? VW Beetle (1991-1993)

This was the utility car while we lived in Willits, California. To get water, we had to travel to the bottom of our little valley and run a gas powered pump. It would then push the water up to our storage tank at the highest point of the hill. Our home was about 2/3rd the way up overall so this meant the tank provided decent pressure. We used the VW but I was not super confident driving it since I rarely got it out of first gear AND that I was still only 14 at the time.

'78 Chevy C/K Truck (1992-1996+)

Our was NOT lifted... just a reference pic. This was the most reliable, durable car in my life. Never owned it per se but certainly drove it. In Willits my sisters helped my folks do real errands in it. We drove off a cliff with it, the trees caught us and saved us from plummeting another 30 or 40 feet. After pulling it back up on the road, we drove it for many more years. Earned my drivers license with it in 1993-ish. There were no more DMV office workers to administer the exam so they had a New Mexico State Trooper ride and give the exam. He joked "don't worry, fail too badly and you can get your first ticket today!" Whadda mean don't worry? I had my first accident in this truck the summer before joining the Navy. True, I did get a speeding ticket in it about 18 months later. I also hit a phone pole with this but was going 10mph tops. The pole was strong, thankfully. The truck didn't see any damage (same as with the trees) due to a 4" steel tube reinforced bumper on the front.

I can't recall the exact order of the next four cars but I will list them as best as I can remember. The were all acquired over the last three years of living in New Mexico. Living in New Mexico we learned the unwritten law for the state... You have to have three to seven cars in your front yard and only one of them works well. The working one was the green Chevy above.

'79 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (1993-1995)

This was a superb automobile. It has a massive eight cylinder Diesel engine. Rumbling and loud, but it had power. The interior was that cheesy, poofy fabric and wonky 'luxury' features on the dashboard. I recall it seeming lame back then but now I know the car was actually very good.

So, long story short on this one: I broke it by putting gasoline in it instead of Diesel fuel.

'83 Chevy Sprint (1994-1996)

I think this was picked up so I could learn manual shifter. Also because the Cutlass was broken, I needed a new vehicle for work. My step-dad found a really steep hill and was persistent on getting me to understand clutch/gas relationship (thanks, by the way). I like this car so well that I consider buying one when I moved back to Cali (great gas mileage) and maybe fixing it up. Sorta unrealistic though.

'79 Saab 99 (1994-1996+)

This was an experiment. I seemed really interested in cars back then (of course I still am) but to try to focus my aptitude we bought this fixer-upper. It was had to find parts and it became a really expensive venture for me. Costs to repair we're competing with my desire to buy Magic Cards. No regrets on that as the cards helped me meet some great lifelong friends. I would wage that the car is still sitting in the back yard of that property. I have no idea where the pink slip went (probably was included with house paperwork when we sold).

'84 Chevy Blazer 4x4 (1997-2000+)

My parents got this for them to replace the Cutlass Supreme that I broke. Then when I was preparing to move away, I bought off the remaining payments. I drove this all through my year in San Diego after driving it out from New Mexico (post Great Lakes school tours). The last two months of owning the car saw a whirlwind of excitement. I had a collision with another car (insurance covered their repairs). I significantly shrank the size of the trunk on an early '90s VW Jetta, while only bending the license plate on my Blazer. The gal was distraught of course. This was in Salt Lake City... the other driver was just days away from starting her final preps for 'setting apart' in leaving on a mission. All the things people talk about while waiting for a tow truck eh?

The Blazer was lent to a friend when I left for Japan. I sent three years of special power of attorneys to him so he could rive and maintain it. The header pipes cracked in 2000 and I couldn't pay then so... I think it's still out there in New Mexico?

'93 Mazda RX-7 R1 (2000-2003)

Yes. I owned the iconic FD3S Rotary with the twin-turbo. It was black and looked great but it is the last black car I ever intend to own. Felt like constantly washing and polishing it. Engine wise, the prior owner had put a bunch of Mazda Speed tuning gear on it so it was at about 270hp. On a warm day and after a couple wheel-spin starts, on a third traffic light I often got the front end to lift up some. What an odd and eerie feeling. So of course I was still pretty negligent on this car too. Sadly I drove impatiently with it and had a couple accidents. On one of the two, the coolant pump seal was damaged but not caught in the repairs to the bumper and headlight. Basically I overheated the car a few times and popped a rotary seal. Then I drove it like that some until it just stopped working.

