Only American sedan I ever had (Oldsmobile Ninety-eight, inherited from the MiL), had a disturbing tendency to stop-- not stall, not sputter, just stop with no warning, causing all its systems to fail. There was no rhyme or reason to the stoppage, it just was. And of course, it never did it when I took it to the dealer.
It was after it pulled this routine on I-65 in Nashville in rush hour traffic that I said, enough! Got a Jeep Grand Cherokee that I absolutely ADORED and would have driven into the ground if not for the appearance of Abby a scant fifteen months after Nate. Car was big enough for the four of us, but couldn't squeeze another person in, a problem when any family came to visit.
I gave you a vote too.
Science is awesome. I especially love Physics because the way the Universe works is so freaking weird.
My worst car in terms of being a money sink was a Subaru. I would be willing to give Subaru another chance, but my wife would not. Thus no Subarus in our future. There are some nice Subarus out there, but none that I'd be especially crazy over.
I love my Outback Sport. I really liked the Honda Civic I had, but it was seriously no-frills (including no AC, which meant any summer driving was an ordeal). I LOVE my Suburu.
I voted for Allyson!
It's funny about brand loyalty, really. My parents were Ford people, but I married into a Chevy family, so we've had all Chevys, definitely stemming from Big Blue, the Impala of death. Loved that machine.
Here's your incidental racism tidbit for the day: When I was growing up in Ohio, people used to assume that we, as a Japanese family, would buy Japanese cars (that's how we were taking over the world at the time, as you recall). But my dad worked in steel; of course he bought American cars, he supplied the parts to them. This was a source of endless amusement to people, but was just befuddling to me.
Between the Mercedes and the BMW I'm a convert to the German sport sedans. I now have a strong preference for BMW. Over the years I've owned a 1987 VW Scirocco, 1988 Toyota Pickup, 1990 Pontiac Grand AM, 1993 Chevy Full Size Blazer, 1995 Ford Thunderbird, 1996 Ford Bronco, 1997 Jeep Wrangler, 2002 Jeep Liberty, 2004 Ford Escape Hybrid, 2005 MercedesC230, 2007 BMW 335i, 1993 Mazda Miata, 1967 Jeep Wagoneer, and a 1970 Triumph Spitfire.
