The Human-Automobile Experience

This is my Human-Automobile Experience

[humanauto]

(4th) 1970s Postal Jeep DJ5

The 1970s Postal Jeep DJ5. Cannot recall the exact year but this one was fished out of a OC Register classifieds ads without even seeing a picture. Competently on a whim and while still owning the Jetta . The image below is from Wikipedia, but i will be digging through some records in an effort to find a picture of mine.

Who hasn't wanted to drive a right hand wheel Postal jeep? When this beauty was found it was painted military camouflage by a very friendly War Vet. No inspection was needed as it was sold on site! She was going home with me. The jeep had the same ( but older) inline 6cylinder AMC motor that my father's 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee had at the time, and was a notoriously easy to work on and incredibly reliable motor. The jeep was quickly repainted over with 7-8 cans of flat black spray paint and was out fitted with the best and shiniest $20 Wall-mart hubcap covers any true Jeep enthusiast would appreciate and be pride to have. It got very little driving time but when it did it got a lot of looks and 2 thumbs up. It mostly sat in my parents driveway leaking oil. I remember replacing the head-gasket myself and the leak still continued. At which point my father being pretty direct in letting me know that he wanted it gone. With work and other distractions the jeep quickly became a neglected toy and was eventually sold . Total time of owner ship was under 7 months. The Good: Great conversation starter. Classic 70's design with right hand drive and sliding doors on both sides for easy access. Straight 6 AMC motor that was as durable as it was reliable. If you had the time to work and maintain such an old jeep, these are perfect for weekend cruisers and even Rock Crawlers. The Bad: Old means work, and this one was no exception. If you're good with cars then it's an easy and fun truck to work on, but this also had a slipping transmission. Even park would slip out , which was a very unnerving feeling when you're stepping out. Definitely would not consider purchasing one today unless the drive train was completely rebuilt.

[humanauto]

(3rd) 1995 VW Jetta MKIII

The pizza deliveries continued but my use for a truck was getting less and less practical. I wasn't hauling anything that even a short bed of a truck was needed for. Now and with over 30 years of accumulated 'stuff' and items to move, in retrospect a little truck like this would have been the perfect 'keep it in the family' vehicle.

