Reminiscing...what cars did your family have when you were still in grade school?

[ronallandottk]

Just for fun...what cars did your family have when you were still in elementary? In high school?

I remember being driven to school in the mid 70s in an old owner type jeep with no gas gauge...our driver had to dip a pipe in the tank under the seat to see how much gas was in the tank.

Later on my dad bought a '78 two door Toyota Corolla SR, with a twin carb 3K 1.1 engine and factory airconditioning (this was a big deal at the time). This was followed by an '81 Toyota Corolla GL with a 4K (1.3?) engine, and a unique (at the time) 5 speed manual. No A/C though. For a time we used a '83 Mitsubishi Galant GL (it wasn't ours, we just used it). I can't remember the specs, only that it was big, dark green, had no A/C nor radio.

In '83 my dad bought a 1.3L Ford Laser Hatchback which I ended up inheriting about ten years later and got me all the way to college. In '84 he got a 1.8L Ford Telstar GL. It was a nice car when it was new. But at the time I wanted him to get the TX5 Liftback version with the digital instrument panel.

My older brothers got by with a Beetle and a Ford Escort.

After that times became hard and it would be in the middle of 90s before my dad would buy another new car again.

How about you guys? Any memories?

[jjmd3_787]

It was in the 80's when I was in grade school . . . naaalala ko yung 1968 Toyota Corolla Sprinter namin kung saan ako natutong magmaneho. We used to steal our dad's key and take it for a joyride. And then there was this 1985 Ford Fiera XLT for our business.

[MarcRio]

galvanized auv with 4k engine..kahit ganung sasakyan lang eh nabibyahe namin ng cagayan valley yun. doon na din ako natuto magdrive...noong una nakakalong lang kay erpat at sa manibela lang.. at noong grade 5 eh naabot ko na ang brake clutch at accelerator pedal at sa wakas nakapag drive na ko ng ako lang magisa..tinatakas ko rin yun kapag wala c erpat at ermat.ehehe

[oliver1013]

Elementary days, 78 galant sigma, naalala ko pa yung plate number NER 378 kulay red tapos yung bubong parang plastic na black. Engine was saturn ata, 4 speed manual lang uso noon.

Early 90's High school,2nd hand, an 83 Galant GL, 1.6L ata yun na astron, 5speed manual,dito rin ako natuto mag drive, at yung una kong bangga, at una kong kiss plate number naalala ko pa PDM 104.

Then a 2nd hand, high school rin,89 Galant super saloon, 1.8 liter lang ata to. Sarap ng ride at anlaki noong panahon na yun. Plaka is PLS 597 naalala ko parin graduate nako sa pa kiss kiss dito sa kotseng to

[redorange]

I was 9 or 10 at the time and my dad bought a brand new 2 door 1980 Datsun 510. Then after about 5 years with the car he sold it and bought a 1984 Datsun/Nissan 200SX S12, by that time I was already in high school I think and all my friends thought my dad had the coolest car, I eventually learned to drive on the 200SX. If I ever get rich I would buy both car models again and have them fixed to look exactly like my dad's car.

We had the squared headlight 2 door 510 in Maroon.
http://home.sprintmail.com/~cathbrown/doug/510.html

We had a silver 2 door hatchback.
http://home.sprintmail.com/~cathbrown/doug/510.html

[roberto_minosa]

When I was too young to remember...

Dad bought a 1983 Ford Laser 1.5L from my tito. License plate PET-335. It was my tito's company car, and he bought it before selling it to my dad. He said it was fast, as it could do about 140km/h; I guess even faster if brakes weren't so much of a problem. And back in the day, the North Diversion Road and the South Superhighway were pretty much just country roads. Nobody would dare go flat out on roads like that...hehehe.

During the early 90's, I could remember that car overheating on the old SLEX. Back in 1994, a speeding motorcycle crashed onto the rear fender when my dad was making a left turn. Dad wasn't injured, but the two riders were. Oh glory, it was the perfect time to get the car restored; and overhauled while at it. I even had a hand at choosing hubcaps for it. I was just 5 years old, and I'm proud of that. Just after restoration, we were on route to my lolo's place when a stone shattered the windshield. It was a Sunday, and Aguila Rosario Pasig was closed. We had to go back home in Cainta without a windshield. Odd.

By the time dad bought our house here in Bulacan, he had to sell his beloved Laser. It didn't matter much to me 'coz I was just a kid from elementary school back then. It was only recently that I recognized the value of that car, all the memories. Heck, it could've been the car I'm driving today (instead of not having one). Oh well, past is past, and the past was pretty fast.

After the Laser, my dad didn't have is own car, but a bunch of different company cars.

The first one was a Suzuki Super Carry 1000cc. TLT-427. My most memorable experience with that van is when its fan belt broke, and we were stranded in our still-unfinished house here in Bulacan.

The second was a Nissan pickup. PSY-954. It overheated once on the NLEX, and dad's office replaced it with a better one. I don't remember the license plate, though.

