:
What Car Did A Parent Have When You Were A Kid That You’d Love To Have Now?
Top graphic image: Nissan
The first two cars I can remember my mum having were a Mk1 Ford Escort in blurple, and a Mk2 Ford Escort in yellow, both two door, and presumably worth about as much as a house now even though they were both poverty spec.
Even though my dad didn’t drive he once bought a black MGB GT from a bloke in the pub after a few pints too many. Mum was quite impressed by the MG, less so by the purchasing decision.
My dad’s cars generally kinda sucked. I actually did wind up with one of them (1980 Plymouth Volare, in hearing-aid beige) as my first car. He eventually redeemed himself with a very nice XJ Cherokee in the mid ’90s, by which point I was no longer a kid so it doesn’t count for the purposes of this question. My mom, though, had a 1977 Corolla Liftback (the three-door “shooting brake” one) which she followed up with a 1985 Dodge Lancer Turbo. I’d happily have either one of those today.
Even now, at 79, mom still rocks her 2017 Soul with the 1.6t/DCT. She basically had the Kia dealer call her as soon as one was available when they first announced the turbo. I keep it detailed for her since she’s finally admitted that I’m better at it than she is…
1968 911T Targa which, I later learned, he couldn’t afford. Dad later introduced it to a tree that “was in the road” and it (the car) never returned.
When I was born my parents had a Peugeot 404 wagon and a Volvo 544 Duett. For most of my childhood they had a succession of Peugeot 504s, joined briefly by a Citroen–I don’t know whether it was an ID or a DS–and a Beetle. At one point there was a 1932 Ford pickup in which my father replaced the stock seat with a set of Peugeot front seats. We were also storing a cousin’s Bentley Red Label (I think) tourer, which Pop would exercise from time to time. Before I was born Pop had a succession of elderly but interesting beasts, notable among them a 1952 XK120 and a 1955 Chevy Bel Air.
I’ve had several Peugoets, but never a 404. I did have a nice 403 for a while. Several 504’s, including one wagon, and two 505’s, one of them turbo diesel and one just gasoline. I loved them all, and in Seattle in the 90’s you could find them cheaply pretty much whenever you felt like it.
In my order of preference, Dad’s Cars:
1966 Pontiac Catalina – Olive Green
1968 Chevy C-10 – Short Bed 327 cuid with 4bbl carb upgrade, 3 on a tree – Blue
1967 VW Bug – Zenith Blue
My dad had a 64 Scout that I learned to drive a manual transmission. Was still learning downshifts and rev matching so tried to avoid these as much as possible. Pretty sure I put it up on two wheels making a sweeping right hand turn too fast to avoid the downshift. Also, was running around at about 20 mph in a foot of snow in a beach parking lot when I hit a curb extension at then end of a row. Scout popped up in the air and crashed back down as the front and then back tires hit the curb. No damage, nothing, not even the tires, completely un phased. My dad loved it so much he paid to have the body rebuilt and painted tan,which extended its life another five years. It could handle 5 inch tall curbs, but salt was its downfall.
if it makes you feel any better, they tend to rust even if they do not see salt. But, the aftermarket for these is strong enough, you could almost rebody one if you just have a frame. stangely their frames were pretty solid.
Was also a Nautilus exercise machine: manual steering, manual brakes, clutch pedal spring that could stop a charging rhino in its tracks. When engaging the brakes or the clutch you would wedge you lower back into the seat to brace you leg.
While I’d love to have a Chrysler Newport with the baby blue paint job with white roof and 400 cid engine, I would not want the gas bills for a beast like that. And there was no way to get to the 2 rear most spark plugs. So I’d settle for the ’74 Mercury Capri I had for a month, which is another story…
Frankly none of them.
I bought the one they had that I liked as my first car. It was great. But that was decades ago, and I like having multiple airbags and larger mirrors that modern cars have.
I wouldn’t mind the engine or the outwards visibility, though, but not at the expense of emissions regulations and crash safety.
While their peers seemed to all be buying Explorers and Monteros and Pathfinders in the early 90s, my parents stuck with a 79 Saab Turbo and a 1990 Camry V6, both with manual transmissions. Either one of those in good condition today would be a great find.
Some neighbors up the street had interesting tastes as well, an XRTi and a Scorpio. But they were total asshats.
My dad bought his dream car when I was a teen and back before they got super expensive. It was a 69 Jag XKE. He had the 2+2 with the straight 6 and a 4 speed. That thing sounded so good and was so fun to drive. My room was above the garage and it would just have the most lovely deep rumble when at idle. It looked great, but had a concerning level of rust in the frame underneath so he sold it after about 1 years. At the time it wasn’t worth putting the money into restoring it, but 30 years later, it would totally be worth the investment. He still has his 1960 MGA that he bought before the Jag and I wouldn’t mind having that someday either, but the XKE is a different level.
1972 Dodge Colt (2Dr) 4-Spd. First car I remember. Lot of early car memories of my dad driving us young kids around. I vaguely remember him driving up/down some stairs someplace with it and also how he drove for what seemed like a long ways backwards after we missed a turn heading to my friend’s house on a narrow dirt road. I also remember it having chunky snow tires on the back that I though made cool tracks in our dirt driveway. They sold it when I was 5 or 6 years olds and I was pretty sad.
