Dream Cars of Years Past

Dream Car #1: Chrysler LeBaron[Photo Source]

Mj got a Kia Sportage for his rental car while he was out of town a few months ago.  He started to tell me what it looked like and I stopped him.  I know what a Kia Sportage looks like because it used to be my dream car.  Odd as that may sound.  He laughed because a Kia Sportage, while a decent car is not necessarily dream car material.  Don't people usually aspire to such things as a BMW or a Lexus?  But that's not even the worst of it.  I sat there and thought of all my dreams cars of the past and it dawned on me that I never really wanted for much when it came to a car.  My dream car list is an assortment of so so economy cars that most people settle for and don't actually consider their dream. OK, well maybe all except for the Lebaron.  That was the first dream car I can remember (I was only 10) and that's a pretty snazzy car.  It was the car you could be lucky enough to win if you were the grand prize winner in Ed McMahon's Publishers Clearing House contest that I used to dig out of the trash after my parents tossed it.  I could never make them sign up for magazines but it did say no purchase necessary to win so I'd tear out the little stamp of the Blue LeBaron and assemble our official entry.  We never won.

Dream Car #2:  Geo Metro [Photo Source]

Dream Car #3:  Kia Sportage [Photo Source]

After the LeBaron my next dream car when I was in high school was a hatch back Geo Metro.  I loved the ones with the cool little stripe down the side and how it said "Geo Metro."  It was just so cute.  The next and last car I can recall dreaming about was that Kia Sportage when they first came out.  I found the body style adorable and I liked it that it was like a mini SUV.

What I ended up with as my first car was a brand new Red Ford Escort.  By that time my dream was really just to have my very own car so I was thrilled.  Did I mention I hate red cars? Don't ask me why 'cause I don't know but it was the only automatic they had on the lot besides White and beggars certainly can't be choosers so I drove it home.  My parents put some money down on it and made the payments while I finished up my last year in college.  I took over about the same time my student loans payments kicked in and as soon as it was paid off at just five years young it promptly broke down.  After that my dream car was one with automatic windows, locks and a working AC Unit.  I briefly admired the Acura TL's but they were super pricey and I thought an SUV might be cool so I ended up leasing two Jeep Liberty's in a row.  Never thought I'd lease but it happened.  I loved the leather seats, sunroof, automatic everything and being up so high.  It was about as close to luxury as I'll probably ever get in a car.  It sure was a cute little SUV but  how much it was costing me at the pump was not cute in any way so my next dream in a car was good gas mileage.  After the lease was up I focused my energies on getting a sensible, dependable, fuel efficient Pre Owned Honda Civic with low mileage.  Heaving myself in and out of a lower car was annoying at first, I missed my cool rear limo tint windows but I still had a sun roof so I got over it real quick.  I even got GPS for the first time.  Filling up for $44 bucks totally made up for not having leather and I was able to pay in full so I wouldn't have a car payment.

My First Car [Photo Source] 

My luxurious Liberty.  I leased two of these in a row-Silver then Blue

My trusty Civic.  I plan to drive this car into the ground

I've never much been into having a luxurious car.  I don't want to drive a beater but for me it's mostly been about getting from point A to point B in a well kept car with as little money wasted as possible.  I don't plan on buying a new car ever again.  I've had my fill of new cars and I'm not so sure it's worth the extra money.  My jaw drops when I  hear that people are paying close to $1,000 a month in car payments.  That's rent or a mortgage.  And remember when rims were all the rage?  They could cost thousands and for what?  I probably won't be able to buy it outright but I at least hope to have a hefty down payment for the next car I get.  I've had my Honda for 2 years now.  I have a near nervous break down every time I purchase a car so it's not something I'm looking to do any time soon.   My only dream now when it comes to cars is just to drive my cute little Civic for as long as it will let me.