RWD is back!!!

[kevm14]

Why did FWD get popular? JDM. the opposite of the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, or whatever with a v8 your dad lusted after. It even had the steering wheel on the wrong (right) side.

So what's happening now?

The guy who lusted after that CRX is now over 40, and his son is old enough to buy his first car.

Ha. That's funny because generational bias.

[Adam]

In fact, not only have my cars all been RWD, they've all been V8 and GM, except for the Ranger.

Haven't you only owned like 4 cars, most of which you own currently?

[kevm14]

Because you asked.
Oct 2000: 89 9C1 (24 hours, lost $200 selling it back)
March 2001 - present: 93 Caprice 9C1
July 2004 - May 2007: 95 Camaro Z28
Jan 2008 - present: 91 Ford Ranger
May 2008 - Aug 2010: 95 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
Aug 2010 - present: 05 Cadillac CTS-V

[Bob]

I have owned so many cars I can barely remember the dates. A nice sampling of FWD and RWD cars here. Looking back at it, I don't really regret any of the purchases, except the ones Kevin talked me into

1994 Acura Integra LS - June 2000 - August 2001
1994 Honda Prelude VTEC (yes, the car was so awesome it had VTEC in its name) - July 2001 - December 2002
1989 Chevy Corsica ($1 car) - Fall 2002 - Winter 2003
1991 Sentra SE-R - Winter 2002 - Fall 2003
1995 Camaro Z28 (same car as mentioned above) - Fall? 2002? - June 2003
1988 Toyota 4Runner - Spring 2003 - Summer 2004
1994 Toyota Tercel - Summer 2004 - Spring 2005
2001 Corvette Z06 - June 2003 - February 2006
1998 Civic EX - Spring 2005 - January 2008
2005 Lotus Elise - April 2006 - present
2008 Mini Cooper S - January 2008 - September 2009
2002 Civic Si - September 2009 - January 2013
1998 Integra Type R - April 2011 - April 2012
2012 Prius - January 2013 - present

[bill25]

My car list is pretty sad.

1998: 1987 Mercury Topaz
1999: 1990 (Somewhere around that) Mercury Sable - beat to hell, I paid $200 bucks. - I think it lasted maybe 3 months max
1999: 1989 Chevy Cavalier Z-24
2001: 1985 Chevy Monte Carlo SS
2001: 1989 Chevy Cavalier Z-24 - the same one, it was resurrected from the junkyard randomly by someone else, and I found it miraculously and drove it for another year and a half.
2002: 1988 GMC Jimmy - don't get excited, it was the 2.8, what a slow sorry vehicle
2003: 1998 Mazda 626 ES V6 - I loved this car
2005: 1999 Volvo S80 - Worst car ever made, by anybody. Seriously, If I built a car from scratch, I could have done a better job and I haven't done much mechanically
2006: 2003 Toyota Corolla - Still have it. It is a tank. Is not at all fun to drive, but it has 190,000 on it and runs like new.
2009: 2002 Mazda 626 ES V6 - nowhere near as awesome as the 1998.
2009: 2009 Mazda Mazda3 - Still have it - I will never buy a new car again. I paid 15,500 for this new, no options except AC which was dealer installed, manual windows and locks, etc. My buddy bought a 2 year old MazdaSpeed3 for 17K with 25,000 miles on it. The car was basically brand new.
2014: 2011 Toyota Rav-4 - Still have it - This was not my idea. Lets leave it at that.

2016: 2012 Camaro SS 1LE (In my dreams anyway)

[Adam]

A conversation from work after the snow storm:

Them: (Referring to my Fleetwood) You drive that thing all winter?
Me: Yes.
Them: Isn't it rear wheel drive?
Me: Yes.
Them: Oh. (Confused stare)
Me: (Internal sigh) I've been driving rear wheel drive cars in the winter since I got my license in '96. Also, this one has traction control and ABS just in case.
Them: Oh, it does?

[Adam]

Car lists are fun! I only list year I got it as I don't necessarily remember the specifics.

