The family vehicle you remember growing up with.

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

We had one of these:

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Except that it was in silver... Damn I loved that car, even though I probably damaged myself trying to crawl into the back!

I can't really remember if it was a Rover, Austin or Cooper either. I think from the look it was an Austin, which my ex also had. Fun little car really!

 

[an annoyed writer]

Oh hell yes. I was just revisiting a model of Ye Olde Family car. Thing is, it wasn't a car: it was a true Body-on-frame SUV, which was basically an enclosed pickup with seats in the back. We had a 1989 Chevrolet Blazer Scottsdale, and it forever cemented my love for big dinosaurs like it:

That's a pic of one similar in every manner but color: ours was Gunmetal Grey. It may have not been the best vehicle ever, but it was a badass one for sure, and was an awesome off-roader. The gas-hog 350 cubic-inch V-8 had this lovely low rumble that became music to my ears, and while it was boxy, it was strong, sharp, and looks handsome even decades after. God damn do I miss that thing. Scrapped it in '06 and put the engine into a 1991 GMC Suburban we got for $800.

 

[Zac Jovanovic]

When I was very young my family had a Zastava 750 "Fića".

I swear, if you could make the wheels stick that thing could drive you up a vertical wall.
It had these rubber belts on its engine that snapped all the time and my dad had to fix it on the run,but that little fucker was reliable.

 

[Euryalus]

I remember a few, though not their make or model. We had a brown/tan van that had weird interior lights. They were like the string of bulbs on a panel you see in cinemas or broadway places. Because of that, we called it the hollywood van.

We also had a green minivan and a silvermini van. The silver minivan was totaled when a truck ran into my mom, and the green one we sold... or turned back in because we rented/leased it for a short period of time? I can't remember.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I remember a Fiat Punto for a while at one point, then we had a Multipla which looked a bit odd but was a great car.

Spoiler

My dad was a car salesman so we got a lot of cars when they were new out. It was the year the Multipla came out and literally no one near us had even seen it or drove one so we got so many weird looks because no one had seen it. When we eventually saw others driving them, we would smile and wave

Arggg, I really wish my dad hadn't been a twat and fucked off, I could have REALLY done with some help towards getting driving lessons and getting a car

 

[an annoyed writer]

I remember a Fiat Punto for a while at one point, then we had a Multipla which looked a bit odd but was a great car.

Spoiler

My dad was a car salesman so we got a lot of cars when they were new out. It was the year the Multipla came out and literally no one near us had even seen it or drove one so we got so many weird looks because no one had seen it. When we eventually saw others driving them, we would smile and wave

Arggg, I really wish my dad hadn't been a twat and fucked off, I could have REALLY done with some help towards getting driving lessons and getting a car

I hang around a couple car forums and you wouldn't believe how many times that thing shows up every week(often on ugliest of-lists). Someone just posted it a few minutes ago on one of 'em XD

Sorry to hear about your dad being a jerk though. My mom at least taught me, but she's an aggressive drunk and always tried to make me drive like one :/

 

[EeveeElectro]

-snip-

Hehe! I see a lot more people driving them now but damn they were ugly! As a passenger they were nice but I don't know what they drove like. I don't know how much fuel they burnt through or anything and they were a lot wider than most cars which was sometimes a problem.

Ahhh, it's okay! Live and let live. I'm just more annoyed about him fucking off with about £2k of my savings, that would have helped me so much!
Most people I know get help off their parents but my mum doesn't drive and can't afford to help
At least driving doesn't seem as important over here as it does in America.

Sucks about your mum, I can imagine you're a good safe driver though!

 

[an annoyed writer]

Hehe! I see a lot more people driving them now but damn they were ugly! As a passenger they were nice but I don't know what they drove like. I don't know how much fuel they burnt through or anything and they were a lot wider than most cars which was sometimes a problem.

Ahhh, it's okay! Live and let live. I'm just more annoyed about him fucking off with about £2k of my savings, that would have helped me so much!
Most people I know get help off their parents but my mum doesn't drive and can't afford to help
At least driving doesn't seem as important over here as it does in America.

Sucks about your mum, I can imagine you're a good safe driver though!

Ugly, but reliable as all hell, if the owners have anything to say about it. Also, apparently the wideness comes from the fact that they can seat six in a compact car form, which isn't actually all that common in the automotive world.