I need to preface by saying if my parents could buy an AMC they would buy and AMC. I mean Concord/Matador AMC, not any of the cool ones. That said, they had a couple of cars that they bought when there wasn’t an AMC available (sometimes they rusted into powder before the sales contract could be signed). My dad had a ’67 Mustang, which was really cool and educational. It taught me that a Ford could rust as quickly as an AMC. My mom had a ’84 Jetta Wolfsburg that I thought I’d end up with until she nosed it too far into an intersection to see if any trucks were coming…only one was 🙁
My dad had a 68 Javelin with eh 232 Commando Six. I actually got it for a little while from the barn and tried to fix it up, but ultimately time and money got away from me and He sent it to the crusher when I had to take it back for a short time when I moved south. Really too bad though, I would now love to have it back and plop in a Jeep 4.0 HO and the related 5 speed in that old thing.
My mom had a ’73 Sportabout with a Gucci interior– she liked nicer cars, but she was willing to live with a Hornet for those seats and the headliner full of tiny little G’s.
Dad drove an 89 3/4 ton fleet spec Chevy for 20 years that was so base they put blank out panels over the dash vents which is what I learned to drive in. Mom owned a series of 90s and 2000s Mopar sedans like a Dynasty, a Breeze, and later a 2nd gen 2.7 Intrepid until I was an adult so none of em.
We had a brown 1974 Plymouth Fury Custom Suburban station wagon that was an absolute hoss of a car. They are really hard to find nowadays.
My dad had a clean red 4 speed Monza Spyder.He put a 4bbl,Cragars,and duel exhaust so he could sell it fast.It was probably a dog but at the time that 8 year old thought it was the coolest car in the world.
I didn’t appreciate at the time that my family drove some super rad cars in my youth. The one I’d most like to see again is the Formula Ford my dad raced back in the 80’s. Other notable entries include:
79? VW Rabbit
Nissan Pulsar NX
Dodge Colt Wagon
80’s Toyota Van
A pair of 80’s Chevy Novas (Corollas)
Dodge Omni
72 Datsun 240z
and I’m sure there’s more I spaced on.
In recent years there has been:
12 370z
19? Civic Type R
15 Corvette is Dad’s current car
Please tell me the pulsar nx had a sport-back
No such luck. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a sport-back in person.
This is so easy. When I met my wife when I was 17 (1985), her mom had recently traded in a 1979 Monte Carlo for a badass RX-7 with a stick!
Yeah, that!
My parents usually had interesting vehicles: Baja Beetle, rx-2, Conquest/Starion, Goldwing, Ford camper conversion van.
My dad (mom did not drive) only had 4 cars while our lives overlapped, and none were interesting.
67 Nova 4-cyl (fell apart in 74)
74 Dart Sport (Duster body) with the slanty, which threw a rod in 79
80 Cordoba (car I learned to drive on, and other teenager things)
88 Fifth Avenue (some of the proceeds when I sold it after he died are sitting on my wife’s left finger)
I tried to get him to buy a Conquest, but he could tell it was “Jap Crap” (please pardon the horrific bigotry, but that’s what he said)
My dad was stationed in Japan for 6 years and can speak the language somewhat crudely. He only resorted to horrific bigotry when we were working on the damn thing.
We also had a Nova when we lived in Venezuela, which I think is ironic.
Conquest TSI was/is high on my 80’s bucket list of cars.
Either the 87 Maxima 5 speed, or the 94 Del Sol VTEC (Both of which I owned after he did, and regret selling.)
Mom had a Fuego, but no, what I really want is either the 85 Subaru XT4 – with the Star Trek digital gauge cluster – or the 88 XT6 they got after. The XT4 is the cooler of the two, with its turbocharged (lagged) 4, weird gauge cluster and removeable roof, but the XT6 was definitely quicker. Either would work.
I had both of those cars in my college years! The XT turbo had the digital gauge cluster and even with the turbo it was such a dog. The XT6 was much better and the locking center diff was awesome.
1991 Mercedes 300TE wagon.. with the rear facing “way back” seat.
I guess the Toyota Corona or Plymouth Duster my dad had before I was born could be neat with some work?
On the other hand, my grandparents collectively had neat stuff (one side had a bunch of Corvairs because they were cheap, the other had a VW Bus or two, and a Crown Victoria I loved as a kid). Going beyond cars, I know one grandfather had a motorcycle (the settlement from an accident funded his immigration from what I’m told), that regardless of what it was, would be cool.
My dad’s 1987 Accord LXi, for the pop up headlights.
Yes!
In the mid 90s, my mom picked up a slightly used 1989 Honda Accord LXi in that ubiquitous gold color to replace a early 80s Buick Skyhawk. A vastly superior car, the Honda was. It was an automatic, but so smooth to drive. The pop up headlights were “da bomb”. Peak Honda design. I even think compared to my wife’s current 2022 Odyssey that old Accord is a better built car.
Oh easy: my mom’s 1992 Volvo 960 wagon.
My parents brought me home from the hospital in a Chrysler Cordoba, which was traded for a 1st gen Chevy Cavalier. Next was a Nissan Stanza. Then a Honda Accord. So… none of them.
They both drove a series of MGBs and VW Beetles before I was born, so maybe one of those.