Musicians talk about cars they've loved ... or hated

[Helen]

This was my first car that was new, and really my car, not a company car, or a spouses car. ..... I think it still looks pretty cool today, 41 years later.

Yes, nice looking car. They always reminded me of the VW Scirocco (1 & 2 generations.)


VW Scirocco I orange hr TCE
Stahlkocher, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons


VW Scirocco II (29099871788)
More Cars from Berlin, Germany, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

[Gandalfe]

My first car, besides the one my brother and I bought in high school, was a lovely used manila colored BMW that I found in Frankfurt Germany. I sold it when I transferred back to the states but I saw a week later (before I shipped out) and it was totaled, with antenna torn off, a hole in the driver's side door, radio missing and leather seats shredded. WTH?



I traded up from my 2004 band wagon in 2018 to this fine ride that might last me the rest of my music makin' career?

 

[Bari Sax Guy!]

I agree with you Helen, the 80 Scirocco was a nice car, I remember that VW's were pricy in those days, in comparison to Japanese cars, and it looks like my memory is correct:,

Used 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco 2 Door Coupe Ratings, Values, Reviews & Awards

Get accurate pricing information for a used 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco 2 Door Coupe, and explore other options.

www.nadaguides.com

The Scirocco would have competed with the Celica or even the Supra.

The base Scirocco was $8,130.00 my Toyota had a sticker of $6,800.00. I remember that the Deutch Mark was strong back in those days against the dollar. VW had a factory in PA to produce Rabbits (the Golf elsewhere), in an attempt to offset the exchange differential.

 

[saxhound]

Volkswagen factory, New Stanton PA. A Chrysler factory that never opened, then purchased by VW. I used to drive by it routinely on my way to go skiing at Seven Springs and Hidden Valley in the Laurel Mountains. It was huge - even bigger than the GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio.

My favorite Toyota story. It was 1990 and I wanted to trade in my 1982 Celica for a 1990 Supra. Fire engine red with the Targa top. I had been dreaming about it for months. We had also just gotten two Golden Retriever pups (our first). Right next to the Supra on the showroom floor was a fire engine red 4Runner for about the same price (within $500) of the Supra. My better half pointed out that the 4Runner was much more practical for transporting the dogs. I fell for the oldest trick in the car salesman's book. He said "give me the keys to your Celica and take the 4Runner home for the weekend. Come back Monday and tell me what you think." We took the dogs to the local forest preserve for a walk. On the way home they both puked in the car, and splattered mud everywhere inside. I figured, "oh well, I just bought it." It was OK - I needed the carrying space for a band I joined a year later.

 

[Tony Fairbridge]

I once bought a car by accident. I was in the Air Force at the time and attended an auction in London looking for a car for myself. I was supposed to be going with a friend, but he had some last-minute problems and couldn't make it. He'd intended to buy an ex-RAF Landrover, as there were a batch on offer at dirt cheap prices. He asked if I could pick one up for him and he'd settle up later, so I bid on a very good one and bought it. I didn't get the car I was after (1953 Bristol), the bids went way over my budget. When I got back to the base I found he'd been posted overseas at very short notice and I was stuck with the Landrover. I had it for years.

 

[pete]

Corolla is definitely a nice car. Extremely reliable. FWIW, I like the look of the car you have pictured, BSG!, more than the new Corolla.

I had a diesel VW Rabbit that guzzled more oil than gas. That wasn't a nice car. I did try a new VW Beetle convertible (same car as the Audi TT with different sheet metal) with the 5 cylinder engine before I bought my Mustang. The dealer let me take it home for the weekend to play with, just like with saxhound. Only this was inverted: the morning after I brought it home the car made horrendous noises and rocked back and forth. I called the dealer to pick it up ... and the dealer was 45 miles away.

 

[Carl H.]

Fixing up 2 of the things I hate about my current gig rig - Dodge Grand Caravan - no transmission dipstick or drain plug. This thing has been mostly great except for these 2 factory annoyances and the leaking transmission cooler lines. This afternoon I'm replacing the lines and changing the pan to one with a drain. It's due for the fluid change and I figure there's no way I'm paying dealership kind of money to be stuck with the same issues.

For (I'd guess, based on reported charges) the cost of paying the dealer to check the transmission fluid I'll have fresh fluid, a new filter, a dipstick that can measure the level and a drain plug so I don't have to drop the pan the change fluid. (flushing is not recommended by anyone except the dealer for this transmission so draining and topping off is the way to get clean fluid)

Thought I posted this earlier, guess I must have walked away, why did i come into this room...?

I spent more time looking for a stupid clip that hid itself somewhere in the front end than almost anything else. Took it for a drive and retorqued then hit the shower.

Good to have that done.