The Nissan was sold and return I started looking at European sedans. All of a sudden I was gravitating towards my European roots. Circa 1998 I was starting to notice more of the Euro-tuning community and thus my interest in boxy 4 door Euro cars began. i still wasn't interested in learning too much about the in's and outs of the engine bays, and only relied what my father taught me growing up. Picked up a few things here and there and always had a trusty professional mechanic to do all the hard work, which is my case was most of the work. The 1995 or the MARK III VW Jettas ( and Golfs) as they are known, still retained a lot of that straight edge, boxy design that I was beginning to really appreciate. It carried over from the Mark II designs of those VWs, but were now rounding the edges a bit to echo the bubbly-esqe 90's that I spoke off in my first post. First off all it was more then just a Civic, that your neighbor had. It was... well , more refined and poorman's Audi,Euro sedan with a little more character. Not too long after a small film came out called "The Fast and the Furious " that might have contributed a little to my interest. These cars always looked really great with wider fender flairs and big lip wheels. Non of which I could ever afford, so cutting the coil springs and dropping the ride by about 1.5 inches was a quick solution. If only I did get them cut, instead of listening to the ill advice of my sisters boyfriend who had suggested I just get them heated. Yes, heated. a super inexpensive and horrible way to lower your car. When the springs heat up to a certain degree they begin to loose their initial structure and gravity takes over and lowers the ride for you. Most people won't tell you that the after such extreme heat the metal can never really withstand any real weight and continue to drop until eventually they compress onto themselves, in the process wearing out your shocks in about 2 months as apposed to normal ware of anywhere from 2-3 years. Another harsh lesson in Due-Diligence. You ever see those Honda Civics, bouncing up and down the freeway, well that is exactly what my Jetta began to do after a few months. Sometime later a set of dual round front lights were installed, with a few other trimmings, and what seemed to be the dream of a white Tuner Jetta began. That dream was halted to a screeching stop when I rear ended a 70's Mercedes Benz with one of those enormously over-sized metal bumpers. Since the Jetta was lowered the Benz's bumper fit perfectly inside the entire grill of my newly painted European, dual lights and brand new grill. it was pretty destroyed and for months was driven such way. Smashed grille sideways lights and dented hood. Soon after, certain elements of the car were starting to fall off. The rear bumper went first when I blew a tired out on the freeway. With a few staples and some glue it was eventually affixed back into place but never properly maintained. I began to lose interested and after graduating art school and starting my first real design job, I simply didn't have the money or time to maintain the WHITE JETTA DREAM. It quickly became a daily runner, and was more of a functional transport then anything else. The good: Loved the 5 speed and the 2.0 motor. If one wanted to get more then standard power out of it, there was plenty to play with and lots to modify. Never really had any big issues outside the real wear and tear and scheduled oil changes. The front interior was more then roomy for a regular person. The fuel economy was great and it never burned oil. Loved the styling of the square design. Typical European sedan styling. Plenty of truck space as well. The Bad: Electrical. I am almost convinced this is why the Germans lost WW2. After talking to many VW enthusiast and searching around, I quickly realized that there were a few known factory electrical issues. On the Mark3 Jettas and min in particular the engine light was always mysteriously on. and after having the mechs go through the entire code system, everyone always agreed that it was a factory defect. The back seat was actually smaller then the back seat of a friends 1980s Honda Civic hatch back. I never could wrap my head around that. Most German cars have the manual reverse pattern different from other manufactures. The Pattern is DOWN then up-Close to 1St gear. in other cars it is always on the bottom right of the H pattern. One time I was leaving my dentist. the parking lot had the familiar layout of any strip mall with 2 cars facing each other with parking barriers in-front of each spot and some grass divider in the middle. I just assumed that the gear was in reverse and stepped on the gas. Nothing. Was the E-break on? Checked the E-brake but it was down. I hit the gas and jump over the parking barrier and bottom the car out. The abuse continues. obviously i was in 1st gear, and now was hitting the gas in reverse to get my self up and over the barrier in order to leave with some dignity intact. i was successful but not before making a huge noise and walking up a guy sleeping in the parked car next to me the whole time with his window down. Another time I had forgotten to set the parking brake tight enough and the car was left in neutral in my parents driveway , which had a bit of an incline. Needless to say I found it down the street in the local park propped up on a curb with the alarm blaring. I can honestly say that before all the damage, add-ons and torture, this car was a fun drive. Fairly reliable. Great on gas. and the 4 doors made it easy to carry friends or cargo.

[humanauto]

(2nd Car ) 1996 Nissan Pick-Up truck

Not too long after the Merc Sable was put to rest I was blessed with a 1996 Nissan hard body, short bed Pick-Up truck.

This little truck was the perfect vehicle for a teenage boy. incredibly reliable and super tough. In the 3 years of ownership, i had about total of 4 accidents. All were front end, and each time nothing major was damaged including any frame damage. My lack of attention and care for the vehicle however, continued through this ownership, and the truck was met with more apathy for its care and value. Looking back at it now, i can truly say that this year and the 4cyl motor was the perfect daily runner. I delivered pizzas in this truck, and the mileage climbed, i never had any real issues. At some point I started notice more of a auto scene in my community and a few similar trucks that were decked out from 'head to toe' with the low- rider 'aesthetic'. I quickly had some new springs and shocks installed and the truck as lowered by 2 inches. This was a huge mistake as it gave it an interesting aesthetic but completely ruined the ride. This was my first real interest and plunge into the Auto-Human experience. it's not like I had any real interest in the Tuner Culture, but rather the awareness of my vehicle being more then just a from of transportation. The Good: I can only speak for this year and model: the 1994 single cab, short bed. Great reliability. With all the accidents and misfortunes this truck was incredible solid. It was an automatic so but was smooth through all gears and overdrive. Perfect for 2 people and sometimes a 'skier' in the middle. A camper shell created some more usable space and gave the truck a whole different look. incredible cheap and easy to maintain and always a pleasure to drive. Good boxy design that is a fading memory in today's designs. The Bad: Can't speak for the manual transmission , since this was an automatic, however like most autos it had some quarks. At some point when shifting from Drive to reverse, there was a weird delay and a huge drop in revs. Not exactly sure what it was, and the mechanics could never really figure it out either, so the problem went unsolved and was not a big issue in the end. The 2WD made for great street driving but because of the lack of weight in the rear, any off-road adventure was quickly turned into a terrifying 'fishtailing' experience. So unless you had some serious bricks or heavy back-backing gear in the back, always remember to slow down through those tight red dirt paths along the Escalante Canyons of Utah. Lesson learned. The rear sliding window was a great bonus for air control and was great for reaching into the bed of the truck directly from the cab, however the plastic tab snap that kept the window 'locked' from the inside, proved to be rather function-less when it was broken into and the radio, CDs, hat, and my hacky-sack were all stolen in the middle of the night.

