While my intention throughout my "Pfaff-Land" series was to simply outline my automotive history through the reflection of my insurance cards on USAA.com, I couldn’t help but take a quick break and showcase one of the coolest, rarest, and most unique "family" cars available on Autotrader.com right now. While some people dream of buying a vintage Corvette Stingray, getting their hands on a 2nd generation Ford Raptor, or even slipping into the new Civic Type-R, my hopes, dreams, and lust all squander around wagons. I know what you are thinking… “Seriously, bro?” While the majority of men in the late 20s fall in love with the idea of wagon ownership through comments in Jalopnik.com, my infatuation stems from multi-generations of wagon enthusiasts. I grew up riding in the back seat (yes, outward facing) of a Buick wagon and Volvo wagon to school everyday while living in Virgina. When the time came to visit my grandparents in Indiana, their Mitsubishi Diamante Wagon (and later VW Passat wagon) would effortlessly fit our entire family, plus our luggage, within its cabin. When my mom’s Nissan Stanza (4 speed manual, BTW *rock on mom*) left our driveway to join its new family across the street, an emerald green, 1994 Toyota Camry wagon replaced it. It’s safe to say that I was destined for wagon ownership, and in terms of modern wagons, Mercedes-Benz makes the ultimate. Doug Demuro posted today that he recently snagged my holy grail of a wagon
0 Comments
Pfaff-Land: An Automotive History based on My Insurance Cards - Volume 1: 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES8/7/2017 There are two types of “car people” in the world today: Those that love to work on cars, and those that love to drive them. While loving to work on cars usually means you love to drive them, loving to drive them doesn't necessarily mean you love (or even know how) to work on them.
I fall into group B. My love affair with automobiles started when I was about 4 years old, riding shotgun in my grandfather’s late 80s Air-Cooled Porsche 911 Carrera. Purchased the morning of my mother’s wedding (no lie) I’m sure driving me around in that vehicle reminded him of the two best things that ever happened in his life. But I digress. Loving cars didn’t necessarily mean that I was able to drive awesome vehicles from a young age. While I convinced my parents to let me get a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer for my first vehicle, that automobile remained unchanged aside from a sweet Alpine CD player and some Infinity Speakers I had installed about 2 years into ownership. While the Lancer got me through High School, through College, back to Texas after college and then back to Alabama after that, no one could ever say it was a “joy” to drive. It was underpowered, transmission was slow (both the OEM and the two refurbished ones later installed of them that I had installed were slow), and the A/C (all three A/C systems) never worked without a rattle. The A/C control dials broke off faster than an Audi Sunvisor clip and the sloppy suspension (I had an ES) would bottom out if there were more than 3 medium sized teenagers/adults in the vehicle. With all that said, I truly loved the Lancer. So much so that in 2013 when it was time for me to drop the vehicle with 213K miles on the odometer, I actually looked to buy another one. Luckily |
Adam P. PfaffCurrent Musings. Incessant Ramblings. Enjoy. Archives
December 2018
Categories |