The family vehicle you remember growing up with.

[Parasondox]

Good afternoon and good morning to you all from around the world.

Another trip down nostalgia lane and this time we look at the family car, minivan or even bike that we all grow up with and remember.

Here is one example of mine;

Nissan Sunny/Sentra (mid 80's early 90s model): I remember my father use to drive me around in the car on that very small island of Montserrat during my childhood and I would not forget it. I couldn't remember being in much car at that young age but that Nissan always stood out for me which is why I have a soft spot for the Nissan brand

Spoiler: Nissan Sunny/Sentra 90's model. This a Google image of the car and not actual one my father drove but similar. Still brings back memories though

I would have also mentioned the Toyota Hilux 90's model but that was more of a work car than anything else. Talk about that car being almost indestructible.

So over to you now and what are the family vehicles you remember your parents having during your childhood? Heck, do they still own it now?

Thank you and let's have fun

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

A Hyundai, back when they were built significantly worse than they are now.
I also remember when it was completely totaled in an accident.

Ironically enough, I drive a Hyundai these days.

My mom though did have a Chevy Cavalier, that we pretty much ran until the wheels fell off.

 

[dyre]

I don't remember what exact model it was, but my family drove this shitty old Plymouth Voyager which really stood out in my (fairly affluent) town in which such a car would not have otherwise been seen for a decade. It didn't help that the engine constantly emitted this audible growl that made it seem like it had asthma. I didn't mind much, but my junior high school carpool buddy was into cars and was eternally embarrassed to be seen in my dad's Plymouth

Spoiler: An ugly picture of an ugly car very much like my own

We ended up selling it to a Cuban mechanic for $80...

 

[MysticSlayer]

A blue 1994 Plymouth Voyager. Believe it or not, the van still runs, and we still have it, but it normally functions as an extra vehicle for when the other three are being used. I'm actually surprised my dad hasn't sold it, considering he and everyone else wants to sell it.

 

[Strain42]

Two main vehicles stand out to me growing up.

One was a copper colored van that we used to use a lot on road trips and camping and stuff...I barfed in it...a lot.

The other was my dads truck. It was a smaller blue truck, and he had a matching cap on the truck bed.

So yeah, those are the two I really remember.

My first car was a 96 Honda Civic that I got for free when I was living over in Japan. It was a piece of crap death trap, but it got me around some.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Let's see... we had...

1. Red Honda Civic (not sure of the model year; late 80's)
2. Blue Isuzu Trooper (not sure of the model year; late 80's)
3. Purple BMW Beemer motorcycle (not sure of the model year)
4. Silver Honda Civic (not sure of the model year; mid 90's)
5. Blue Honda Passport (1993)
6. Black Honda Civic (2000)
7. Black Honda CRV (2001)
8. Champagne-ish Honda Civic (2006)
9. Red Honda CRV (2010)
10. Gray Honda Accord (2013)

The two that I would probably consider most noteworthy are the silver Honda Civic and the black Honda CRV. The silver Civic because I'm apparently the only one in the family that remembers it. To this day my dad swears that he doesn't remember owning a silver Civic between the red one and the black one, despite there actually being pictures of it.

The black CRV because it was more or less my first car. Damn thing was great. Compared to the cars my high school friends drove, it was significantly more roomy and comfortable, so I tended to be the designated driver whenever we went to the movies or to concerts or whatever. We always had problems with it, though. The power locks would frequently get jammed shut and refuse to unlock, the roof was significantly dented due to a huge chunk of ice falling from a highway overpass, the real-time 4WD only sometimes kicked in, the latch on the tailgate door broke (for at least a year, the glass upper portion was the only thing holding the bottom part shut - eventually the bottom part managed to break free, resulting in the trunk door swinging open while driving; I had to bungee cord it shut), the catalytic converter constantly had problems (leading to a two-year stretch where the Check Engine light was almost always on), and there was something wrong with the wheel bearings that would cause the vehicle to scream in agony whenever trying to take slow, sharp turns (like into a parking space). Despite its flaws though, I miss that damn CRV. I almost cried when the guy from the dealership drove it away after I used it as part of a down-payment on a new car.

The tears were equal parts sadness and joy - joy because the dealership never asked me to explain its flaws in detail, so they gave me WAY more money than it was actually worth. I would have been happy with $500 considering how beat to hell it was, and they gave me nearly $3000. Score!

 

[MarsProbe]

I remember quite a few of the cars my folks had when I was growing up. For a while my parents would only buy Volvo cars (because they were safe, of course). One of the Volvos they had was a diesel (I can't remember the model) but it was essentially one of the noisiest cars we had ever had as a family.

