Baby you can drive my car...

Allison's post on how many different cars she had driven in one week got me thinking of how many different cars I have driven in my life time...Above, my Grandma Mel's OLIVE GREEN Dodge Dart Swinger was the FIRST car I ever drove. It is also the only car I ever spent the night in...yeah, in the parking lot of Fashion Island...that's another blog for another day...

My OWN very first car was this 1978 SCHOOL BUS ORANGE Volkswagen Rabbit.
It was this exact model.

When my sister, Gina got her license HER car was this Volkswagen convertible. For some reason, I drove it to school a lot...on the freeway to Santa Ana. It broke down a lot!

When I started at Orange Coast College in the fall of 1981, my dad let me drive his 1967 Porsche 911 to school...THOSE were the days!!

My parents also owned a 1978 GREEN Cadillac...I think it was a Fleetwood Brogham, my dad thinks it was a Seville. Either way, the license plate was 502 WCK. I drove this a lot too! It had an 8-track player in it, though I don't believe I ever owned an 8-track tape! The gas gage was broken from day one and I remember running out of gas OFTEN!

My dad bought a 1987 Porsche 911 around this time. I never actually had it as "my" car, but I drove it often...THOSE were the days!

The Vanagon was one of my favorites...belonged to my parents, but I was married and had Allison at that point...yet, it was my daily transportation for a long time. Have you ever driven a Vanagon? It does 0 to 60 in about 15 minutes.

My dad GRACIOUSLY purchased us a used Honda to be OUR own car. I loved it!
It was 5-speed and was very economical. Had a cassette player too!

The Mercury Sable was a company car...the engine fell out on the freeway one day.
So we bought a Volvo. And have never driven another American car.

I drove this 1985 Volvo for 10 years...babies and car seats and carpools with violins and trumpets...to little league games and dance class...I LIVED in this car. The air conditioning was broken for SEVEN of the ten years. Again, that's another blog. No...that's my book.

The 1995 Volvo Turbo Wagon was the coolest! It sat SEVEN with two crunched in the "way back" facing backward. (I will never forget my 6 foot something-tall boss, Craig, sitting back there with his knees at his chin.) Both Allison and Zachary took their driving tests in this car and both drove it to school for years...

Once I relinquished the Volvo wagon, I drove a silver Saab 9-5. Very nice car.
Great stereo for my Ipod. At one point there were THREE of these in our garage. Exact same car. A couple of years later, Zac got a completely different car...a Saab 9-3.

When my life changed completely in 2005, I had to let go of the Saab and buy the least expensive vehicle on the used car lot. I bought a "non-silver" 2002 Jetta. Reliable car, great stereo, but no power at all...and, once I bought my home, I needed something big enough to take to IKEA and Home Depot....

Which brings me to my current car...a 2001 "Dodger Blue" Passat wagon. With 6 cylinders and all-wheel drive, it has a LOT more power than the Jetta did. It has a killer stereo, a sun roof (which is almost always open) and it holds EVERYTHING! And it's paid for.

Up next? Well, that Porsche entices me every day...one of these days...
and you'll be the first to know...