The third was a Nissan Eagle 2.5L. WCC-473. It was brand new when it was provided to my dad. He did the break-in, regular maintenance, and even installed a couple of accessories. That pickup did 165km/h once on the NLEX past San Fernando. Dad's officemates told us it was the quickest pickup in the fleet. The most memorable thing I remember about that pickup is...I LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE WITH IT! It's one of the most rewarding things I've learned in my life...driving.

When dad was reassigned somewhere else, he was given another Eagle, WDG-695. It was used by someone else, so it wasn't as fast as the first one.

Okay, by this time I'm not in elementary school anymore...but what the heck, I'll tell my story anyway.

Erpats was reassigned once more, and this time, he was given a sedan. It was a silver Honda City EX, with a manual transmission. I tried driving it, but I couldn't 'coz I got used to the ease of driving a diesel! It was later replaced with a green Type Z. So far, it's the only car with VTEC that dad ever maintained.

Dad was promoted, but the car he's given is somewhat...a mismatch to his promotion. It was a bone stock gray Corolla XL. TRP-something. As far as I could tell, my dad, who used to drive a City Type Z, absolutely HATED that Corolla. It didn't have any kind of power assistance. The stock stereo's LCD was barely readable. The rear suspension couldn't handle a full cabin. We'd sink into the seats as if there was no foam padding. There was a silver lining though...unlike the Citys, I COULD DRIVE IT! I regained my self-confidence in driving a car with M/T. Whew.

That XL was temporary. A few months later, there was new hope for a proper family car! It was a blue Corolla Altis 1.6 J, XEZ-399. I was trained to take it to the carwash and back. I'd never have re-learned driving without that car. It was even that Altis where I first drove legally! During that time, I got my Student Permit. When we were driving from the LTO office to our place, dad told me "kotse na lang ang kulang, ah". Kulang pa rin. He'd never buy me a car, I'll have to earn it.

He was transferred once more somewhere else; but not on this island. We didn't have a family car, so we were left with two bicycles for a couple of weeks. But my grandparents moved in to our place, so lolo's '83 Lancer was available for us to use. If I learned how to operate a car on the Eagle up to the Altis, I learned how to drive on that Lancer. Now, it's with my lola's brother. I miss that car.

Dad badly wanted to own a good large family car. So he looked around, saw the Kia Carens, but thought it was too small and expensive. He also checked the Fuzion, but thought it was too much of a guzzler and too expensive. Finally, he checked Toyota, and the rest is history.

Fin!

[testament11]

during elementary, madami kaming pinagdaanang company cars. the very first was the land cruiser fj-40. dun ako natuto magpastart ng makina at kinakalong din ako ni erpats dun at hawak ko ang manibela. mahal na mahal ni erpats yun fj-40 na yun. at nanghinayang siya na naibenta lang yun sa murang halaga noon, kasi gusto niya talagang bilhin yun. then, nung time na pinabody repair ang fj-40, enter ang 2nd na sasakyan, nissan double cab pick up. masasabi ko na yun ang 1 sa mga magagandang sasakyan niya noon. dun ako natuto magpatakbo ng sasakyan nung grade 4 palang ako.

pero nung maayos ang fj-40, balik sa fj-40 hanggang sa unti-unting nagbrebreakdown na siya dahil sa kalumaan. then dumating ang bagong service ni erpats nun, L300 FB, pero hindi pa FB tawag nun dun. then after 2-3 years ata nun, pinagamit na ke erpats ulit yun pick up kasi madalas na din magloko ang L300 nun. at yun ang naging service namin hanggang sa mag high school ako.

oh, and in between the pick up, nagkaroon kami ng sariling sasakyan. 1 assembled na wrangler na ang angas ng dating. lalo na yun bullbar niya na kayang kayang mangwasak ng sasakyang makikipag head-on sa kanya. it was the first car na iniyakan ko at ayoko pa-benta. talagang tinago ko ang susi niya kasi ayoko mawala sa amin yun.

right now, i don't know kung nasaan na ang fj-40. sana nasa off-road scene na siya ngayon and i hope makita ko siya one day. the pick up went to my erpat's co-worker kasi pinalitan siya ng tamaraw fx namin, na nasa amin pa rin at kay erpats na yun and reward sa kanya yun ng company. the L300, binenta yun ng company kasi masakit na sa ulo, which agree naman ako. at yun wrangler, binigay ni erpats sa asawa ng auntie ko. nakikita ko naman siya eh at nahahawakan pa. in fact, may mga plans nga ako na ayusin yun kasi ako ang gagamit nun. pero fortunately, precious came into our family and rest is history

[chua_riwap]

Owner lang..........

[OldSchoolHack]

I saw photos of my great great grandmother driving a model T. My grandad drove a 1954 chevy and a gigantic yellow dodge when martial law erupted. A Ford Cortina later. My dad drove a jeep driving through NPA infested farmlands in Negros, then a Ford Escort Mark 1 in the mid 70's, a Ford Escort Mark 2 till the mid 80s and a Toyota Hatchback Corolla till the early 90s. Finally he had a 1998 Polo (yuck!).

The most awesome ride I got so exhilarated as a kid? A 6x6 truck we had carrying sugar cane! Awwwww..... wala nang mas maangas pa sa highway!

[speed unlimited]

M 38 willys type jeep , Corona Macho Machine, Ford Escort .