1996: 1985 Plymouth Caravel Turbo! (2.2L, non-intercooled). It was my grandmother's car. Blew a head gasket. Wish I knew more about cars then, I would have fixed it.
1996: 1980 Ford Thunderbird. 302, C4, 2BBL carb. Couldn't do brake stands, probably had 2:55 gears or something terrible. Blew up the 302 and installed another one from a 1978 Ford Granada. It had extra plush dark green vinyl interior. Almost wish I had just taken that car.
1997: 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass. 307, 200-4R. 2:73s. Could do brake stands if other people lifted the right-rear quarter panel. Most expensive car I have ever purchased ($2500), probably the nicest too. Lost this one to rust sometime in 2001 or 2002.
1997: 1983 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Had LU5 crossfire engine plus an Edelbrock Performer RPM cam (for some reason). 700R4, 3:23s. This car did lots of brake stands. I put a transmission and a rear diff in it around 2000, then blew the motor.
1997: 1978 Datsun 280Z. 5-speed. My friends and I kept selling this car around so we could keep getting 20 day temp plates for it. There are now rules against doing that in NH. I wish one of us had kept it and made the fuel injection work properly as this was a solid car.
1998: 1963 Oldsmobile 98. 394ci, 3 speed hydromatic (PND21R). Tons of power out of the 394, body needed work. This car was parked as a project at my parents hose and was stolen around 2003. It was probably crushed.
1999: 1985 Chevrolet Caprice. LG4. I bought this to replace the engine in my Z28 after it blew up. Then I didn't. Ask Ed about this car.
1999: 1985 Pontiac Pontiac Sunfire GT. LA5 turbo engine. 4 speed manual. Turbo worked once, it was pretty quick. This car suffered from a complete electrical failure. Never looked into it because I got:
1999: 1979 Chevrolet Camaro. 350ci, Borg Warner T10 4-speed. Not sure what diff. This car did lots of burnouts. Ruined the transmission and replaced it with a cast iron Saginaw 4-speed. One of the few cars I sold for money rather than scrapping.
2000: 1982 Cadillac Sedan Deville. 4.1L V6. Oh yeah. Rebuilt the engine after it was ruined during some overheating. This car was also stolen from my parents' place with the Oldsmobile. It was probably crushed.
2000: 1990 Jeep Cherokee. My parent's car. They weren't really using it since they got a newer Toyota Tacoma, so I got it along with its history of not having maintenance done. Eventually stopped making oil pressure.
2001: 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. L69, 200-4R, 3:73s. Wore out the original 305, installed another L69 which developed rod knock soon after that. Still have this car.
2002: 1993 Toyota Tercel. White. 3EE. 4-speed. No power. Installed a front sway bar and an MSD 6AL for ... performance. I bought this car for $250. Lost it to rust.
2003: 1987 Chevrolet Suburban 2500. 2WD. 454ci. TBI. Oval port heads. TH400. Bought this for the engine to go in the Monte Carlo. Turned out to need more work than originally anticipated. Apparently had been overheated. Machine shop bored it 0.030" over. Got some early 70's rectangular port heads. Would have made just under 500 HP with the cam that we picked out. Then I moved to RI.
2005: 1993 Toyota Tercel. Green. 3EE. 4-speed. No power. This one needed a transmission, so I got it for $350. Conveniently, I had a non-inspectable car with a perfectly good transmission. Years later it lost compression in once cylinder. Did rings, it ran good enough for a while. One of the other cars I sold for money.
2010: 1994 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1. LT1. 4L60E. 3:08. Cop wheels, cop shocks, etc. Still have this. Body has rust. Lots of rust. Newest car I've ever owned.
2012: 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood R1P. LT1. 4L60E. 2:93. Needed maintenance. Just turned 200K on Friday. Newest car I've ever owned. Most miles I have ever put on a car (just over 40K). Daily driver.
2014: 1994 Lexus SC400. 1UZ-FE. 4-speed auto. Too cheap to pass up. Fixed lots of stuff, needs the rust repairs finished. Waiting for spare time. Newest car I've ever owned.

I think that's everything.

[kevm14]

2012: 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood R1P. LT1. 4L60E. 2:93. Needed maintenance. Just turned 200K on Friday. Newest car I've ever owned. Most miles I have ever put on a car (just over 40K). Daily driver.

I put 176k on my Caprice since 2001, which is like 50% more than most people put on NEW cars. What do I win?

And the rest:
Put around 33k on the 95 Camaro Z28.
Many of these aren't my miles but the Ranger accumulated around 17k miles since I've owned it.
On the Fleetwood, I put 26k miles on it.
Finally, I've driven the CTS-V about 19k miles.

[kevm14]

Me: (Internal sigh) I've been driving rear wheel drive cars in the winter since I got my license in '96. Also, this one has traction control and ABS just in case.

My Caprice was the first car I've owned (and as I explained previously I've never purchased anything other than RWD), but I did get my license in 1997 (or 98?) and I had access to an 83 Caprice wagon though I probably drove the 90 Lincoln Continental more often. But I enjoyed driving the 83 Caprice, even as a freshly licensed 16 year old. It was just far more satisfying to drive than the Lincoln (better brakes, too). I suppose I had a lot more of an attachment to it since my parents bought it new in 83 so I literally grew up with it (from age 2 to high school).

You could say, oh, well that's why I like B-bodies. It can't be that simple. How many kids probably grew up with B-body wagons in the 80s and didn't go on to be enthusiastic about the platform? Like all of them.

[bill25]

2001: 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. L69, 200-4R, 3:73s. Wore out the original 305, installed another L69 which developed rod knock soon after that. Still have this car.

That's funny, that is right around when I sold mine I think. It was an 85. It isn't white is it? lol I sold mine on Mendon Road in Cumberland for like $900. It was very rusted.