It was the Ford Mondeo we had in the mid to late 90s that I probably remember the most, as that was the school run car, which was good, as I got longer lunch breaks at home as I could get a lift back down the school. That may have also been the car I crashed into a barrier when out practicing my driving (practice that was clearly needed).

 

[Eliam_Dar]

A late 80's Renault 12. It endured a lot. We traveled through mountains, deserts, cities, even tropical climate, it never failed. I have great memories about that car.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Non, we were too poor to afford a car when I was growing up, hell even getting the bus was a luxury. If you wanted to go somewhere you walked, or tried to scrounge a lift.

My first car was a Ford Fiesta [http://www.virtualmodels.org/VM_images/Ford_Fiest_Mk2_Ghia_reference.jpg] which I fondly remember. It was an utter pup but god I loved that car, 900cc engine and 4 speed transmission meant you had to rev it till the valves came out and danced around the bonnet in order to get anywhere. 0-60 time was measured in decades and it handled like it was on shopping trolley castors (like that dodgy one that you always seem to get that decides to vear off into displays/other peoples trolleys/small children randomly) the handbrake was wanton to disengage sporadically so if you parked on a hill the you had to leave it in first which could be problematic at times because of a dodgy clutch. Oh an when I got it it was pink from being in the sun all it's life, I don't think it had ever been waxed. Took me over a dozen waxes to get the colour back to something approaching red.

It finally went to the big scrap yard in the sky after I wrote it off on a roundabout. It took a massive amount of damage, I was fine however which was really surprising as it had a Euro NCAP rating of like -1 star i think. Ah good times, I think I can honestly say that I had more fun with that car than any I've owned since.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Spoiler: The 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue

I never drove it because it was the family car from when I was born to when I was 13 but my sister tells me it was like driving a boat on land. It was big, it guzzled gas and it was AMERICAN.

[sub][sub]I wish Canadians had our own giant car manufacturers...[/sub][/sub]

 

[Idsertian]

The first car I remember my dad having was a three-wheeler of some sort, can't remember if it was a Reliant or not, but we just called it Gertie. Sadly, she was sold off at some point, and we went car-less for awhile, as my dad didn't have a car driving license (you can drive three-wheeled vehicles on a bike license here in the UK, at least, you used to be able to).

The next car he owned was one of these beasts:

(not the actual car he had, but same model)

Spoiler

That's right! The Ford Mondeo, bitches! That car got some serious use from '97 until around Xmas of 2000 in Dublin, when it was involved in a collision with another car as my dad was returning from work (don't worry, he was alright except for a sore knee). Smashed in the left front wing and reportedly bent the front of the chassis (mechanics somehow managed to fix that). Bearing in mind my dad was travelling forward at the time (albeit slowly), and the tiny size of the car that hit him, the impact was such that it pushed this 1.5 ton beast backwards to the side of the road.

"That's that car fucked, then," I hear you say. Well... Yeah. It was repaired, but it never handled the same again and developed an oil leak shortly thereafter. It trundled on for a bit, but there came a period my dad was out of work, so it was left to gracefully retire out the back of the house.

I miss that car. Sad to see it go.

 

[Godhead]

The first car that I remember growing up in was my dad's 2001 Volvo S60

Spoiler: She's a beast she is

I remember going to sleep in the back of it on the way back from Orioles games that my dad would take me to on my birthday. Then the car got flooded and became infested with mold and maggots so we had to trash it.

 

[wiiguy21]

Our family car was/is a Toyota Camry... which also now has a dent in the rear left from when my mom backed up into a fire hydrant next to our driveway (it totally jumped out in front of her out of nowhere). Compared to our other car, a Toyota Corolla, the Camry is actually considered the "big" one for long drives, family vacation, etc. Needless to say, neither of my parents like SUV's or larger cars at all. They also enjoy keeping their cars for 15+ years until they completely fall apart or get totaled in an accident, even when the paint starts peeling off like a car version of a sunburn.

So, anyway, none of our cars have really been that exciting and usually end up looking really embarrassing after a while, not that my parents can't afford to buy new cars more often, it's just that my dad's really stingy and thinks he has to save all his money because he's paranoid that social security is going to be bankrupt when he retires or something.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I don't remember the exact type but it was Rover. I remember when I was little I did stick my head out of the window a few times (I was quite reckless). Honestly I just remember it mostly when it started to break down (a couple of times it kind of stopped during the red lights when my dad gave me a lift to school). By the time my dad got a new car (BMW) the Rover was only worth around £200.

