Classic Cars

I'm going to mention a few cars here that you might be familiar with. They are older cars from back in the '70's and up. Some of you ladies will skip this part (some won't). I have to go way, way back to my first car. It was 1973. My first car was a Buick LeSabre. It was very ugly, had a terrible green color, but ran like the wind. It had a 400 block engine, and it would hum! But I couldn't get any girls in school to ride in it. But it was the only thing I could afford in High School. It cost me $600. But don't worry, it gets much better. I saved all I could get for almost two years, working every part time job I could. Grass cutting, tree stump removal, moving irrigation pipe, etc.. With the help of my Dad, I got my hands on a Plymouth Road Runner! Now you know that's an expensive and prized car now days, and it was then too. I paid $3300 for it. What a deal! It was the runner orange with a 383 engine. The very best! But, as things go, my friend totalled it out a year later, and he was severely injured. He was racing a corvette, and was winning. Flipped the car three times and landed on a steel fence. One of the fence posts went through the roof and through his shoulder. He got ok later, but the car was lost. With a bit of insurance money from that, and what else I could get, I bought myself a big, old man style cruiser; a 1975 Olds Delta 88 Vista Cruiser, to be precise. It had a 455 engine, and serious power. I installed air shocks on it, with a compressor under the hood, and a control box inside. I could raise or lower the car, depending on if I was pulling a load or not. I had Michellin tires all around. It was a smooth ride, and it looked good too. White vinyl top, and baby blue on the bottom. The interior was crush blue velvet, with electric seats. That was fancy back then. Those of you who were alive back then know what it looked like. This car was also totalled out two years later by a drunk driver. It was sitting in front of my girlfriends house (yeah, now I could get girls to ride in my car), and the guy plowed right into the front of it. Bent the frame beyond repair. The driver did a hit and run, but they caught him the next day.
Then I went downhill a bit in cars. I had to buy a Volkswagon Super Beetle. It was bright yellow, and for some reason, was very popular with the girls. So, that being the case, I kept it for a while. It had a crank sunroof (great option back then). I put big fat tires on it and installed the latest 8-track player (yep) and equalizer. The next car is when I got real stupid. I bought a Ford Pinto. Yes, I know, but it never exploded on me. I put big fat wheels on it, had a hearst shifter in it, (don't know why), and a modified engine. Oh, did I forget to mention that my Dad was an aviation mechanic? He could fix or modify any engine, and we did that a lot. I also drove my grandfathers truck quite a bit then, which was a 1973 Chevy stepside, three-on-the-tree, and a great pickup. Then, just before joining the military, I had a Chevy Vega, aluminum block and all. A little souped up, but still ugly. I got rid of it pretty fast.
That was it through High School and a bit after. Since then I've owned many cars, vans and trucks. Too many to mention them all here. But I will mention just a couple more that just popped in my head. I had a good one while working as a contractor after I retired from the military. It was a great looking car. It was basically a Chevy Lumina, but the serious version; a Chevy Z34, fully equipped. Burnt orange, with 19" Perelli tires, spoiler, and computer racing package and chip. It had a great high bucket seat interior, and was very comfortable to drive. And very fast. Dual exhaust with thrush mufflers. It was very long too, for that style of car. It was the envy of many guys, who tried to buy it from me. I had it over five years, but one day the injectors started leaking, then the block cracked, it was going to cost way too much to repair, so it was done after that.
I traded it in for a brand new Saturn Sport version. It was a big step down, but it was a reliable car. Not trying to talk bad about Saturn. I think they have good cars. But not at the level of the Z34. And I always liked Saturn because they were made in the U.S.A.
I owned two cars while stationed in Okinawa, both with the drivers wheel on the other side of the car, as is usual there. One was a sports car, manual shift on the floor. The other was a sedan. I sold them to other Airman before I left, as is the custom. I mentioned before that I had a Datsun 510 hatchback while stationed in the P.I. It was very dependable. And while I was back in Texas for a while, I was driving my Dad's Mercury Marquis, at his request. Another classic. He also had an old Lincoln Town Car. Man, that thing was a tank! Dark black and long. So, yes, I've had a lot of automobiles in my time. Some really awesome, and some not so much. Obviously I never stuck to one brand name as my favorite, but had to go with what I could get. Most people do.
In my opinion, having driven many cars and trucks, I would easily say that as far as trucks go, it depends on what you want it for. Meaning that I know that Fords are better for field work, as they are stronger. And Chevys are better and smoother on the road. Why do I say this? Remember, we are talking about the older versions. In my community of farming and ranching is was very normal for the rancher to have a work trucks in the fields for going over rough terrain, ditches, and flooded areas. They were all Fords. But the rancher himself would drive a Chevy, because it was nicer inside, and better looking. Ford has changed all that since that time. Switching to another brand, I used to hate the Chrysler trucks back then. They were ugly, and goofy looking to me (front end) and my friends, and no one would be caught dead driving one. That has changed, of course, as Chrysler has completely changed their look, their engines, and their power (Cummins diesel). 
Right now I am hoping my next truck will be a Ford Expedition, or a Chevy TrailBlazer, which I am trying to save up for. Yes they have them here, too.
I did mention vans also. I had two. The first was a Pontiac with double sliding doors. I didn't like it much myself, but I had to admit it was very handy to have. We ended up using it for many, many camping trips. The other van was a GMC conversion. That was a cool van, as it had a small fridge and a great a/c, as well as two captains chairs and a foldout table. That was one of my favorite vehicles. I ended up selling it for a profit, even though I had it for four years.
I could talk about many other models and makes that I had, but I think this is enough for now. I'm always curious about new car and motorcycle designs, but I will always have a soft spot for those older, big, heavy, strong, and totallly unique cars and trucks from the '70's, '80's, and '90's.