One's History As Told By One's Vehicles

Doc Searls (who I met briefly at this years Macworld) reviews the cars he has owned, while reflecting on his 58th birthday.
The Doc Searls Weblog : Friday, July 29, 2005

So, not my birthday, but here's my list, as complete as I can make it. This included not only automobiles that I have owned, but ones that were designated my vehicle.

My grandfather's, then my father's, dark olive green 1964 Ford pickup. This vehicle, which I drove for many years on and around the farm and even after I got my license at 16, is part of one of my earliest memories. I clearly remember my grandfather placing me behind the wheel, putting it in first gear, and letting me drive it around the pasture while he pitched hay out of the back for the cows. The truck was new and I was 4. My father traded that truck for a late model 70's Ford pickup, which he had painted powder blue. I drove it, too, while still in high school.

A 1974 Chevy Impala (pretty sure that was the year). This was one of the cars my father had and it was the car I drove most often, when I wasn't driving the truck. It was lime green and 4 doors and I drove it like it was a sports car, at one point loosing 2 hubcaps taking a corner way too fast.

1972 Karman Ghia Convertable. Canary yellow with black top. My dad picked this one up in late summer 1980 and I drove it back to Iowa for my senior year at college. I was 20 years old, had just spent my second summer working for the construction crew and as I drove it back to school I felt strong and confident - fully a man. I also found I had lost my fear of talking (and asking out!) girls and by October had met and started dating Diane. I drove the car home for Thanksgiving break, just ahead of a huge snow storm and the day after Thanksgiving the car threw a rod. The car was repaired and I bought it from my divorcing parents years later for what he had paid for it: $2,000. I drove it off and on for years, but it was unreliable and I didn't have time to fool with it. I sold it just a couple of years ago when i was starting my home theater project. I got $2,000 for it.

The "OWL". This was a bright orange VW "square back" my father also had. Its liscense plates had "OWL" on it. It was an ugly, uncomfortable car, but the back row seats folded down and there was a lot of room back there. Enough to stretch out in sleeping bags. Nothing more needs to be said about that.

The next summer, before Diane and I were married in August of 1981, my parents asked me to come back and work on the farm. I agreed, but shouldn't have. Children should never go home. As farm work always has been, it was hot, endless labor. My independence was a struggle for them, too. At the end of the summer and as part of our agreed compensation, my father bought a used late 70's Chevy Caprice Classic. 4-door and ugly as sin. Diane and I drove that through our first year of marriage and an icy Iowa winter.

When I went to grad school in Southern Illinois, I traded the Caprice for a Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with a diesel engine. It was probably a 80 or 81 model. The car looked good - two door, red with a white top, but wasn't terribly reliable. This is also the car I got t-boned in and learned my lesson about always ALWAYS wearing my seatbelt. I got off with only a bump on the head and the car was repaired. At this time Diane drove a bright orange VW Rabbit diesel that her parents had given her. She put 10 years and many miles on the vehicle before we took it on its last legs to trade it for a Ford Escort. She also drove that vehicle for 10 years.

Next was my first new car and the biggest lemon I've ever owned. It was an Isuzu Trooper. I think it was a 1986 or 1987 model. Also diesel. It was underpowered and spent over 3 weeks in the repair shop in the first year. At that point I asked the dealer to make me an offer to trade for another vehicle because I'd lost confidence in that one. They passed and treated me like an idiot for having bought that particular model. I'm telling you, like I tell everyone: Never buy anything from Isuzu. The trooper eventually blew out its engine on east bound 270 and left a foot-wide oil stain on the road for a half mile as I coasted to the shoulder. The stain was still visible for months afterwards.

I had the trooper towed to the local mega-dealer who sold both Isuzu and Fords. I said they could repair it or sell me a new, non-Isuzu vehicle. This dealer was smarter and I bought a new 1989 Ford Areostar minivan. This was a reliable and flexible vehicle.

I'd had such good luck on the Areostar that when it was time to trade I bought a 1998 Ford Winstar minivan. Both vans were great for us and 2 small kids. They were perfect for long road trips and when necessary, we could take out all of the back seats and have a literal cavern of storage space. Kathleen is still driving the Winstar - it's perfect for hauling around her string bass.

Shortly after buying the Areostar, we retired Diane's Escort and bought her a 1999 Ford Taurus. She drives it still and it's reliable and comfortable. She can keep vehicles longer since she only drives the for work and puts few miles on them. She also doesn't want "too nice a car" to drive in downtown Columbus and parked in city lots and garages.

I'm now driving a totally wonderful 2004 Lexus RX 330. It's comfortable, flexible, and the service that comes with it is outstanding. It's a reward to myself for years of driving minivans, well earned, I think.