I know those feels too. One of my closest friends now works 7 days a week because his dad embezzled a ton of money from him, so I never get to see the poor guy D:

Finally, while I don't have the cleanest record, I can say I'm much safer than she is on the road(I find that whenever she drives I'm clinging onto the Oh-shit handle for my dear life). She drives like a drunk boy-racer on crack in that little Subie of hers!

 

[Zipa]

The first car I remember my Dad having was a MK2 Ford Escort. Though he progressed to a few Vauxhall cavileers , two Vauxhall Vectras and how he owns a Vauxhall Insignia.

Weirdly enough I can still remember the registration plate for that first car and one of the Vectras but I couldn't tell you what his current one is.

My mom doesn't drive though so she has never owned a car.

My first and current car is a Seat Ibiza MK4 though I am going to change it this year as headroom is non existent and I am not exactly tall.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I can't remember what we had when I was very small, was a tiny little economy car from the 70's until my aunt smucked a deer with it. I remember it was dark blue. Yes, that helps. Then we had an old white Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme I think. Mid 80's model. 4 door, though, I think. Had that thing until I was at least 10-12.

After that we had a teal Ford Windstar. Then my sister hit a post.

Then my parents bought a Dodge Grand Caravan in the early 00's. I think they have an Escape now.

I drive a 2010 Nissan Versa now.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I don't know any of the specifications of the cars, or any pictures that I know of. Yet we had a green family sedan called "Green Ranger" with a beige interior. I guess it was named as such because my siblings and I liked Power Rangers when we were little I guess? I'm not too sure.

We also had a white sedan with a red velvet interior named Snowflake." My memories are very hazy for that one, but we used it rarely, and eventually we sold it.

 

[maveric112]

I can't remember what he had in the early 90's but I remember in 1995 we got a white Vauxhall Corsa. It was called "The Bently" I can't remember how it ended up with that name but it was lovingly given. It was a sad day when we had to get rid of it last year due to some pretty bad rust on the chassis. I actually based the purchase of my car on it going for a 2006 Corsa.

Spoiler: Not the actual car but one almost identical to it

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

I'm a car lover and have a tendency to form bonds with the cars we own. Forgive the length since it's effectively a brief family history.

We had two cars in the 1990s. One I remember fondly and the other because of a story that we will never let our mother live down.

A 1990s Ford Aerostar

Spoiler

That's the same size, colour and trim level. It's huge and the upholstery was soft which made for comfortable travel. We did everything with it, including Drive-In movies. You can make the two back rows into one large bed quite easily and the windscreen was more than large enough to see the movie through it from the back. The 4-wheel drive was also very handy here in Canada I still remember all the sounds it made, all the gum in the crevices, al the trips in the snow to the cottage done with such ease and grace. How sad it was when we sold it for $2,000. Lots of tears were shed because it was my late father's van. He taught me how to say "van"

The other one was this monstrosity; a 1990s Ford Taurus

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We called it the raspberry because it was a similar colour and it looked and drove like one. Ovals everywhere. Who designed this thing?

Anyways, I remember it for one particular reason. My mom always drove my sister and me to school every morning, but I can tell she was often not always present in her mind. Our garage was electric, but we didn't have a remote for it so the only way to close it was by using the button on the inside wall. That meant that you either had to go through the house and out the front door or press the button and dive under the door as it closed like Indiana Jones. Since we all watched lots of Indy, the latter choice was obviously the better one.

So one time, as my sister is closing the door, my mother takes off to school. Bear in mind that I'm about 5 and my sister is about 9. What follows is a conversation that I will never forget.

Mom; "Is the garage door closed?"
Me: "Who are you talking to, Mommy?"
Mom; "Your sister."
Me: "She's not here."
Mom: "Don't be ridiculous."

Her dismissiveness disappeared when we got to school and she realized that I was being serious. My sister then arrived not too long after (it's a very short distance to school that we can easily walk, but mom doesn't want to since she's alone with two kids crossing a busy street). She angrily explained that she had tried throwing her shoe at us and then had to walk to get it.

Best part? That was the day she was accompanying her on a school trip she would be supervising.

My mother remarried after my father died. He had one of these; a late 1990s Honda Accord coupe.

Spoiler

At this point, this was the sleekest, fastest, coolest car I had ever been in. It's the first car I ever experienced that had a sunroof. It was black. It was sporty. For us kids, it was surprisingly spacious. It was awesome.