[humanauto]

(First Car ) 1989 Mercury Sable Station-Wagon

The 1989 Mercury Sable station wagon was my first car. It certainly wasn’t the first car I drove or have a clear memory off, but for the sake of this blog and to keep articles in a chronological order, the Mercury sets off the chronology of my first vehicle. Coincidentally this is also the year my family moved to the US from Soviet Latvia. I was 9 years old. It was a culture ……’clash’, more so then a shock persay. We’ll address the Soviet era autos and my later years, nostalgic desire to drive one today; in future posts.

1994, I was 15.5 going on 16 and was ready for the mean-streets with my new ride, which my mother and I shared. I believe when I actually turned 16 she had purchased another award winning Ford ; the FORD TEMPO, so I had the ‘SHWAGON’ which is what it was affectionally named, all to myself.

The best way I can describe this vehicle is ; A poor-man’s spaceship. Let’s talk details. The exterior was nothing to speak off at that time. It sort of resembled most everything on the rode those days that was trying to steer away from the sharp angles of the 80’s and the boxy European design, and instead head towards the ‘bubbly-esque’ future of the 1990’s. The 2 most prominent features that to this day feel so wonderful to me was the front headlight panel, which illuminated almost all the way across from the left side markers, through the front grille area and all the way to the other side of the car. And the numeric keypad on the drivers side door which gave the driver direct entry without having your keys! i’m not sure exactly when this technology came about or at what point of time it was a staple for all new vehicles being turned out in America, but as a 16 year old boy ( and still now at age 34), I find this to be not only the most useful feature but the most interesting one for that particular era. It really was the POOR-MAN’S SPACESHIP of the 1990s. I can’t even recall the amount of times this feature was used, when keys were locked inside the car or simply leave the keys in the car and go for a surf! Not to mention the days when you couldn’t find your keys, but at least you could get inside the car and await your mom’s rescue, in the comfort of the Sable’s luxury interior.

The Interior: Not much to speak of here. Maybe I was too young to pay attention to those details at the time, or just simply don’t remember, but I’m not here to write detailed and accurate reviews, but rather personal observations and experiences. The stereo functioned and my mix tapes only got stuck once a week which was an easy rescue. The cigarette lighter was used often - I do remember that clearly enough to recall a loosing the cigarette lighter ‘pull-out-knob-thingy’ in the abyss of the large backseat. WHen it was recovered, a penny had mysteriously appeard in it’s place. Lodged so deep that I had to pull it out with a ballpoint pen- at which point the tip of the pen created a small spark and the lights flickered on and off creating a small but un-climatic “oh shit, captain we just lost power” panic.

Durability: As far as I recall there certainly was one at least one problem per month. The transmission would constantly mis-shift and slip a little. Breaks went really quick , although this could be a direct result of a heavy 16 year old foot. It did it’s job for a few years, and i can say with pure certainty that it was safe. I had a few fender benders in it, one time being in the High School parking lot when a Jeep Wrangler spare tire went all the way through the rear window of the wagon, almost pushing the entire rear door all the way into the trunk area. I believe we both back out at the same time with great speed, and the faults were just as equal, but the car was repaired and continued to chug on. At most stop lights and at any point of rest, really, the idle was constantly dropping around, and faking it’s ever so scary stalling tricks.

The inside was more then roomy and had a rear facing third row in the trunk area , which was made use off by my drink high school friends on any giving friday. I suppose the best 3rd feature on this vehicle that can praise it’s glory is how many passengers it was capable of transporting, so if it was used as a ‘sporty’ mom-family wagon, then I think Ford had succeeded in providing the right amount of space.

I can’t say that i treated the poor wagon with any real automotive respect, and will be the first to admit that if I was older and perhaps the right demographic for this vehicle, it could have seen more sunny days. At some point the vehicle was sold and or donated.