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
My dad’s 1955 Willys M38a1. Still have it:)
Only one choice here: Dad’s 1969 AMC Javelin SST! Not sure what engine it had, but it was one of the V8’s, I suspect the 343. Loved riding in that car, and mom said when they moved, it easily carried even the largest items.
’86 or ’87 Mitsubishi Starion Turbo
Yes the widebody one. In red over black.
I was 6 when it got traded in after the appallingly hot under hood temps cooked the second wiring harness. Sigh.
My family had some weird options through the years:
1989 Ford Aerostar – Two-tone Sandalwood with brown interior (the 1986 Saab 900 Turbo in Rose Quartz Metallic was traded for this), Dad’s car
1984 Chevy Chevette – Silver (replaced my Mom’s 1982 Chevy Celebrity), Mom’s car
1989 Mercury Grand Marquis – Silver over black two-tone, Mom’s car
1991 Ford Tempo GL – Crystal Blue Metallic with Crystal Blue cloth interior, Mom’s car
1976 Jeep CJ-7 Renegade – Sienna Orange, 304 V8 and T-18, Dad’s car (and my favorite way to get picked up from elementary school)
1998 Chevy Astro LS – White over gold with brown-ish interior, Dad’s car
1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse – Red, no A/C, no power steering, 5-spd, Mom’s car (then my first car!)
1992 Lincoln Town Car Cartier Edition – Silver, Mom’s car (a freebie to replace the Eclipse)
Those cars carried me from birth in the late 80s to graduating high school in the mid-2000s. Not counting the cars that came after I turned 18 (because I’d be hard pressed to not want the indestructible and comfy 2003 Buick Century we named Murray my Dad had before getting his Ford Fusion Titanium EcoBoost that was his last car purchase). From an enthusiast standpoint, the CJ-7 is it. No doors, no roof, side pipes, a stick, and the perfect burnt orange and yellow color combo that screamed 70s.
The question was what car I would like RIGHT NOW. Considering I commute every day, would have to street park, and live in an urban setting, and have a kid that needs a real back seat for a car seat…I’d go Tempo. It was a lovely little car and aside from the Astro, the longest living member of our fleet. Second choice would be the Eclipse, only because it is so impractical for where I am in life. It was the best body style of that car (aside from the 1989-1994 GSX, the body kit was quite nice) and the raw analog driving experience is something I genuinely miss.
I actually own the car that I would want, an ’89 NIssan 240SX coupe with two-tone mint green/dark gray paint. My mom bought it new and drove it until ’95 when she lightly rear-ended someone in a moment of distraction. Insurance totaled it, but since I was about to get my license, we bought it back and got it repaired enough with money I had saved by that point. Still own it today, though it hasn’t run in many years. I am very slowly putting it back together after painting the engine bay. It always takes a back seat to other projects, so progress is slow.
Top of the list is the 740 Turbo wagon that my mom drove from 86 to 94. Second would be the E21 320iS (dad’s car) that my sister and I drove in high school. A distant third might be the ‘78 Malibu with a no-emisssions 350 that my dad drove in the late 70s to 1982.
My dad had a 1992 Toyota Hilux Surf. It had a blown head gasket and we were debating selling my JDM Toyota Carina ED and using the money to repair it. As he had a new Ford Falcon XR6, but we decided that given my car had 80,000kms on it and the Surf had 250,000 that my car was the one to keep. BIG mistake. I reckon I would still have the Surf 20 years later, actually he probably would have stolen it back when I moved overseas for a bit, but it would still be in the family. We were the first NZ owners in 1998, I learnt to drive in it, it was our main family car for seven years. I used to take my friends to the beach in it, it was a part of the family and we agree that we should have kept it. It was a 2.4 turbo diesel with a manual.
88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. 2.3T, 5 speed manual, black. I used to sit in the passenger seat and marvel at the boost dial. 2 or 3 years ago a mint-condition example drove past me outside Detroit and it stopped me in my tracks. It seems like they completely disappeared (perhaps the turbos weren’t long-lived).
OR (dad worked at Ford) we had a very early version of the SHO when it first came out. FWD only, 5 speed manual. White with white matching wheels. The look of that manifold on top (Yamaha engine) may be the single reason I became an engineer. Now that I think of it, the white one may have been after a refresh.