I remember my stepfather taking me to the foot of the airport in it. He opened the sunroof and we watched the planes take off. I also remember me putting my fingers in the lining of the sunroof and getting oil all over my fingers. I think my mom liked the fact that it had two doors after I managed to open the sliding door on the Aerostar in traffic.

This vehicle was sold to my stepbrother in 2002 and was done in by Hanna a few years after that.

We didn't keep the Accord for long. They married in 2000 and in 2002, they decided to sell the Accord to my stepbrother and the Taurus to I (I have no idea). At this point, my stepfather began to rub off on us and we started naming our cars. You would think that trading in a sporty coupe would be a problem, but not if you got a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi.

Spoiler

Honestly, I like this car more. It has enough space for everything you need including a trunk you can set up living quarters in. She had (and still does) have some serious pep in her step as well. Fun as hell to drive. It even has a heads-up display on the dashboard that reflects your speed in digital form on the windshield. You don't have to take your eyes off the road.

Her name? Bonnie. Obviously.

She does have a lot of electrical issues, though. I can't ever remember the rear driver's side window (my window) working. It's been fixed and just keeps breaking. The same thing is now happening to the front passenger window. She also has rust underneath the gas cap and on the leading edge of the hood, something I've noticed on every Bonneville I've seen.

However, she has been upgraded to pump out 300hp.

She's still with us. On the other hand...

2002 Pontiac "Hanna" Montana. This was long before the pop star.

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Notable for trashing the Accord.

She was a suitable replacement for the Aerostar, but she was slightly shorter. She more than made up for it with an on-board entertainment system for us kids, power sliding doors, bumper sensors that detect incoming objects and electronic all-wheel drive.

We got the idea after a trip to Vermont in 2001. We rented a Montana for the trip with the only difference I recall being that the entertainment system was VHS where Hanna was DVD. Drove her until about 140,000 km if I recall correctly, or until mid 2010. Those 140,000 km were brutal, though. Hauling really heavy crap to New York from Ontario and back through snow, ice and sleet. Constant trips to Kingston and Wasaga carrying heavy crap. Inner-city driving with heavy crap. One notable thing we got home in her was our dachshund, so obvious fond memories there.

In 2010, the All Wheel Drive system broke and would have cost a lot to fix, so we let her deteriorate. One notable instance of failure was when my sister was going out to her job, ran through a puddle and all the electrics failed. My stepfather had to come out and give her Bonnie and tow Hanna home. She seemed to simply regain her spark. The only thing we can think of is that water from the puddle found its way into the fuses.

We were thinking about doing something about that when the transmission failed. Way too expensive to fix for her overall value. She was retired and replaced with...

2010 Honda "Odie" Odyssey Touring.

Spoiler

I wanted to call him Odysseus.

Top-of-the-line luxury we just weren't used to. He also had an on-board entertainment system, but it hasn't been used so we don't know if it works.

Handles like a car. Lots of comfy seats. Lots of room. Sunroof. Low belt-line. High seat position. Great Reliability. Everything's powered save for the front doors.

The only criticism that I have is that he doesn't have any all-wheel drive system of any sort. Front wheel drive only all the time. It's not that we're desperate for it, but it does handle noticeably worse in winter compared to the Aerostar and Anna.

Now, we also have a third car; a 2002 Ford "Doris" Taurus SEL.

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She's more restrained than the raspberry, especially the interior. She was my grandfather's car before he gave up driving. My grandmother also has one that we've named "Boris."

Don't let the SEL platform fool you, she had 30,000k on her when my grandparents got her. We got her when she had 60,000k and now she's at 83,000k.

My sister and I share her, and she's a great car. Low belt line, soft seats, good space, a trunk that is 2 cubic feet larger than the raspberry's simply due to a stylistic choice. But for us, it's a really good car. Decent gas mileage for a vehicle that size. Not too fast, but capable. Decent grip. She even has a sunroof.

She is a Ford, however, meaning that she has problems. The power steering has been replaced twice and might need to be replaced again.The hose to the windshield wipers broke meaning that we can't spray anti-freeze on the screen (a HUGE problem in Canadian winters thanks to salt). Transmission is acting up as well.

And that's our car history. There were a few cars before me that were utter shit, but I wasn't there to experience them.

 

[Cloudydays]

I think the way a car becomes a "Family car" filled with nostalgia is by having memories with it. Honestly, though I remember which two cars filled my childhood and days before I started driving (which I did as soon as it was legal), they're not remember has family cars to me. My family never went on road trips or did anything special with the car. It was simply the car we went to get the groceries with. No special memories that make cars stick out to me when it comes to talking about my childhood.

