In reply to WildScotsRacing: It's a toss up.. Both were Plymouths. One a 1960 station wagon made into a El Camino. It averaged about 50 miles per junkyard transmission. The other was a 1962 white four door.. painted with a brush with duct tape over the rust holes.. Paint was so thick you couldn't tell where the rust holes were. From 20 feet away it looked presentable..
When I was in grad school, I couldn't afford to keep putting gas in the Jeep, so my parents gave me one of their spare cars, they had their own little fleet at the time. I got a '94 Grand Prix, sea foam green, with the Geordi La Forge headlight/foglights, left turn signal only worked if the wipers were on, transmission would hang in 2nd on anything that resembled a hill, and a cracked rear leaf spring, those cars used a single transverse fiberglass leaf in the rear, so the rear end squatted, a lot. It was as such named "The Squatmobile."
As ugly as The Squatmobile was, it was as comfortable as a couch, had cold A/C, cruise control, got 30 mpg even in the hills of NWA, and made it to a little over 200K miles on the original engine. A free, junk yard swap 3100 got it to almost 300K before it died.
I was driving that car when I met SWMBO, so I guess that says something for me, or maybe her, she either didn't care, has really low standards, or was maybe just sympathetic to my condition. 
That car did embarrass her though. I eventually fixed The Squatmobile's squat, with a good junk yard leaf spring. That repair required the removal of the rear exhaust. Instead of putting the rusty old stock mufflers back on I put a pair of the cheapest turbo mufflers I could find in their place. It already had a straight pipe in place of the failed catalytic converter, and got a pair of $17 turbo Thrush mufflers booger welded in place of the stock ones.
One day after that repair, SWMBO had The Sqautmobile, and was coming to pick me up from campus. She hadn't quite mastered modulating the throttle to get it to shift on hills. She was going up hill, transmission hung in 2nd, throttle to the floor, and that 3100 V6 screaming through those Thrush mufflers, she passed at least 3 people we knew on the sidewalk. The next day I had several people say they saw, or heard about SWMBO "hot rodding" my car on campus, she wasn't near as amused as I was. 
I'm absurdly proud of my junk. Some of my happiest memories involve showing up at a racetrack in a 20 year old smoking rusty Dakota with an open trailer and a Neon, and winning my class.
I don't think I could stand driving something German. I'd have to wear a bag on my head.
The Corolla. Not my first, that was a 1980 SR-5 liftback. Cool, RWD, stick shift. Not my second 1989 SR-5. Almost cool stick shift as well.
Not the uncool one was the 1997 LE 4 door autotragic, uncomfortable seats. Just pathetic excuse for a hair shirt/penalty box of a car. That car drive me to the wallet draining torture of the Allroad and I was so happy to make the switch!! Rather drive an unreliable gas hog station wagon than a '97 Corolla.
WildScotsRacing wrote: 1976 base model Corolla. The utter lack of any high school cool factor was rather humiliating in a parking lot full IROC Zs, Corvettes, New Mustang GTs, Shelby Chargers, 300ZXs, GTIs, 240SXs, RX7s, Firebirds, Sciroccos, etc... You name it, my high school parking lot had it.
But did any of theirs have a Hemi??
Why would I feel embarrassed by a car? A car does not by default make any statement about me.
I guess I got some E36 M3 for the free Camry (a damn furrin' car) I drove in high school for a few months until it went and spun a rod bearing on me. Thinking back, that was probably because it was a relatively nice car with nothing wrong with it compared to what a lot of people were driving.
My first car, a Lumina, had its embarrassing moments. Not because it was a Lumina but because I drove it with a bad crank sensor for a year. Nothing says "classy" like a car that randomly shuts off while driving.
I got used to saying "Oh that, that's normal."
It happened in the middle of an intersection once during a date. That was fun...
It was even better when the MAF failed, the cat got plugged, the mufflers fell off, and the rear brakes started dragging on the rotors. I eventually fixed it all. That car was my mechanical education.
It couldn't even leave me quietly. After I'd fixed everything I sold it to a cousin. A month later it ruined its head gasket leaving him with a costly repair. I felt bad and he wasn't too happy. That was the Lumina's embarrassment swan song.
Mom hand me down was my "worst". 1972 Skylark 4dr, 350, drum brakes all around. I got it in 78 during the gas crisis. Could only afford to go to and from work
I think if I wasn't so excited to have ANY set of wheels when I was 16 I would have been embarrassed. It also helped that they were over the top in terms of bad shape. Amusingly over the top.
I didn't have money to buy my first car plus there was a fleet of vehicles in my family. I think my father was hoping I'd total the first set of wheels he gave me. A red 1979 Ford Econoline E150 with rust holes all over the sides and gaping holes in the floor. Beige vinyl seats with 3 inch blue shag interior that was sun blasted to purple near the tops of the windows. It was crazy slow.
Thankfully I soon stepped up to the gold 1987 Honda Accord (carbed) that had all mismatching color front body panels. Good times. There were more embarrassing ones later in life, but I'll not bore you guys with those.
As a young guy, my friends made fun of me as a childless guy who drove a 1st gen Caravan, but other than being gutless I loved that van. It handled like a sedan, was good in snowy conditions and hand barn-like carrying capacity.
WildScotsRacing wrote: 1976 base model Corolla. The utter lack of any high school cool factor was rather humiliating in a parking lot full IROC Zs, Corvettes, New Mustang GTs, Shelby Chargers, 300ZXs, GTIs, 240SXs, RX7s, Firebirds, Sciroccos, etc... You name it, my high school parking lot had it.
