I have owned several vehicles in my time. I have fond memories of the all, but I always find myself wondering:
If I could go back in time and keep just one, which one would it be?
So here they are, all the vehicles that I have owned (in chronological order) and my thoughts on each.
1988 GMC C1500 (Old Blue) - I had a blast driving this truck. It had a 350 automatic with dual 2-chamber Flowmaster's and 3 1/2" echo tips. On the weekends I would race my brother home in his '89 C/K, bumper to bumper, doing 80 on a gravel road. It was loud, ugly and I loved it.
(Pictured here with a much younger nate. A simple country boy full of unbridled enthusiasm. You might say a cockeyed optimist, who got himself mixed up in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.)
1995 Chevrolet C1500 (Blacky) - At the time I loved this truck more than anything. It was only 5 years old and it had a 350 automatic, which was pretty hard to find in a single cab short bed. I lowered it 4"-6" on 18"s, shaved the emblems, and the tailgate handle, welded in a roll pan and installed some sport mirrors. It got a lot of compliments. My wife wishes I still owned it.
1995 Ford Mustang GTS (Red Rocket,The GTS) - After the black truck I got the GTS. I liked it because it was a GTS, which made it rare, plus I am a minimalist. I even took off the dealer mounted spoiler. It was pretty fast for me, because it had just about every bolt-on imaginable. My fastest time was a 13.6. My only gripe was that the interior seemed a bit cramped compared to the truck, it always wanted to overheat and getting it to shift into 2nd was an ART!
1991 Ford Mustang Coupe (The Coupe-ay) - This thing was not a daily driver, I bought it on a whim not really knowing what I wanted to do with it. I tinkered with it for a while and sold it to my brother for what I paid, but not before inventing the Offroad Accessory Drive Kit!
1988 Ford Mustang Coupe (Crispy) - This one was obviously not a daily driver. I bought it from a friend for $250 sold the tranny for $100 then the rest for $300.
1995 Chevy Tahoe (The 'Hoe) - Even though it used more oil than the Exxon Valdez, I loved the Tahoe. I bought it after selling the GTS, so it felt like I was driving a house on wheels. I bought it from Springer so of course it was running on fumes. I took it strait to the gas station and filled 'er up with regular to the tune of $55, which seemed like highway robbery at the time.
1994 Pontiac Grand Prix (The Grand Pricks) - I was the 4th LRS employee to own this car, and it had to be the most sluggish thing I have ever driven! Turned out that the entire ignition system was shot: plugs, wires, and coils! It also made the most God awful rattling sound that you had ever heard. It sounded like a loose exhaust shield, but I never tracked it down. However, the rattling did a fine job announcing my arrival home from work everyday, I'm sure my neighbors appreciated that. But it still looked decent for what it was, plus it got 26 MPG!
I am a fan of the Coding Horror blog by Jeff Atwood, so when I sent him this picture he added it to his blog.
Overall, the '95 Tahoe was the one that got away. It was a pleasure to drive even though it did drink oil and got terrible gas mileage.
Which one of your cars was "The One That Got Away?"