The first car I remember my dad having is some BMW. I honestly don't remember a speck of its exterior so I can't get an image.

The second car was a 1999 Toyota Camry (may not be the correct year). Rear view because that's how I best remember/identify it.

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The third car (which he still owns) is a 2003 Toyota Avalon. Most memorable part about this car is the ~203000 miles on it. Still runs like a charm though. Front view because I find the front the most differentiable.

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I myself have been driving an 2008 Nissan Sentra. If money wasn't a thing and I could get a car right now, I think I'd get a 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid. I had the chance to drive one a couple times on rent for trips and that thing is gold. . What? Illegal driving? You didn't hear a thing!

But yeah, I don't think it's my family car history that drives my choices in future cars. It's simply how they run and how my experience with them in the past has been. Coincidentally, my dad's Avalon is still alive and kicking with its mileage which pushes me to give credit to Toyota with the longevity of their cars.

 

[game-lover]

We never had one car. We changed them quite frequently.

Don't remember any of them. And after a while, we didn't have a car. Public transportation was mostly what I grew up with.

 

[Slenn]

The car that we used for most of our family trips was a black Volvo Volkswagen. That thing broke one way or another at least once a year. It's been around since I was in third grade (1999) and it's still being used today. Albeit it's only being used by my sister since our family split apart.

The other vehicle that was used most often was a white Toyota Tacoma. It was primarily used by my dad on oil painting excursions, so the interior always had a vague smell of turpentine and dust.

 

[antidonkey]

There are two that stand out in my mind. The first being my mother's car. It was a 1984 Volvo Station Wagon...aka an estate car...aka a giant cinder block with wheels. We kept that thing until 1997. She died and we weren't going to need it anymore. The second, my father's vehicle, was a 1977 Chevy C10 pickup. We had that until around 1992 when my brother foolishly drove it while it was making a horrible noise. Turns out the engine was in dire straights and he threw a rod directly through the oil pan. That equals one dead truck.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

The car my mother had when I was a child was a Pontiac Sunbird.

Spoiler: the car

This isn't the actual car, but it looks almost the exact same. It was just my mother and I so the fact that it was a two-door wasn't a problem. It is probably my favourite car that my mother has ever owned, it was also her first car, she had me pretty young I guess. She is on her third car now and this one is still my favourite.

 

[loc978]

My mom's car when I was a kid was a 1978 Chevy Malibu wagon. She sold it to one of my cousins at some point. Still runs on the same engine block (rebuilt, though. 305ci V8), still in the family.

Spoiler: Looks basically like this one

Looks basically like this one (same color, no roof rack)

She now prefers to drive newer cars, goes through one every 5 years or so. Currently in some Pontiac thing with more easily breakable electronics onboard than the computer I'm typing this on.


My dad's car was and is a 1964 El Camino. Swapped the engine in 1994 (from the stock 327ci V8 to a crate 350ci V8), still has the stock transmission from 1964, with something like 600,000 miles on it... not that anyone is certain of that, he lost count of how many times the odometer has rolled over.

Spoiler: looks kinda like this

looks kinda like this

...only the color is "black cherry"... shines dark red in the right light

Also, there's a sizable dent under the passenger side headlight, the result of colliding with a Toyota pickup some time in the late 90s... the poor Toyota was totaled.

 

[RoonMian]

Since my father works at a car manufacturer we had several cars through my childhood. The one still in my heart though is the butt-ugly banged up 95' Ford Scorpio. For German cars of that class and price range it was a freaking battleship, especially the station wagon, which we had. And it had a nice, powerful 125HP turbo diesel engine.

It had a banged up back and front from when (and I know it's a cliché) an old Granada with five Italians and five big toolboxes smashed into my dad at the end of a traffic jam pushing him into a beamer. But the car still went on in spite of the qiality problems Ford Europe had in the 90s. Sadly I don't think I have a picture of it.

Spoiler: It looked like this though ours was silver, hides the dirt longest

Edit: Though equally important (or even more important actually when I think about it) was my mom's car at the time. It was a Ford Puma, an awesome little fun machine. It was a sports car on the base of the Fiesta (imagine the wheelbase of a beetle) totally overpowered with a 125HP engine. One wheel in every corner, it handled like a go cart

Spoiler: Again I don't have any pictures of the actual one but this is a close representation