I had a 1978 Corolla coupe that I loved. This is not mine, but they can be made to look pretty awesome:
My 93 Plymouth Sundance. I needed a car, it was $700 and in good shape aside from being riced out a bit. I sourced all interior parts from Pick and Pull and restored the interior to OEM. The paint was super sparkly and very embarrassing... Ha-ha.
There was no speed from the 93hp 2.2l... Let alone "mega speed" lol. That was the rest thing to go.
It was dericed within a few weeks.
And I eventually got an 89 turbo Sundance and refinished some "crab" wheels for it and transferred the less hideous 5 spoke wheels to the 93.
I drove a Datsun F10 wagon for a while in high school, and would buy another right now if I could find one. Google up a picture; it proves I can't be embarrassed by a car.
Never really been embarrassed with anything I owned. Closest to embarrassing would have been the 1963 Ford Fairlane 4-door sedan that I ended up driving when my father traded in the 1962 Falcon Futura I had been driving for a new 1965 Mustang for himself.
It didn't stay embarrassing for long though. A floor shift conversion and a glasspack got me started on making it less embarrassing. And a few engine goodies made it even better.
Currently it's my s2000. The home made exhaust is unbelievably loud. So much so that it's embarrassing to drive around town as it makes me look like all the other Honda kids junkers. I'll be modifying it soon to hopefully make it quieter.
I surprising wasn't embarrassed by any car, maybe cause I was the only guy at high school that didn't drive a truck so it didn't matter which car I drove I still got crap. I bought a really E36 M3ty 240sx before all the drift craze happened, blown struts, leopard print interior bits and all but my name was on the title and that's more than any of the other kids could say. Oh I also had a free 97 lumina with 44k original mines, total cream puff pos grandma car but it was still one of the nicer cars I owned and one of the very few that had Ac so I liked it too lol
oldopelguy wrote: I drove a Datsun F10 wagon for a while in high school, and would buy another right now if I could find one. Google up a picture; it proves I can't be embarrassed by a car.
You win
Kenny_McCormic wrote: Why would I feel embarrassed by a car? A car does not by default make any statement about me.
Exactly. The question doesn't make any sense.
When I got my 72 Vega, they were not the joke they were to become.
NickD wrote: First car I owned: A black 1999 Cavalier coupe (dubbed The Black Menace) with the 2.2L pushrod and a 3-speed auto. It didn't have a body panel that wasn't rusted, dented, sun-scorched or some combination of the three. It would not get out of its own way and was absolutely soulless and I hated that car so much. During my ownership, it was involved in 3 separate car accidents (none of them my fault), somewhere gained a metallic green hood (which later got a trailer hitch rammed into the front of it somehow), had a cheap "cold-air intake" rigged up to it (mostly for fun) and even drove on a NASCAR track and got flogged on a dragstrip to 12-second 1/8th mile times. I had grand visions of nitrousing it until I drover over the crank, but instead ended up selling it to my sister. It then got in several more accidents, got broken into, went 20,000 miles without an oil change and finally got spun out on the freeway and went under a cable barrier, which mangled the hood, front fender, rocker panel and door, took off the interior and exterior mirror, broke the windshield and bent the rear axle. Good times. A photo of it next to my friend's equally crappy 2.2L/3-speed Sunfire that had been wrecked badlyAnd lining up next to a Silverado, which promptly beat me. In fact, everything beat me that night.
I had the same car.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/garage/Wally/
If I had any shame all of my cars would make the list but my first, an 86 Monte SS. After that everything I've owned could have been mistaken for a rental. A 95 Escort, 99 Cavalier, and an 02 Malibu. I shouldn't be as happy with my old man Buick as I am.
In high school, I drove the family Geo Metro on the weekends. It was the shark fin second generation with an auto. Much preferred the Ranger that I drove during the week.
In reply to NGTD:
1993 Pontiac Sunbird, 2.0/automatic. So slow up the hills when dropping my friends off on the way home from track practice that TK said that he thought I was faster.
So we lined up at the stadium the next day. TK drove the Sunbird, I started in the blocks. Coach struck the sticks together. I was 20 yards ahead at the flagpole halfway in. It passed me about 115 yards into a 110-yard race.
TK's a doctor now. I'm still playing with cars.
oldopelguy wrote: I drove a Datsun F10 wagon for a while in high school, and would buy another right now if I could find one. Google up a picture; it proves I can't be embarrassed by a car.
Totally with you. I want an F10 hatchback!
chaparral wrote: In reply to NGTD: 1993 Pontiac Sunbird, 2.0/automatic. So slow up the hills when dropping my friends off on the way home from track practice that TK said that he thought I was faster. So we lined up at the stadium the next day. TK drove the Sunbird, I started in the blocks. Coach struck the sticks together. I was 20 yards ahead at the flagpole halfway in. It passed me about 115 yards into a 110-yard race. TK's a doctor now. I'm still playing with cars.
When I worked for a Natural Gas Utility in Kingston, we had a 93 Cavalier auto that was converted to duel fuel NG/Gas. Running on NG you lost about 15% of the power. Envision how slow that was!
"1976 base model Corolla. The utter lack of any high school cool factor was rather humiliating . . . "
Same here !! Same car, same year, mine was red. Sitting in a College parking with MGBs, Mustangs, Fiat 124s, and TVRs for company.
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