I regularly refer to my dad as “a car guy.” Maybe it was because of when and how he grew up, but he passed it on to me, and I now consider myself “a car guy.” Cars, the ones I have owned, the ones I have and the ones I dream of driving or owning are such a part of my persona, that I felt to take a little space on this site to share my love of cars.
32 Ford Roadster
This is my current ride. It is small and really uncomfortable, more like driving a large go-cart then a car, and with a flat-head V8, it is anything but fast. But it is so cool, and so classic hot rod that none of the other stuff bothers me when I am driving it.
2000 Porsche Carrera 4S
Before the Ford we had this 2000 Porsche Carrera 4S Cabriolet. It was a great car, super fast, a blast to drive. Only problem was if anything broke it was a fortune to repair.
1940 Pontiac Coupe
The car you see my dad leaning against at the top of the page is a 1940 Pontiac Coupe. It was his first car and he always dreamed of finding and restoring one. He ultimately did find one in Sacramento, California and for years it sat in his garage in Smartsville. When he and my step-mom moved to Alabama he sold it to me and with the help of a man named Jim Parsons in Diamond Bar, and a lot of money, it was finally beautiful. I drove it for a few years and then gave it to my dad. He and my step-mom drove it from California to Alabama (9 miles to the gallon) and drove it and showed it for a few years. They sold it to a guy in Tennessee. There are a lot of great memories and lessons with this car.
1970 Plymouth Roadrunner
Believe it or not I had this car (or one very much like it) in High School. My mow didn’t want me to get this car because she was afraid I would crash it and get killed. I did crash it (with my best friend’s sister in the car), but fortunately no one was hurt. The car was all fast. A big 383 and a hurst four speed with a pistol grip type shifter. This was probably one of the fastest cars I ever had.
2012 Ford F-150
This is the truck I am driving now. Doesn’t get great mileage, but super comfortable, a lot of room and very, very practical.
2012 Hyundai Veloster
We bought this as a commuter car when I was driving to San Marino. Mainly because it gets great gas mileage. We bought it new as a dealer demo, and we already have over 100,000 miles on it and we haven’t had a single problem. Great little car, far from fast and a terrible blind spot, but no complaints.
2011 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail
Believe it or not I persuaded (she might disagree and say instead, “I only told you that you can do it if you want.) my wife to let me buy this. We had it a couple years and I think she rode it twice. Sold it to get cash for major home repairs. Replaced it with the Porsche.
1940 Ford Pick Up
I bought a truck very much like this, bright yellow, but with chrome rims and baby moons, one summer while I was working in Northern California. It had a 283 Chevy motor and a 3 speed transmission from an old Lasalle.
Opel Kadett
I also had one of these in high school. Not sure what year it was, and mine was light blue. As I piece this together I seem to have these extreme car mood swings. Either something very big and very fast, or something like this or the little Honda Civic.
Triumph TR 3
1975 Nissan Pickup with Extra Cab
1964 Chevrolet Impala (4 Door)
1953 Chevrolet
Triumph TR6
Oldsmobile Toronado
1984 Dodge Caravan
1999 Honda Civic
This was a 199X Honda Civic that I bought as a commuter car when I was driving 31 miles to work. Cool little car, but it did not get the mileage that our Hyundai did so my wife wound up driving it just for local stuff. Then we gave it to my daughter and just wound up selling it to a woman who wanted a cheap commuter car.
1954 MG TF
This was kind of an interesting story. My cousin Vivian had this car in her garage for hears, and I would regularly ask her if I could come over and try to get it started. She must have got tired of me asking so she gave me the car. I had it towed home and spent a few months getting it back on the road and then went the way of all British cars and would regularly break down. When I finally got most of the kinks worked out, and realized the car was way to small for me I listed it for sale. I wound up selling it to an 87 year old man in Clovis, California (and I gave the money from the sale back to Vivian, so she was happy. She just wanted the car to have a nice home.)
I regularly refer to my dad as “a car guy.” Maybe it was because of when and how he grew up, but he passed it on to me, and I now consider myself “a car guy.” Cars, the ones I have owned, the ones I have and the ones I dream of driving or owning are such a part of my persona, that I felt to take a little space on this site to share my love of cars.
John Schaefer