55 Cadillac
My stepfather was a hardcore Saab guy, and one of his last project cars was an ’88 900 SPG. While old Saabs are absolutely an acquired taste, it was the car that introduced me to turbo boost and it would be very cool to have one now.
Safari coloured 1993 VAZ 21093. it was my dad’s first car and he worked his ass off on 2 jobs to get it because in the family we were the only one without a car and me being 5 years old I was so jelaous… my dear father… took it so close to heart… got the new one. My mom told me that I ran around entire neighborhood that evening and shouting to everyone: MY DAD BOUGHT A CAR!!! she said that my dad told her that it was worth everything for that moment.
my dear father….
1993 Mitsubishi Pajero
2000 Nissan Patrol
those 2 what is missing in today’s cars: utility with reliability
So many.
-88 BMW 735i
-89 Jeep Cherokee Laredo
-94 Grand Cherokee Limited V8
-97 Volvo 850 Turbo wagon
-05 Infiniti G35x
86 Mercury Lynx. Maroon on maroon. Automatic. Perfect econo-box. It was sadly replaced for a 93 Taurus wagon. Teal over grey. Also not a bad car until it started eating head gaskets.
76 Chevy K5 Blazer blue with a white stripe. I loved that truck. Also a white 65 mustang convertible with a red interior. Oh, and a green 67 Olds 98 convertible with a white interior. I’ll take any of those. Oooh, and a gold 66 Olds Toranado with black interior. Dad was a car guy. Bought and sold a lot of cars, but those were my standouts.
none. my parents bought pretty crappy throwaway by 70K miles american cars in the 80s/90s. I’m the only one in my fam who gives two shits about cars.
There are a few for sure:
None of them were *that* bad, pretty much any one of them could have been made to run and been perfectly fine daily driver material for a highschool kid in the ’90s. I just wasn’t really into it then, and by the time I was they were all long gone.
1967(?) Austin Healey 3000 Mrk III. Was one year old when my Dad bought this. Said since it had the triple carbs vs dual carbs, it was a bit cheaper. The triple carbs were harder to keep sync’d. Mom said to was a blast to drive on the Detroit interchanges.
Kids and Divorce sent the car packing.
1972 Chevy Malibu convertible, red w/ white top/interior. Dad bought it ‘new’ when lived in Michigan. Said it had an odd combination of equipment, such as the heavier duty 4spd transmission that wasn’t supposed to be available for the 350 2bbl engine in car. had Corvette turbine hubcaps. Story was it was spec’d to be a pace car prototype (the stock engine would be swapped for something else) but got killed. The car got hit in minor accident in Florida in late 70s, so got traded off. Was around the Sarasota FL area for several years then disappeared. Someone claimed they saw it in a small car museum in TN, but never confirmed.
Have a pic somewhere with all 4 of us kids in backseat with top down.
1983 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. It was bright red over a red interior, and dad bought it new. It was the first (and only) cool car he owned. Quite a step up from his ‘79 Futura with the Pinto 4cyl, 4-speed and no power anything (including brakes and steering). In retrospect, I guess that was kinda cool too.
When I was in first grade in 1974 my parents had me stay with my grandparents for a few days while they went out of state to trade their 1970 BMW 2002 for a 1972 Citroen SM that seemed like the most bizarre car I had even seen until we had to go to the Citroen dealer for service and I saw a DS for the first time. I don’t think I appreciated how cool the SM was at the time; none of the kids at school believed me when I told them my dad’s car had a lever next to the drivers seat that would change the ride height of the car. After a year and a half of nothing but trouble with the Maserati V6 engine they sold it and got a new 1975 BMW 530i, another car that I’d like to have today.
My dad had a 1986 Subaru GL wagon with a manual and selectable low-range 4WD up until it was replaced by a far inferior Ford Taurus wagon in 1994 or 95. That GL is the one I’d want
A pair of Audis – a 1981 5000 Turbo and a 1985 5000 Turbodiesel, both in Zermatt silver. If only they’d been 5-speeds instead of automatics. Dad traded a 1981 (I think) Buick Park Avenue on that first Audi, and it felt like we had stepped into a completely new world of cars.
’89 Suburban. Navy on tan. Sold mere months before I was old enough to drive. I’ll admit barn doors are cooler, but the tailgate was great for hanging out on as a kid.
https://www.garagekeptmotors.com/imagetag/1115/main/l/Used-1988-Ford-Mustang-GT-Convertible-1738309204.jpg