It sat at Mazda until I got someone from base to buy it from me for $500 since I couldn't bring it to the states (but should have as a non-operate at least). Anyway, the new owner put another engine in it and wrecked it less than six months later on the Yoko-yoko. Totaled it.

'04 Mazda 3 (2004-2007)

Still missing my RX-7, I went with Mazda again. I put 73,000 miles on it in three years. Fun car, it was the 2.3 instead of the 1.8 so.. yeah it lived up to the name 'zoom-zoom'. The sedan and not the hatchback. Odd purplish blue color on it. Eventually I was transferred away and had to part with it. Even so the Mazda dealership gave me $9000 for it, which was more than I had owed so I got to keep some. Nice! I learned how to treat a car well and to be careful driving.

'66 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (2008-2010)

Bought this as a second car for $3k and later sold it for $4k. We put a lot of effort into fixing it some but the 6v wiring was wonky and kicked my butt. The wipers never worked so I didn't drive it comfortably but it was my primary car later on. Pretty much regret selling it. Should have put it up on blocks. What's three years more to a car already nearly fifty years old?

'03 Toyota Caldina (2007-2010)

Somehow I convinced my wife to let me buy a car at a used dealership off base instead of buying some POS lemon from the lot on base (thank you so very much, by the way). So this car is as if you took a Toyota Celica and made it all wheel drive station wagon. It was not the turn edition so it felt a little under powered but it was comfortable, clean and well maintained. We sold it back to another off base car dealer when we left. A solid and dependable car which could fit bikes in the back or hold a gaggle of friends.

'07 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Wolfsburg (2010-2013)

Bought it as a Certified Pre-Owned with 17k miles on it. Did not drive it as far as my previous San Diego tour as we now lived much closer to base. That and I was deployed more. Later, we took this along with us to Ventura. Fun, reliable, and easy to drive. I sold it because the torque-steer and the wheel-spin. Too much HP for the front-wheel drive car and the tires were wearing unevenly. I ended up replacing two of them. I ended up stopping at 44k miles and trading it into Carmax. Despite the mismatched wheels, the car was in impeccable condition.

'05 Mini Cooper Convertible (2011-current)

Needed an alternate car for my wife and her work. Took advice from a friend about Carmax and it turned out great. Shopped around a lot, and looked at many models. Luckily found this model we own now, as it is sort of a unicorn of rare features. It's like the first owner bought all the option packages except navigation and this is not an S edition. High end leather, sound, sports package, convertible and sweet green color all included. We still drive this daily and would happily buy another Mini in the future.

UPDATE: We put it in long-term storage for three years... it is just too good and far too unique to pass up on. Plus, then we won't have to come out of pocket for two cars when we return to the states.

'13 Audi A4 (2013-2015)

Long story, short-ish... Carmax gave us $12k for the '07 Jetta which was three more than any other dealer. We had gone to Carmax to get an Infiniti G37sx but when I went back the next day... it was gone. Carmax can transfer cars across the country and if you are seriously considering a car, you should also consider tagging it with some sort of reservation (like a deposit of sorts). On a rebound, I went across the highway and started test driving over there. There wasn't any good certified cars of the models I'd wanted at Infiniti though. Still mad, I popped over to Audi. I figured they look great, I just had a Jetta, and my brother has an S4... so I tried a couple. Second or third one in and I was stunned. I had a cashiers check and a check from Carmax... I bought it.

Since then, loving this car. Still the same rules as I started on the Mazda 3... Seldom anything but water in the car and certainly no eating. Put 20k miles on it and people still ask how I keep it looking and smelling so new. If I ever trade/sell this, I would be looking for another Audi to replace it. TDI or electric both look good but one is rather pricey.

The time came and went, I had to sell the car. It ended up being $21k from CARMAX which was more than I owed on it so we had leftovers to buy a car in Japan. We ended up going much lower than that next...

'04 Nissan March (2015-current)

Just completing the base driving course and getting all pre-reqs complete for owning cars(s). We found out we could get two cars here so we went with a low miles tiny car. This thing has about 1000 miles per year and a non-smoker as well. It's a little short on features but it is great on gas and is easy to drive.

'02 Volvo V70 (2015-current)

Picked this up from my brother-in-law. Very smooth and comfortable. Cruises on the freeway well, almost too well considering the low national average speed limit is 85kph or about 55mph. I'd be going 85kph one minute and 110kph the next... significantly longer than the March, thus does not turn tightly but it is a fair tradeoff.