Thread: Different cars I have owned (beware, lots of photos)

Well, I have owned quite a few different cars, nearly all of which are American, so I figured the post would be best here in the non-Rover section. There are a couple of Rover pics too.

I thought this might be an interesting thread for people that have a general interest in cars, no matter how terrible, that might not be available in their home country.

I also thought it might spur some conversation, a few laughs, and general poking of fun at Americans for their love of land yachts (since I've owned a few).

This is a 1996 Buick Park Avenue. Owned it for a few months. Developed a fuel leak, so I sold it for cheap. It was a Series II 3.8L V6 mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox.




This is a 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix coupe that I owned for a few months. Huge piece of crap that the tinworm got a hold of. It had been hit in the front, hence why the bonnet was green. I hated this car. I actually traded it for the Buick above. It had a 3.1L OHV V6 with a 4-speed Auto.




This was a 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix saloon that I owned for a year or so. I actually didn't mind this car. I grew bored of it, and traded it off for a 1998 Chevrolet Blazer that I don't have photos of. Also had a 3.1L OHV V6/4-speed Automatic.





This is not owned by me, but worthy of sharing. It's the only two door Land Rover Discovery in North America (as far as we know). It's owned by a good friend of mine. It's still in hibernation in a barn somewhere. It was originally a 200TDi, but the powertrain and drivetrain were harvested.


This is one of my favorite photos ever of my old 1995 Discovery. It was a 5-speed (rare for North America), but the engine I fitted was a low compression 3.9L out of a rusty 1990 Range Rover Classic. It was slow, but it was nice to drive.

This was after my meeting with a small tree while wheeling with some friends through the woods. I was trying to avoid the tree on the left, and hit the one on the right LOL

It's always something...this time, I got the ignition coil wet and it was not happy. I thought I was going to burn the starter out.

After the trip...


THIS was a true Granny car, a 1991 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency Elite. I had this car for almost two years, and I regret selling it. It didn't handle for s**t, but it was one of the most comfortable cars I've ever driven. It was like riding on magic carpet. Bumps? What bumps? Despite being the size of the whole of Australia, it was really frugal with fuel, about 30MPG (7.8l/100km) on the highway. The city was about half that, if I drove like an undertaker. It was a Series I 3.8L OHV V6/4-speed automatic.

HUGE boot.


It had been bumped up front prior to my buying it, and the bonnet was changed too. I never bothered messing with it, other than realigning the right side headlight.

Best photo I have of the interior.


A horrible little car I bought for $400. 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier. I put a water pump, spark plugs/ignition wires, and changed the oil. I sold it for $700 a week later. It was a 2.2L I-4, 5-speed, and had NO options whatsoever, not even power steering.




We had this for nearly 4 years. 1999 Jeep Cherokee XJ. Toward the end of our ownership, the floor pan was rusting out really bad (there were big holes in the tub),the heater core was leaking badly, and I'm pretty sure the head gasket was leaking internally (the coolant lasted about 1600km before it wanted flushing again). It was a good little Jeep that went over 320,000 KM, but I didn't have the money or abilities at the time to fix it properly. It was a 4.0L Inline 6cyl/4-speed automatic.





You've already seen one almost identical to this, but this was my favorite Grand Prix. I had it for 4 years, and put many, many miles on it. All it ever wanted (besides regular maintenance) was an alternator, and transmission cooler lines. Later, the lower intake manifold gasket failed (a ridiculously common failure on the cars powered by the 3.1L OHV V6). This resulted in it being parked for a year while I went through periods of unemployment, and eventually being scrapped when I was hard pressed for money to pay the rent. I loved this car a lot, and actually have dreams about it sometimes. It was ugly as sin, but I loved it all the same. 3.1L V6/4-speed auto


The wheel were off of a 1995 Grand Prix Special Edition coupe.


This was my first Rover, a 2001 Discovery SE7. It was a basket case, and wound up having more problems that I could fix. Sold it, and bought the 1995 Disco.



Christmas Tree dash


That's not all the cars I've owned, but the ones I can find photos of! Feel free to share your history if you like!

Originally Posted by spudboy

Haha - some of those American cars were hilarious! I loved the Grand Prix models, which have precisely "what" to do with anything related to Grand Prix's...? Cars are so cheap over there.

I've had a bunch of duds along the way. Strangely, I documented them all in a blog post a few months ago just so I could have a definitive list.

Turns out I've had 56 cars all up: Vehicle-purchase-history

Wasted most of my children's inheritance, sadly for them

That is an incredibly awesome list of cars you've owned. I am very impressed. I have had two German cars, a 1995 BMW 325i, and a 1984 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel. Both were excellent to drive, despite the fact both of them had over 350,000 km. I've also had two Saabs. My very first car was a rusty 1988 Saab 900 Turbo hatch 5-speed. Loved that car until it rusted away. My second was a 1994 Saab 9000 Aero 5-speed. That car had stupid amounts of torque. I bought it broken down. Spent a couple of days straight (I slept maybe 4 hours the whole two days) getting it roadworthy. The first time I found full boost, I scared myself .

I have an undying love for anything Alfa Romeo. I nearly bought one here (an Alfa 164, the only model available here in the US besides a Spider), but it had a knackered timing belt and the heads were trashed. I almost bought it anyway until I started to try and find replacement parts. Damn near impossible, so I had to turn it down.

Of course, I love that white Defender in Kenya too.

elshano, that photo of your Discovery is awesome. I love the white Estate...wagon's really never caught on here, especially full size wagons. I'd have wanted to throttle the kid that wrecked your '89 RX7...ugh. That Corolla, and the AE86 models are the only Corollas I would drive LOL.