I owned a crappy Dodge Omni, too. I hated it so much I never owned another car again.

I've got a Scion xD, which, along with the Honda Fit, seems to be the car that you get when you really want a Mini Cooper but can't afford it.

In just under 20 years of driving, I've had two cars. I wouldn't like to accelerate that pace. Neither of them were crap. Well, okay, the Accord turned into crap, but that was because I treated it that way.

A crappy Dodge Omni

Ohhh Consuela, I had one of those. Man, I hated that car. My dad bought it new, but the stupid hatchback window leaked from the get-go, so it was useless in the rain... when I was attending Humboldt State University (4 bazillion inches of rain my senior year).

when I first saw that 12 cars in a lifetime ad, I started counting and I've only had 5 so I think I need to start looking at new cars soon, right? I'm driving an 11 year old car right now. I have some ground to make up. I figure I've only got like 30 years left to drive, so I'll need lots of new cars.

ETA: Dodge Omni haters UNITE! *high fives Scola*

when I was attending Humboldt State University

Stoner!

Stoner!

Nahh, I was too broke for that... I had to pay my own tuition! Too bad it was Wildlife Management and I couldn't ever get a job... (yes dad, you were right....) but I have to say, the cash crop did keep the economy going there.

Which means some people own tons (tommy, I'm looking at you), because I'm certainly not doing my share of the heavy lifting.

Heh.

Let's see - I've owned:

• Three Fords
• Three Mercurys (still have one)
• One Lincoln (still have)

There is a car dealership near me that has a car I've always wanted - a '69 or '70 Mercury Marquis convertible. Now I'm trying to decide if my big old car buying days are over....

Dodge Omni haters UNITE! *high fives Scola*

Such a terrible car. I remember having to rebuild the doors a couple of times because the latches kept giving out. And then my dad & I took apart the engine to replace the water pump, which was mounted at the very bottom of the engine. (This was back in the day when I actually worked on my car: now I just pay other people to do it all.)

I drove the Civic into the ground, though: I had it for ten years and only got rid of it when it was old enough to vote. I just can't get my brain around spending a good chunk of a year's salary on a car, which loses value the first time you put the key in the ignition.

That said, I do sometimes wonder what it's like to buy a new car...

I've owned 5 cars, two of which I still have. Pontiac Sunbird, which got donated to VoA when I couldn't afford to fix something that broke, Pontiac 6000 that got taken away when it didn't run anymore (we couldn't donate it because no one actually held the title, but a couple of guys made it disappear), Toyota Tercel eaten by Katrina, Toyota Corolla currently in the driveway, Volvo 940 currently parked on the street and in need of a smog check. That's in ~20 yrs, but I don't expect so much overlap in the future, but I still might make it to 12 if I keep driving long enough.

12 cars in a lifetime? I can see that - let's assume most people don't buy their first car until 25, and stop driving at 85 (just for round numbers). 12 cars would mean upgrading every 5 years, which doesn't sound too unusual to me. (I've never owned a car. I've driven two, both of which were owned by my parents.)