 

[Cowabungaa]

The car I remember most clearly was a 1991 Seat Toledo if I'm not mistaken:

Honestly though there is only one reason why I really remember this car: it's the one we first went to France with for our summer holiday. Good lord that was grueling. Cramped, and without air conditioning it was manageable when we were driving at night through the Netherlands and Belgium. But when day struck in France and we had to navigate through a confusing, ancient town the heat became unbearable.

Combine that with a father with a short fuse who had to drive, no GPS and three children, one of them being only four-ish at the time you've got yourself a rather volatile cocktail. We did arrive at our campsite at the end, but not after lots of shouting of my father, lots of crying from my baby sister and lots of frustrated yowling from my mother.

Crap car that was. Right now my parents have a 2000-ish Citroën Picasso that I actually drove myself as well, still do the odd times I'm at their place. Shit too, but at least it has airco for long trips.

 

[DanielBrown]

My mom had a Nissan Bluebird from when was born until I was 10 years old, when she switched to a Nissan Almera. Fourteen years later and we still drive that fucker. It still works awesomely and it will be my car as soon as I have a steady income.
Can't find a model that looks right, but

Spoiler: here's the brand car at least

Unfortunetly some junkie hijacked the car, drove it halfway across the country, tore it up and dumped it. Don't really have any memories of it apart from one time where we almost crashed into a moose running out on the road. Right when she shock was over and my mom begun driving the fucker ran back over again from the other direction.

The Almera feels more like my childhood car, though most memories are from the past few years while I learned how to drive from driving all around Stockholm and it's outskirts. Biggest memory would be a trip we took just a few months ago. We drove from Stockholm to the most southern point in Sweden, to drop off my sister who lives there, and back home again in one day. I fucked up around halfway there and drove west for two hours(without noticing anything was weird) instead of south.
We drove around 143 metric miles and it took us 18 hours. For most of the drive it was pitch black(seriously pitch black) and the rain was pouring down.

Spoiler: Nissan Almera, same model and color!

The downside with the car is that it's really fucking small. I'm close to two meters tall, so I gotta squeeze my way in and I can't really sit properly.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

Well, growing up poor in the late 80's, early 90's, I remember my parents driving cars that were already old then. A Fiat 147 and a Volkswagen Brasília. We managed to have great times in these crappy cars, for some reason. Conviently enough, I found a picture of them together:

Spoiler: Please don't look

 

[Chemical Alia]

I remember the evening my parents came home with their red 1987 Pontiac Bonneville when I was 5 years old. We all got in the car with my aunt and drove it around the neighborhood, and everyone was amazed by how modern it was. It had electric window controls, door locks, and the dashboard had a bright and attractive glow. My dad said it looked like a space-ship.

Spoiler

It had a nice grey interior with some shiny wood trim, it was also that new rounder shape that became standard in the 90's, so it really stood out. I miss that car.

My grandmother watched my and my sister, and my cousins when we were kids during the summer, so there was a lot of driving back and forth between our houses and her place up in the Poconos in her car. That was a 1986 Dodge Aries (K car), and it was less fun but the front had a memorable bench seat!

Spoiler

That sucked for whoever had to sit up front with my grandmother, because she is like 4'9" or something.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

I honestly can't remember what they were called, but I remember a least 2 of my friend's parents had these station wagons where, for some reason, the back seat faced to the rear instead of to the front. I remember we thought it was so cool to be riding in a car and facing the opposite direction.

Then we actually rode in it and, holy crap, not sure what it is but it gives you motion sickness like immediately, and I'm normally someone who never gets (or got) motion sickness. For pretty obvious reasons, I think they discontinued making those.

 

[purf]

Heh, nice idea.
My memory starts with a dark green VW Käfer/Beetle but maybe I remember it from being told about. That car ended up being used in a car stunt show after my mum had crashed it. What I definitely remember is this one:

Spoiler: Simca 1100

but in yellow:

followed by a

Spoiler: Peugeot 504

in that very colour. could have been a slightly different model, though.

aka the Barfmobile.
Somewhere in the Alps
Parent: "Are you okay?"
Me: "yeah"
Parent: "Really? Should we stop?"
Me: "nah"
Parent: "do you need to throw up?"
Me: "mmm"
Parent: "really, we can sto.."
Me: "blaergh"

not once...

and then those two:

Spoiler: Nissan Cherry and Nissan Bluebird

This very model, in white. Became mine later. I miss this car, still have the cover.. thing.. of the horn.