I just noticed the first car I bought new on a recent list. My very first car was a used one. But in late 1973 the decision was made to get a car with new tires (my relationship with flat tires was getting too intimate) and new everything else. I believed an engine would last longer than tires. I was wrong. I brought a Vega.
This car model has now made the top 10 worst American cars.
We put our limited funds into a 1974 Vega station-wagon purchase. The engine durability of that car just sucked. Checking the oil was almost as often as checking the gas. I still like the body shape and handling of the car. During one pre-dawn drive in San Antonio I pushed it over 100 mph, so at least I got one or two thrills out of it.
The Vega description in the list gave me a little laugh - “a car built with contempt for its buyers”. Oh I can laugh about it now.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney expressed it well: “Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles.”
John Lennon and Paul McCartney expressed it well: “Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles.”
In hindsight I would have been better off buying a bulldog.
17 comments:
"A car built with contempt for its buyers"... too funny if it's in your past but too sad when currently owned. Thanks for the smile.
:-)
Traci
Interesting, and like you said, the body design is not bad at all. I am buying a new car, it is coming early March. It is brand new, fully imported, 3.7L engine, it is Mazda CX9. I cannot wait, the car I'm driving now is a grand car but I've had it for more than 15 years!
My sis in law had one too. I kind of liked them though I know they were far from perfect. W.C.C.
red color of car is fantastic
Haha, oh, the memories, eh? Reminds me of my first ever new car - I thought I was sooooo cool, driving my soft-top Suzuki Jeep home from the showroom. The VERY NEXT DAY, it was all over the news this model tipped over going round corners. It was nothing but a tin box on wheels! I traded it in at a huge loss for a Lancia Delta, in the end (sigh).
No...vega. My first car was a use OMEGA
Don't feel bad. The first car I was allowed freedom to drive was a Pinto, although mine didn't have a hatchback like the one they picture. I really put that thing to some tests, though, and as far as I know, it survived me. (But then, I was a teenager and pretty oblivious. Maybe it didn't survive me, after all! lol)
As long as it was not last seen in a ball of flames I think you both survived ok.
Oldsmobile ? Omega is bad name for a car in my opinion since it's the end.
Maybe it was just top heavy - wink wink
I wish I knew you then I could have made you an offer you wouldn't of refused.
Mazda - sports car? convertible top? zoom zooom
you are welcomed - yes it is in the past and a lesson learned - styling is not everything.
No, big ol' seven seater SUV. I have relatives to carry around.
I didn't buy my first new car until 1987 (a Nissan Sentra) - the 5 previous cars were quite used, starting with a '67 Chevelle I bought for $200 in 1979.
Did that '67 muscle car have any muscle left in it?
thanks
I had a '74 vega, red, automatic. Didn't come with a passenger side mirror. It was optional. I drove it thru thick and thin, but never over 55mph. Bought it for $1800 in 1976, sold it for $1700 in 1979. It had 60,000 miles on it. Still ran good. My cousin, on the other hand, had an rear exploding Ford Pony.
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