blast from the past: auto edition

last week, m'girl tory unveiled her sweet ride...a 1991 isuzu trooper. what's so special about a trooper? well, it just so happens that my family had the exact same car when i was growing up. in fact, i believe i learned to drive a manual transmission in that car. at any rate, i was stupid excited to go joy ridin' in the trooper.


after that little adventure, i started thinking about all the cars i've ever owned. granted, there have only been four, but each of those four cars made quite an impression. many memories were made in each car and i look back on each one - ghetto as they may be - with fondness.


first up, we have ted the topaz. he was my first. what's not to love about a mercury topaz? the best part about this car was that there was an electrical issue in the ignition, so ted was known to randomly shut off at any given moment. around town or on the freeway, ted was no respecter of location. many a day, i found myself spontaneously pulling over to regroup and get ted going again. sadly, ted was totaled when a lady rear-ended me and crushed ted beyond recognition. our romance was brief but i'll never forget him.


and then came the silver bullet. my parents took the insurance money and bought me a shiny, new...geo metro. that's right, baby. that car got me through my first few years of college. it was so perfect...except for in inclement weather. as long as the roads were perfectly even and dry, i didn't have any problems. did i mention i went to college in rexburg, idaho where the average snowfall is ridiculously high? yeah...it was a recipe for good times.


as happens in large families, a multitude of licenses were acquired and it came to pass the silver bullet down the line. enter sunny the sundance. sunny was a beauty. with luxurious maroon velour interior and power windows, i was in heaven. we had a good run together...two years, i think. the BEST part was that two years later i sold her for exactly what i bought her for. so...i basically MADE money on the sundance. joy.


and here we are. my sweet ride is now a 2000 (i think) nissan altima. le said altima has treated me pretty good over the years. i've used her up and worn her out with nary a complaint from the lady. she's done me good. real good. thousands of miles later, it's close to movin' on time. but until then, we'll be alright.

what was your first car? tell me about the quirks. spill it!